QSC amps and other pro power amps can sound great, although I only use 'em for pro audio gigs (don't like amp fans running in quiet listening or recording rooms). Certainly "bang for the buck" applies with this stuff (I use a "little" QSC amp here and there that's only 375 watts or something per side and will blast along at 4 ohms all day), and I'm not going to drag my groovy living room stereo tube amp around in a road case (although I've never hesitated to drag tube guitar amps around for several decades, so there's that). Note I was recently reading an audio magazine and saw a pic from the Magico factory with a QSC power amp sitting there…wonder what they were using it for?…hmmm…If you need a ballsy home theater amp or anything less delicate than audiophile amps, you can run pro amps at a fraction of the cost of precious "high end" gear…you lose some audio geek cred but so what?
Can pro amps possibly sound good? Crown, QSC, etc
I have been looking into pro amps for a to-be-built HT/music room. Recently I came across an old review in The Stereo Times: The Complete Audiophile Magazine, which reviewed 2 discontinued Crown amps, the K2 and the Studio Reference I. The K2 the reviewer thought "not distinguished or especially musically refined", but the Studio Ref he thought an EXCELLENT full-range amp. It does have some amazing specs:
Signal-to-Noise (A-weighted) below rated full bandwidth power: 120 dB.
Damping Factor: >20,000 from 10 Hz to 400Hz.
780WPC into 8 ohms, 1160WPC into 4 ohms.
The review is here.
From what I've found so far, there are possbile downsides to using pro gear in an otherwise consumer setup, but in my case I think these are non-issues:
-fan noise: not an issue for me since I will have an equipment closet. Won't have to do a "fan mod".
-ugly: again, not an issue for me with an equipment closet
-hum: I believe not an issue as long as I use balanced interconnects from the prepro. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
-expects pro-level input levels: I think not an issue if the amp has dip switches or gain controls?
And yet, over on a couple of AVS forum threads, I actually got asked to leave when I started suggesting pro amps. It seems as though some of the audiophiles there (and the same guys might be over here) don't even want to hear about a class of gear which imo just MIGHT sound good. It just isn't worth "polluting" an audiophile thread. Am I missing some other downside to pro amps, other than the above pints? Were these guys attitudes based on something substantive and audibly detectable, or just a form of audio bigotry?
I'm not saying all pro amps are going to be great (for instance I know the Behringer A500 is lousy), but might there be some good stuff too, like QSC DCA, or Crown Macro Reference (other suggestions would be welcome)?
Signal-to-Noise (A-weighted) below rated full bandwidth power: 120 dB.
Damping Factor: >20,000 from 10 Hz to 400Hz.
780WPC into 8 ohms, 1160WPC into 4 ohms.
The review is here.
From what I've found so far, there are possbile downsides to using pro gear in an otherwise consumer setup, but in my case I think these are non-issues:
-fan noise: not an issue for me since I will have an equipment closet. Won't have to do a "fan mod".
-ugly: again, not an issue for me with an equipment closet
-hum: I believe not an issue as long as I use balanced interconnects from the prepro. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
-expects pro-level input levels: I think not an issue if the amp has dip switches or gain controls?
And yet, over on a couple of AVS forum threads, I actually got asked to leave when I started suggesting pro amps. It seems as though some of the audiophiles there (and the same guys might be over here) don't even want to hear about a class of gear which imo just MIGHT sound good. It just isn't worth "polluting" an audiophile thread. Am I missing some other downside to pro amps, other than the above pints? Were these guys attitudes based on something substantive and audibly detectable, or just a form of audio bigotry?
I'm not saying all pro amps are going to be great (for instance I know the Behringer A500 is lousy), but might there be some good stuff too, like QSC DCA, or Crown Macro Reference (other suggestions would be welcome)?
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- 48 posts total
Let me debunk most of the responses. I just bought a Crown K1 amplifier. It sounds as good, as ANY Krell, Audio Research, B&K, Adcom, Muse, Luxman, Hafler amps that I have owned. And it has power reserves in spades. I ran this amp fairly hard for almost 2 hours, and not one time did it ever even get warm. With 350 wpc into 8 ohms, and 550 wpc into 4 ohms, this thing never breaks a sweat. I have the K1 partnered with a Denon AVR 3805 as a 2 channel pre-amplifier. The highs are there, the mid range is there, and the bass is incredible. Transparency is very good. Highly recommended. |
No doubt I'm a little biased as I currently have a Crown XLS2000 for sale, but here are my observations after 4 years of use: - massive soundstage, very wide but only moderately deep - very powerful low end - top end is not sibilant but also not silky smooth...pretty revealing - complex passages are done well but not as well as a multi$$$$ amp - stable at 2 ohms - absolutely silent, black backgrounds and fan never comes on - tons of power...1050 watts at 2 ohms per channel - gain controls...fantastic way to match to the source so that the source volume isn't maxed out at 9 o'clock, great way to match to a subwoofer preamp out so that the sub gain doesn't have to be turned to 4 o'clock and great way to match left right main volume without a balance control - Reliability - Absolutely never thumps my loudspeakers when turning on/off or when my preamp or source turn on/off - Relatively inexpensive @ $500 new Yes, I think in certain systems, in certain rooms, with certain sources, you may prefer a $1000 Halo (or something similar) but in addition to the price, you are giving some things up. Maybe its not someone's cup of tea for their main system, but I suspect they would be pretty happy on a value/sound benchmark to use pro audio in their secondary system. (and why am I selling it if its so good?....easy answer, its fun to try different things and there is only so much space in the house) |
In my studio area with the piles of bass and guitar amps and a synth, I use an ancient (relatively) Alesis RA 100 (no fans, just large heatsinks) amp powering a pair of Mackie 10" 2 way C200 P.A. speakers on stands, with a 500 watt HR120 (discontinued, bought it lightly used for about 150 bucks) 92 lb. sub (flat to 19hz). The Alesis has big level control knobs on the front, and I mix things (keyboards, drum machine, recording interface, with the sub through a monitor fader) through a small Mackie mixer. The Alesis is a bullet proof 100 watt workhorse that never fails. You can buy these things for almost nothing…even the later versions with balanced inputs. Note that the QSC I noticed at Magico was the same model as mine…a GX3 that retails for around 300 bucks or less. |
See here for a serious test of the 2x350 watt Yamaha P3500s: http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/amplificateurs-de-puissance-haute-fidelite/mesures-ampli-yamaha-p... I recently bought the 2x250 watt P2500s for my son, and it is as good as any high end amplifier, with more power than most, and far cheaper (I paid 300 euros, or about $350). These both have variable speed fans that will not ever come on at domestic levels. And, of course, they are built like a tank. |
- 48 posts total