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  1. #1
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    Crown Amps

    I am making a return, back to Solid State. Please give me some ideas as to what model Crowns are good for home use (2-channel) that are currently available new. Or, are there other good quality amps out there (honest stuff, no boutique).
    I love my vintage stuff (electronics) but want something new (and with some balls) to run these new L112s and my other JBLs.
    Thanks,
    Thomas

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    I can't help with recommending any new Crown equipment as I don't have experience with them. I certainly can recommend DC 300s, used one to power my Summits, when I still had them, I thought it worked very well.

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    Senior Member grumpy's Avatar
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    fan(s) acceptable? must be new? budget?

    Crown MA-2402 would fit the bill. So would many lesser ($) units.

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    Quote Originally Posted by grumpy View Post
    fan(s) acceptable? must be new? budget?

    Crown MA-2402 would fit the bill. So would many lesser ($) units.
    Fans are fine (and my friends) when indicated!

    I was thinking "pro" stuff as the value for the dollar generally tends to be more real.

    I know little of Crown stuff other than they are an iconic older company. I will look at your suggestion, thank you.

    Do they make anything worth considering for a Grand or less? I, for the time being, I will be using primarily "off the rack" systems like the L112 for example. I want, and need ample power to get nice results, but my listening room will probably never be bigger than a traditional domestic dining or living room. Think the size of a public school classroom at best.
    Thank you again,
    Thomas

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    Senior Member jonfu@ymail.com's Avatar
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    I've been using my Crown XTi 1000 as a subwoofer amp, and its sounds great. Barely gets hot to the touch, and I haven't heard the fans kick on. The built in DSP is a great feature as well, if you're looking for that type of feature.

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    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    You can generally find a good-condition PS-400 for $200 and up. I've paid as little as $100 on Epay and it's a fine amp. $200 is still a good deal and more isn't unusual for a nice one. I've seen some bring $600 and even more in its consumer version, the PowerLine series. for whatever reason. It's the modern re-make of the DC300A-II with some additional features like turn-on delay and signal LEDs. One tough amp and I like the sound in my system. If you have any problem with an older Crown, they are still worked on through a legacy arm of Crown listed on their website.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wagner View Post
    I am making a return, back to Solid State. Please give me some ideas as to what model Crowns are good for home use (2-channel) that are currently available new. Or, are there other good quality amps out there (honest stuff, no boutique).
    I love my vintage stuff (electronics) but want something new (and with some balls) to run these new L112s and my other JBLs.
    Thanks,
    Thomas
    www.odysseyaudio.com
    I own 5 of the stratos series amps and they are killer.
    I woudn't call them boutique but they are not cheap.
    But one listen and a look under the hood and you'll understand.
    here's a link to the application they are being used in my system:
    http://www.superbadcat.com/images/stereo/511e_18.jpg
    first 30-35 watts are class A then it kicks into a/b
    I've owned a few crown amps...the hi end ones were good...
    but these amps have both balls and finesse.
    ...made in Indianapolis...not China

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    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wagner View Post
    I am making a return, back to Solid State. Please give me some ideas as to what model Crowns are good for home use (2-channel) that are currently available new.
    I don't think Crown is building anything these days that is really suitable for home use. Most of their new amps are simply PA or Commercial use powerhouses. The days of their studio amps and moderately powered "high fidelity" amps seem to be over.

    Quote Originally Posted by Wagner View Post
    Or, are there other good quality amps out there (honest stuff, no boutique).
    Define boutique.

    Personally I like Bryston. They back their amps with a 20 year warranty and offer excellent customer service. While their faceplates have gotten a bit frillier, they aren't spending gobs of money on CNC'd 2" thick billet aluminum like some of those boutique brands.

    If you are willing to go with a second hand amp, some of the older Crowns are quite good and very reasonable, though to guarantee top performance you will want it gone over by a tech.


    Widget

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    Personally I like Bryston. They back their amps with a 20 year warranty and offer excellent customer service. While their faceplates have gotten a bit frillier, they aren't spending gobs of money on CNC'd 2" thick billet aluminum like some of those boutique brands.
    Widget
    I can vouch for the new "squared" series too. Since hooking them into my system, I haven't felt any need to go back to tubes.

