Crown XTi 1000 review from the expert!

[anarchist]

Son of a *****; now someone says something. I just ordered 4 of those for my Home Theater based on mdeneen's review.

[Deang]

LOL! Guess you'll have to take up DJ'ing!

[seti]

Thanks Wendy I just spewed Diet DrPepper out my nose and drenched the keyboard. I can't believe it still works....

[jwc]

I got the XTi at my doorstep around 5:30 pm. I quickly hooked it up to my peach and AH! Tube CD Player. I turned it all on and went to the hospital for some late night work. This was hooked to the LS II's. Yes used thos RCA to XLR adapters.

Got Home around 9:45pm. Wendy and I sat down and went over a few details of the day. I was playing some music at low listening levels as I drank a beer. We then put in some JJ and turned the volume up.

My wife is used to listening to my stereo and has typical songs she wants to hear when in the basement with me. She has no idea what Crown is or what that amp is worth. I have had that peach and the tube CD player used in combination before with different amps.

I said nothing as I'm trying to gather my opinion. I had no intention of her even listening to this amp. It was just a coincidence. Anyway...she immediately said "this sounds terrible" and "can we hooked it back up the old way". Well, I had her listen to a few other songs and she kinda started "building up" her disappointment. Then she went on to ask me what the heck I was doing with this amp and who talked me into buying it. I explained that I wanted to hear it as other forum members thought that it was a great value. In the end, I was gonna use it as a subwoofer amp if it wasn't "all that great".

Anyway...she started getting worked up and wanted to make that post herself. All that was her idea. She has some other ideas but they were a little over the top and I persuaded her to tone it down a bit. That was the best I could do.

So what you have is a 30 minute impression of that setup from my wife. A rebuttal to her is worthless as she never reads the forum really. She last logged on to possibly buy some Belles from Seti. Her experince is basically listening to all my stuff and had expectations of the "usual" sound.

My opinion is this. I couldn't tolerate listening to loud volumes with this amp as I got fatigued. To get the bass hittin me like my MAC SS amp....the high end was glaring. It does have bass though...I'm glad. Tight. I found no soundstage at all. Infact, it was like I wasn't listening to horns. There was no grainyness. Clean. The music had no warmth. Details weren't there. The K77 with my SS MAC amp shines with these cymbals and such that I've grown to appreciate. The Crown didn't have that.

Overall...just wasn't enjoyable. I don't find this amp as a good choice on La scalas. I think I will like it as a sub amp as the bass is there. I'm sure other reasons for the dislike can be blamed on the Peach or the use of tubes...blah...blah.... I know there are others who like this amp on their system. Please don't take this personal. I really don't want this thread to turn into flames. I never intended on giving a review really but my wife was all fired-up last night about it. I therefore just wanted to give a f/u here.

On a good note. I really didn't notice much hiss. Only if I put my head up to the speaker. No hum either.

jc

[oldbuckster]

I think she did a great job, simple, understated opinion from a normal person without all the mumbo-jumbo audiophile [bs] from supposedly smart, highly knowledgable, technically skilled forum members, who at times like to spark alittle in fighting, because they seem bored !!! .... [Y]

[philtubes]

I don't know if the amp is brand new or not, but a new amp needs a little time to warm up and break in. You may never like it but give it a little more time to cook . This amp has stirred up so much fuss and according to others doesn't sound so great even for $400 plus, try an amp like the the Odyssey Audio Khartago or Stratos for a little more money and you'll probably like what you here.

Phill

[bodcaw boy]

i think the crown xti's sound awesome. how's that for a short review ( i am not an expert and i didn't sleep at a holiday inn last night).

take care,

roy

[White_Hawk]

right to the point, no BS, no 40 pages of waiting/wading through a mire of rubbish... I like this kind of review =)

[dtel]

It seems to make a big difference on what and how ( dsp or not ) it is used ?

For the most part people who used it and liked it did so on a speaker FOR the dsp's, for the most part, those who used it just for an amp didn't.....or do I have it wrong ?

