CROWN vs. CREST Power Amplifiers
TROY HOUGH
I am a big fan of Crown amps and am wondering what everyone thinks.
Anyone with any nightmare stories involving any Crown or Crest
experiences? Anything good? Which do you prefer?
Troy
bl...@magicnet.net
HOUGH) wrote:
I don't think you could go wrong with either choice.
Brian Allen
>I am a big fan of Crown amps and am wondering what everyone thinks.
>Anyone with any nightmare stories involving any Crown or Crest
>experiences? Anything good? Which do you prefer?
>Troy
I agree, both are excellent. I tend to lean towards to the crests
though, tighter bottom and more accurate highs, though they cost a
touch more than the crowns, I feel they are worth it. I don't know
that much about Crown reliability, but the Crests are great for that.
The SR company I worked for had 25 various crest FA and Professional
series and never one failed over the three years I was with them!
buza...@teleport.com (Brian Allen)
Chuck Kuczaj
I bought a new PT2. One of the channels had an intermittent noise
problem. Shortly thereafter, the channel died completely. It took
three round-trips to Indiana before it was finally repaired. Crown
picks up the COD cost (which was about $75 each way, so they spent
$450 in shipping alone to get my unit repaired). I was quite angry
because it was our main P.A. amp, and had to rent one during the time
it was out of commission (about 6 weeks), which I felt was more than
enough time to repair the amp, or at least, provide me with a loaner
for the interim. It turned out to be a problem with the breaker, which
was not happy driving less than an 8 ohm load. The amp works fine now.
I suspect that this is one of the more negative stories about Crown.
During the downtime, I purchased a Crest LA901, which I now use as a
monitor amp. I would still consider purchasing more Crown amps for
I bet my story is few and far between many much happier ones.
-Chuck
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Andrew Wing
: tho...@herbie.unl.edu (TROY HOUGH) wrote:
: I agree, both are excellent. I tend to lean towards to the crests
: though, tighter bottom and more accurate highs, though they cost a
: touch more than the crowns, I feel they are worth it. I don't know
: that much about Crown reliability, but the Crests are great for that.
: The SR company I worked for had 25 various crest FA and Professional
: series and never one failed over the three years I was with them!
How many series does Crest have? What's the difference between the
LA and FA series? Do they have a WEB page? TIA!
--
Politics is not the art of persuasion, it's the science of selfishness.
"Speeding down the misinformation superhighway"
Big Brother is not watching you, you're watching Big Brother, all 181 channels
Andy Wing Temple U. Comp Svcs agw...@astro.ocis.temple.edu
Timothy A. Dawson
agw...@astro.ocis.temple.edu (Andrew Wing) writes:
>Brian Allen (buza...@teleport.com) wrote:
>: tho...@herbie.unl.edu (TROY HOUGH) wrote:
>: I agree, both are excellent. I tend to lean towards to the crests
>: though, tighter bottom and more accurate highs, though they cost a
>: touch more than the crowns, I feel they are worth it. I don't know
>: that much about Crown reliability, but the Crests are great for that.
>: The SR company I worked for had 25 various crest FA and Professional
>: series and never one failed over the three years I was with them!
> How many series does Crest have? What's the difference between the
>LA and FA series? Do they have a WEB page? TIA!
At least five that I can think of (listed from bottom to top of line):
LA
FA
VX
CA (Not sure if this would go before or after the VX . . . )
Pro Series (4801, etc).
A quick look at the specs for the LA series (which a poster on this thread
was complaining of overtemp shutdowns on) would reveal that the LA is the
only Crest series that is NOT rated to 2 ohms - only four, and hence has
far fewer output devices that the other series. It also is the only series
which does NOT have IGM, hence it will not protect itself from being overdriven.
The FA series is basically the same series as the LA, but they have the
additional output devices needed to run 2 ohm loads, and the full suite of
Crest protection circuitry (IGM, etc).
I have several CA series amps, and no matter what I do to them, I have
not yet been able to get the fans to step up from idle, much less overheat
them . . . . . .
For grins, since I am fairly familiar with some of the Crown lines, here is
about how I see the two sets of lines comparing:
Crest Crown
===== =====
Pro Series MacroTech
CA MicroTech
VX ComTech
FA Not sure . . .
LA PowerBase, etc.
