I have no experience with either of these amps... perhaps some one here could enlighten me - they are both the same price.
TIA
Toby
TIA
Toby
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Crest CA9 or Stewart 2.1
- Thread starter atrapp
- Start date
A number of people here prefer the Crest for tone (others say the only difference is volume, not tone), but I've chosen the Stewart due to its light weight. I've never A/B'd Stewart versus Crest, but the Stew gives me all the volume and tone I want, so I've no reason to trade up to a heavier amp.
bongomania
Commercial User
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
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My Crest is heavy. I love it. It is a CA6. A CA9 is very very powerful.
Do you need it? If not, get the Stew 2.1. I heard one played by a friend through a Bergie HT322 (with a Sadowsky P/J.) The tone was truly gorgeous!
Do you need it? If not, get the Stew 2.1. I heard one played by a friend through a Bergie HT322 (with a Sadowsky P/J.) The tone was truly gorgeous!
I also have both. The Stewart is pretty amazing, a great amp and lightweight alternative. The Crest is more ballsy, warm, deep, and more of a punch factor, and it clips less(more power). The Crest definately gets louder, but it's more of a "feel". You can REALLY feel your notes with the Crest at higher volumes!!! I play many shows nowadays without PA support, and I prefer the Crest for the "feel factor" to keep people on the dance floor. With all that being said, I really like the Stewart World ALOT, and it still sits in my rack, because I'm still debating whether I really want to rack the CA9 with all my other rack gear due to weight issues, the CA9 is 30lbs heavier than the Stewart 2.1. 
If you need TONS of power, go for the Stewart 2.1, if you need rediculous amounts of power, and want to "feel" your notes just a tad bit more, go for the Crest. All of this is my personal opinion based on real world side by side comparisons.
If you need TONS of power, go for the Stewart 2.1, if you need rediculous amounts of power, and want to "feel" your notes just a tad bit more, go for the Crest. All of this is my personal opinion based on real world side by side comparisons.
Thanks.
My bass tech suggested the Crest over the Stewart, feeling it has more balls then the 2.1.
Overall I am not all that concerned about the Crests weight - when I want to go light I take my walkabout scout and a berg HT112 (mini stack of doom). When I need a lot of power I'll be hauling heavier cabs making the extra 30#'s insignificant.
For moving serious air it would seem that the Crest is the winner… Now to buy it and not let the gal pal know…
Happy Holidays,
Toby
My bass tech suggested the Crest over the Stewart, feeling it has more balls then the 2.1.
Overall I am not all that concerned about the Crests weight - when I want to go light I take my walkabout scout and a berg HT112 (mini stack of doom). When I need a lot of power I'll be hauling heavier cabs making the extra 30#'s insignificant.
For moving serious air it would seem that the Crest is the winner… Now to buy it and not let the gal pal know…
Happy Holidays,
Toby
I've owned both. I sold a Stewart 2.1 to buy a Crest CA-6. Then I went through about 20 preamps! Still going...
But the guys above are right. The Crest has (to my ears, repeat, to my ears) a much more palpable punch across the entire frequency range. I love to play through it, it makes me smile. It is as heavy as hell, and a day is coming when I won't be able to haul it anymore.
My interim solution is to have a back-up head in the 500w range that I tote along to rehearsals and small gigs. But for shows, the Crest--always the Crest!
But the guys above are right. The Crest has (to my ears, repeat, to my ears) a much more palpable punch across the entire frequency range. I love to play through it, it makes me smile. It is as heavy as hell, and a day is coming when I won't be able to haul it anymore.
My interim solution is to have a back-up head in the 500w range that I tote along to rehearsals and small gigs. But for shows, the Crest--always the Crest!
I think you'll be in for a very pleasant surprise when you finally get to plug that Crest in, and rip through some grooves!
bongomania
Commercial User
I just wish Crest could fit their CA4 into a smaller package. The wattage is half the CA9, which is plenty for many bassists, but it's exactly as huge as the CA9! Seems like there's a gap in the market there, maybe driven by a mix of physics and economy...
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
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Are the non-1.2 Stewarts really that bad? After having converted bass rig and PA to light Peavey and QSC power amps I certainly don't miss lead sleds an iota.
If you can deal with the carry, nothing sounds better than a crest CA.
For lighter amps, I like the Eden WT-1000.
For lighter amps, I like the Eden WT-1000.
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I'm not that fond of the power sections in most if not all heads. If they are light but not Class D, it's usually because they don't really make the power they claim with low distortion (or even at all in many cases) and often are not able to do it for long periods without stressing components, and are ususally bereft of thermal protection features and other niceties that SR power amps have.
JSCHRO7376
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Since you are considering one of the above power amps you might want to check out the new QSC PLX 2 series; pretty light and cleaner sounding than the Stewart.
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Or PLX series one; just as good - only the delivery options (loads, bridging) have changed I think.
