Crown XTi 1000 review from the expert!

[HakAttack1]

I signed up just to let you know that I have to say othewise on this...

Do you think you may have gotten a bad amp? I have been using these for years now and have NEVER had a problem with even one!

They provide great clarity and punch beyond most others offered in this price-range. I have experience with MANY other amps and
for the money, you cannot go wrong with a Crown.

This XTI is an class A/B power amp with a switching power supply that reduces weight down to around 18 pounds. Others weigh
in at 30 pounds or more! I have had nothing but great compliments from people who have said they love the sound I put out in the clubs.

And I love the built in DSP you also don't get in this price range unless you buy a piece of crap, Behringer! Those new iNuke's are
absolute GARBAGE!! I tried one to see and they do color your sound and muddy it down.

Anyway, Any product isn't for everyone... such as Ford or Chevy isn't for everyone. But, I find reviews like this to be quite biased and
lead others on that could have also had the exact opposite of experience.

Peace []

[dtel]

Welcome Hak

I don't think JC really had a problem with it working correctly, it just does not sound as good as some of the other amps he has tried, and JC likes to try out alot of different equipment.

Glad you joined, stick around, one more opinion could not possibly hurt. [Y]

[HakAttack1]

Well, I appreciate the response, though you must remember... I said for the money. Musician's Friend has this amp on sale for only $299 right now!!

A STEAL of a DEAL!!!

I use one on my bass rig as I have played bass semi-pro for 25 plus years. I also have tried many amps and have not been as happy with any other amp I've tried.

[]

[dtel]

That is a great price. [Y]

[DrWho]

I actually have JC's old XTi and it sounds the same as the other 3 in my possession. For the money, you can't go wrong with these amps. You gottaspend some serious money to get to the next level of performance.

[djk]

Does the supply run out of gas when pushed in the bass? Do you have any idea what kind of phase angle they can drive? If the DSP pukes, will the amplifier still run?

Most amps I have heard with switch-mode power supplies sound anemic when pushed hard in the bass.

The first XTi series are available cheap, now that they have come out with the improved series. Harman replaced a lot of these amps early on, I wonder if the tail-enders are refurbs? (Harmon has been caught doing this before).

[MikeFord]

I use one on my bass rig as I have played bass semi-pro for 25 plus years. I also have tried many amps and have not been as happy with any other amp I've tried.

Good use, but swapping it for a classic old tube amp may not have been the best choice.

[Invidiosulus]

Well, I appreciate the response, though you must remember... I said for the money. Musician's Friend has this amp on sale for only $299 right now!!

A STEAL of a DEAL!!!

I use one on my bass rig as I have played bass semi-pro for 25 plus years. I also have tried many amps and have not been as happy with any other amp I've tried.

That is a good price on them.

You are however talking about completely different listening environment than JC's basement.

What's the rest of your bass rig?

I've got a small GK setup and a '77 jazz bass with active pickups.

-Josh

[HakAttack1]

Invidiosulus:

I play a Fender 5 string American Standard with an Warmoth 4+1 neck and custom Mike Lull
pickups and a BadAss V bridge.

Also own a vintage SGC Bass Collection's 505 bass with Kent Armstrong PJ custom wound
pickups and a Bartolini 4.7 preamp.

I play through an SWR (vintage) Grand Prix preamp (which I love) and a Sonic maximizer and
EQ along with an ART power conditioner and of course, the XTI 1000 power amp in my rack.
For cabs, SWR 410 GoLight and a GoLight 115 with an upgraded speaker to the Kappa Pro
600 watt.

[HakAttack1]

Does the supply run out of gas when pushed
in the bass? Do you have any idea what kind of phase angle they can
drive? If the DSP pukes, will the amplifier still run?

Most amps I have heard with switch-mode power supplies sound anemic when pushed hard in the bass.

