Paducah Home Theater Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Pro amps can needlessly complicate things. Certainly nothing against them from a technical standpoint, but if you want the cleanest install with least amount of fuss then I'd stick with the appropriate consumer-level gear. Not sure I agree with this in general. Certainly some stubborn pro-specific amps are an annoyance if you have to use a CleanBox Pro, but the iNukes and ESPECIALLY the Crown XLS amps are very home friendly. Seriously, a Crown XLS Drivecore 2 already has: * native RCA inputs * a native silent fan that isn't even on unless you push it * native wire terminals so you don't have to use speakon terminals if you don't want You can even turn all the lights out so it's totally dark. It just really couldn't be any easier or friendly for home use. Plug it in, press a couple of buttons like 4 times to set it on 0.775 voltage input sensitivity, and it's ready to go. There's nothing that a typical consumer type of amp can offer that it doesn't have. Only disadvantage is no built in computer controlled DSP like the iNukes but typical consumer level cheap amps and lots of pro amps like standard QSC's does not have this either. Edited October 7, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwc Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 That is good info in the Crown XLS. I'll check that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Pro amps are simply not needed since you would rarely use any more than a watt or two to run these efficient horns so i agree with Quiet_Hollow. I just run a standard plate amp and those who hear these horn loaded subs say its the cleanest bass they ever heard, including myself and I'm very picky about my sound. Can you use a pro sound amp ? Shure you can but not something that is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwc Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Kudos to this thread to open my eyes to something. http://www.parts-express.com/crown-xls-1002-drivecore-2-power-amplifier-2-x-350w-at-4-ohms--245-507 Auto turn on, can dim the front panel, and RCA inputs. So those that have heard these....there are no loud fans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 ....there are no loud fans No idea but even if there are, they're easy to swap out for quiet ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Kudos to this thread to open my eyes to something. http://www.parts-express.com/crown-xls-1002-drivecore-2-power-amplifier-2-x-350w-at-4-ohms--245-507 Auto turn on, can dim the front panel, and RCA inputs. So those that have heard these....there are no loud fans? There's one fan, it's not loud, and it doesn't even turn on until you've pushed it pretty good for awhile. I can be right in front of the rack and can't tell it's on even with the door open, pretty much gotta stick your ear up to the amp to hear it. I'm running the 2502, it can move the hell out of my 18's. One good thing about Crown is that they rate their power rating as minimum guaranteed power, basically the opposite of Behringer. Edited October 7, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Pro amps are simply not needed since you would rarely use any more than a watt or two to run these efficient horns so i agree with Quiet_Hollow. As compared to the Dayton you are recommending, for a minimal upcharge for the smaller Crown you've got: less than half the distortion more overhead even if only half of it is used at 4 ohms WAY more overhead if you ever added more subs especially if you dropped the impedance 97 db vs. 85 db signal to noise ratio more flexibility due to being able to bridge it, run it at 2 ohms, accept XLR inputs, and use speakon outputs rack mountable weighs less than half as much no harder to hook up than the Dayton or anything else What exactly is the advantage of the Dayton? Edited October 7, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 What exactly is the advantage of the Dayton? Apparently nothing now....but back in the day when the Daytons first came out, the DriveCore2 wasn't available and the XLS (along with most other pro amps) looked a little out of place in the typical HT rack. It's clear that Crown is trying take a bite out of somebody's market share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 the XLS (along with most other pro amps) looked a little out of place in the typical HT rack. It's clear that Crown is trying take a bite out of somebody's market share. That's exactly why I got rid of my iNuke. Friggin silver spaceship looking thing with bright orange lights that can't be dimmed or turned off. Not sure what they were thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Does the pro amp have a phase adjustment ? You can buy a plate amp for under $100, i mentioned the stand alone because most would want to put their amp with the rest of their components. And again, you don't need anywhere near that amount of power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Does the pro amp have a phase adjustment ? Nope, but if you're going to set it up right, you'll be running a DSP on any amp, which can do such things better than that knob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 How do you adjust phase (if necessary) on that amp? I can have a plate amp up and running in about 30 seconds. It would probably take me 30 minutes just to read the manual on the iNuke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I don't have any sound processing options on my components nor do i care to run any so a phase adjustment is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 How do you adjust phase (if necessary) on that amp? I can have a plate amp up and running in about 30 seconds. It would probably take me 30 minutes just to read the manual on the iNuke. If you were doing it on an iNuke you'd do it on the screen below. With the Crown you'd need a MiniDSP and do about the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Where is that screen on the amp or is it a program you run on a pc then transfer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Where is that screen on the amp or is it a program you run on a pc then transfer? You plug a laptop into it via a usb cable then run a program. Once it's set you just save it and it's good. You can save several different setups and swap them around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Thanks. The early Behringers DSP was supposedly pretty noisy. How are these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Noise floor in general is about the same on both the iNuke and Crown. Really only an issue when you crank the gain up too high, you can get some low level hissing and humming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I'm considering a couple of these to go with a pair of horn subs. http://gr-research.com/a370peq.aspx I like the continuous phase control and the high level inputs. I know many don't like the speaker level inputs but I think I get the balance better and I am getting the same signal at the sub amp as I am getting at the main speakers. Not sure what I'm building yet but I have enough vacation built up I should have some time. Anybody try these or dealt with GR Research before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I know many don't like the speaker level inputs but I think I get the balance better and I am getting the same signal at the sub amp as I am getting at the main speakers. They work great with older receivers or integrated amps that do not have sub out's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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