The one BIG difference that I see in the Crest and Crown lines that affects
my use, is that the Crests have multi speed fans, and are QUIET when you don't
really run them up. The Crowm MicroTech/MacroTech lines have single speed
fans and are LOUD! Considering that I do a fair amount of theatre, this makes
the Crowns pretty much unusable if you need to put your racks onstage in a
small venue . . . . YMMV.
Both have second to none reliability!
--
================================================================================
Tim Dawson (tada...@jcpenney.com) CEPS Manager
JCPenney, Catalog Electronic Publishing Bellnet: (214)-431-8875
P.O. Box 10001, Dallas TX. 75024-6111 FAXnet: (214)-431-9337
Andre Bolen
Timothy A. Dawson (tada...@cat.jcp.com) wrote:
<snip>
: > How many series does Crest have? What's the difference between the
: >LA and FA series? Do they have a WEB page? TIA!
:
: At least five that I can think of (listed from bottom to top of line):
:
: LA
: FA
: VX
: CA (Not sure if this would go before or after the VX . . . )
: Pro Series (4801, etc).
:
: A quick look at the specs for the LA series (which a poster on this thread
: was complainBing of overtemp shutdowns on) would reveal that the LA is the
: only Crest series that is NOT rated to 2 ohms - only four, and hence has
: far fewer output devices that the other series. It also is the only series
: which does NOT have IGM, hence it will not protect itself from being
: overdriven.
Another thing about the LA series is that they use TRS jacks for
inputs and have rear-mounted attenuators-- not a sign of Pro gear.
: The FA series is basically the same series as the LA, but they have the
: additional output devices needed to run 2 ohm loads, and the full suite of
: Crest protection circuitry (IGM, etc).
Also, the FA2401 seems like a different beast then the rest of the FA
line, with two separate power transformers/CCBs/etc.
: I have several CA series amps, and no matter what I do to them, I have
: not yet been able to get the fans to step up from idle, much less overheat
: them . . . . . .
They are good amps, with loads of power.
<Amp comparison deleted to save space>
I do think there is another thing to keep in mind here-- the relative
release years of the model lines. The FA and LA lines are older then the
CA line, which seems much like a power-bumped, streamlined model..
Two notably absent features of the CA line are the octal sockets and the
input/output barrier strips, which could limit the installation options of
the amps, which were perhaps deleted on account of limited use and to
reach a better price point. (Of course, the Pro line doesn't have
barrier strips either. I like them. Since I'm running an unbalanced
signal into my amp, I can short the (-) lead to ground on the strip,
instead of a custom-wired cable.)
I have no idea about the V/Vs lines as I don't have experience with
them, but keep in mind that Crest refers to them as "engineered for
value." The closest line to this in the other lines literature would be
the CA's "..compact and very affordable." The Pro series would seem to
be a no-expense-spared reliability design.
However, keep in mind there seems to be overlap in the various lines as
far as price/performance goes. The best bang for the buck would seem to
be the CA series though.
Whoa-- long reply. Finally, I do have one thing to say about crest
amps-- or at least the FA line: Pin 2 should be hot!
First M. Lastname
In article <tadawson.830542946@decbuster>
tada...@cat.jcp.com (Timothy A. Dawson) writes:
> At least five that I can think of (listed from bottom to top of line):
>
> LA
> FA
> VX
> CA (Not sure if this would go before or after the VX . . . )
> Pro Series (4801, etc).
>
> A quick look at the specs for the LA series (which a poster on this thread
> was complaining of overtemp shutdowns on) would reveal that the LA is the
> only Crest series that is NOT rated to 2 ohms - only four, and hence has
> far fewer output devices that the other series. It also is the only series
> which does NOT have IGM, hence it will not protect itself from being overdriven.
>
> The FA series is basically the same series as the LA, but they have the
> additional output devices needed to run 2 ohm loads, and the full suite of
> Crest protection circuitry (IGM, etc).
>
> I have several CA series amps, and no matter what I do to them, I have
> not yet been able to get the fans to step up from idle, much less overheat
> them . . . . . .
>
> For grins, since I am fairly familiar with some of the Crown lines, here is
> about how I see the two sets of lines comparing:
>
> Crest Crown
> ===== =====
> Pro Series MacroTech
> CA MicroTech
> VX ComTech
> FA Not sure . . .
> LA PowerBase, etc.
