[Folsom]

Er that didn't convert well, but that's the power section.

[DaveC113]

I'll proxy for you Canadians, eh.  If you find one you want on ebay, Amazon, whatever let me know... I have an ebay sniping program so I can bid on auctions easily too. I got a brand new 1500 for $262.

I'd have to say the amp is significantly worse before it breaks in and it needs a couple hundred hours, at least. At first it has a harsh, irritating, 2D sound, break in was pretty dramatic.

[Folsom]

No harshness on my end, but I have power conditioner too.

I get no reading RCA to ground.

[JoshK]

I'll proxy for you Canadians, eh.  If you find one you want on ebay, Amazon, whatever let me know... I have an ebay sniping program so I can bid on auctions easily too. I got a brand new 1500 for $262.

I'd have to say the amp is significantly worse before it breaks in and it needs a couple hundred hours, at least. At first it has a harsh, irritating, 2D sound, break in was pretty dramatic.

Thanks Dave,  I might follow up with you, but not right now.  I spent a fortune lately, particularly with buying investment property in the states.  I will do with what I have for the mean time.   I wouldn't mind hearing one.

I'm increasingly becoming anti-audiophile in the sense that I think mid-fi up to medium level hi-fi is being antiquated by cheap big money pro audio and only the super high end or niche electronics can outdo stuff like this.   So I am a bit of a believer than Harman and company can outdo the sane level hi-fi electronics.  It was only a matter of time really, Audiophile designers haven't kept up with the R&D of the pros.  They simply haven't the resources.

I think if one has an amicable system (where the bass crosses in ~150hz or below), why not biamp with this dude on bass and use a nice low powered SET for up top.  Of course, those system aren't prevalent, but maybe they should be.  Most of the power is used below 150hz, especially considering Mr Schroeder. 

Given the power vs. freq requirements and most vocal are over 200ish hz,  voila.  Marriage of the best.

[Folsom]

Paul, it's got some QXXX under the next heatsink following rectification. So it's AC-DC-AC-DC.

[a.wayne]

Thanks Dave,  I might follow up with you, but not right now.  I spent a fortune lately, particularly with buying investment property in the states.  I will do with what I have for the mean time.   I wouldn't mind hearing one.

I'm increasingly becoming anti-audiophile in the sense that I think mid-fi up to medium level hi-fi is being antiquated by cheap big money pro audio and only the super high end or niche electronics can outdo stuff like this.   So I am a bit of a believer than Harman and company can outdo the sane level hi-fi electronics.  It was only a matter of time really, Audiophile designers haven't kept up with the R&D of the pros.  They simply haven't the resources.

I think if one how an amicable system (where the bass crosses in ~150hz or below), why not biamp with this dude on bass and use a nice low powered SET for up top.  Of course, those system aren't prevalent, but maybe they should be.  Most of the power is used below 150hz, especially considering Mr Schroeder. 

Given the power vs. freq requirements and most vocal are over 200ish hz,  voila.  Marriage of the best.

I cant agree with this , its obviously system dependent, more specifically speakers will make the biggest difference in how you percieve this difference in quality, i have never experienced pro stuff bettering audiophile quality products ever ( not pseudo audiophile stuff)   And i have played with more than a few over the decades...


Regards

[DaveC113]

Thanks Dave,  I might follow up with you, but not right now.  I spent a fortune lately, particularly with buying investment property in the states.  I will do with what I have for the mean time.   I wouldn't mind hearing one.

I'm increasingly becoming anti-audiophile in the sense that I think mid-fi up to medium level hi-fi is being antiquated by cheap big money pro audio and only the super high end or niche electronics can outdo stuff like this.   So I am a bit of a believer than Harman and company can outdo the sane level hi-fi electronics.  It was only a matter of time really, Audiophile designers haven't kept up with the R&D of the pros.  They simply haven't the resources.

I think if one how an amicable system (where the bass crosses in ~150hz or below), why not biamp with this dude on bass and use a nice low powered SET for up top.  Of course, those system aren't prevalent, but maybe they should be.  Most of the power is used below 150hz, especially considering Mr Schroeder. 

Given the power vs. freq requirements and most vocal are over 200ish hz,  voila.  Marriage of the best.

Great minds think alike...     I bought the Crown mainly for a speaker I'm working on that will have a 150 Hz xo point, the Crown has a 24 dB LR xo built in so I was thinking it would serve as an active bass amp driving 15" woofers from 150 Hz down and then my EL34 SET should be enough power for the mids/highs.

I agree it was just a matter of time before inexpensive class D caught up with the middle of the pack in the hifi game. I think the time is now and it'll only get better from here on out.

[a.wayne]

Err,

Sorry to say, but mid fi is not audiophile nor hifi , so is the Crown sound medfi or hifi..? 

[OzarkTom]

Err,

Sorry to say, but mid fi is not audiophile nor hifi , so is the Crown sound medfi or hifi..?

Are you related to Werd?

[Folsom]

It's Hifi. Trust me, there's nothing that sounds like it in any midfi realm on this planet. But I think criticism of say the Ncore would be similar. They're different, real different. Bel Canto's D amps aren't as revealing; probably why people are ICE<Ncore<Pascal, now ICE<DriveCore<Ncore<Pascal.

