Crown amplifiers vs. other amps in the audiophile world

[lovinthehd]

I seemed to remember the 1502 used to go for around $300 only a few years ago, if it happens again, I might just grab one even if I don't need one.

That was quite a while ago. Haven't seen that sort of price in several years. I did buy two 1500s for about $300, and two at I think $335...but quite a while ago. The Crowns haven't been even going on sale much....guess they don't need to. Even used ones are getting fairly premium pricing, but you might find a used 1502 for $300.

 

[blanddawg62]

Huh? The cheapest Crown MacroTech amp is about $4600.

I had a chance to buy a MacroTech 1200 for 250.00 with free shipping.

 

[blanddawg62]

If Crown made a class A only amp it wasn't marketed under either Crown or Amcron as far as I'm aware. But 100% interested if they did and would like a model number.

Crown's first foray into Consumer Audiphiledom would be their PS-Series. They still produce D series for studio use though expensive and doubt they sell very many units.

Agree. The PS200 and PS400 are very good sounding amps with multi mode circuitry that allows them to run in pure class A at low volume, A+B in the middle, and A/B at high volume. No way anyone could tell the difference between them and 'audiophile' amps.

 

[blanddawg62]

The only thing I could find is a review of the Macro Reference which was a pro audio amplifier. I can't remember the name of the one they designed for audiophiles but it looked like an audiophile amplifier and certainly performed like one. It might have been the macro reference in a different cabinet but I seem to remember it was a class A offering. It was on the market for a just a few months. After Stereophile panned it, Crown withdrew it. I actually heard a system that was driven by one. The system belonged to a Crown Engineer. Sorry I can't remember more. But it was that review that got Crown to abandon the consumer market. Sorry I couldn't motivate any crow eating.

It was call The Studio Reference, and there was a I and II. They were class A/B but were input and output balanced, which is rare and they were built with the highest quality components. That made them very expensive and very low distortion, with great tonal qualities. Every now and then, one turns up on Ebay and the seller wants $$$$.

 

[lovinthehd]

Agree. The PS200 and PS400 are very good sounding amps with multi mode circuitry that allows them to run in pure class A at low volume, A+B in the middle, and A/B at high volume. No way anyone could tell the difference between them and 'audiophile' amps.

How is that particularly different from usual AB amps? There are actual manual settings to keep in a particular mode? Or at what points you "want" them to engage? There aren't generally audible difference between consumer ("audiophile") amps and pro amps....

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The Studio Reference…
…they were built with the highest quality components. That made them very expensive and very low distortion, with great tonal qualities…

How do you know? Did anyone measure those amps to verify that the THD+N was 0.001% at 5W?

Or was THD+N actually 0.01%, which is still good?

And what are “great tonal qualities”? How did they sound differently than the other pro amps like the Crown XLS or QSC or Yamaha pro amps?

 

[fmw]

It was call The Studio Reference, and there was a I and II. They were class A/B but were input and output balanced, which is rare and they were built with the highest quality components. That made them very expensive and very low distortion, with great tonal qualities. Every now and then, one turns up on Ebay and the seller wants $$$$.

No argument from me. But I didn't write the words to which you responded. Somebody else did that and the site put my name on them.

 

[Verdinut]

It was call The Studio Reference, and there was a I and II. They were class A/B but were input and output balanced, which is rare and they were built with the highest quality components. That made them very expensive and very low distortion, with great tonal qualities. Every now and then, one turns up on Ebay and the seller wants $$$$.

Power amps don't have balanced outputs. Balanced lines are only used for low voltage audio sources.

 

[lovinthehd]

The Crown Reference I/II data sheet file:///C:/Users/Me/Downloads/Studio-Reference-Data-Sheet-136734.pdf