Soldano 2150?? No such thing. Soldano made the SM100 and VHT the 2150. I would take the 2150 over the SM100 and either one over the Mesa. I had a Mesa Simul Class 290 and it was constantly breaking down. Maybe the Strategy 400 is better, but my confidence is low as far reliability goes with Mesa Boogie. Granted, they do have awesome customer service, but you simply can't beat the VHT 2150 power amp.Looking for a power amp to boost my IIC+ and have a chance to pick one of the above up. Have read nothing but good things about both.
I obviously like Metallica What would you go with?
Brain fartā¦Soldano 2150?? No such thing. Soldano made the SM100 and VHT the 2150. I would take the 2150 over the SM100 and either one over the Mesa. I had a Mesa Simul Class 290 and it was constantly breaking down. Maybe the Strategy 400 is better, but my confidence is low as far reliability goes with Mesa Boogie. Granted, they do have awesome customer service, but you simply can't beat the VHT 2150 power amp.
Using slave out wonāt cancel the IIC+ power amp. Youāll still have the characteristics of the IIC+ power amp, but supercharged! Thatās why I like the transparency of the Strategy 400.Half true, realize you are cancelling one of the most brutal poweramps of all time without question and that may not necessarily be the correct choice.
I had both. Not at the same time though. I sold the strategy 400, but I again was dumb in not knowing I could combine both sides for 400 watts. Using just one side it was like the Poweramp of my mark iii++ Colisuem, but not as goodWho has had both, I only have the VHT...I do happen to own a Mesa M180 monoblock but that is a very flat poweramp compared to the 2150 and 2100 that color the tone.
They were similar IME too, but I had 3 different coliās at the time (2 blue stripe ++ simul-class and a no stripe ++ not Simul (still have)). Also have a c+ coli now. Despite the S400 being higher wattage it didnāt really sound that way to me. It was just like my no stripe coli ++ power amp with worse feel, less lively and I definitely felt less punchy. If I didnāt have any coliās or maybe knew about the 400 watts lol itās possible I couldāve thought it was awesome, but I didnāt in my situation. The 2150 is better imo, at least if using just one side on the s400 (still kicking myself for that lol). The 2150 doesnāt really have a Metallica vibe, but it sounds metal, so maybe the OP would still enjoy it. Iād say overall the 2150 to me sounds clear, precise, modern, tight, somewhat neutralIāve had both S400 and S500. They are pretty similar, but I felt that the 400 is a bit more transparent and ā3Dā sounding, if that makes sense. Maybe due to the simpler design, idk. I ended up selling the 500 and keeping the 400.
But I also think it depends on what you are using it for. I use it for slaving my old Mesa Mark amps and want as little colorization of the sound as possible. When using the slave output on the Marks it slaves the whole amp, so youāll have the graphic EQ on the amp as well.
I imagine the S500 is better for preamps since youāll have the deep switches.
That being said, they are both awesome!
I havenāt tried the VHT, but regarding Coliseum VS S400 I think they are pretty similar, even when running only one side. Each side is 200W, so itās actually a bigger power section than a Coliseum. The feel is better on the Coli though. But the punch is very similar.
According to Mark Snyder who I worked with at Boogie AR back in the early 90's the 400 was the choice for guys who wanted to slave with the Mark II. I never owned the VHT but have tried it with a IIC+ and the Boogie just sounded better with it. Now, flip that with a CAE 3+ preamp and the VHT sounded A LOT better than the 400.Half true, realize you are cancelling one of the most brutal poweramps of all time without question and that may not necessarily be the correct choice.
Why in the hell would you need 400 wattsI had both. Not at the same time though. I sold the strategy 400, but I again was dumb in not knowing I could combine both sides for 400 watts. Using just one side it was like the Poweramp of my mark iii++ Colisuem, but not as good