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A tip of the hat to Crown.


Ziggurat

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I recently purchased a Crown Macro-Tech 2401, based on discussions here and elsewhere about building a system around the 402's. I had absolutely no idea what I was buying - it just happened to come up locally and I grabbed it for some solid state bass control - thinking I would run my Prima Luna somehow on the tops.

 

It was going to sit idle until I work out exactly what direction I am going to take with the system build, but the other day I bought some XLR to RCA plugs and connected the Crown to my MHDT tube dac.  First thing I noticed was the fan... it's amazing the amp didn't levitate with the squall of air gushing through it.  I took the panels off and gave the old beast a clean, then replaced the fan with a quieter set of fins. Plugged back in, I set about some serious listening.

 

Running the Altec 19 bottoms and crossovers and the k402's on top, the first thing I noticed was how much I have been missing at the top and bottom. Second thing was the GRIP and SLAM.  Then I noticed that my favourite Dire Straits album just didn't seem as 'listenable' as was on the Prima Luna - a harsh edge here and there - but then, there was also features of the music that I had never heard coming through before.

 

A few albums later, the penny was really starting to drop. Feed the Crown exceptional recordings and it delivered exceptional sound; but the slightest hint of weakness in source material would be utterly laid bare.

 

I listened to a cluster of known -gem recordings - a couple of Diana Krall offerings, Yello, etc. On these, I have never heard anything come close to the sound I was hearing - a crystal clear deep wall of shimmering magic. The 402's were gone, and the room was filled. Immense. 

 

Switching back to the PL, I can listen to anything and everything. It does a smashing job as jack of all trades - but the Crown is master, and has made me see a new way forward.

 

Alas, our time together has been cut short by blown resistors. I hope I can get it up and running again so I can experiment with a new concept to me - taming the raw beauty of a monster solid state amp with the Xilica, and just maybe some additional tubes up front.

 

Tonight I dine on Prima Luna mush - it's easy to chew and to swallow - and tastes sweet every day.  But I have been to the butcher's block and tasted his wild venison - rare, thick-cut and bloody. 

 

I want some more.

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Schu said:

all amplifiers are exactly the same... they all produce the same transient response, the same dynamic range and the same noise floor.

 

You either have a marvelous sense of irony or some serious Ear-Shu's 🙂

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3 hours ago, parlophone1 said:

Do you have any idea why resistors went off?

 

Yes, I'm starting to think a couple of missing screws allowed the bottom panel to press against the main pcb and possibly create a hot point or a short. I can't be certain though. The problem happened after i put it on some small risers which would have localised the pressure points to the four corners of the bottom panel.

 

I may just replace the resistors and try my luck, or I may send her to the tech for an overhaul - see if we can't keep her on the road for a few more sets 🙂

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Well, some things happen for a reason huh? 

 

Made a call to a local tech - Can you please fix my Crown?  No mate, he says, but I can do you a deal on a few I have laying about here....

 

All going, all in good nick, and for a very nice price (I am sitting here calculating my watts-at-8-ohms-per-dollar ratio). 

 

So now I have a fun weekend ahead of me.... Hope y'all do too!

 

Crowns.thumb.jpg.f0ce1bce6d740907898e59d2663f8e4c.jpg

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