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Thread: Crown K1 or K2?

  1. #16
    RIP 2010 scott fitlin's Avatar
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    BUT when did u buy that amp?

    The ones that have been showing up lately, Ugh.

    IMHO, two years ago, even a year ago,

    Now, sometimes you get lucky, and IMHO, you have a far greater chance of getting lucky, buying an amp the seller says WORKS, as OPPOSED the the ones that ARE BLOWN!

    Over the last six or seven months, Ive been seeing alot of BLOWN PSA-2,s up on the bay.

    I'm sorry, but, I just can't really, wholeheartedly recommend these blown amps.

    Especially the ones that looked REALLY hacked, cosmetically.

    You buy an amp like this that winds up needed an entire channels worth of output devices, maybe a few ither things, the repairs ARE expenisive.

    OTOH, I knew a guy that wanted to sell HIS PSA-2,s and OFFERED them to me 1st. These WORKED, becauae I had, and have been to hear his system.

    IF I wanted PSA-2,s THESE I would buy.

    But, I am not recommending some of the blown out, beat up stuff i see on the bay these days!

    If you feel differently, thats fine, bu if you go back and re-read my post I speciaifically say the BEAT up, BLOWN out aps.

    I've gotten lucky on ebay, and Ive gotten burnt too!

    No matter what anyone says, the bay, is a crap shoot.

    That is my opinion!

    HOWEVER, Im glad that HX is still kickin it hard for ya. They were great sounding AMPS! And you have a good one.
    scottyj

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by scott fitlin View Post
    BUT when did u buy that amp?

    The ones that have been showing up lately, Ugh.

    IMHO, two years ago, even a year ago,

    Now, sometimes you get lucky, and IMHO, you have a far greater chance of getting lucky, buying an amp the seller says WORKS, as OPPOSED the the ones that ARE BLOWN!

    Over the last six or seven months, Ive been seeing alot of BLOWN PSA-2,s up on the bay.

    I'm sorry, but, I just can't really, wholeheartedly recommend these blown amps.

    Especially the ones that looked REALLY hacked, cosmetically.

    You buy an amp like this that winds up needed an entire channels worth of output devices, maybe a few ither things, the repairs ARE expenisive.

    OTOH, I knew a guy that wanted to sell HIS PSA-2,s and OFFERED them to me 1st. These WORKED, becauae I had, and have been to hear his system.

    IF I wanted PSA-2,s THESE I would buy.

    But, I am not recommending some of the blown out, beat up stuff i see on the bay these days!

    If you feel differently, thats fine, bu if you go back and re-read my post I speciaifically say the BEAT up, BLOWN out aps.

    I've gotten lucky on ebay, and Ive gotten burnt too!

    No matter what anyone says, the bay, is a crap shoot.

    That is my opinion!

    HOWEVER, Im glad that HX is still kickin it hard for ya. They were great sounding AMPS! And you have a good one.
    Yes, they are nice.

    I got mine ~2 yrs ago from Craig's List and yes, I listened to it first (traveled ~150 miles RT).

    It's nice and quiet (S/N) and I can't hear the fan in the cabinet. I hate "hissy" electronics so passed on all of the Crown "PA" amps. (S/N listed at >100 just doesn't cut it in a quiet home environment).

    Of couse I would have preferred the Crown Reference Series amp, but last one of those I saw was $1,250 on C/L.

  3. #18
    RIP 2010 scott fitlin's Avatar
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    Hey Todd, lets wear a different hat now.

    If you were selling a system, an enttire complete custom rig, a club system. Your client remembers sound from back in the day! He has no amps of his own, he just says I wish we could get and use such and such amp from the days when I was going out!

    Lets say this system, is a $300,000 nightclub system, can you really sell used gear, of a vintage like this, going into a modern HIGH SPL, demanding HARD USE, HIGH RELIABILITY situation?

    See, I couldnt do this!
    scottyj

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by toddalin View Post
    Yes, they are nice.

    I got mine ~2 yrs ago from Craig's List and yes, I listened to it first (traveled ~150 miles RT).

    It's nice and quiet (S/N) and I can't hear the fan in the cabinet. I hate "hissy" electronics so passed on all of the Crown "PA" amps. (S/N listed at >100 just doesn't cut it in a quiet home environment).