[tigerwoodKhorns]

I don't know if the amp is brand new or not, but a new amp needs a little time to warm up and break in. You may never like it but give it a little more time to cook . This amp has stirred up so much fuss and according to others doesn't sound so great even for $400 plus, try an amp like the the Odyssey Audio Khartago or Stratos for a little more money and you'll probably like what you here.

Phill

I have never heard this amp and am not for or against it, but I was going to say the same thing. Doesn't it need a little break in time? I really don't know. My QSC sounded awesome from day one and that is the only brand new amp that I have bought.

I lent a friend a pair of Bryston 7B St monoblocks and they sounded as thin, harsh and bad as his Adcoms on an older pair of B&W Matrix 801's. Not at all what they sound liek at home. Then they warmed up and completely changed in about 1/2 hour (this was in January). He loved them. 1/2 hour from a cold start is not that much for a brand new amp.

[JJkizak]

I am agast. How does a SS device break in? Do the molecules reset themselves for maximum performance? Are there nano machines manipulating the molecules for better performance? How do they tell the difference between good performance and bad performance? Do you bake the amplifier in an oven at 350 degrees for an hour? What happens if it is overdone? I was unaware that SS amplifier designers had circumnavigated the laws of physics.

JJK

[NOSValves]

I personally have very little experience with break in of SS based gear. But I can tell you first hand that I witness the break-in miracle on a daily basis with gear I rebuild here at my shop. Time and again I finish a vintage (or not so vintage) piece of gear and fire it up in the late afternoon, test it for proper frequency/square wave response and distortion. Then I hook it up to my main system and think..... man did I mess this one up? Let it play over night and in the morning they sound great. This happens time and again over the last 6 or 7 years. Now I find that this same thing happens with new amplifiers I build but at a much smaller scale (you have to listen real close to discern the difference over night or for the first few weeks of use.

But this is with tube gear.

Craig

[jacksonbart]

Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you, may not be right for some.
A man is born, he's a man of means.
Then along come two, they got nothing but their jeans.

But they got, Diff'rent Strokes.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.

Everybody's got a special kind of story
Everybody finds a way to shine,
It don't matter that you got not alot
So what,
They'll have theirs, and you'll have yours, and I'll have mine.
And together we'll be fine....

Because it takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.
Yes it does.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.

[Daddy Dee]

I don't know if the amp is brand new or not, but a new amp needs a little time to warm up and break in. You may never like it but give it a little more time to cook . This amp has stirred up so much fuss and according to others doesn't sound so great even for $400 plus, try an amp like the the Odyssey Audio Khartago or Stratos for a little more money and you'll probably like what you here.

Phill

I have never heard this amp and am not for or against it, but I was going to say the same thing. Doesn't it need a little break in time? I really don't know. My QSC sounded awesome from day one and that is the only brand new amp that I have bought.

I lent a friend a pair of Bryston 7B St monoblocks and they sounded as thin, harsh and bad as his Adcoms on an older pair of B&W Matrix 801's. Not at all what they sound liek at home. Then they warmed up and completely changed in about 1/2 hour (this was in January). He loved them. 1/2 hour from a cold start is not that much for a brand new amp.

TigerwoodsKhorn

Which QSC amp are you using?

[Daddy Dee]

I personally have very little experience with break in of SS based gear. But I can tell you first hand that I witness the break-in miracle on a daily basis with gear I rebuild here at my shop. Time and again I finish a vintage (or not so vintage) piece of gear and fire it up in the late afternoon, test it for proper frequency/square wave response and distortion. Then I hook it up to my main system and think..... man did I mess this one up? Let it play over night and in the morning they sound great. This happens time and again over the last 6 or 7 years. Now I find that this same thing happens with new amplifiers I build but at a much smaller scale (you have to listen real close to discern the difference over night or for the first few weeks of use.

But this is with tube gear.

Craig

Craig,

Thanks for the post. That is most interesting.

One question I've wondered about in breaking in tube gear: During the run in time, do you just leave the gear on? Or is it important to leave it playing a source over night? I've done both, but haven't known which was more helpful.

[Daddy Dee]

i think the crown xti's sound awesome. how's that for a short review ( i am not an expert and i didn't sleep at a holiday inn last night).

take care,

roy

roy,

you have though, had lunch with two ducks at Amigo Juan's!