>
> The one BIG difference that I see in the Crest and Crown lines that affects
> my use, is that the Crests have multi speed fans, and are QUIET when you don't
> really run them up. The Crowm MicroTech/MacroTech lines have single speed
> fans and are LOUD! Considering that I do a fair amount of theatre, this makes
> the Crowns pretty much unusable if you need to put your racks onstage in a
> small venue . . . . YMMV.
>
> Both have second to none reliability!
> --
> ================================================================================
> Tim Dawson (tada...@jcpenney.com) CEPS Manager
> JCPenney, Catalog Electronic Publishing Bellnet: (214)-431-8875
> P.O. Box 10001, Dallas TX. 75024-6111 FAXnet: (214)-431-9337
Just to add to that list, I have a Crest "CC" Series or CC-301, amp I
just bought used. It is rated at 360 a side into 8 and 500 a side into
4. ThAt's all I know as far as power output. I know that CC stands
for Convection Cooled, which it is, it only has sinks, albeit very
large ones, down each side. When I opened it up I counted 9 large
output tranies per side, and a good bank of supply caps totalling
178,000 microfarads. Does anyone know if this line is two ohm stable?
I would really like to know. Would it stay stable if I MADE sure to
keep it cool with a fan-cooled rack? Recently I did the PA fo a house
party, and I left about five hours into the party to catch some cold
air outside(BIG MISTAKE). I can back about twenty minutes later to
find one side of my rig shut down. Went back to take find out what was
up and the left side of My Crest had shut down. The CLIP/LIMIT light
was continuously lit, and I had to completely unplug it to get it to
reset. What happened? I don't think it was overheating becuse I had a
huge fan on the rack and the sinks where only pretty warm. If anyone
knows anything about this line or model, I would be greatful to hear
from you. I didn't get a manual so I am playing it cool right now and
only running eight ohm loads to see how it does for a while. Thanks
for your help................Peace, Jason
mustafa...@gmail.com
> I am a big fan of Crown amps and am wondering what everyone thinks.
> Anyone with any nightmare stories involving any Crown or Crest
> experiences? Anything good? Which do you prefer?
>
> Troy
Nil
Owain
> Do you realize you're responding to a 16-year-old message?
until I realised the date.
I guess in 1996 not everyone did.
Owain
Scott Dorsey
pages. I was one of them, Paisley Park was the other....
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
gregz
> Owain <spuorg...@gowanhill.com> wrote:
>> On Jul 23, 8:42=A0pm, Nil wrote:
>>> Do you realize you're responding to a 16-year-old message?
>>
>> I was slightly confused by the "Do they have a WEB page?" question
>> until I realised the date.
>>
>> I guess in 1996 not everyone did.
>
> At one point in 1996 there were two studios in the country that had web
> pages. I was one of them, Paisley Park was the other....
> --scott
At one point I typed in infosearch "gregs page" I was amazed my personal
web page came up, about the only one.
Today, I type in "gregs page" and my page still comes up first. Who would
figure ?
Greg
Tobiah
> Today, I type in "gregs page" and my page still comes up first. Who would
> figure ?
90's
of it all!!
Frank
in article <Re: CROWN vs. CREST Power Amplifiers>,
animated GIFs!
I once visited a Web page that must have had a hundred of those.
Brought the entire system to its knees.
--
Frank, Independent Consultant, New York, NY
[Please remove 'nojunkmail.' from address to reply via e-mail.]
Read Frank's thoughts on HDV at http://www.humanvalues.net/hdv/
[also covers AVCHD (including AVCCAM & NXCAM) and XDCAM EX].
Scott Dorsey
>On Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:22:23 -0700, in 'rec.audio.pro',
>in article <Re: CROWN vs. CREST Power Amplifiers>,
>Tobiah <to...@tobiah.org> wrote:
>
>>> Today, I type in "gregs page" and my page still comes up first. Who would
>>> figure ?
>>
>>Agghhh, the noisy backround, the centered text, the rambling design, the
>>90's
>>of it all!!
>
>Please don't forget those beautiful, eye-captivating, hypnotic
>animated GIFs!
because mosaic didn't do inline jpgs, B&W pictures because they were faster
to load...
My wife keeps bugging me to update it... I really should. I don't have
that Neotek console anymore either...
gregz
been renewed for a year. There was a time when I was crazy with finding new
search engines. I found google, and it caught on pretty good.
Greg