Does anyone use Crown amplifiers for their home stereo 2 channel listening? A friend needs a powerful amp (200 Watt or more) but has very little funds. He stumbled onto a pair of old Thiels but has no way to power them. He has a preamplifier and a CD player so all he needs is the amp. He is thinking of repairing an old carver receiver but I think money poorly spent so instead I want to suggest that he just purchase a Crown amplifier until he can get some funds together for a better amplifier. I see high powered Crowns go for under $500 new, would this be a decent way to just get the system up and running?
I've looked at Crown amps for various applications. The two downsides I've found is that they have fans, which might be quiet enough for a listening room, but might not be. The other issue is that some models are meant for permanent commercial installation, so their inputs and outputs aren't standard. Some have screw terminal inputs instead of standard RCA, or multiple screw terminal outputs as they are meant to drive an array of speakers. Also, some of the newer amplifiers have a large array of settings that can only be accessed via a network connection using specialized software. However, if you can find one of the simpler models without all the bells and whistles, and permanent installation weirdness, their high-output amplifiers usually run with minimal distortion when driving easier loads. Their Macro-Tech series, in particular, is highly regarded, but generally fetch higher used prices.
Up to recently I used Crown XLS 1502 for my main amp in my system. Sounds really good but needs a long breakin time. Sound better than Carver recievers.
The Carver back in the day was a neat piece of equipment however the build was weird when it came to the RCA connections in the rear. These RCA plugs with attached to a circuit board and ears on the ends of the plugs were then bent and soldered to the circuit board. Needless to say they were not robust and after attaching and detaching RCA interconnects a number of times their connections began to break. Now half of them do not work and half of the others you need to be jiggle once the interconnect has been connected. This was taken to a shop once and it was determined not an easy fix so it stayed as is. The person only wants to use it as a power amplifier (it has a jumper) however it will not turn on so this is what needs to be examined and possibly fixed. More than likely it is just the power switch but if it is more than that my recommendation to him is to just find and inexpensive amplifier to replace it, something under $500 that you can use until you have more funds set up. The reason for investigating the Crown amplifier is some models can be had for $400 and you buy 350 watts of 4ohm power to drive his Thiel speakers that have just been sitting ideal for at least 5 years waiting on an amplifier. I believe he will be throwing money at a bad amplifier attempted fix if he pursues the Carver and a better approach is to add a tiny bit of money and buy an amplifier that will at least get the Thiels working. Any ideas on how to get him up and running will be much appreciated.
This just might be the ticket, thanks so much. I see it on Crutchfield and they have one slightly discounted in their outlet.
Yip, some Carver models had issues, which is why I said the Carver receiver would likely SOUND BETTER than a Crown amp. He may also want to consider an older Bryston amp, 3B's and 4B's can be had for around $500. They're very reliable and can always be repaired if needed.
Took a quick look High Fi Shark and Bryson used hover around a grand and then upward. Not to say there aren’t in the $500 or lower range but I’m getting the feeling not many and hard to find in good working condition.
I wouldn’t do it. Crown has long been out of the home audio segment as it’s being proposed in this situation. You do see them in homes where people have an entire house wired with many zones and hidden room with a rack full of amps to drive them. In other words, a professional installation. They are less expensive in part because people buy them in multiple quantities and they are designed for that application. buying just one to drive a pair of Theils is certainly possible but it’s a square peg into a round hole. I’d run that carver and save the crown money for an amp designed for home audio.
I don’t think you are getting the gist of the topic. The Carver does not work. It has a known issue of broken RCA terminals. Might be good to jumper out the pre portion but it doesn’t work and who knows why. The person has a very limited budget, $500 might be a stretch. For this reason knowing Thiels are 3ohm watt hungry we are exploring Crown. There are a few models below $500 that provide more than adequate power for the Thiels. The amp won’t be strained so I doubt the internal fan will ever go on. There are a number of two channel designs with both RCA input and five way bindings posts. It was an option as opposed to dumping money into the Carver to figure out and fix it.
I've been using only Crown amplifiers for 28 years both for professional live sound and home audio. Never a complaint. The extra dampening factor (<200) in Crown amps will make the lows sound tighter. At that price, go for it! The 5-year warranty doesn't hurt either.
I believe I’ve had sufficient recommendations for going Crown in this situation and want to thank all for their input. All input; alternatives, pros and cons are very much appreciated.