Those are expert credentials for sure!

[Don Richard]

I personally have very little experience with break in of SS based gear. But I can tell you first hand that I witness the break-in miracle on a daily basis with gear I rebuild here at my shop. Time and again I finish a vintage (or not so vintage) piece of gear and fire it up in the late afternoon, test it for proper frequency/square wave response and distortion. Then I hook it up to my main system and think..... man did I mess this one up? Let it play over night and in the morning they sound great. This happens time and again over the last 6 or 7 years. Now I find that this same thing happens with new amplifiers I build but at a much smaller scale (you have to listen real close to discern the difference over night or for the first few weeks of use.

But this is with tube gear.

Craig

I have been noticing a similar phenomenon where my system sounds better earlier in the day than it does at night. No problem with the equipment in my case, but I have found that my ears are better in the A.M. It appears that exposure to "normal noise" throughout the day shifts the hearing threshold and that is what's happening. Lately I've been wearing earplugs during the day and find that to be very helpful. By "normal noise" I mean less than 80 dBa peaks less than 4 hours/day. Not much SPL, but exposure is cumulative.

Don

[jacksonbart]

I personally have very little experience with break in of SS based gear. But I can tell you first hand that I witness the break-in miracle on a daily basis with gear I rebuild here at my shop. Time and again I finish a vintage (or not so vintage) piece of gear and fire it up in the late afternoon, test it for proper frequency/square wave response and distortion. Then I hook it up to my main system and think..... man did I mess this one up? Let it play over night and in the morning they sound great. This happens time and again over the last 6 or 7 years. Now I find that this same thing happens with new amplifiers I build but at a much smaller scale (you have to listen real close to discern the difference over night or for the first few weeks of use.

But this is with tube gear.

Craig

I have been noticing a similar phenomenon where my system sounds better earlier in the day than it does at night. No problem with the equipment in my case, but I have found that my ears are better in the A.M. It appears that exposure to "normal noise" throughout the day shifts the hearing threshold and that is what's happening. Lately I've been wearing earplugs during the day and find that to be very helpful. By "normal noise" I mean less than 80 dBa peaks less than 4 hours/day. Not much SPL, but exposure is cumulative.

Don

Dupe

[jacksonbart]

I personally have very little experience with break in of SS based gear. But I can tell you first hand that I witness the break-in miracle on a daily basis with gear I rebuild here at my shop. Time and again I finish a vintage (or not so vintage) piece of gear and fire it up in the late afternoon, test it for proper frequency/square wave response and distortion. Then I hook it up to my main system and think..... man did I mess this one up? Let it play over night and in the morning they sound great. This happens time and again over the last 6 or 7 years. Now I find that this same thing happens with new amplifiers I build but at a much smaller scale (you have to listen real close to discern the difference over night or for the first few weeks of use.

But this is with tube gear.

Craig

I have been noticing a similar phenomenon where my system sounds better earlier in the day than it does at night. No problem with the equipment in my case, but I have found that my ears are better in the A.M. It appears that exposure to "normal noise" throughout the day shifts the hearing threshold and that is what's happening. Lately I've been wearing earplugs during the day and find that to be very helpful. By "normal noise" I mean less than 80 dBa peaks less than 4 hours/day. Not much SPL, but exposure is cumulative.

Don

Don

I usually sleep with ear plugs and some of my most enjoyable listening occurs when I go down stairs as soon as I wake up. Kind of the same effect. If possible you might want to attempt to reset you ears by wearing a pair prior to listening, say while you are reading. I have never tried to do that, just usually listen Saturday and Sunday morning while reading first thing in the morning after removing the ear plugs. Of course in my case I have to feed our two pugs first.

[bodcaw boy]

i think the crown xti's sound awesome. how's that for a short review ( i am not an expert and i didn't sleep at a holiday inn last night).

take care,

roy

roy,

you have though, had lunch with two ducks at Amigo Juan's!

Those are expert credentials for sure!

hey DD,

you know why i was pouting in the picture you took? i thought you said we were having duck for lunch at Amigo (i love duck!!). but it turned out to be i was having lunch WITH ducks........ [:|]

take care,

roy