Archon 50 VS 5150 iconic???

[Gmork]

Was thinking of grabbing an iconic from L&M but noticed they carry the archon50 which ive always been interested in! The archon is only $150 more.

For those who have experience with both can you compare them please? Thanks.

 

[budda]

Was thinking of grabbing an iconic from L&M but noticed they carry the archon50 which ive always been interested in! The archon is only $150 more.

For those who have experience with both can you compare them please? Thanks.

Take both and return the one you like less for a refund.

 

[Andromalia]

The Archon is likely to have better intrinsic build quality, but tonewise testing them both makes sense. Although I dislike the solution advised by Budda because in the end it drives the costs up for everybody, it's the most efficient on an individual level.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

I assume you're interested in just the heads, correct? You already have a cab (what speakers)?

I haven't heard a lot about the newer Archon 50 watt amps, but there is tons on the Iconic. My assumption is that build quality will likely be similar (both are 'budget' 'import' amps), so its really down to what kind of tones you are chasing after.

 

[CanserDYI]

Didn't the archon 50 have a ton of problems over the years? I'd go with the iconic, and has nothing at all with me being a 5150 fanboy.

 

[Gmork]

Any time ive had to return anything to my L&M theyve wanted to know what was wrong with it

 

[Gmork]

@AkiraSpectrum yeah the heads. And im using different cabs pretty often but these days its either my randal 2x12 + 1x15 (pair of eminence swamp thangs and a 15" legend) or my mesa 2x12 w V30s.

Tone wise i love HUGE wall of sound "brutal" amps with a TONNE of lowend and grind. And i especially love having all that lowend in a clean channel to use as a pedal platform as well.

@Andromalia @budda id love to just waltz in and try em both but my L&M never has any of the fancy metal amps in stock, its all fender and vox combos etc

 

[budda]

Any time ive had to return anything to my L&M theyve wanted to know what was wrong with it

"I didnt like it" or take it to a different location.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

@AkiraSpectrum yeah the heads. And im using different cabs pretty often but these days its either my randal 2x12 + 1x15 (pair of eminence swamp thangs and a 15" legend) or my mesa 2x12 w V30s.

Tone wise i love HUGE wall of sound "brutal" amps with a TONNE of lowend and grind. And i especially love having all that lowend in a clean channel to use as a pedal platform as well.

@Andromalia @budda id love to just waltz in and try em both but my L&M never has any of the fancy metal amps in stock, its all fender and vox combos etc

I'd say the Archon is probably going to give you more low end, more 'wall', and more grind. Have you considered the PRS MT15? Could also be a good option. A couple L&M stores in BC have the MT15 in stock, so its worth going to check that out perhaps too (Langley, North Vancouver, Victoria locations).

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

Bring a guitar. Try’m both out.

 

[Gmork]

I'd say the Archon is probably going to give you more low end, more 'wall', and more grind. Have you considered the PRS MT15? Could also be a good option. A couple L&M stores in BC have the MT15 in stock, so its worth going to check that out perhaps too (Langley, North Vancouver, Victoria locations).

Oh dang! Victoria... Thats me! I forgot about the mt15, have been curious though im not normally too interested in lower watt stuff, ive heard its loud but can it truly keep up in a LOUD live situation? Possibly UNmiced?

 

[Hoss632]

@AkiraSpectrum yeah the heads. And im using different cabs pretty often but these days its either my randal 2x12 + 1x15 (pair of eminence swamp thangs and a 15" legend) or my mesa 2x12 w V30s.

Tone wise i love HUGE wall of sound "brutal" amps with a TONNE of lowend and grind. And i especially love having all that lowend in a clean channel to use as a pedal platform as well.

@Andromalia @budda id love to just waltz in and try em both but my L&M never has any of the fancy metal amps in stock, its all fender and vox combos etc

The Archon is definitely going to have more low end between the 2. The Iconic when I heard it compared side by side with the more expensive 5150 heads it is noticeably brighter. so you'd need to dial in the bass and mids to get what you are looking for. I'd almost say it's worth saving up an extra 500 bucks and going with a evh 50watt stealth head

 

[sleewell]

Archon is like that boring white chick at a party really trying to dance but just can't. Oh but it was a good clean channel lol. Why doesn't anyone ever lead with how good the gain channel is on a high gain amp? Says a lot imo.

 

[Gmork]

Archon is like that boring white chick at a party really trying to dance but just can't. Oh but it was a good clean channel lol. Why doesn't anyone ever lead with how good the gain channel is on a high gain amp? Says a lot imo.

Not sure im following ya, i actually keep reading about how amazing the gain channel is which is what got me interested in the first place

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Archon is like that boring white chick at a party really trying to dance but just can't. Oh but it was a good clean channel lol. Why doesn't anyone ever lead with how good the gain channel is on a high gain amp? Says a lot imo.

People gush about the clean channel BECAUSE it's insanely good. The high gain channel is great and does the gnar extremely well ime. It's like a refined, tighter recto tbh.
My archon 100 was a beast.
This is a halfassed demo i did with my archon:

and here's one comparing it to some of my other amps:

 

[Gmork]

People gush about the clean channel BECAUSE it's insanely good. The high gain channel is great and does the gnar extremely well ime. It's like a refined, tighter recto tbh.
My archon 100 was a beast.
This is a halfassed demo i did with my archon:

and here's one comparing it to some of my other amps:

I hear the archon 50 is very close in tone to the 100, any exp with that?

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I hear the archon 50 is very close in tone to the 100, any exp with that?

I only briefly messed around with one. It's in the same vein as the 100 but has sliiiightly less headroom. It still gets plenty loud and has plenty of low end ime

 

[oakentower]

I’m pretty much stuck deciding between the 5150 Iconic and the new Archon 50. The 5150 Iconic sounds a lot meaner and bright while the Archon sounds more refined and warm, has anyone that’s used both confirm this? Any other thoughts on these amps from those that have tried one or both?

 

[Hollowway]

I haven't A/B'd the Archon with the Iconic, but I DID A/B the Iconic with the 5150 III concentric pot 50W. I liked the Iconic WAY better. More low end, and more open sounding, and rawer. So, for me, if I were to get any 5150 variant, it would be the Iconic.

As to which to get, definitely try them both at the store if you can. And don't be surprised if you bring both home.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I’m pretty much stuck deciding between the 5150 Iconic and the new Archon 50. The 5150 Iconic sounds a lot meaner and bright while the Archon sounds more refined and warm, has anyone that’s used both confirm this? Any other thoughts on these amps from those that have tried one or both?

Yeah I'd say that's accurate. The archon can be brightened but it's just a darker voiced amp to start with.

If you care about cleans at all, the archon has excellent cleans. The iconic has decent cleans. I preferred the Iconic's high gain tones by a mile tbh, and I'm not a 5150 fanboy by any stretch.
In terms of features I think the iconic is better too tbh.