Crown pro amps on sale at Amazon - which should I get?

[strube]

The Crown XLS amps are on a pretty dang good sale at Amazon and I was thinking it would be a good time to dive into the pro amp world.

I just can't decide if I should go with one 2500 for my front Axiom M80s (yes I know we hate Axiom now ) and use the Denon 4310 for surrounds and VP150 center or if I should get two 1500s and bridge one for the center and just run surrounds off of the AVR...or just one 1500 for the fronts...

Thoughts?



P.S. I do plan on doing a DIY 5 channel system at some point with 3 identical fronts and an AT screen and bookshelves for the rears...if that matters...I obviously don't know the sensitivity or impedence of these unknown future speakers.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I can tell you I could not hear any fan noise at all. They are silent. The build quality seems pretty good on the outside. They are light weight, which I love.

They seem to be an excellent choice to me. I got two XLS 2500 for my FA 18.0 subs (on order).

Specs look great.

XLS Drivecore™ Series

I think just one XLS 1500, which is 300wpc 8ohm, 525wpc 4ohm is more than enough.

 

[Adam]

Dang it - now I want one.

 

[Adam]

Okay, so I was thinking about ordering three of them when I saw Amazon's statement about saving another 15% - but it doesn't seem to apply to the Crowns. Darn.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Dang it - now I want one.

Since my AT6012 & AT2004 are hidden anyway, if I could go back in time, I would have gotten four XLS1000 (instead of AT6012) and two XLS1500 (instead of AT2004).

Silent, high power, light weight, less cost, bad a$$.

 

[Adam]

So, a question then - is $300 really that good of a sale (or is it even a sale) for the XLS1000s? They tempt me. I've been looking at Class D amps, and just the thought of packing away those Emo amps gets me excited.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So, a question then - is $300 really that good of a sale (or is it even a sale) for the XLS1000s? They tempt me. I've been looking at Class D amps, and just the thought of packing away those Emo amps gets me excited.

It's $300 everywhere for the XLS1000 & $350 for the XLS1500.

Some places like Guitar Center will also often times have an additional Holiday discount.

$300 for a XLS1000, which is 215wpc 8ohm/ 359wpc 4ohm, is pretty dang low.

Man, bridge the XLS1000 and you get 700wpc x 1 @8ohm & 1100wpc x 1 @4ohm. That's crazy for $300 each, no fan noise and 8lbs.

But I think $350 delivered for the XLS1500 is incredible. It's a 300wpc 8ohm / 525wpc 4ohm, and no fan noise. And it weighs 8lbs.

The Emotiva XPA-2 is 300wpc x 2ch for $800, and weighs like what 75lbs?

 

[ahblaza]

So, a question then - is $300 really that good of a sale (or is it even a sale) for the XLS1000s? They tempt me. I've been looking at Class D amps, and just the thought of packing away those Emo amps gets me excited.

Adam, $300 is the regular price on sale always at zsounds and guitar center, they can be had for $250 when they run promotional 15% off sales on everything which happens often if you suscribe to private email alerts, right now Guitar Center is running an in store promotion for three days of 15% off of everything when you use their credit card and free financing for one year. Zsounds will beat any advertized price if you can submit proof of a lower price. There is an authorized dealer on Ebay selling the 1000 for $269 or best offer new in box with factory warranty, I offered $199 and he declined, I'm sure you can get it for $250 or less. Hope this helps.
Jeff

 

[strube]

I might just get 1 1500 now, though I am tempted to get 3 and make the 4310 preamp/zone 2 amp only...how do you control power?

I think I have switched outlets on my Powermax thing that I can control with a 12v trigger.


I think the best sale must be on the XLS 2500. It is $73 off right now.

I camelcamelcameled the Amazon price history for it and it is lowest ever. Same with the 1500 ($50 off). The 1000 has always been $300.

Crown XLS1000 Power Amplifier with integrated PureBand Crossover System and PeakX Limiters | Amazon price tracker / tracking, Amazon price history charts, Amazon price watches, Amazon price drop alerts | camelcamelcamel.com

Crown XLS1500 Power Amplifier with integrated PureBand Crossover System and PeakX Limiters | Amazon price tracker / tracking, Amazon price history charts, Amazon price watches, Amazon price drop alerts | camelcamelcamel.com

Crown XLS2500 Power Amplifier with integrated PureBand Crossover System and PeakX Limiters | Amazon price tracker / tracking, Amazon price history charts, Amazon price watches, Amazon price drop alerts | camelcamelcamel.com

Add the prime shipping on top of all of that and I don't think you can lose.


I already bought the Gold Box deal today...what's a few (several) more hundred dollars?

 

[Irvrobinson]

Specs look great.

For a subwoofer amp, perhaps, though I'm still not following why these are superior to the FA plate amp solution.

As for the specs, for anything other than high power for sub use, the specs aren't very impressive. SNR is rated 20-30db worse than your ATI amps, crosstalk similarly worse, input impedance is low, output impedance is just okay. I don't know what the real performance is like (though my experience with Crown tells me these specs are probably 99th percentile minimums for their production runs - any given amp is probably a lot better), and I doubt these degradations vis-a-vis your ATI amps would be easily audible.

The price-performance ratio compared to ATI is remarkable though.