    Of couse I would have preferred the Crown Reference Series amp, but last one of those I saw was $1,250 on C/L.
    Ahh, 2 years ago!

    And I did say THE ONES I SEE LATELY, the last six or 7 months.........

    I have PSA-2,s, all I need IF I want to use them.I think I have ten!

    But ya know what?

    And I swear this is the truth, something about todays music, and Im just getting better reults using newer gear.

    I had a long talk with a serious Crown Auth technician about these amps. And he says, its 225 watts per channel @ 8 ohms, BUT its a KICK ASS sounding 225 watts.

    And he told me I would reach the day, where no matter how good that 225 watts sounded, I was going to need more than 225 watts.

    I reached that day.

    But there arew amps upon the bay, I'd never recommend.

    And then, there are the ones I would.
    scottyj

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by scott fitlin View Post
    Ahh, 2 years ago!

    And I did say THE ONES I SEE LATELY, the last six or 7 months.........

    I have PSA-2,s, all I need IF I want to use them.I think I have ten!

    But ya know what?

    And I swear this is the truth, something about todays music, and Im just getting better reults using newer gear.

    I had a long talk with a serious Crown Auth technician about these amps. And he says, its 225 watts per channel @ 8 ohms, BUT its a KICK ASS sounding 225 watts.

    And he told me I would reach the day, where no matter how good that 225 watts sounded, I was going to need more than 225 watts.

    I reached that day.

    But there arew amps upon the bay, I'd never recommend.

    And then, there are the ones I would.
    Crown is a little more optimistic. The Extended Headroom series for Showco should/would have more reserves (due to beefed-up power supply). I like the 115 dB S/N ratio at rated power, though its not that big of an issue for subwoofer duties.

    I typically run it at 12 ohms, so it's making about 700 watts bridged in mono. This is the rated RMS power for the W15GTI (5,000 watts peak) so I think its a "good fit."

    http://www.crownaudio.com/pdf/legacy/k1071-8.pdf

  6. #21
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    I should have stated more clesrly, 225wpc@8ohms.

    And yes, with the power supply mods, the amp does put out a bit more, and I was originally using them for sub duty too.

    But, for me, as sub amps, that 700 watts still ISNT ENOUGH!

    And If I were selling a Premium install, THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD SPEC USED GEAR OFF EBAY, abosultely NO WAY! Price out a Funktion 1 dance club system, they get pricey.

    Then, there is JUST my personal opinion, that IN MY system, on MY speakers, I have heard amps, that I just think are outperfroming these amps, and I do have ten of them!

    Even in single channel, mono block operation.

    And, IF I see an amp on ebay, the seller says IS BLOWN, and cosmetically looks like hell, I WON'T RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE!

    And, theres just the fact that I actually like what Im hearing out of these newer Crowns, I LIKE THEM, what else can say?



    But then, thats just me.
    scottyj

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by scott fitlin View Post
    I should have stated more clesrly, 225wpc@8ohms.
    Crown puts the regular PSA-2 at 275 wpc@8 ohms. You trying to short me by 0.9 dB of headroom?

    Agreed, I would never spec used equipment for a new installation. Too much at stake and no recourse.

  8. #23
    Senior Member SMKSoundPro's Avatar
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    I have said it before and I will say it again:

    I cut my eye-teeth on Crown DC-300s, D-150's and D-75's. Those were the amps of the first pro sound company I worked while in high school. I have in my arsenal quite a few of Crown's different amps and can only add that I like them. They are purpose built tools for a rough and tumble rock and roll concert sound reinforcement rig.

    Now that I have the choice to choose: I choose to use Crowns for all of my sound systems and still am looking for a Macro 3600 for subs.

    I even have a D-60 amp to use for the little things in life. I just have this feeling that my macro tech's are the way to go for what I do. Our town has turned into a QSC town. All of the production companies are running QSC's now. Fine. If it works for them, great!

    BUT, I was told by my sponsor to "go with what you know," and I have. I have a pair of CE2000's I bought brand new, used at the nightclub for a few months, fan circuit failed in one of them, sent back to Crown, repaired, returned and still sitting in their respective packing boxes. Never played, never looked at again. Would I pull them out and try them? Probably not. I really should sell them, but who would want them? They were nothing to write home about, then. What, you think they got better sitting in the box?

    I guess my point is...

