Delta Omega's 400+ Pounds of Unicorns

[1audiohack]

The darndest things just show up here.

I have long been curious about these with their variable velocity control. They came with an original manual that shows three ways to adjust this feature.

They all come out of standby with stable output, so they go to the bench next. Hopefully they all run.

I will scan the manual and post it here by weeks end.

Is anyone familiar with these?

All the best.
Barry

[grey]

Found this brochure from the Crown site:

https://www.crownaudio.com/en-US/site_elements/crown-delta-omega-2000-brochure

[Mr. Widget]

Very interesting item and even more interesting reading the brochure.

Having read the brochure, color me skeptical. Decades have past since Crown came out with these amps. If they truly were a game changer... the game would have changed.

Barry, please report back after playing with these impressive beasts. I'm very curious as to what you find.


Widget

[Riley Casey]

Been a while but as I remember it these were really targeted toward industrial control applications, think big, precision motors. Very little uptake from the real power users in the portable concert sound market.

[Robh3606]

Very cool! Wow big ones!

Rob

Manual won't load to site too big a file.

https://aetechron.com/wp-content/upl...ual-DO2000.pdf

[1audiohack]

Hello Guys.

Thanks grey, I had not seem that brochure.

Thank you Rob. That is the manual I have.

Hi Riley. I think the original Crown M600 was primarily meant for audio reproduction as were these Delta Omega models. The Techron branded units on the same chassis were marketed for industrial uses for sure. That said, few people here could argue against your vast pro sound career based knowledge, certainly not I.

Mr Widget, I am also somewhat skeptical and yet the Crown brand is not often associated with hyperbole so I am quite interested in what these things are all about. I plan to first adjust them by ear and then see where they land with using the precision signal generator and O scope method.

This weekend will be wrapped up in another project and then back to these things.

Thanks all.
Barry.

[DerekTheGreat]

I have seen these beasts or beasts like them for sale. Actually, I think they were M-600's, the amps I happened upon. Don't think the literature I read mentioned anything about speakers, only medical equipment. So in this case, color me intrigued all over again! Anxious to know what you find and how they sound, Barry!

Speaking of literature, I had a quick look at the .pdf:
"Delta Omega Circuit." Makes me think UREI 813A-C with that BNC connector integrated into the input terminals. I forget what UREI called it. Although if they do similar things, the UREI system wasn't adjustable: "..your monitors can be adjusted ('mistuned') to duplicate any speaker configuration. You can clean-up the sound or muddy it up to the harshest, grittiest noise that ever gladdened the heart of a heavy-metal advocate.." Variable output impedance. Hmm, that's probably what inspired the name "Delta Omega."

[grey]

Makes me think UREI 813A-C with that BNC connector integrated into the input terminals. I forget what UREI called it. Although if they do similar things, the UREI system wasn't adjustable

The companion UREI 6500 has the BNC connector on it. This is the only explanation that I know of behind that idea:

[DerekTheGreat]

The companion UREI 6500 has the BNC connector on it...

Thank you for posting that. I've wanted to get my hands on a UREI 6500 for a while, but happened upon my current Crown amps that I really enjoy. So that fire for that hunt has all but died. This is fanning those embers though.

Although as Widget said, if that was really a game changer, wouldn't the game have changed?

[1audiohack]

Good morning all.

Aren't we really just considering a feedback loop to run a constant voltage supply in a constant current mode?

All these Crown M600 / TECHRON 7560-7570 chassis amps are capable of running in either mode. Constant current requires a sensing wire to be connected to the load so the amp can tell how much power is going through the load verses what is dissipated and or impeded by anything else in the circuit.

It is my thinking that the Delta Omega just given us some adjustment of the internal feedback for the amp to take a WAG at what is the load vs reactance and resistance. We’re fixin’ ta find out.

Barry.

[Don C]

I often see DC power supplies run a similar way, with a voltage sense line running back to the power supply from the load. There is always a voltage drop in the wiring, and that increases with current and distance, so it only makes sense to regulate the power supply output by sensing it at the point of use. Especially if the load is a long way from the power supply. I don't think that this would make any difference in a home system, but in a theater or concert hall, it might make a big difference.

[Robh3606]

That makes sense, how long is your speaker run to your amps? 12 ft. As opposed to how many in a stadium install?

Rob

[Wayner]

Check out the video "Delta and Omega Crown Museum with Gerald Stanley." It's a short clip in which Gerald describes the amplifier and one unique application. I have one of these amplifiers. These amps are impossibly heavy and I haven't done any investigation/ experimentation into it. I'm really looking forward to reading what Barry learns.

[glenn]

I remember seein the giant Crowns in the frame room at the Indy 500 when I was an engineer at WIBC 1070. When I was there they werent in use. All the speakers/amps around the track were qsc fed by cat 5 cables.

[1audiohack]

Hi All.

I have ran them all. There is one amp with a front input card that the Delta function does not work. I need to work that out.

The first experiment was pretty benign. I used a 2216 on 12’ of 12g Monster Cable. Using the 20kHz square wave and Oscilloscope method. You have to short a cap on the input card and adjust the output to 10V. Then adjust the Delta function to best square wave.

The amp output wave form, when adjusted as close as I can get it when super imposed over the signal generated 20kHz trace is indiscernible from the waveform with Delta engaged or not.

With a large gage reasonable length cable and a super linear woofer and no passive components in circuit, I expected this.

I have some scope shots but can’t get them to stick here yet.

Hopefully this weekend I can carve out time to challenge these amps a bit more. I have some Danley tapped horn subs. Those should be fairly reactive.

Three of these head to Michigan Friday, I am keeping two so I can continue to beat on them.

All the best.
Barry.