[gregfisk]

It looks like people have lost interest in this thread?

Tommy,

I found a box just big enough to put the original outside box inside. Do you still want me to ship it to you?

Again, Thank you Tommy for making this happen, I enjoyed my time with the amp and was happy to get to try it in my system. You never know what something will sound like until you get to hear it in a familiar setting IMO.

Take Care,

Greg

[rodge827]

It looks like people have lost interest in this thread?

Still interested and enjoying my Crown. 

I like reading how the amp performs in different systems. 

[Tomy2Tone]

It looks like people have lost interest in this thread?

Tommy,

I found a box just big enough to put the original outside box inside. Do you still want me to ship it to you?

Again, Thank you Tommy for making this happen, I enjoyed my time with the amp and was happy to get to try it in my system. You never know what something will sound like until you get to hear it in a familiar setting IMO.

Take Care,

Greg

Thanks Greg!

I think Bill of NY is next but haven't seen him post in a while, so I'll send him a pm to see if he's still interested.

Like Chris, I'm still enjoying my Crowns. 

[DaveC113]

Still interested and enjoying my Crown. 

I like reading how the amp performs in different systems. 

+1, I'm still using mine and it is interesting to hear other reports.

[steve f]

I am still interested. I bought a couple of 1500s. Quite honestly, with the right preamp, they are excellent performers. They drive virtually any loudspeaker load. (I gave the Crown a couple of really reactive loads. One caused another amp to oscillate and shut down.) Are there better amps? Of course there are. But I have had some really expensive amps in my system fail to equal them. One thing for sure, the preamp source has a stronger influence on sound quality than most other amps.

I guess that makes me +2

steve

[roscoeiii]

I am still interested. I bought a couple of 1500s. Quite honestly, with the right preamp, they are excellent performers. They drive virtually any loudspeaker load. Are there better amps? Of course there are. But I have had some really expensive amps in my system fail to equal them. One thing for sure, the preamp source has a stronger influence on sound quality than most other amps.

steve

Well put Steve. And as always, speaker matching is key.

[DaveC113]

I am still interested. I bought a couple of 1500s. Quite honestly, with the right preamp, they are excellent performers. They drive virtually any loudspeaker load. Are there better amps? Of course there are. But I have had some really expensive amps in my system fail to equal them. One thing for sure, the preamp source has a stronger influence on sound quality than most other amps.

steve

Agreed, I find the preamp makes a huge difference with most class D amps. And possibly a trend that the XLS seems to perform best with more efficient / easy to drive speakers, which makes sense as most pro audio speakers tend to be very efficient.

[roscoeiii]

Agreed, I find the preamp makes a huge difference with most class D amps. And possibly a trend that the XLS seems to perform best with more efficient / easy to drive speakers, which makes sense as most pro audio speakers tend to be very efficient.

I don't know I agree with the efficient speaker comment. My SP Tech Revelations demand some POWER. And IMO that is a big reason that the XLS works so well with them in my setup.

[gregfisk]

Agreed, I find the preamp makes a huge difference with most class D amps. And possibly a trend that the XLS seems to perform best with more efficient / easy to drive speakers, which makes sense as most pro audio speakers tend to be very efficient.

The amp performed really well with my Super V's which have pro drivers for midrange and tweeter and are 97db efficient. In Fact at one point when I was playing pretty "O.K. really" loud I swear the system sounded like I was watching a small live venue, amplified of course.

I wonder if I was using a different tube pre I would have felt different about the sound stage, the Joule is a wonderful pre thou and I have not heard better in my system.

[DaveC113]

I don't know I agree with the efficient speaker comment. My SP Tech Revelations demand some POWER. And IMO that is a big reason that the XLS works so well with them in my setup.

Cool,  I've tried to draw some conclusions from this thread but maybe we don't have quite enough data to figure out exactly what speakers are a good match... It does seem like the more efficient speakers do well but others may too.

[roscoeiii]

Cool,  I've tried to draw some conclusions from this thread but maybe we don't have quite enough data to figure out exactly what speakers are a good match... It does seem like the more efficient speakers do well but others may too.

And it is mightily impressive that such a high power amp works so well with such efficient speakers. Far more impressive then them working well with power hungry speakers, IMO.

