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Crest Audio CA9 Now I understand.

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#81
I had the Crest Lt2000 for over 6 years. It broke down on me so I needed a power amp asap and they don't make the Lt2000 any more. So I got the Crest CC2000. Took it home and no volume. What I didn't research was the Input Sensitivity. For a bass preamp and power amp, Input sensitivity should be .775 V for full rated output power. The Crest CC was like X20, X40. So I Took it back and got the Crest Cd2000 that has a switchable input sensitivity (.775v, x20,x40) and I can't turn it past 4 without the pictures falling off the walls.

When buying a preamp, power amp, most bass preamps work at their full load at .775V. That's something you should research.
 
#82
EZ9R said:
When buying a preamp, power amp, most bass preamps work at their full load at .775V. That's something you should research.
Click to expand...

Yes, you should research it, but probably most preamps in recent years can put out several volts, often up to about 10V rms.
 
#85
Pretty sure this aint a Preamp Thread. Let me go check.

Yeap checked.


However you want to think about it, isn't it nice that the CA9 will also assist those folks with Preamps that have Cheesy ouptputs.

Still loving the CA9 even if it is one of the first. Lets talk more about the CA9 and less about the other stuff please. You can even start your own Thread. :)
 
#86
For the record, nobody's bagging on the CA9 as it's a fine amplifier, but I'm amazed that so many people are not interested in the fact that the supposed superiority of the CA9 may well have everything to do with its gain and nothing to do with some kind of magic.

I remember cross-renting some EAW KF850s from another company to do a big show a few years ago. Our boxes were powered by QSC MX-2000s and 3000s and the others were powered by CA-9s and 12s. When I fired up the rig up to tweak it, I noticed that the CA-driven boxes were louder than the MX-driven ones and that the CAs were going into clipping long before the less powerful MXs were. I figured out that the amplifier gains weren't matched and I had to dial the CAs back to compensate. Once I did that, they performed identically to the QSCs for all intents and purposes.

Once again, unless you have a preamp with pretty low output capability, there's no real advantage in having extra gain at the back end of your signal chain.
 
#87
Sorry if I come across rude. How many times must the Gain Match point be made.

I think at this point we all understand.


Once again this is a thread about CA9's.

If you'd like to start a Thread then by all means go ahead.

This thread is about the Merits of a CA9.

I havent stated anything about any magic mojo nor have I confused the facts.

Could the rain on the CA9 parade people please move along and let the rest of us have a chat about the CA9.

IMO the Gain of the CA9 has an advatage over the other uits mentioned. I really do not believe you can dispute that. It simply allows for more alternatives Preamp wise than most of the other Brands. This is a Plus for Crest and a Minus for others. You can allways turn the Gain down on the CA9 but must break out a soldering gun to increase the Gain to match the gain of the CA9 of some other brands.

Now all that being said I have allready said at least a dozen times there are some minuses to the CA9 as well. Lack of features, weight, no speak ons and those are pluses for the other Manufacturers no doubt.

Now that all the gain matching pundents have gotten their point across can you move along PLEASE? There are plenty of other threads here to read and participate in.

Absolutely no one has stated the CA9 will do some kind of Majic Mojo that others will not do. I have just simply stated the CA9 is a very nice, powerful, and heavy Poweramp that gets the job done in a Bass Rig very well and so have others.

Again a smidge of extra gian can be a plus under the right circumstances and not hardly a problem in any other unless you have no control over the gain which the CA9 comes with Level Controls so there ya go.
 
#88
Mark Reccord said:
For the record, nobody's bagging on the CA9 as it's a fine amplifier, but I'm amazed that so many people are not interested in the fact that the supposed superiority of the CA9 may well have everything to do with its gain and nothing to do with some kind of magic.
Click to expand...
Wrong Kemosabe! I've owned a number of power amps powering RBI, Kern preamps. The CA-9 is indeed magical and it's not a gain thing. Sure it can get loud. But I'm talking fullness, bottom, overall depth. The Ca-9 to me is the premier poweramp for bass in a rack set-up that I've not been able to replicate with other poweramps from some great amp makers such as Crest, QSC and Yamaha.
 
#90
mrpackerguy said:
Wrong Kemosabe! I've owned a number of power amps powering RBI, Kern preamps. The CA-p is indeed magical and it's not a gain thing. Sure it can get loud. But I'm talking fullness, bottom, overall depth. The Ca-9 to me is the premier poweramp for bass in a rack set-up that I've not been able to replicate with other poweramps from some great amp makers such as Crest, QSC and Yamaha.
Click to expand...

Very interesting. I know there are a number of folks who feel this way and I say more power to you.

The thing I am convinced of is that the CA9 is a damn great Bass Power Amp. It is Balls Deluxe at it's best.

The thing that concerns me is that some folks seem to have this dire need to tell (in every CA9 Thread) that it is all an illusion. Now of coarse I did some pretty wild stuff in the 70's but at this point I'm confident the Amp is working wonderfully for me and this is not in any way a halucination on my part. There is no illusion of what this Amp is doing for me. :hyper:
 
#91
i have the wonderful pleasure of working with a multi Grammy winning engineer fairly often in studio and some live gigs when he is able to go out.. he also has his own small PA that he rents for fun.. The guy has ears of Gold and the grammys to attest to that...
Rest assured the CA9 is NO ILLUSION..
I dont care what any detractors say or what specs they spout or the gain thing.. when it come to meat and potatoes the CA9 is all that but with gravy and butter on top.
The CA9 as well as the old crown Macro techs have hairy balllz that are in a class all their own..
Although other amps sound good too when it comes to moving the air in your lungs and making the beer in your glass go flat.. the crest lead sled is the one that does it...
end of debate in my opinion
 
#92
Red Planet said:
Very interesting. I know there are a number of folks who feel this way and I say more power to you.

