Heideana Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Can anyone tell me which of the current Crown power amps are suitable for home use? I see them on sale at Guitar Center time to time, but never know which ones are worth considering. I want something that gives me 200-400 watts channel. Thanks for any thoughts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whamo Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Two to four hundred watts is completely insane. I've yet to get my volume control past halfway with 35 wpc. All I've heard about in the crown lineup is the d75 which is nice. Congrats on the new cornwalls too. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Confirm this with someone else first but bthe K1 or K2 and someone else here mentioned the XLS series. I've read it can be a great match with a tube Preamp.....check with Duke or Dean. I'd really like to try either with my 7's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 I don't know the lineups very well, but if you can get one that stays cool with out the fan, that would be good. You'll hear the fan noise during quiet passages. These are really made for PA use. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted April 9, 2006 Author Share Posted April 9, 2006 Thanks for the tips. I want a Crown amp for my RF-7's too...I probably should have mentioned that in my original post. I'm just a bit overwhelmed when I look at the various models. I'm looking for a few clues to start familiarizing myself with them so I can an eye out for sales and what shows up used at my local pro audio store here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 I have to go to Colter's side of town to find a Crown dealer. The K-1 & 2, (in my dreams) are fanless and there may be ways to quiet the other fan cooled models if necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay L Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 any of their models are fine to use for home, you can slow down, or change the fans to make them quiet. i have an xls for subwoofer duty, and an old D150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 I have to go to Colter's side of town to find a Crown dealer. The K-1 & 2, (in my dreams) are fanless and there may be ways to quiet the other fan cooled models if necessary. If you're headed up to Castleton, you should stop by here- I'm like 5 minutes away! Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Not trying to start anything here, but seriously... Why would anyone need 200 to 400 watts per channel for a pair of Klipsch? My receiver is supposed to be 110 watts x 7, but I seriously doubt I'm even putting near 10 watts into my CWs at the most, and I play my system LOUD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Chops, Have you ever heard your speakers with 200+ watts? I tried 250 for an evening and was very happy with what I heard, something about the high power makes a difference for the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Michael, I'll take you up on that offer sometime. We don't get to that side of town real often but do once in a while. It would be great to see speakers I've only heard about......[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Not trying to start anything here, but seriously... Why would anyone need 200 to 400 watts per channel for a pair of Klipsch? My receiver is supposed to be 110 watts x 7, but I seriously doubt I'm even putting near 10 watts into my CWs at the most, and I play my system LOUD. it's called headroom. Remember each 3db of additional loudness called for by musical peaks takes DOUBLE the wattage to create. That adds up in a hurry. Your 110 watt receiver is probably closer to 80. If you run it til it peaks, then need louder- only 3 db more would take 160 wpc and 6 db would require 320 wpc! Not that we listen that loudly all the time, but with the dynamics in movies and some modern music (that's not compressed to death by overzealous engineers), realistic concert or theatre levels usually deem this type of power as advantageous, if not absolutely necessary. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted April 9, 2006 Author Share Posted April 9, 2006 Thanks for the tips all! I was hoping it was the case that fan speeds could be changed when I realized all, but the K-1 had them. The K-1 would be a dream come true...[8-|] Chops, I never thought that I'd ever want an amp with that kind of power either and was really happy running my RF-7's off of my tube amp in triode off the 4-ohm tap (which gives me somewhere between 30-60 watts I think). However, I noticed that the RF-7's mid-range was a bit smoother and the bass was tighter when I moved them to my HT area and hooked them up to my Denon 2805. Granted, s/s is supposed to have better low-end traction then my beloved tubes, but I also got to thinking about my brother's La Scala's that I cut my hifi teeth on thru the late 70's to late 80's. Initially he ran them off of Sony's first V-FET (or maybee it was FET) model amp. It was expensive at the time, low-powered and supposed to sound like a tube amp without the hassles and definitely could power the La Scala's to terrorize the neighborhood with Herbie Hancock and Alice Coltrane with ease, much to our delight! Somewhere around the early 80's, he replaced the Sony with a Carver pre-amp paired with the M-400 cube and the La Scala's got much tighter sounding with better bass and I started to understand the conversation about the RF-7's needing big reserves of watts because of the physics of their dual-woofer design where the low-end swings down to the 4-ohm or lower realm. I'm a phenomenological kinda guy, its' a bit of a leaf of faith for me and don't think I can articulate the actual "why" details of low-end requirements for bigger reserves when the resistance starts fluctuate in that 4-ohm and lower realm so that the RF-7's can maintain really tight, clean focus, so it'd be hard to debate much of it with me. I can say that the CW-II's ohmage doesn't dip below 5 ohms at 20 and 100 Hz, at least that's what I read in what appears to be a critical review by Borko on the CW II that I found on the web (http://www.belgaudio.com/kcmap.htm). If I understand the conversation correctly, that's why they, unlike the RF-7s, don't require big reserves of power to maintain tight, focused low-end. I think I also read somewhere on the forum that the RF-7's mid-range cleans-up, becomes more refined when they have bigger power reserves because of their lower ohm fluctuances as well. Anyhow, that's my long answer. The short is that I want to keep my eyes out for a good deal on some high-power Crowns' to use as power amps in my HT rig where I have RF-7's and a RC-7's and wanted some advice. I'm also thinking that a lower wattage Crown, like a D-75, would be the hot ticket to use with my KG3's that the CW's are replacing...I'm planning on powering the CW III's I've ordered with my KT-88's []. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay L Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 i think most people would be surprised to see just how much power speakers really use. its quite eye opening to look at it on an o'scope. 100w runs out REAL fast even at moderate listening levels. michael, did you get my email yesterday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Chops, Have you ever heard your speakers with 200+ watts? I tried 250 for an evening and was very happy with what I heard, something about the high power makes a difference for the better. In fact, yes I have. SAE A205 @ 200W per ch McIntosh MC-7200 @ 200W per ch Carver M-400t @ 201W per ch Carver TFM-35x @ 250W per ch Carver Pro PM-700 @ 250W per ch However, I have always had my CWs crossed over somewhere between 40Hz and 80Hz. I'm sure that I would of heard a difference if they were getting the full signal. But now since I think about it, I do tend to remember there being more "energy" or "snap" to the overall sound. Kinda like they were stronger or something. Hmm... [^o)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z4! Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Heideana, you might want to check out this thread about Crowns: http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/thread/602870.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 From what I heard last weekend any Crown will grate your ears into submission no problem all all. Pick your poison. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 what did you hear last weekend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z4! Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 From what I heard last weekend any Crown will grate your ears into submission no problem all all. Pick your poison. Craig Evidently there are many who disagree. I've never heard a D-45 so I can't comment, have you actually listened to a D-45? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 From what I heard last weekend any Crown will grate your ears into submission no problem all all. Pick your poison. Craig Wow, that's an interesting comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.