The
first XTi series are available cheap, now that they have come out with
the improved series. Harman replaced a lot of these amps early on, I
wonder if the tail-enders are refurbs? (Harmon has been caught doing
this before).

In my application, it has not. Though we have used them in the PA also and has sounded very good.

The only thing I don't like is the fan noise. But I attempt to ignore it.

As far as any other issues, I haven't had any. Not saying that others won't... I just haven't.

Good use, but swapping it for a classic old tube amp may not have been the best choice.

Matter of opinion. I love my setup and have no intentions fo changing any time soon.

[Invidiosulus]

The only thing I don't like is the fan noise. But I attempt to ignore it.

I don't like the fan noise on my 700RB either, however if you are really playing then no one can hear it anyways.

[HakAttack1]

The only thing I don't like is the fan noise. But I attempt to ignore it.

I don't like the fan noise on my 700RB either, however if you are really playing then no one can hear it anyways.

Yep... only bothers me in practice.

[psg]

Does the supply run out of gas when pushed in the bass?

I haven't gone through the whole thread, but I stayed away from this amp to drive my sub because it was tested to deliever less than 100W at 20 Hz.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13869426#post13869426

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13877614#post13877614

Hope I'm not repeating something that was already said...

[Don Richard]

The tester ran the amp at an arbitrary harmonic distortion level, 0.5%, at 20 Hz. He stopped testing when the distortion reached that level. He should have run the amp to clipping then taken a power reading. Nowhere does Crown state that this amp will output 20-20kHz at 0.5% distortion.

If one is worried that >0.5% harmonic distortion is too high, look at the sub's distortion at 20 Hz. It is likely 10-50 times greater than the amp, no matter the brand or model.

[DrWho]

The load was also a resistor...speakers will be very reactive at those frequencies.

The XTi is better than other SMPS amplifiers when it comes to bus pumping, but it could sound better when clipping at lower frequencies. However, I always use my amplifiers within their linear region, so the differences in those situations is totally negligible. You'd be far better off putting the money saved on the amp into better speakers if loud SPL is what you're after.

The low level detail of the XTi isn't anything to write home about, but that's a totally different issue.

[djk]

In theory you could run it in bridge to reduce problems with buss pumping.

I was really wondering if it could drive full power into a 45°~60° reactive load in the bass. From its wimpy 2Ω rating I would guess than the 4Ω reactive power would be limited by the supply. So I guess flogging it into a 4Ω load for bass is out of the question?

[Don Richard]

If the loudspeaker has a 45 deg. phase angle at a particular frequency the amp (any amp) will dissipate 2X the power as compared to a resistive load of equivalent impedance, and the load will receive 1/2 the power. If the amp is not cooled adequately it will not last long. If the bass rig has been working at the SPL level the musician plays at, it will probably keep working.

[6l6gc]

I tried to follow through to the end of that saga, Turns out crown actually took notice and tested production units

They concluded that if the main supply voltage drops to 115V or below and the load is a resistor and the test signal is a continuous sine wave,

then they have some low DC or some other overly sensitive protection circuit that kicks in too early,

I don't know if it is at all possible to test those amps while clipping, they probably never clip with all this political correctness built into them.

as correct as a 7 calorie cheeseburger. :-)

I just got 2 dts10 subs waiting for an amp, I guess Xti wont be it.

[bhendrix]

I am running XTi's in several high-SPL subwoofer configurations with absolutely now problems. One room is a 1500 seat auditorium driving KP-682's with XTi 4000. Live band with mic on the kick bass. The place rocks and the XTi's just keep pumping it out.

Another is a 400 seat auditorium driving KP-684's with XTi 2000. Live band plus movies. No problems pumping out chest-thumping, deep bass.

Another is my 18' x 26' home theater driving a KPT-884 with a XTi 1000. Waaay too much bass, but boy is a clean and deep.

I wouldn't trust that review driving a resistor as much as I trust my real life experience and my ears.

Try the XTi. I think you'll be surprised . . . . .