Crown XLS- for the rest of us!

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mr_bill

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #20 on: 13 Nov 2014, 03:40 pm »
Zak,
I look forward to your comments. If the Crown comes up short, get ready to explain:

- why you chose not to cryo treat the Crown...even though there is no proof this is safe or improves the performance in any way.

- why you didn't have thousands of hours break in on the Crown. If it doesn't sound good, no matter how many hours you have used it, the reason it came up short is because it needs a couple hundred more hours to fully break in.

-  why you didn't use those magic wood pucks (and cushy pads underneath for bonus points). The Crown cognoscenti can't live without their magic pucks and I can imagine people attributing the outcome of your evaluation to the use of these pucks, or lack thereof.

I'm looking forward to comparing the Crown to the NCore and will post my honest opinion. If I feel extra ambitious I'll even compare it to the older Crown K1 currently powering my subs. That will be a PITA because I'll have to mess with the level of the subs and everything is dialed in perfectly at the moment.

My intention is to play some of my favorite tracks, ones I'm very familiar with, jazz, rock, lots of vocals, some good recordings, etc. I'll make sure levels are comparable for both amps and turn off my subs. Everything will be plugged directly into the wall and all of my current year is fully broken in. I'll also leave the crown plugged in overnight before doing any critical listening. It's probably not necessary but I'll do it anyway.

Roscoe, I'll contact you offline to see if you want to swing by and give your opinion or if you want to hear the crown on your system. It's very lightweight and easy to move around.

Thanks

Jack

Go Jack!
The voice of reality................ and humor too.

rodge827

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #21 on: 13 Nov 2014, 05:03 pm »
Which one is which?  :scratch:

Depends on your perspective.  :green:

The Ncores have a beautiful machined aluminum faceplate and the Crowns look kinda eh'.
Then of course there is the sound quality and the cost difference.
To each his own ears! :|

Chris

rodge827

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #22 on: 13 Nov 2014, 05:12 pm »
Really? Or are you taking your own advice and lying? :roll:

Who peed in your Corn Flakes?

Its only audio and not the answer to world hunger, world peace, why eye buggers happen...

Tom is an honest guy and has nothing to gain from his opinions. Fact is he is a very generous audio dude and shares what he knows!

What do you have to offer other than insults?

Better solutions for your arguments?

Lighten up!  :D

mresseguie

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Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #23 on: 13 Nov 2014, 05:28 pm »
Hi, Tomy2Tone.

I'd like to thank you for organizing this tour (even though I'm not participating). I don't own either the Ncores or the Crown amps, but I've certainly read a lot about class D amps. It would be great to know what people's impressions are of the Crowns especially since they cost so little.

Have fun, folks!

Michael

jackman

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #24 on: 13 Nov 2014, 08:09 pm »
I am sure Tomy2's goal of this amp tour is not to see how it stacks up to the Ncores, he is being generous to see how you like these Crown amps. I am sure if you already have decided the Crown is not worthy, it won't matter how you hook the amp up. In your mind, the Ncores stomps this Crown amp that sells for $325, Ncores $1900.

I just know what works the best at my house with the dirty AC. :D

Tommy2's goal is to see how the amp stacks up against the nCore.  That's why he is sending it to me.  If my mind was made up, why would I waste time messing with an amp/disconnecting wires, etc.?  Your negative opinion of the NCore is pretty well documented and everyone is entitled to an opinion.  In my system, the nCore sounds very good, excellent, IMO.  If the Crown is 80% as good as the nCore, I will buy one. If it's as good as the nCore, I'll do the same and sell my nCore.

Quote
Zak, no matter what, even if you have to lie, make sure you say that the Ncores sounds the best and by a huge margin. And that goes for all of the Ncore owners on this tour. We don't want any riots to start here. :nono:

People are going to believe what they are going to believe. I know your comment was directed towards Zak but people on this site know that I'm not afraid to piss people off.  I started the "nCore Kook-Aid Drinker" thread and took a lot of heat from nCore fans.  In the end, I auditioned the amp and thought it sounded great so I bought one for my system.  If the Crown leads me to do the same thing, and my actions piss people off...good!   :thumb:

Lastly, Tommy2Tone, my thanks to you for letting me hear your amp.  I'll get it to the next guy and make sure it is well cared for, etc.  I've been so busy lately with work, it will be a good distraction.

