Hi,
I tried Crown DC300A Series II, a vintage power amp that I bought on ebay, with lots of expectation. Preamp was Mcintosh C29, and Adcom GTP 500, and I tried both on my 4311 and 4343. The outcome was quite disappointing in terms of the quality and loudness of the reproduced sound, compared with Marantz (135 watts per channel) and Adcom 555 power amp (200 watts per channel).
With the preamp C29 volume at the same level (around 11 o'clock), I turned on the Crown, with its two channels set between 12 0'clock and 1pm. At the same time, I turned on the Marantz, with the same C29. The sound from the Marantz amp was at least five times as loud and clear as the Crown. I tried Adcom 500 preamp instead of C29, and the outcome was the same. So, this is my question: Is this Crown Professional Series II, an upgraded version of Crown DC300A, inherently weak in loudness? It's at least 155 watts per channel, as I understand. Is it because of a mismatch of Crown amp and C29, Adcom preamp, instead of Crown preamp? Or is there any problem with this vintage Crown amp? If so, what should I look into for possible improvement? Thanks a lot for your guidance in advance.