You might consider a tube pre/buffer along with the Crown. Something like the FX Audio Tube 01, nothing expensive, but something to give a bit of life to the amps in question. Just something to consider
Just look at the connection between the pre amp and the input on the crown amplifier. Most of those crown amps are not RCA inputs and most of the time the power rating 4 ohm not 8. you are saving money in the short term but what you are getting is an amp designed to be rack mounted, looks weird in a home stereo, designed for thirsty 4 ohm speakers, needs adaptors to connect to connect to home audio components and has a noisy fan. that being said, the speakers are the boss. Can you find a Theil owner that runs them successfully with a Crown amp?
The Studio Reference and Power Line 1 are great choices. And from when Crown was still owned by Clarence C. Moore. Both also sound excellent.
Not to be labor but from my understanding Thiel speakers are thirsty 4ohm speakers. The two Crown amps I was looking at handled both 4&8ohm with obviously more watts at 4 (350) which should be fine and the amp has both RCA and XLR inputs. Yes they are rack mountable and are more industry looking than a home HiFi amplifier but I don’t see that as a negative. I do appreciate your opinion and glad you are presenting the other side.
As a cheap alternative, perhaps look at the SMSL amps -- I use a desktop size one for office system and it's decent enough. I think they have 200w amps that meet your friend's price needs comfortably.
Crown XLS 1002 Drivecore bridged mode (mono blocks) being driven by a tube preamp. There is some hum (high gain Jolida phono preamp) but when the music is on it sounds great. The fan is super quiet and a lot of times isn't on. My Carver amp is on a shelf it has hum also. The Drivecores sound really tube-like to me...others dismiss them but I like the set up. Plus they are about $350.
The input sensitivity on some of these commercial amps can be rather low, they're intended to be driving with higher voltages than consumer gear.
I’ve used a Crown XTi2002 for years. A bit of hiss when listening close to the speakers, but works just fine. FWIW, the XTi are class AB, so maybe it’s better than its class D counterparts. Despite being class AB, it never got warm and the fan never turned on.
Get a Crown or QSC power amp but just don't expect it to sound very sweet. Pro Audio amps are generally hard sounding and built to be tough. Finesse is not their strong suit. I was a dealer for Crown, QSC and later sold high end audio in Manhattan. The best high powered PA sound for the buck we sold was those QSCs. I own four QSC 750 watt @ 4 ohm amps. Two I gutted the fan and replaced them with quiet models for indoor air-conditioned use they didn't need so much air and the noise was a problem. They are class A/B. Huge toroidal tranny. Intelligent high performance input and driver stage. Good fidelity transistors used in the output stage. ALMOST a home audio amp-sort of a cheap poor boy version of a Krell if you can believe it! It uses a rail-type stepped power delivery system for high efficiency reminiscent of a Krell, at least that's my impression of the power supply setup. Using BBC monitors I can tell you the sound is clean as a whistle and powerful as heck. But that's about it. They are HARD sounding and after the first hour I stopped listening to them. After a month I realized I had avoided listening because it hurt my ears after an hour. LISTENER FATIQUE UP THE BUTT. But other than that they are a steal for what you get. They are LOUD and that was their purpose when they were designed. To be LOUD. Mission accomplished! Highly recommended for jamming in your rehearsal room. Not recommended for hifi if you can afford better. But they WORK and at your price point pro audio seems the way to go. For now at least. Good luck! The Doc.
It seems the decision has been made, and my comment is not meant to be against the Crown amplifier, but the pairing of Crown and Theil. Theil speakers tend to be rather lean and revealing, Crown amplifiers a bit hard and dry. I feel that this will be an unfortunate pairing. Yes, it will get your buddy up and running, but it may not be very pleasurable sounding. Just a bit of food for thought, as it were. FWIW I have an Audio Alchemy OM15o I'm considering putting up for sale, it would likely be a better match for the Theil speakers...
Agreed although you were kinder than I would have been. A friend once purchased a very used Bryston amp for $500, he proceeded to spill a beer into it and shorted it out. He sent it to Bryston even though it was over the 20 year warrantee. As soon as they opened it they could smell beer, they got quite a chuckle out of it but repaired it for free and even paid the return shipping.
If you decide to sell let me know the price you are interested and I’ll pass the info along. Agreed about harsh not being pleasant and that was my impression concerning the Carvers sound.