  10. #10
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    If you're going new with enough of a budget, you might want to consider Perreaux amp which have a good following here. I believe Opimax is happy with his and Ian's a fan, of course. Good luck finding a dealer in the USA as every link I tried showed that outlet no longer carrying that brand. They do offer several different product ranges, from what they call "entry level" to TOTL stuff.

    I believe everyone at the last Mid-Atlantic social fest was impressed by Mark's system.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    I don't think Crown is building anything these days that is really suitable for home use.
    Dude! I'm quite sure they never did.


    Yeah, yeah, I realize that some people out there equate Crown and Cabaret as the go-to rig for their man cave.

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    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4313B View Post
    Dude! I'm quite sure they never did.
    Granted it may never have been Crown's intent to produce amplifiers for home use, at least until the PowerLine series, but in the late '60s and early '70s the best hi-fi shops where I grew up offered Crown products alongside JBL, Marantz, McIntosh, and the rest. Hi-Fi Showroom in St. Louis offered the Crown D-series to me as a replacement for my Mac and Fisher tube amps when I wanted to go solid-state. At their suggestion I took home one each D75, D150, and DC300A to compare to my Fisher SA1000/Mac system. I ended up buying a D150 and still have it in daily use today.

    I'm not saying that my use of Crowns in the home validates their applicability in that type of use. But they were carried as a home-hi-fi amplifier by reputable hi-fi dealers back when you could trust such opinions and there weren't tons of choices for high-power amps. A review of nearly any audio magazine from that era (Audio, Stereo Review) appears to confirm that Crown hit the audiophile market on-target, and was for years the standard for just such applications where high power and low distortion were the goals. Sure electronics have come a long way in the last 40 years, but no one has ever complained about any of my Crown systems not sounding musical, regardless of volume level.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

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    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    Granted it may never have been Crown's intent to produce amplifiers for home use, at least until the PowerLine series, but in the late '60s and early '70s the best hi-fi shops where I grew up offered Crown products alongside JBL, Marantz, McIntosh, and the rest. Hi-Fi Showroom in St. Louis offered the Crown D-series to me as a replacement for my Mac and Fisher tube amps when I wanted to go solid-state. At their suggestion I took home one each D75, D150, and DC300A to compare to my Fisher SA1000/Mac system. I ended up buying a D150 and still have it in daily use today.

    I'm not saying that my use of Crowns in the home validates their applicability in that type of use. But they were carried as a home-hi-fi amplifier by reputable hi-fi dealers back when you could trust such opinions and there weren't tons of choices for high-power amps. A review of nearly any audio magazine from that era (Audio, Stereo Review) appears to confirm that Crown hit the audiophile market on-target, and was for years the standard for just such applications where high power and low distortion were the goals. Sure electronics have come a long way in the last 40 years, but no one has ever complained about any of my Crown systems not sounding musical, regardless of volume level.
    I'm thoroughly aware of where Crown has always stood in the scheme of things. It was my business to know. It was a great American company. We used to use Crown exclusively with the entire JBL Professional 43xx Studio Monitor line.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4313B View Post
    I'm thoroughly aware of where Crown has always stood in the scheme of things. It was my business to know. It was a great American company. We used to use Crown exclusively with the entire JBL Professional 43xx Studio Monitor line.
    Of course, and I never intended to challenge your credentials! I always appreciate your sense of humor and tongue-in-cheek delivery. It must have been the one-line delivery that caused me to interpret the original remark as deprecating the suitability of Crowns for "domesticated" use. Perhaps it was instead backhanded praise?

    I'll have to adjust my Internet clairvoyance filters . . . again.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

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    Senior Member stevem's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    I don't think Crown is building anything these days that is really suitable for home use. Most of their new amps are simply PA or Commercial use powerhouses. The days of their studio amps and moderately powered "high fidelity" amps seem to be over.

    Define boutique.

    Personally I like Bryston. They back their amps with a 20 year warranty and offer excellent customer service. While their faceplates have gotten a bit frillier, they aren't spending gobs of money on CNC'd 2" thick billet aluminum like some of those boutique brands.

    If you are willing to go with a second hand amp, some of the older Crowns are quite good and very reasonable, though to guarantee top performance you will want it gone over by a tech.


    Widget
    +1 on Bryston. I've been using their stuff for years. Well built without overkill.

    I had a Crown Reference One amp on demo once, and it sounded murky compared to the Brystons. I think maybe Crown overdid the protection circuitry, which may have affected sound quality.

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