Alesis Matica 500

The latest additions to the Alesis dream studio line are the Matica 500 and 900 power amplifiers. Paul White checks out the 500.

The new Alesis Matica amps have been designed to deliver both power and a high degree of musical fidelity, making them suitable for both studio and live sound applications. Like most high‑power amps, the Maticas are fan cooled, but Alesis use a system of fan speed control (CoolSync) that depends on the music level being handled, so if the music level drops, the fan speed drops to an idle, to minimise the background noise. More conventional cooling systems either use a constant fan speed or link the fan speed to heatsink temperature, which, as Alesis point out, doesn't start to cool the output transistors until they've already overheated. Furthermore, because a typical heatsink stays warm for quite a while, the fan may still be going full‑tilt when the music level has dropped or stopped altogether.

The Design

The sonic integrity of these amplifiers relies on a low‑distortion design employing a new generation of bipolar output devices, capable of very high slew rates — necessary for good transient response and to minimise Transient Intermodulation Distortion (TIM). The result is a claimed 103dB (unweighted) signal‑to‑noise ratio and a mid‑band harmonic distortion of less than 0.009%.

The front‑panel gain controls are detented for easy adjustment, and both the power switch and circuit breaker are also on the front panel, for easy access. The circuit breaker protects the amplifier and loudspeakers from potentially dangerous faults, such as shorted speaker cables (it must be manually reset if it trips), and true Clip LEDs show the onset of clipping. Conventional banana/bare‑wire binding posts are used to connect the speakers, while dual‑purpose jack/XLR sockets handle the balanced inputs. Inputs may also be connected via a terminal barrier strip for installations. A rear‑panel switch enables the amplifiers to be used in mono bridged mode, and there are separate signal and chassis ground points to help eliminate ground loop problems. A 25‑pin 'D' connector is also fitted on the rear panel, ostensibly to support future expansions such as remote on/off or active crossovers.

When the amplifier is switched on, a relay holds the speakers in a disconnected state for around five seconds, until the power supplies have stabilised; when the amplifier is switched off, the relay drops out immediately to avoid any switch‑off thump.

Two versions of the Matica are presently available: the 500 and the 900. Both can run loads down to 2 Ohms, delivering a maximum power of 350W and 680W per channel respectively, with almost double that power being available in mono bridged mode (into 4 Ohms minimum).

Both versions are physically similar and come in a 2U rackmount format with additional rack‑mounting points at the back end of the side panels for extra support in mobile racks. The cooling air inlet grille is located on the right of the front panel, with further ventilation at the rear, allowing a clear flow‑through of air. No air filters could be seen through the grilles, but as nobody ever cleans them anyway, maybe that's no bad thing.

The Sound

To test the Matica, I hooked up a pair of ATC SCM10 monitors and sifted through my CD collection for some suitable and varied test material. These particular monitors are extremely accurate but do demand a lot of input power — which the Matica delivered. With all power levels up to clipping, the sound maintained its integrity with no undue harshness or blurring of detail, and the low bass information came across cleanly with authority and punch. It's never easy to be subjective about power amplifiers because they're not usually the weak link in the chain, but as I'm very familiar with the rest of the signal path in my own system, I feel that such an impression is both useful and valid. On the whole, the Matica delivered a solid, detailed sound, but also managed to sound smooth, even at quite high listening levels — something I feel is important, particularly in the studio. The mid‑range and high end didn't seem to suffer in the presence of powerful bass sounds, and the only time the fan noise was evident was when the music was suddenly switched off, in which case you could hear the fan speed falling back to an idle. Under normal monitoring conditions, fan noise would not be a problem, even if you monitor at very low levels.

The Alesis Matica amplifiers are very realistically priced, even when you compare them with slightly cheaper products aimed at the very budget end of the market, and from what I've heard of them, they stand comparison with amplifiers costing rather more. I'm still not sure that power amplifiers will ever qualify as exciting, but the Maticas certainly do a good job and look as though they'll continue to do so for a long time.