[rodge827]

I use the Dspeaker Antimode Dual Core 2.0 as a dac, preamp and room correction devise.  The model I have is the 2012 version and the output is very low, RCA-1.65 Vrms, XLR-3.25 Vrms.  I use an XLR-RCA cable to an iFi iTube to the Crown and the RCA out to a pair of Bash 300s plate amps on my subs.  I was having a balance issue between the Crown and the Bash amps where the gain on the Crown needed to be all the way at 5:00 to "keep up" with the bass output.  My monitors are 86db into 6 ohms, drop off significantly at 100hz, and only need about 25w to sound real good.

The fix was to set the iTube to +6db and use the "High Pass" crossover on the Crown set at 105hz. With that I was able to then dial back the Crowns' gain to better match the bass output on the plate amps.  The room now sounds better than ever!

As mentioned before, the Crown may not be the best amp, but for the money ($200 used on CL) it is the best bargain and most versatile amp I have ever owned.

Chris

[OzarkTom]

The XLS plays my 84db efficiency Zellatons very well. These speakers are very fast and the Crown matches them very well.

[Tomy2Tone]

Rogue Perseus has worked well with the Crowns but I definitely have preferred Amperex tubes because of their ability to give a slightly warm presentation while keeping all the resolution.

I have a passive pre coming hopefully tomorrow...not sure how it will mate but it's worth a try.

[gregfisk]

Rogue Perseus has worked well with the Crowns but I definitely have preferred Amperex tubes because of their ability to give a slightly warm presentation while keeping all the resolution.

I have a passive pre coming hopefully tomorrow...not sure how it will mate but it's worth a try.

I tried a Tortuga passive, the first iteration in place of my Joule and the sound stage just went completely flat. It just didn't work with my Butler hybrid amp. My guess would be that the sound will be a bit sterile and lean but looking forward to your observations.

[Tomy2Tone]

I tried a Tortuga passive, the first iteration in place of my Joule and the sound stage just went completely flat. It just didn't work with my Butler hybrid amp. My guess would be that the sound will be a bit sterile and lean but looking forward to your observations.

Yeah, I ordered an LDR3v2 from Morten, but not necessarily to go with the Crowns but I'll hook it up with them anyway.

[steve f]

In my systems, the Crown prefers low impedance preamps. A bit of voltage gain, and some current. Solid state of <30 Ohms and a tube pre of < 200 Ohms. I had a high impedance tube in for awhile, and the sound went dull. I think situations like that caused some guys to complain about 2D sound. I also tried a no gain extremely low impedance solid state pre that was just great with several amps, but the sound was lifeless with the Crown. Unfortunately I don't have another Class D amp around to check if this anomaly happens with Class D in general.

steve

[Tomy2Tone]

I have a Pascal class d amp from Aluminati Sound that I'll also try the passive with and see what difference there is between it and the Crown.

[Odal3]

Still using it as well. Its been fun to read all the reviews, and looking fwd to more. BTW: Has anyone figured out if possible to hardwire around the dsp or alternatively feed it with digital in? Been starting to play with an external dsp solution and want to minimize number of conversions if possible.

[jk@home]

Still using my 1500s, although as is/plug and play wise, they are not the best pairing for my speakers. My theory is the Crowns have a more flat frequency response, or voiced for pro apps, what ever that requires. Not voiced for audiophile speakers. Thus the recommendations for "warm" sounding speakers. There are work-arounds for this, ie. tubes, cables, EQ, etc.

Someday my Crowns will be moved to the HT system, the Paradigm Studios there will appreciate them more then the KEFs do. For now, a little EQ upstream will suffice.

Greg, nice writeup. Your comment on listening to the amp for only a shortwhile and making an impulse opinion rings true to me. My first impressions weren't so great either. But after working the amp into the system, with other adjustments, such as speaker toe-in,  modding the binding posts, etc. AND getting use to the sound, they are satisfying. No 2d problems here.

And they are smooth sounding in my system. The LS50s are said to work best with a toe-in at 45 degrees, straight at ya. Couldn't do that with the previous amp without fatigue. Can now and it makes a giant improvement in the soundstage.