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Thread: jbl 6332 and Crown xti 2000

  1. #1
    Junior Member
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    jbl 6332 and Crown xti 2000

    Hello all. Thought you might be interested in my experience mating a Crown xti 2000 with JBL 6332s.

    First impression was the same as many have observed -- fantastic bass, less than impressive mids and highs, and a squashed sound field. In short, it was a disappointment. But things changed.

    The first impression was with the amp plugged into a wall socket. After half an hour, when it was clear the new amp was not going to explode, I moved its plug to the power conditioner to join the rest of the system.

    What a difference. Mids and highs got clear and the sound stage expanded. The amp continued to improve for 5-10 hours and it seems to be settled in now. Don't know if pro amps need burn-in, but it seems like this one did better after some use. Bottom line, the power conditioner made the Crown sing. The change was immediate after shifting the plug.

    Seems like a miracle that an inexpensive SR amp works so well. Maybe these 61 year old ears are unreliable, but I can still tell when stuff I can't afford is better than what I actually can afford. The Crown works like audiophile amps that I could not afford, not even used. The Crown left my $2200 audiophile amp in the dust. No doubt about it.

    Maybe the key is the power conditioner. It filters out lots of power line noise. We also plug the tv into the power conditioner. Colors are much brighter and you can turn the sharpness all the way up without getting grainy pictures. The tv shows something is going on with power line noise and the power conditioner fixes it.

    It is believable that Crown would not put much power line noise filtering on an inexpensive amp and this would explain poor mids and highs when junk gets into the audio. In SR, the extra noise may not matter. Or maybe they assume studios always condition power. My pro audio supplier catalog has a section on power conditioners, FWIW.

    The JBL 6332s and Crown xti 2000 (plus power conditioner) are a dream system. Every recording I play shows lots of new details. I mean LOTS of details.

  2. #2
    JBL 4645
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    I like the look of XTI very smart and posh looking kinder of science fiction look to it.

  3. #3
    Junior Member
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    This Crown model has better specs -- plus or minus 0.25 db frequency response and signal/noise ratio of >106 db -- than other PA or SR amps in the product line. Crown has amps with similarly good specs that sell for a lot more money and these may be what they intend for studio use, so it was a gamble to try the XTi model in a home setup. If it did not work out, I was prepared to use it as a (really expensive) subwoofer amp.

    I am very happy with how it works as the main amp in my system. It is a great bargain even when bought new and it performs well above its price in comparison to audiophile amps. You can get better sound for a lot more money, but I could never afford that high end price, even if it was bought used on the internet.
    Last edited by tom_h; 11-17-2008 at 05:50 AM. Reason: missed typing a word

  4. #4
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    What power conditioner do you use?

  5. #5
    Junior Member
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    The power conditioner is a Balanced Power Technology Signature 3.5. This has more bells and whistles than may be necessary but I got it at a great price on the internet.

    The deal with this product is that it uses a center tapped transformer to convert house power to plus and minus 60 volts, which sums to 120 volts at the plug and at the same time it cancels line noise in a manner similar to a balanced audio line. The concept was simple enough for me to understand. I am not sure I follow what other power conditioners do.

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