The thing I am convinced of is that the CA9 is a damn great Bass Power Amp. It is Balls Deluxe at it's best.

The thing that concerns me is that some folks seem to have this dire need to tell (in every CA9 Thread) that it is all an illusion. Now of coarse I did some pretty wild stuff in the 70's but at this point I'm confident the Amp is working wonderfully for me and this is not in any way a halucination on my part. There is no illusion of what this Amp is doing for me. :hyper:
Click to expand...

You seem to be misreading the posts of those who are just pointing out how power amps work. None are saying anything negative about the CA9, just pointing out that the superiorities often touted about particular power amps are usually not actually unique.
 
#93
Bob Lee (QSC) said:
You seem to be misreading the posts of those who are just pointing out how power amps work. None are saying anything negative about the CA9, just pointing out that the superiorities often touted about particular power amps are usually not actually unique.
Click to expand...







Here is a valid question. Can there be a Crest CA9 Thread without the need to mention how another amp manufacturer is positively unequivically most certainly insistently for sure absolutely no doubt about it yeah thats right step right up you heard it here equall to the CA9?

This whole insetient nonsense is begining to make me consider why?

What you and your friends have set out to convince us all about, you have actually done the opposite. There must be a reason you have dire need to "Level the Playing Field".

Just saying.
 
#94
So much to argue about, so little time. Carry on, mates! Everyone wants to get in the last word. Me too. Every now and then I feel an overwhelming need to get in the last word. Like this...

The Last Word.

M. M. :rolleyes:
 
#96
I used to play with a drummer who had a very strong background in sound reinforcement and electronics.

He had sold off the Crown K2 he used to power his subs thinking we'd no longer play rooms that required them. Wrong. We got booked at the last minute to a big room so he brings along his subs knowing I had a Crest CA9 and a QSC PLX2402.


We used the 2402 to power the subs, but it clipped like crazy. After the first set we took the CA9 out of my rack and used it to power the subs for the rest of the night. The CA9 had zero clipping problems.

I used the 2402 to power my Berg cabs, and had the usual clipping problems. I was a bit ticked off that my CA9 was part of the PA setup. I was planning on buying another CA9, but he was lucky enough to buy the Crown K2 back from the person he sold it to.

I quickly sold the PLX2402 off on ebay and haven't looked back.
 
#97
As you can tell by my previous post, me thinks this thread should have died several pages ago. But now I'm going to become part of the problem...and bring up more CA9 related stuff. :D

The Carvin DCM series has been mentioned (favorably) in this thread. Has anyone had hands-on experience with both the CA9 and the DCM2000? They seem comparable in wattage. This particular Carvin seems to me like a good way to get some of the 'sled' without all of the 'lead'. Anyone? :)

M. M.
 
#98
blowinblue said:
The Carvin DCM series has been mentioned (favorably) in this thread. Has anyone had hands-on experience with both the CA9 and the DCM2000? They seem comparable in wattage. This particular Carvin seems to me like a good way to get some of the 'sled' without all of the 'lead'. Anyone? :) M. M.
Click to expand...

While I had the CA9, I ordered a DCM2500 to compare it to, and possibly swap out for the CA9 so that I could use a shallow rack and lower the weight a bit. I used a Yamaha PB-1 pre, an Alembic F1-x, and a Demeter VTBP201 for testing. No gain matching or anything was involved! Just my ears and one other 'blind tester'. We tested one channel into a 4 ohm cab. The CA9 at 900watts, and the dcm at 850watts. Each time, the CA9 won over the DCM2500. The differences were very slight, but still there. The DCM2500 would definitely clip easier and sooner. It was approx 90% of a CA9 in terms of shear volume, but the CA9 still had this undoubted 'massively smooth, weighty, full' texture to each note. It seems the CA9 just holds onto the speakers and takes charge. The sound is smooth, without breakup, 'to my ears'. I've heard other amps, especially the lightweights, get just as loud, but they seem to not 'punch' or 'hold onto' and 'move' the speakers with the same authority. I don't know the technical term for this, but it's definitely there. I now use a DCM1500(26lbs 10" depth) and get by just fine, the DCM's are very good lead sled's that are on the lighter side of the spectrum.

On a side note, when I A/B'd my DB750 to a Carvin B1500, I came up with the same results. The Carvin is one heck of an amp, and it's 'almost' there, but the DB750 is very CA9ish in character in terms of it's loud, full, weighty, and smooth response, and it's ability to PUNCH and hold onto those speakers.

Once again, my favorite poweramp for a bass rig is DEFINITELY the Crest CA9!!! And as another day goes by reading this thread, my CA9 GAS keeps growing. If it wasn't for the weight(at the time) I'd have kept it. :bassist:
 
#99
Red Planet said:
Here is a valid question. Can there be a Crest CA9 Thread without the need to mention how another amp manufacturer is positively unequivically most certainly insistently for sure absolutely no doubt about it yeah thats right step right up you heard it here equall to the CA9?

This whole insetient nonsense is begining to make me consider why?

What you and your friends have set out to convince us all about, you have actually done the opposite. There must be a reason you have dire need to "Level the Playing Field".

Just saying.
Click to expand...

We're just pointing out what power amps do. Knowledge is like water. You can lead a horse to it, but you can't make him drink.
 
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