Crown XLS- for the rest of us!

ernest787 · « **Reply #580 on:** 9 Dec 2014, 02:44 pm »

yeah I got my speakon to banana from guitar center. they only had them in 50 ft lenghts though, so i have a ton of extra cable.

zapper7 · « **Reply #581 on:** 9 Dec 2014, 02:46 pm »

Ebay has a bunch, but again quality...

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=speakon&_from=R40&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xspeakon+to+banana&_nkw=speakon+to+banana&_sacat=0

zapper7 · « **Reply #582 on:** 9 Dec 2014, 02:47 pm »

Ebay seems to have sizes down to 6-10', so better in that respect.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #583 on:** 9 Dec 2014, 03:45 pm »

Speakons are convenient but won't be as good as the gold-plated nearly pure copper Pomona posts that take about 10 minutes to install with no soldering involved. You also don't have to alter your speaker cables or buy new ones. I doubt the Speakons are much better than the stock binding posts, they are made to be robust and easy to use, not to have the best possible sound quality.

jk@home · « **Reply #584 on:** 9 Dec 2014, 04:09 pm »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 9 Dec 2014, 02:30 pm

There was some hiss when bridged at max gain. I didn't notice any hiss when not bridged, with the RCA inputs. Like with your awesome LS50s the hiss was audible at about 1 ft but not at listening position. With gain at 3pm, no hiss.

Thanks. I have since then upgraded to an active pre with RCA/XLRs and lots of gain, so could probably run the Crown level controls even lower.

Quote from: roscoeiii on 9 Dec 2014, 02:33 pm

Anyone know where to get speaker cables that have Speakon on one end and bananas or spades on the other?

The speakons are real easy to install. just screw termination. Pick any cable you have or want, as long as the wire gauge will fit. I picked up some of these to try with my Crown but never got around to it.

http://www.neutrik.com/en/speakon/fc-series/nl4fc

If I had my way, I would replace the binding posts with Cardas Patented posts, love those things (using spades).

roscoeiii · « **Reply #585 on:** 10 Dec 2014, 02:07 am »

Well, well well. Guess what just showed up? Some Wyred4Sound monoblocks. Let's compare them to the XLS in monoblock mode shall we?

Stay tuned...

Tomy2Tone · « **Reply #586 on:** 10 Dec 2014, 02:18 am »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 10 Dec 2014, 02:07 am

Well, well well. Guess what just showed up? Some Wyred4Sound monoblocks. Let's compare them to the XLS in monoblock mode shall we?

Stay tuned...

Say what????

That sure was fast! They should definitely be a little smoother on the high end and maybe a little bit better sound stage. But like you've said before, it's all about synergy with your system.

Enjoy!

roscoeiii · « **Reply #587 on:** 10 Dec 2014, 02:27 am »

Quote from: Tomy2Tone on 10 Dec 2014, 02:18 am

Say what????

That sure was fast! They should definitely be a little smoother on the high end and maybe a little bit better sound stage. But like you've said before, it's all about synergy with your system.

Enjoy!

Lightning fast! And Tomy2Tone thank you once again for your fabulous generosity.

Wyred 4 Sounds are warmiing up.

And it is a Wyred kind of day. Just got a great deal on their Remedy Reclocker. Though that will be a topic for a different thread.

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #588 on:** 10 Dec 2014, 02:38 am »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 8 Dec 2014, 02:20 am

Change to the Audience Power Chord gave some improvements including to the treble. Things felt a bit more fleshed out, fuller with the Audience.

Then it was time to go monoblocks! And whaddya know. Improvements! In the impact of the bass in particular. As those of you who are familiar with SP Tech speakers know, they are known to benefit from gobs of power. And yep. Bass was fuller with greater detail and impact.

As for the rest of the frequency range, monos give a greater sense of ease.

So, since this was before your discovery that you were not in bridge mode when you heard this, it sounds like the power supply must be a little under-spec'd, since the difference you heard could only stem from the power supply being relieved of the duty of supplying two channels and being fully available for the one channel you were using. Which implies there might be an advantage to upping the power supply's capability - through more capacitance, perhaps?

roscoeiii · « **Reply #589 on:** 10 Dec 2014, 02:51 am »

Quote from: Russell Dawkins on 10 Dec 2014, 02:38 am

So, since this was before your discovery that you were not in bridge mode when you heard this, it sounds like the power supply must be a little under-spec'd, since the difference you heard could only stem from the power supply being relieved of the duty of supplying two channels and being fully available for the one channel you were using. Which implies there might be an advantage to upping the power supply's capability - through more capacitance, perhaps?

That's probably a good guess, especially in light of the cost. But I am far from a technical expert on advantages of mono blocks vs. stereo amps at the same power level. Will let others chime in with thoughts.

