Are Crown amps worth it vs Emotiva? (or other suggestions)

[Fastnbulbous]

This is an old thread I realize -- Amazon had some refurb Crown XLS 1502 amps for just under $300 all year, and go figure, as soon as my NAD C 272 finally died, they're only available full price at $400. But I guess it's a no-brainer, as Emotiva amps now cost three times what they did when I bought my last one 10 years ago ($1,000 for the XPS-2).

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

This is an old thread I realize -- Amazon had some refurb Crown XLS 1502 amps for just under $300 all year, and go figure, as soon as my NAD C 272 finally died, they're only available full price at $400. But I guess it's a no-brainer, as Emotiva amps now cost three times what they did when I bought my last one 10 years ago ($1,000 for the XPS-2).

I would definitely take $379-300W or $299-200W Crown amps over more expensive Emotiva.

 

[lovinthehd]

This is an old thread I realize -- Amazon had some refurb Crown XLS 1502 amps for just under $300 all year, and go figure, as soon as my NAD C 272 finally died, they're only available full price at $400. But I guess it's a no-brainer, as Emotiva amps now cost three times what they did when I bought my last one 10 years ago ($1,000 for the XPS-2).

I've only seen new or used Crown XLS amps on Amazon and I've looked occasionally, missed the refurbs altogether. Who refurbs them? I have three Crown XLS 1500s and wouldn't hesitate to buy the 1502s, altho sure I'd like to see a little price drop from the usual $400 each...think I paid $335 each by shopping a bit for the first two a few years ago, then picked up one more for $200 when they started releasing gen 2....and wish I had bought several at that price!!

 

[Verdinut]

A good option would be the QSC 4 channel Digital Cinema Amp Model DCA 1824. It has a clean power rating of 170w/ch at 8 ohms and 250w/ch at 4 0hms.
It only takes 2U rack space (3½ inch high) and is 14 inches deep and only weighs 21 lb.
It is usually only sold by audio contractors and some distributors. However, there is a store in California which sells them at $1104:
https://socalcinetech.com/product/qsc-dca-1824-amplifier/

https://www.qsc.com/cinema/products/power-amplifiers/dca-series/dca-1824/

It's not cheap but it's very reliable. It's built like a tank and it has a rather quiet variable speed fan.
That amp is used in many movie theaters in both US and Canada. Most if not all Cineplex theaters use them, as well as QSC's DSPs and loudspeakers.
By the way, I am using QSC DCA 1222s 2 channel amps to bi-amp my 3 front HT speakers. They are amazing. Also, if I didn't have two EV7100 power amps for the surround speakers, I would have certainly considered getting a DCA 1824.

 

[Fastnbulbous]

I've only seen new or used Crown XLS amps on Amazon and I've looked occasionally, missed the refurbs altogether. Who refurbs them? I have three Crown XLS 1500s and wouldn't hesitate to buy the 1502s, altho sure I'd like to see a little price drop from the usual $400 each...think I paid $335 each by shopping a bit for the first two a few years ago, then picked up one more for $200 when they started releasing gen 2....and wish I had bought several at that price!!

I don't remember. Perhaps it was a new unit. Most recently (this past week I think, just as my amp died) it had raised the price $65 dollars because another seller stopped selling them, but I don't remember the seller. I guess I should just pull the trigger, I can get 10% back on Amazon Prime 'til the 31st. I also kept going back and forth on whether to get the 1002 instead, to drive my Wharfedale Opus 3 300W/6ohm, but with just $100 price diff, will probably go with 1502.