StormAudio Impulsion 8 – 8-Channel Class D Power Amplifier

Description

Overview

The Impulsion 8 is StormAudio’s compact eight-channel Class D power amplifier, at £7,376.45 inc VAT. It is more than a power block: alongside eight balanced analogue inputs it accepts eight channels of AoIP — audio over a standard network cable — and carries its own digital signal processing for loudspeaker management. In a 2RU chassis, that makes it the obvious amplifier for an all-digital StormAudio installation.

Design & build

The Impulsion 8 occupies 2RU and measures 42.9 x 44.2 x 8.8cm (width x depth x height) including connectors, without ears or feet; the rack ears add 4cm across and the feet 2cm up. Net weight is 11.6kg. Outputs are three-way binding posts accepting up to 4mm cable. Cooling is thermally regulated across several sensors and stays below 30dB at maximum, so it can live in a cabinet near the seating without adding to the noise floor. Protection covers overheating, overcurrent, overvoltage and DC faults.

Sound & performance

Amplification is Pascal Audio Class D fed by a UREC switch-mode supply with 3600W of capacity — a deliberately large reserve for an eight-channel amplifier, and the reason it holds its figures with every channel working. With all channels driven from 20Hz to 20kHz at 0.1% distortion it delivers 200W into 8 ohms and 400W into 4 ohms; bridged, it delivers 800W into 8 or 4 ohms. Two channels driven at 1kHz and 1% distortion reach 250W into 8 ohms, 490W into 4 ohms, or 1000W bridged. Signal-to-noise is better than 115dB referred to rated power, frequency response runs 10Hz to 50kHz at the -3dB points, and the damping factor is greater than 400.

Key features

• 8 channels single-ended, or 4 bridged channels combining two amplifier channels to drive one loudspeaker
• Eight balanced XLR analogue inputs plus eight channels of AoIP digital input
• Onboard DSP on the AoIP input: multi-way loudspeaker management, parametric EQ, FIR filtering and a limiter/compressor
• Adjustable gain — 26dB single-ended, 32dB bridged
• ESS Sabre HyperStream IV conversion, shared with StormAudio’s processors
• Full IP control and StormMonitoring status reporting inside the ISP processor’s web interface
• Five-year warranty

Technology

The AoIP input is what separates this from a conventional amplifier. Fed from an ISP Evo or an AoIP-equipped Elite, the signal stays digital from the processor to the amplifier’s own converters over one network cable, and the onboard DSP can then handle crossovers, equalisation and limiting for the loudspeaker it is driving. That makes multi-way active loudspeakers straightforward and keeps the crossover out of a passive network in the cabinet. Ethernet runs on DHCP or a fixed address, and trigger in and out daisy-chain with an electronic delay so a rack powers up in sequence rather than all at once.

Specifications

Eight channels single-ended or four bridged, Pascal Audio Class D. 200W into 8 ohms and 400W into 4 ohms with all channels driven at 0.1% distortion; 800W bridged. Signal-to-noise better than 115dB. Frequency response 10Hz to 50kHz, -3dB. Damping factor greater than 400. 3600W power supply capacity. 2RU, 11.6kg. Full detail in the specification table below.

Who it’s for

All-digital StormAudio installations, active loudspeaker systems that need crossovers and equalisation at the amplifier, and rooms where 2RU of rack is worth having back. It is also a sensible way to add eight high-quality channels to an existing system. If you need sixteen channels of conventional analogue amplification in one box, the PA 16 is the better answer.

Why buy from Hidden Home Technology

Hidden Home Technology designs, supplies, installs and calibrates complete StormAudio cinemas from our base in Bath, Somerset, and demonstrates across the South. Dan Crick has 25 years in the industry, the company has traded since 2004, and we are a CEDIA member (A-356536). We size amplification against the actual speakers and the actual room rather than a channel count on a box, and we commission every system we supply. Available through us; arrange a demonstration at our Basingstoke showroom, or read more on our StormAudio brand page.