ASHDOWN RM-800-EVO ll

What a lightweight! Kev Sanders tests the new head from Ashdown

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DAVITT & HANSER

www.davitthanseronline.com $1079

It’s always a treat to be sent a new Ashdown bass amp, and this particular one comes with high expectations. The EVO name has been used on Ashdown’s amps right from the early days, and the RM-800-EVO ll has a pedigree that stretches back decades, so this little amp has a lot to live up to. Happily, there’s one area in which the RM-800-EVO ll differs completely from its ancestors—and that’s obvious when you lift it from the box.

Even by modern class-D standards, for an amp of this power it’s remarkably light at just 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilos). The smart silver-grey anodized alloy case wraps around the chassis with slotted cut-outs on the right hand side for cooling, and the Rootmaster logo is laser-etched on top. My first impressions are of a well-built, compact and good-looking amp.