 

[strube]

I went ahead and ordered 1 XLS 1500 for my fronts. When I build my new speakers I will probably get another but I don't know when that will be so I will be good with the one for now.

I tried really hard , but I just can't justify another $350 now to power the VP150 which surely won't benefit from it anyway, to save $50 on something I may buy down the road but who knows when, and I certainly don't need a dedicated amp for my rear surrounds. Besides that I may just want 1000s for the other speakers, especially the bridged one for the center.

I also ordered this to try the 12v trigger thing to control the amp power for the switched outlets on my power center:

Amazon.com: Professional Quality Nickel Plated 3.5mm Mono Male To Male Cable 2 ft - Black: Electronics


Your move, Adam.

 

[Adam]

Your move, Adam.

After contemplating going all in, I decided to fold.

If I liked the looks better, and if others hadn't chimed in that these go on sale fairly often, then I might have jumped in today.

Come on, man. I have $200 worth of ham arriving today. So...so...I do spend some money.

 

[strube]

After contemplating going all in, I decided to fold.

If I liked the looks better, and if others hadn't chimed in that these go on sale fairly often, then I might have jumped in today.

Come on, man. I have $200 worth of ham arriving today. So...so...I do spend some money.

Well, I can't fault you for buying animal flesh to consume...even though I think it is weird to mail order it.

I've never known you to upgrade on a whim (or without months of internal toiling for that matter) anyway. I knew it was just a ruse all along.

 

[Adam]

I've never known you to upgrade on a whim (or without months of internal toiling for that matter) anyway. I knew it was just a ruse all along.

Ahhh, but I've had years of festering hatred for these Emo amps, so I really was tempted. They were in my cart, and I went to check out to see the 15% discount. When it didn't showed up, I balked.

 

[strube]

Ahhh, but I've had years of festering hatred for these Emo amps, so I really was tempted. They were in my cart, and I went to check out to see the 15% discount. When it didn't showed up, I balked.

Ah yes. Fair enough...I guess...quitter.

 

[ahblaza]

Ahhh, but I've had years of festering hatred for these Emo amps, so I really was tempted. They were in my cart, and I went to check out to see the 15% discount. When it didn't showed up, I balked.

Adam, do you have a Guitar Center near you, if you do that's the only way at the moment to get the 15% off in store, check with them online periodically and you will find promotions, they do it often. I'm sorry about your Emo amps, you must have been an early adopter?
Jeff

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

SNR is rated 20-30db worse than your ATI amps, crosstalk similarly worse...

SNR on the 1500/2000/2500 is -103dB. That's excellent. Most AVRs have SNR around there.

Here is a Rotel amp with SNR of -102dB:
http://www.hometheater.com/content/rotel-rsp-1570-surround-processor-and-rmb-1575-amplifier-ht-labs-measures-rotel-rmb-1575-amp

Here is a Bob Carver Sunfire amp with SNR of -100dB and XTalk of -75dB:
http://www.hometheater.com/content/sunfire-tgp-5-prepro-and-tga-5400-amplifier-glance-ratings


The XLS1500/2000/2500 Crosstalk is -85dB. That's very good. Most AVRs and pre-pro wish they had XTalk of -85dB.

And if you bridge them to make a monoblocks, XTalk is nonexistent.

Point is, they are inaudible, as you mentioned.

It's like a THD of 0.000000001% is great, but so what if 1% THD is inaudible?

Peter Aczel would say that they may not have SNR of -110dB or XTalk of -90dB, but they will sound every bit as good.

They won't look as good and they won't have 12v triggers. But the Audio Critic would say they will sound as good.

 

[jcl]

There was a test done by someone on avs showing a crown XTI model's power output into 4 ohms dropped significantly between 50 - 20 hz. Does anyone know if an XLS suffers from the same issues?

 

[Adam]

I'm sorry about your Emo amps, you must have been an early adopter?

Hi, Jeff. I suppose festering "hatred" was a bit strong , but my experiences with the amps and the company left me with some bad feelings. I was extremely mad back in 2007 when I bought mine due to quality problems and how I was treated by the company (and even left this forum for about six months because of it). I don't know how early that was for adopting them, though. I know that others had similar problems back then, but a lot of people seem to like them. I personally can't get past those multiple bad experiences and won't ever think to buy from them or recommend them, but I am honestly happy for all of those who are happy with their gear.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hi, Jeff. I suppose festering "hatred" was a bit strong , but my experiences with the amps and the company left me with some bad feelings. I was extremely mad back in 2007 when I bought mine due to quality problems and how I was treated by the company (and even left this forum for about six months because of it). I don't know how early that was for adopting them, though. I know that others had similar problems back then, but a lot of people seem to like them. I personally can't get past those multiple bad experiences and won't ever think to buy from them or recommend them, but I am honestly happy for all of those who are happy with their gear.

You and ParadigmDawg are among the few that hate Emotiva amps.

These Crown XLS DriveCore amps are for you.

And if you don't like them, you can always return with free shipping to Amazon or local Guitar Center if bought there.

BTW, have you guys seen the Lexicon DD-8 amp? It's the same as the Crown CT8150 DriveCore amp.

Just for fun.

They're only $2500 each.

DD-8 Details | Lexicon

Crown CT8150 ComTech DriveCore 8-Channel Power Amp, 125W @ 8 Ohms per Channel | Full Compass