Crown xti amp

[dlsbobby]

Greetings,

Has anyone heard of quality issues with these amps? It sure appears that you get a lot of other useful applications built into the amp. Im really trying to decide on either buying one of the xti or the Beheringer epx. I know there is a significant power difference, but I'm finally beyond my quest for 130dB so the power doesn't really concern me. Any thoughts on this will be greatly appreciated.

Regard, Robert.

[exojam]

Re: Crown xti amp

Robert,

Are you going to run it on yours speakers or for subs? I have a XTi1000 that runs my mains and I have no complaints about it. I used to run my sub with it but it dies in the lower range a (below 50).As soon as I have the cash though I will be replacing it with a QSC probably.

James

[dlsbobby]

Re: Crown xti amp

Robert,

Are you going to run it on yours speakers or for subs? I have a XTi1000 that runs my mains and I have no complaints about it. I used to run my sub with it but it dies in the lower range a (below 50).As soon as I have the cash though I will be replacing it with a QSC probably.

James

Hi James, Would you please elaborate on your meaning, " it dies in the lower range, (below 50)". I was going to run it with my sub until I can buy a few more and then Biamp my mains. Regards, Robert.

[exojam]

Re: Crown xti amp

Robert,

Chuck did a lot of amp testing awhile ago and the XTi1000 just seemed to fall over under a certain range. None of the other XTi models were tested though. You can see the information at the link below.


Crown itself:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13869426#post13869426

Master link of all amps tested:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=855865

James

[dlsbobby]

Re: Crown xti amp

James, well I asked and you provided. I'm disapointed. I was fired up about those amps. So you like the QSC's. I had a few of the rmx series and never had any problems. I wish I could afford the plx line though. Thanks for your time. Robert.

[exojam]

Re: Crown xti amp

Robert,

What about a used EP2500? I believe a lot of folks those use for subs with no issues?

I am using one myself for my two subs but want to replace it with maybe a used Crown CE4000 or something in that realm.

By the way what sub(s) are you looking for an amp for?

James

[Flint]

Re: Crown xti amp

I have a XTi1000 that runs my mains and I have no complaints about it.

Right, let's put this into context. This amp seems to perform poorly when asked to deliver low bass into 4 ohms. There's not evidently a problem at 8 ohms. Chuck's tests show some 220w into 8 ohms full bandwidth. I got kind of excited about this amp a while back because it's possible to use three of them to power / equalize / crossover an active 3-way system. That would be an alternative to using a DCX2496 and separate power amps. The software interface (Band Manager) is really cool and will control up to 8 amps at once. Seems like a very elegant solution. It could be useful to power and equalize a subwoofer if designed with 8 ohm load, or maybe the larger models like the XTi6000 would perform better than the 1000 for sub duty into 4 ohms.

On a related note one of the things I liked about this amp was being made in USA (Elkhart Indiana), which I understand has recently changed (now China). My enthusiasm faded with that news. Really an insidious trend.

[wg_ski]

Re: Crown xti amp

This amp seems to perform poorly when asked to deliver low bass into 4 ohms. There's not evidently a problem at 8 ohms. Chuck's tests show some 220w into 8 ohms full bandwidth.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this wasn't the result of the SMPS going into current limit. The burning question is do the higher power XTi's do the same thing? The PLX's won't, and they're only $100 more. Maybe you do just get what you pay for.

On a related note one of the things I liked about this amp was being made in USA (Elkhart Indiana), which I understand has recently changed (now China). My enthusiasm faded with that news. Really an insidious trend.

I wonder if the class D Macrotech I stuff is even made in USA anymore.....

[DS-21]

Re: Crown xti amp

The only real, meaningful quality issue is that some of the XTi2000's had a bad ribbon cable (or connector for a ribbon cable) between the display and the processor.

I personally quite like the XTi's. Great processing horsepower, great price. I have two XTi2000's I'm not currently using only because my main-system subs currently all use plate amps, their silver faceplates look ugly next to my other black-faceplate gear in my nearfield system. The XTi2000 clearly has more grunt than the Dayton HPSA-1000 I'm currently using on my nearfield sub.

[dlsbobby]

Re: Crown xti amp

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this wasn't the result of the SMPS going into current limit. The burning question is do the higher power XTi's do the same thing? The PLX's won't, and they're only $100 more. Maybe you do just get what you pay for.



I wonder if the class D Macrotech I stuff is even made in USA anymore.....

Warren, hey nice to see you still around. I know a sound guy that has his own company in MI. and he said he'll sell me one of his qsc plx 3402 amps for 600 + shipping. You think I should jump? I've worked with this guy lots of times and he takes care of his stuff. Thanks for your time. Robert.

[AJ]

Re: Crown xti amp

600$ sounds like a good deal for a PLX3402 in good shape. That amp was ~1300$ new I think, and at first glance looks the same as the current PLX3602.

Anyone know why they revamped the entire PLX line? Comparing schematics, it looks like they just changed the faceplate.

[wg_ski]

Re: Crown xti amp

You think I should jump?

See if you can buy two .

[wg_ski]

Re: Crown xti amp

Anyone know why they revamped the entire PLX line? Comparing schematics, it looks like they just changed the faceplate.

Pretty much the same - just using one generation newer components. I'm using the 3102's.

[Paul O]

Re: Crown xti amp

Right, let's put this into context. This amp seems to perform poorly when asked to deliver low bass into 4 ohms.

Well that's not entirely true either, the test simply shows that it reaches the advertised distortion spec at a lot lower voltage when driving low impedances. This came out further down in the discussion but I didn't see any tests to indicate if the amp could approach the rated power regardless of distortion, it's a big thread so I didn't read it all.

P.S. Just went back and looked at a few pages towards the end. It appears the tester approached Crown about the XTi test results and they eventually disclosed that there is a fairly agressive protection mechanism in the XTi design that starts to reduce power out below 200hz. Not sure why that would be necessary but it sounds like it may be to mask some power supply deficiencies that would otherwise be really obvious. Whatever the reason it definitely now seems this amp is not a good choice for driving subs.