[cab]

Funny that Hypex markets their products as ultra high performance audio amplifiers for high end audio while Pascal markets their amp modules as "pro audio".....

[a.wayne]

It's Hifi. Trust me, there's nothing that sounds like it in any midfi realm on this planet. But I think criticism of say the Ncore would be similar. They're different, real different. Bel Canto's D amps aren't as revealing; probably why people are ICE<Ncore<Pascal, now ICE<DriveCore<Ncore<Pascal.

Thanks for the response , good to hear,  I guess it was a difficult question for some , revealing can also translate out to bright and fatiguing, listening over time will tell, which is what  i had found with the Bel Canto's . The Crown seems  like a serious Class-D contender...


Tom , no time for the dogma , if you have intellectually tanked , no need to force a response by being disrespectful ..



Regards ...

[OzarkTom]

Sorry, I guess just you haven't followed the thread that closely. Five people here has talked about how great the Crown amps sound, no one has mentioned midfi. I would never put a midfi amp running my Zellatons, it would reek.

Zak said it was a toss-up between the Crown and Ncores and he could live with either one. Ncores wins by 5-10%. He said the only difference was the Ncores has more depth, but the soundstage starts further back on the Ncores than the Crown. The depth is automatically going to be deeper. The Crown amp does not lack any kind of depth.

But should we give the Crown amp a 5-10% handicap? It is a single stereo amp on a single chassis and single power supply while the Ncores are dual mono, dual chassis, and dual power supplies. If we stuck another Crown amp in the race, that should be another 5-10% improvement for the Crown.

I seriously doubt anyone here admits the Ncores are midfi.

[Folsom]

The amp section in the Crown is smarter than you're giving it credit for... The heatsink config with transformer also acts as a LFMF shield. The XLS has a few money savers that the NCore doesn't.

I can't tell you much about there "eliminated 500 parts" gig... The actual amplification is in a couple 3 prong parts per channel. The higher wattage versions have more of them, and maybe the biggest has higher voltage. There's actually spots for them, as in they use the same boards.

There's way more parts than the TPA3116

[a.wayne]

Salis,

Have you seen the new mcintosh stuff , their new 301 monobloc is only 6 inches tall and rated at 300 watts , I'm guessing Class -D .......

@Tom:

The term mid-fi was thrown around and Im not familiar with the sound of NCores  hence my question.........

[Folsom]

Salis,

Have you seen the new mcintosh stuff , their new 301 monobloc is only 6 inches tall and rated at 300 watts , I'm guessing Class -D .......

@Tom:

The term mid-fi was thrown around and Im not familar with the sound of NCores  hence my question.........

If they get any at the place in town that carries McIntosh I'll try to peek.

[Tomy2Tone]

But should we give the Crown amp a 5-10% handicap? It is a single stereo amp on a single chassis and single power supply while the Ncores are dual mono, dual chassis, and dual power supplies. If we stuck another Crown amp in the race, that should be another 5-10% improvement for the Crown.

I seriously doubt anyone here admits the Ncores are midfi.

Hey Tom, have you had a chance to run a couple XLS's in mono?

Just curious to know if anybody else thinks they are better than just one in stereo, call me crazy but they do to me. I have about 140hrs on my two right now and it seems they turned a corner a day or so ago. From what I thought was already a detailed 3d image is now even more so. Kind of freaked out a little last night hearing vocals with almost a hologram like presence.

Listening to Eric Clapton Unplugged was pretty awesome, especially hearing the audience sounding like they're in the room with you. Still having fun with this!

[mr_bill]

Hey Tom, have you had a chance to run a couple XLS's in mono?

Just curious to know if anybody else thinks they are better than just one in stereo, call me crazy but they do to me. I have about 140hrs on my two right now and it seems they turned a corner a day or so ago. From what I thought was already a detailed 3d image is now even more so. Kind of freaked out a little last night hearing vocals with almost a hologram like presence.

Listening to Eric Clapton Unplugged was pretty awesome, especially hearing the audience sounding like they're in the room with you. Still having fun with this!

Tom,
Didn't you have the Aluminati X2 amps in your system and how do they compare to the Crowns?

[sonicxtc]

Is there any general consensus that ASIDE from power output the Crown XLS 1500, XLS 2000 and XLS 2500 are all the same in terms of SOUND QUALITY?
Looking at purchasing one, so I'd like to be sure. Thank you.

Pre-amp recommendations?
On a separate note, does anyone have a suggestion for possible dac/pre/hp or pre with headphone output they think would be a great match with the Crown XLS in a second system? I'm not ruling out tubes, but I'm aiming at a modest price point: new/used  under $400 for a pre, but can stretch more for a dac/pre combo The headphone aspect is the least important variable as I mostly listen to speakers. Thank you.

I think someone liked the ifi gear. I'm hesitant because the tube is soldered to the board.

[Tomy2Tone]

Is there any general consensus that ASIDE from power output the Crown XLS 1500, XLS 2000 and XLS 2500 are all the same in terms of SOUND QUALITY?

Looking at purchasing one, so I'd like to be sure.

Thank you.

I believe OzarkTom has had all three at one time or another and said they all have the same sonic character but I'm sure he could chime in to tell a little more if he wanted.