Folsom · « **Reply #590 on:** 10 Dec 2014, 02:51 am »

No...

There isn't room.

Also the amp suffers from some things a nice power cord may mildly assist with.

My mods help with just these very concerns, well, I'll let Ozz Tom tell you their worth since he's got decent report with these units. I hope what I did can't be easily compared to a power cord...

roscoeiii · « **Reply #591 on:** 10 Dec 2014, 03:53 am »

Well, Wyred vs XLS. Round 1 (and this is with the Wyred only being plugged in for a couple hours, after being cold to the touch from shipping):

Wyred felt restrained in comparison to the XLS. Didn't notice a lot of difference in the treble, though the Wyred was not quite as forward. But the level of detail and impact wasn't there to the same degree as with the XLS. More thwack of the bass drum or tympani with the XLS.

I will need to do some more comparisons and also try the Wyred out of the wall instead of via my Equitech 2Q power conditioner, since that may be part of the issue for the Wyred.

But in Round 1, XLS felt more immediate and alive than the Wyred.

As to why? Well, we could be faced with further evidence that these SP Techs love POWER. It is mentioned again and again in those SP Tech threads. And so some of what I am hearing may reflect the greater power of the XLS in bridged mono. I mean, shucks, these things have what, 3 times the power of the Wyred?

However, we should not forget that these were not ideal conditions for the Wyred. Less warm-up, and via a power conditioner. I'll keep both amps on for the next 24 hours, and see how that and the Wyred straight into the wall affects things.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #592 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 12:55 am »

And the fun never stops over here. What had arrived when I got home from work? 2 shiny new XLS2000! Couldn't resist those Amazon deals. Got one at the 17% off and the 15% off counted as a different deal. So I could get around the 1 per customer limit.

So the tour amp will move on to Chris. I don't have a lot of time tonight, so I'll be comparing the 1500 monos to the Wyred Monos warmed up and into the wall. Unpacking the 2000s and setting them up will be for tomorrow.

konut · « **Reply #593 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 01:56 am »

Roscoe, you are providing serious competition to Motor City Dave to see how much equipment you can move in and out of the system. You're on a tear. :eyebrows:Curious as to how the Wyreds compare to the various Crowns.

OzarkTom · « **Reply #594 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 02:06 am »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 11 Dec 2014, 12:55 am

And the fun never stops over here. What had arrived when I got home from work? 2 shiny new XLS2000! Couldn't resist those Amazon deals. Got one at the 17% off and the 15% off counted as a different deal. So I could get around the 1 per customer limit.

So the tour amp will move on to Chris. I don't have a lot of time tonight, so I'll be comparing the 1500 monos to the Wyred Monos warmed up and into the wall. Unpacking the 2000s and setting them up will be for tomorrow.

Whoa, 2100 wpc bridged into a 4 ohm load!

Last I checked there were still 15 of those left on the Amazon deal.

OzarkTom · « **Reply #595 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 03:50 am »

The 1500 on Amazon is now priced at $364, so for $9 more plus some change, a person is better off getting a 2000.

I see a pattern on how the model numbers were named. The 1500 is 1550 wpc bridged into 4 ohms, 2000 is 2100 wpc bridged into a 4 ohm load, 2500 is 2500 wpc bridged into 4 ohms.

Folsom · « **Reply #596 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 05:03 am »

The XLS series can put out high watts in a music fashion, but under too much burden is utterly incapable of keeping up with something like a Bryston 3BSST2. The XLS is rated under 300w consumption, the Bryston is around 1400w. The Bryston loses 400w, but the XLS can't "create" 1200w continuously.

I suggest trying it to see how well it works. The XLS may handle some loads better, however, so it'll still perform well.

*Scotty* · « **Reply #597 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 05:49 am »

Here is some information on the XLS series continuous current demands from the AC line under different load conditions 8,4 and 2ohms.
Depending on the load and AC line voltage the XLS 2000, for example, can pull as much as 14.2 amps at 120volts AC with a 2 ohm under extreme clipping conditions, the percent THD is not specified for this condition.
http://www.crownaudio.com/media/wysiwyg//XLS/XLSDrivecore_powerdraw_thermal_keh.pdf
The bottom line is that even the XLS 1000 can pull a damn sight more than 300 watts out of the wall driving a 2ohm load.
The amps appear to be better than 85% efficient. The XLS 2000 under the above specified operating conditions only dissipates 227watts as heat, the rest of the power goes into the load. 1477 total watts to be precise. Better than 86% efficiency.
Scotty

dlaloum · « **Reply #598 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 06:04 am »

Anyone want to try using it as an arc welder?

Folsom · « **Reply #599 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 07:21 am »

I'll let you run it at that kind of load. They say their wattage where the IEC goes in, which is for continuous.