    That I have always loved the sound of a vintage Crown amp and agree they have a definite charactoristic that is their signature sound. I like it and have not looked at the other amps to see what they are doing.

    Also, I got a Cerwin Vega A-1800i amp the other day as a freebie. Very old school mid 70's with meters on the front. 4 rack spaces high with 5 fuse holders across the front for the rails. After a few minutes cleaning it up and fixing some crappy soldering repairs, it fired right up, and I gotta tell you, wasn't too bad sounding. It just goes into the pile of oddbal goofy stuff in my shop, though. More of an oddity than a working piece of gear.

    I have rambled. Sorry.
    I'll do a fourth step about later.

    Hope you are all well!

    Scotty K.
    One step above: "Two Tin Cans and a String!"
    Longtime Alaskan Low-Fi Guy - E=MC² ±3db

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by SMKSoundPro View Post
    I
    Also, I got a Cerwin Vega A-1800i amp the other day as a freebie. Very old school mid 70's with meters on the front. 4 rack spaces high with 5 fuse holders across the front for the rails. After a few minutes cleaning it up and fixing some crappy soldering repairs, it fired right up, and I gotta tell you, wasn't too bad sounding. It just goes into the pile of oddbal goofy stuff in my shop, though. More of an oddity than a working piece of gear.

    I have rambled. Sorry.
    I'll do a fourth step about later.

    Hope you are all well!

    Scotty K.
    I traded my Honda 450 to a company rep for one of these when I was doing PAs (~'73-'74). One of the meters would stick and one channel had excessive distortion (on the analyzer), not that you could so much hear it for sub duties.

  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by toddalin View Post
    Crown puts the regular PSA-2 at 275 wpc@8 ohms. You trying to short me by 0.9 dB of headroom?

    Agreed, I would never spec used equipment for a new installation. Too much at stake and no recourse.
    OK, THIS I CAN ACCEPT.

    scottyj

  11. #26
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    Scotty, we all cut our teeth on D-75,s D-150a,s, DC-300A,s.

    Our original crown line up was 2 D-150A,s, 4 DC-300A,s, and 1 M-600.

    PM if you want to talk about a 3600VZ, I have three.

    Im leaving for Austin, If you dont get me within a half hour, Ill be back on line later tonight from Austin.

    scottyj

  12. #27
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by scott fitlin View Post
    Scotty, we all cut our teeth on D-75,s D-150a,s, DC-300A,s.

    Our original crown line up was 2 D-150A,s, 4 DC-300A,s, and 1 M-600
    Though not "in the business", I cut my teeth on a D150 (non-A-no-faceplate), which I still have in daily use ever since 1974. If I keep it long enough we'll eventually become essentially the same age! When it was brand-new, I was just 21. I'm not real sure it isn't in better shape than I am.

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    Though not "in the business", I cut my teeth on a D150 (non-A-no-faceplate), which I still have in daily use ever since 1974. If I keep it long enough we'll eventually become essentially the same age! When it was brand-new, I was just 21. I'm not real sure it isn't in better shape than I am.
    When we got our FIRST Crowns, I was 14. 1976.

    What I distinctly remember about thinking, was this DC-300A, this was that same amp reveiwed in either High Fidelity or Stereo reveiw a year earlier, and I looked at it quizically, as Crown was not a brand I had ever heard of. In 1974 and 75, the two names everyone used to say was LUXMAN, and McIntosh!

    McIntosh is what they opened with at Eldorado, so this one I knew, and MACS were pretty, what was this industrial looking thing called Crown?

    Boy, I found out, did I ever!
    scottyj

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    Scotty, do you have any experience with the Macro Tech series? I might have an opportunity to get a couple of 2400's.

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chas View Post
    Scotty, do you have any experience with the Macro Tech series? I might have an opportunity to get a couple of 2400's.
    I have alot of experience with macro techs. I have Three 2400,s and Three 3600,s.

    I had the 5000,s at one time too.

    They are good amps, they kick, they are powerful.

    The problem with them, is THEY need lots of electric. Now, for me, that isnt so problematic, for you it might be.

    Example, the 2400 NEEDS its own 20amp breaker, all your other gear can be on others, or another shared 20amp, but the 2400 REALLY needs its own 20 amp circuit. EACH 2400 NEEDS its own 20 amp outlet on its OWN 20 amp breaker.

    What do you want to use it for? And Ill advise further.
    scottyj

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