Scott Grammer Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 I have an opportunity to buy a Crown D-75 for a very reasonable price. It's clean, never been racked, but of course it's old, and probably needs a bit of freshening up. What do you think of the sound, especially with efficient speakers? Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry4841 Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 I misspoke and deleted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanksjim1 Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 I have several D-75s. I bought them for less than $150. each. I have used them with khorns and lascalas...I don't think there is anything better for the price for heritage; dead silent, XLR inputs and gain control...perfect for bi-amping. Yes my expensive tube stuff sounds better. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry4841 Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Some confusion on my part. The D150A with 75 watts per channel was the one I was referring to and not the d75. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 you can revamp the amp in key areas , making the amp into something very special Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanksjim1 Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Yes, Scott may be interested in reading about the D-45, the D-75's little brother, and the tweaks made to transform it into "the Duke" ( @Marvel ) : 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Grammer Posted October 16, 2023 Author Share Posted October 16, 2023 3 hours ago, henry4841 said: Some confusion on my part. The D150A with 75 watts per channel was the one I was referring to and not the d75. No problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Grammer Posted October 16, 2023 Author Share Posted October 16, 2023 1 hour ago, hanksjim1 said: Yes, Scott may be interested in reading about the D-45, the D-75's little brother, and the tweaks made to transform it into "the Duke" I'll dig that up. I've seen the D-45 and the D-60. The 75 is the only one I've ever actually used, as a headphone amp in a studio years ago. Edit: I found a pdf of the thread through the link you provided, and it appears that much of the work done to create "The Duke" was recapping with better caps. This is certainly part of what I would want to do. There was also replacement of opamps for more slew rate, but as my hearing tops out at 13k anymore, I don't know if that would ever be audible to me. The caps will certainly be up for replacement, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Grammer Posted October 16, 2023 Author Share Posted October 16, 2023 4 hours ago, hanksjim1 said: I have several D-75s. I bought them for less than $150. each. I have used them with khorns and lascalas...I don't think there is anything better for the price for heritage; dead silent, XLR inputs and gain control...perfect for bi-amping. Yes my expensive tube stuff sounds better. Thanks. That's exactly what I was wondering about, noise with efficient speakers and of course sound quality compared to more upscale hi-fi amps. Oddly, I don't think I've ever repaired a D-75. I suspect, considering how many were sold, that this is because they don't break down; a big plus in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 @Scott Grammer If you pass on it can you pass contact info to me? I WANT it. I have rebuilt 4 and know exactly what needs to be done. I would like to refurb another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Grammer Posted October 16, 2023 Author Share Posted October 16, 2023 57 minutes ago, babadono said: @Scott Grammer If you pass on it can you pass contact info to me? I WANT it. I have rebuilt 4 and know exactly what needs to be done. I would like to refurb another one. I'm negotiating with the guy regarding price, and I think I'll probably end up with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted October 16, 2023 Moderators Share Posted October 16, 2023 15 hours ago, Scott Grammer said: What do you think of the sound, especially with efficient speakers? I really liked the sound as much as any amp I tried. The speakers it was used with was very efficient, very close to the most efficient speakers Klipsch makes and it was dead quiet. MWM with 402 top horns, you could put your head in the 402 between songs and hear no noise or hiss of any kind. I now use something else only because one of the amps started making a noise, it was from the amp itself not through the speakers. It is the only reason I don't use them, gave them to a friend who wants to rebuild them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 -plenty of used D75A amps on Ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 @Scott Grammer There are different versions of a bunch of these. If you want to have a look under the hood on the model Mark worked on, you can borrow it for a while. I'm currently using a Crown Xli800 with my Heresy IIs, which is overkill, so the D-45 is sitting quiet. Actually wouldn't hurt to have it looked at as one day I noticed a little lower volume. When I looked at the amped there were rad light on. I had a stray wire on the back of the speaker shorting the signal. Might be my imagination, but after fixing the short, it still didn't sound quite right. I just switched it out out figured I would put back in later to try it. Just let me know and I'll get it up to you. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 FWIW...the D75 and D45/75A are different animals. D75 came first and has 2 single opamps and 1 dual. The D45/75A have a quad. D75 has balanced XLR input and unbalanced 1/4 phone in. D45/75A is balanced either way. There are other minor differences like a lot of hand wiring in the original D75 that was eliminated by the time D45/75A came along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 @dtel did your friend ever get a round tuit? I would love to take them off his hands if not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted October 17, 2023 Moderators Share Posted October 17, 2023 Not yet, he wanted to run his Jubes with them but never got his jubes yet. 😮 Just never got around to ordering them yet, or putting in a work order is probably closer to what will happen. I know he is always busy with work and visiting his parents, not even counting everything we expect him to do to help us organize the museum. We stay on his butt with the last one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 By putting in a work order, do you mean for the 'new' Heritage Jubilee or the UG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted October 17, 2023 Moderators Share Posted October 17, 2023 I would think for the new ones, if I were him that's what I would do for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Grammer Posted October 17, 2023 Author Share Posted October 17, 2023 2 hours ago, babadono said: FWIW...the D75 and D45/75A are different animals. Thanks. I'll find and download a service manual if I end up with the one I'm looking at. The owner and I are working on a trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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