OzarkTom

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #25 on: 13 Nov 2014, 09:15 pm »
Tommy2's goal is to see how the amp stacks up against the nCore.  That's why he is sending it to me.  If my mind was made up, why would I waste time messing with an amp/disconnecting wires, etc.?  Your negative opinion of the NCore is pretty well documented and everyone is entitled to an opinion.  In my system, the nCore sounds very good, excellent, IMO.  If the Crown is 80% as good as the nCore, I will buy one. If it's as good as the nCore, I'll do the same and sell my

I am sorry if you thought I was directing this to you, my words is not the best at times. I meant this as an overall comment to any of the Ncore owners.

But one of the major problems of the Ncores at my place was the brightness and edginess. Triode Pete might have  given me the answer today. Those power cords that was sent with the tour amps were bright.  They were made of silver wire. I started to change the power cords, but I only had one of the same to try.

ZAKski288

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #26 on: 13 Nov 2014, 10:46 pm »
Zak, no matter what, even if you have to lie, make sure you say that the Ncores sounds the best and by a huge margin. And that goes for all of the Ncore owners on this tour. We don't want any riots to start here. :nono:
OzarkTom,  You know I win either way, Because I'm not getting rid of either amp. I picked out the playlist to compare the two, and hopeful get some time to listen to over the weekend.
The second Crown I move down to my work area and have been listening to a good part of the day. 626R's sitting on top of 80's circa Fried 10" transmision line Bass cabinets . WOW  they sound pretty incredible even at  lower volume then I listen to in my 2 channel.  ZAK

OzarkTom

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #27 on: 13 Nov 2014, 11:14 pm »
There is another casualty in the Job amp camp. My buddy Rex went ahead and bought a 1500. He likes it so much that he is going to sell his Job. He is also selling his Job pre. The next item he is ordering is The Vinnie Rossi LIO this week and using it as a pre. Maybe he would send that LIO on an AC tour? :D

jackman

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #28 on: 13 Nov 2014, 11:28 pm »
Go Jack!
The voice of reality................ and humor too.

Thanks Bill!  I'm always smiling when I write this stuff.  Sometimes I'll even giggle.   :thumb:

jackman

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #29 on: 13 Nov 2014, 11:39 pm »
I am sorry if you thought I was directing this to you, my words is not the best at times. I meant this as an overall comment to any of the Ncore owners.

But one of the major problems of the Ncores at my place was the brightness and edginess. Triode Pete might have  given me the answer today. Those power cords that was sent with the tour amps were bright.  They were made of silver wire. I started to change the power cords, but I only had one of the same to try.

No problem Ozark.  I was not trying to be mean and appreciate your contribution to the thread. 

Tomy2Tone

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #30 on: 14 Nov 2014, 01:32 am »
OzarkTom,  You know I win either way, Because I'm not getting rid of either amp. I picked out the playlist to compare the two, and hopeful get some time to listen to over the weekend.
The second Crown I move down to my work area and have been listening to a good part of the day. 626R's sitting on top of 80's circa Fried 10" transmision line Bass cabinets . WOW  they sound pretty incredible even at  lower volume then I listen to in my 2 channel.  ZAK

Nice ZAKski288!

If you have two crown 1500's you should try running them in bridge mono and see what you think. That's what I'm doing now and I think they're a little better in that configuration. Look forward to hearing more from you!

Tomy2Tone

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #31 on: 14 Nov 2014, 01:47 am »
I am sorry if you thought I was directing this to you, my words is not the best at times. I meant this as an overall comment to any of the Ncore owners

No problem Ozark.  I was not trying to be mean and appreciate your contribution to the thread. 

 :beer:

If I knew it was going to be this warm and fuzzy I would of sent some crown royal with that crown!

