Power Amp - Crown or other?

EscapeNote · #1 07-10-2011, 04:46 PM

I have a couple of rigs with 'integrated amps' and they each have their strengths and weaknesses. I want to put together another rig with separate preamp and power amp but it's been awhile since I owned a dedicated power amp. Am looking at the Crown XLS series and saw a recent thread about it here on TB. A couple of questions:

With the Crown XLS, is the fan on all the time or does it kick in after awhile? Is it audible? Whisper quiet, annoyingly loud or somewhere in between?

Whatever I get it'll be powering a pair of 1x12 cabs - Bergantino HT112ER and Aguilar GS112. If I go with the Crown I'm thinking that the XLS 1000 would be a good match.

Any other dedicated power amps on the market right now that anyone can recommend being good for bass? Any half-rack (micro?) power amps that are worth checking out?

jdthebassman · #2 07-10-2011, 05:17 PM

have you checked out carver power amps they are great for bass. i use a carver pm-900 450 a side at 4 ohms 350 at 8 ohms with an alembic f1-x preamp have not played through anything better.

EscapeNote · #3 07-10-2011, 06:04 PM

I don't doubt what you say JD! I played once through the FX-1 and a Mackie amp - like 10 years ago - and it was incredible. I was actually referencing that experience when I made my recent decision to go w separate pre and power amps.

I'll check out the Carver, thanks for suggesting it.

Is it heavy? Rack depth? (The one negative thing I remember about the Mackie was that it required a really deep rack case).

truecanadian04 · #4 07-10-2011, 06:08 PM

Peavey power amps are great. I use the PV 3800 with my sansamp rbi and I have more then enough power and great sound.

EscapeNote · #5 07-10-2011, 06:39 PM

truecanadian, thanks for the reply. I checked out the webpage for that amp your using; looks mighty impressive... but 2,650 watts is maybe just a bit much for my pair of Berg and Aggy 1x12 cabs!! Your rig must really kick it out.

But it looks like they have other, lower power amps in that same series.. I'll do some more research on them. Appreciate the suggestion very much.

4Mal · #6 07-10-2011, 07:32 PM

I run QSC PLX in my PA. IMO - that is as good as it gets in terms of sound quality, power availability and reliability. They do come with a price tag though. If I were looking for a more budget oriented amp, I would be comfortable with Crown and also the QSC GX import line. I played with one of those and it sounded fine, seemed to be built well. Too heavy for me to want to rack up multiples of them though.

The other amp I would look at is the Peavy IPR 1600. At $300 retail, it specs well and some of the folks here are having success with them. Light as a feather and shallow too... I may add one into my rig as monitor power at some point soon.

I can't imagine foing back to a rack rig for bass though. Too much crap to carry and wire for me. Particularly when my rig is basically a monitor most of the time. I get my tone fix from a U5 so I'm not immune to the disease. I just want to be sure and push my tone out where I feel it belongs. YMMV and all that.

d sage · #7 07-10-2011, 07:41 PM

Just got a Crown XLS 1000 and played it out this weekend. Preamp is an Eden WTDI and cab is an Accugroove Whappo Jr. 4 ohms. Sounded great! Plenty of power for and outside gig and yet clean, quiet, and full sound indoors. The power amp and pre together are only about 10 lbs. That's a third of my usual load!

EscapeNote · #8 07-10-2011, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4Mal

I can't imagine going back to a rack rig for bass though. Too much crap to carry and wire for me. Particularly when my rig is basically a monitor most of the time. I get my tone fix from a U5 so I'm not immune to the disease. I just want to be sure and push my tone out where I feel it belongs. YMMV and all that.

4Mal - I hear you loud n clear. I'm only going to go this route if I can find a quality power amp of minimal depth and weight. BTW, I also have a U5, love that beast. Haven't used it as much the last year or so - have gotten some great results DI'ing with Summit and Evil Twin, but the U5 is one piece of gear I'll never part with.

d sage, that Crown XLS 1000 is the one I was thinking might pair well with my 1x12 cabs. Thanks for the report! Did you notice the fan at all?

Andy_D · #9 07-10-2011, 10:24 PM

There is a good thread here on the Behringer Bass V-Amp Pro that has hundreds of posts I just recently purchased one of these and I'm considering pairing it with a Crown XLS1000 just as several others have done here on TB. But I'd also be interested to hear about other power amps that fellow talk basses have used. and their evaluations. For around $450 total investment however, including the rack, it looks pretty tough to beat without spending way way more money. I'm wanting this in particular for the Amp Modeling and being able to basically roll your own sound and not being tied to a particular amps "personality".

**fuzzy beard** · #10 07-10-2011, 10:29 PM

Carvin seems to have some really nice options on power amps.

bluesdogblues · #11 07-10-2011, 10:31 PM

+1 to Carver Power Amp (and Alembic F 1X); they're marvellous

Son of Bovril · #12 07-11-2011, 01:40 AM

I use the XLS 1500 with my U5 all the time, sounds great to me and I think the poweramp might even be lighter than the U5! The Crown has plenty of power, I run it bridged for all 1500watts even when just running my 210 ampeg, the extra headroom is nice to have, even if you don't need it.

Only gripes about the amp are that I wish it had 1/4" speaker outs and I wish the HPF was set lower at say 30 or 40hz instead of 50Hz

Edit: some say the input sensitivity requires a slightly louder input but I haven't had a problem with any of my pre's...

Also I haven't heard the fan yet so I'm guessing it must be pretty quiet

anonymous101511 · #13 07-11-2011, 02:06 AM

mark me as a Carver fan, as well.
I've had a PM350 ( 350 watts/side into 8 ohms) and PM 175 for must be nearly 20 years and still going string. Pretty 'shallow' too for an easy rack fit.

ErnieD · #14 07-11-2011, 02:08 AM

I use my new Crown Coredrive XLS1500 bridged @ 8 ohms into a single UL410 sometimes. With either F-1X or BBE pre's. I've not heard the fan at all on mine; I'm guessing its working.

No issues so far.

Pre, amp & rack tuner are in a 4 space, shallow Gator rack case. Very easy to move around, doesn't take alot of space.

Lonesomedave · #15 07-11-2011, 02:14 AM

i don't have any personal experience with the crown amp, but i recently talked to a guy named Ray Arsenault at a place in Nashville called Corner Music. he recommends using a universal Audio 610 pre amp (or if your budget will allow it, a universal Audio LA 610 etc which has eq and compressor built in) with a high power amp.

one of the ones he mentioned was, in fact, a crown just like you said.

the UA 610 is a tube pre amp, and was apparently the heart & soul of many of the old motown and other recordings. he said if you have that, then a clean power amp such as the crown will give you an amazing sound and quite a bit of versatility.

/s/ Dave

steve_rolfeca · #16 07-11-2011, 02:31 AM

Crown pretty much own the budget power amp market right now. I recently looked at the Drivecore 1000 and 1500 vs the Peavey IPR series, and I would definitely go for the XLS 1500. Fan noise is not an issue with the Crown, build quality and features are better, and resale should be better in the long term (although at this price point, that might not be a deal-killer).

With no weight penalty and a relatively insignificant price difference, the 1500 will drive the Bergies better than the 1000 in unbridged mode, and some owners have reported a lack of headroom with the 1000. Buy once, cry once.

My only caveat is that the built-in DSP lacks flexibility, and doesn't use Butterworth filters. The XLS's are great if you're going to run them wide open, but if bi-amping or using the HPF is a possibility in the future, you should be looking at something heavier and more expensive.

Son of Bovril · #17 07-11-2011, 02:32 AM

Similar to using the U5 as a preamp with a poweramp. It's the sound I am going for, but I also understand that that tone is not for everyone and every situation. Try using a Tech 21 VT Bass with a poweamp and thats a completely different sound

... thats the beauty of using a pre/power setup, you can just change the pre to suit any situation

EscapeNote · #18 07-11-2011, 03:03 AM

Great replies and much appreciated - this will keep me pointing and clicking for a few more days.

As near as I can tell the Carver Amps are no longer made - am I wrong about that? But if they're still in use and you guys are liking them then they must be well made. I'll poke around on my local Craigslist a bit and see what's out there.

I was relieved to see a couple of you weigh in on the fan noise. Trivial as it may seem to some, it has been a bone of contention for me with several high end bass amps I've previously owned.

Steve, that sounds like good advice to maybe look at the XLS 1500 over the 1000. But you threw me with the Butterworth Filters. I looked em up - Wikipedia - now i'm even more confused! All those equations... bottom line it has to do with fidelity, equates to a higher level of audio quality, correct?

The Carvin recommendation was cool - I always forget about them. But the problem is I check out their website and then I start checking out all the other cool stuff they make - gotta tear myself away. But one of these days I'm gonna break down and order a bass from them...

As several have mentioned, I'm especially liking the idea of having the freedom to experiment with different front ends - DI's, preamps, etc...

Man, it's great to be able to get some feedback and other points of view on this stuff. TB is an invaluable resource. Thanks to all. Need to call it a night, gotta get some shut-eye...

bluesdogblues · #19 07-11-2011, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vail_bass

mark me as a Carver fan, as well.
I've had a PM350 ( 350 watts/side into 8 ohms) and PM 175 for must be nearly 20 years and still going string. Pretty 'shallow' too for an easy rack fit.

Hi Vail

And what's your preamp?
What cabinets?

wcriley · #20 07-11-2011, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4Mal

The other amp I would look at is the Peavy IPR 1600. At $300 retail, it specs well and some of the folks here are having success with them. Light as a feather and shallow too...

Agreed^^^^^

Best bang for the buck out there without buying used.
My IPR has seen duty with my bass and with my monitors, and I've never heard the fan run.
The bright blue light isn't everyone's cuppa', though.