No seriously,  I believe as I type this the eagle has landed in the state of Illinois so Jackman should hopefully be receiving the amp tomorrow. I did throw some of those cedar blocks in with it just for shits and giggles so it's up to you if you want to use them or not. I use Herbies tender feet under mine with some weight on top and think the combo works great.

Anyway, thanks to everybody who's chimed in so far and let's see what happens next!



OzarkTom

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #32 on: 14 Nov 2014, 01:57 am »
Zak should also try his Crown amp with his main speakers while using the high pass crossover, trying different settings according to his subs and the other Crown. That might make a bigger difference than running them in monos. One amp I tried that with had an improvement at least 20%.

Jack, if you have time, you can try that also.

dlaloum

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Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #33 on: 14 Nov 2014, 02:04 am »
I run a pair of XLS2500's into my Gallo's biamped, using the onboard crossovers, one runs the woofers 2nd voice coil (which takes the low end down to 24Hz) and the other runs the main speaker input (high passed at 100Hz).

I've been really happy with the results, and have not had time to mess with the plethora of possible permutations and combinations...

1) Run them as a pair of monoblocks, running the speakers full range. I am not convinced that they will do better running a 1ohm load... - 2ohm with a bridged amp becomes 1ohm... thats tricky for ANY amp... still they are pretty muscular and I should try it some time.
2) I can run the speakers full range from one amp and the 2nd voice coil power by the 2nd amp (xover somewhere between 125Hz and 60Hz
3) Vary the crossover point and levels in the current config (I did do some FFT analysis using a calibrated mic to set the current settings - but I am sure it could do with some further tuning - just takes ages....)

these beasts are incredibly flexible


ZAKski288

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #34 on: 14 Nov 2014, 02:19 am »
Nice ZAKski288!

If you have two crown 1500's you should try running them in bridge mono and see what you think. That's what I'm doing now and I think they're a little better in that configuration. Look forward to hearing more from you!
Thanks Tomy2Tone, I think I'm going to Bi Amp my speakers in stereo mode  ( there set up with 2 set of binding post )  I also can try them in bridged mono mode . ZAK

Tomy2Tone

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #35 on: 14 Nov 2014, 02:33 am »
Thanks Tomy2Tone, I think I'm going to Bi Amp my speakers in stereo mode  ( there set up with 2 set of binding post )  I also can try them in bridged mono mode . ZAK

Sounds good!

I'm not too familiar with VMPS speakers so I tried looking for their website but could not find one. Are they still around?

Ozarktom's recommendation sounds intriguing as well.

ZAKski288

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #36 on: 14 Nov 2014, 03:11 am »
Zak should also try his Crown amp with his main speakers while using the high pass crossover, trying different settings according to his subs and the other Crown. That might make a bigger difference than running them in monos. One amp I tried that with had an improvement at least 20%.

Jack, if you have time, you can try that also.
Not sure exactly how to hook up (high pass crossover) What my set up is for testing amps : tower speakers , they can be  bi-wired,  or bi-amped,  no extra subwoofers will be used
 
Tomy2   VMPS are no longer in business  :(
« Last Edit: 14 Nov 2014, 04:24 am by ZAKski288 »

rodge827

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #37 on: 14 Nov 2014, 12:50 pm »
If any of us are having trouble driving our XLS amp because of low output gain from a preamp, source, or receiver. Home Theater Direct makes an adjustable line level gain boost ($35.00) up to +12db, and it uses 12v dc for power.

http://www.htd.com/Products/line-level-gain-boosters/LGB-1

Chris

Tomy2Tone

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #38 on: 14 Nov 2014, 02:58 pm »
Oh snap!  Just noticed ZAKski288 has a new avatar, you trying to tell us something?  :D


ZAKski288

Re: Crown XLS- for the rest of us!
« Reply #39 on: 14 Nov 2014, 04:02 pm »
Oh snap!  Just noticed ZAKski288 has a new avatar, you trying to tell us something?  :D
Oh, No  :nono: the avatar will have no influence on my decision. I've owned Crown equipment since the 80's. I still use a Crown straight line two preamp