Crown K2 vs MA-2402 vs Crest CA-9

You should be really happening with a CA9 and you're lucky you get the speakons.. that's the only thing I don't like about my USA model CA9 no speakons..

 

I owned a couple of K2s for a while. They are happier if you leave an empty rack space above and below them. If you do that, heat isn't much of a concern in my experience.

Sound-wise? I'm ducking out before it gets ugly, I'm afraid of getting run over by someone in a lead sled; but for my applications there was no appreciable difference between my PLX2402 and the K2, so I kept the PLX. YMMV, and I've said all I'm going to.

 

My go to lead sled is a MA 2402. I quit looking after I got it, so I can't compare to the two other amps you refer to.

 

That rig would look wrong without a CA-9 or SA World 2.1 in it.

 

CA-9: I haven't personally had any reliability problems with mine nor have I heard any widespread complaints about the CA-9 being unreliable. It's been a great amp.

K2: We used to use K2's and QSC's MX-Series amps in our P.A.. Both were rock solid and hassle free.

Macro Tech 2402: My ultimate dream amp. IMO it's the King.

 

Care to explain why? I'm interested to know.

 

I've got an identical rig (STT-1 and El Whappo) and I use a K2 a lot at rehearsals and for practice at home and it sounds great. I love the fact that there is no fan and it is dead quiet. I also love thick, tight low end that it has.

For gigging though, that rig begs for the Demeter power amp, begs... trust me. Or a Glock Bugatti if you are a solid state kind of a guy.

 

i did some listening tests when i worked at crown, and i consistently preferred the sound of the K series over MA series amps. i think they're a little more open on the top end, and the low end is extremely tight.

i never really got to listen to the CA9 when i worked for peavey (crest). i bought a pro 7200 for my rig, since it's light and i got a great deal on it. i like sound quite a bit, but i haven't compared it to the CA9 or any crown amps.

robb.

 

glad the K2's working out for you, joel. that was a TERRIFIC power amp, and the fact that it was sooo silent was a nice bonus. the chameleon blue faceplate aint too shabby either.

but the CA-9 has gotten my interest mad piqued. i got to try for a few minutes a friend's rig consisting of an Eden Nav, CA-9, into a pair of Epifani 410UL's, and HOLY CRAP, it was unreal. i heard his rig w/ his old power amp, and the CA-9 was by far the champine.

 

wow,

been around, eh, RCZ? had a chance to go to QSC yet?

 

yeah. can you believe i'm only 27?
robb.

 

I can take a stab....

The Macrotech series amps have probably been on more big tours than any other amp. They've been a standard for big touring companies for decades. There are reasons for this:

Exceptional reliability and ability to stand up to abuse. I've tortured hundreds of Macrotechs over the years and have only seen a couple fail. They are super reliable.

They have the best fault protection in the business.

They do low end very well. They leave the CA-series for dead in that department. They behave quite well when operated at their limits, which, I suspect is tied into the low end performance.

They are flexible. You can get different input cards for different connections/gain/electronic crossover functions.

The MA series has a lot going for it.

I never did like the K-series amps, reliability problems in their early days soured me I guess. The first crop of them I encountered kept coming back for repairs over and over again.

On an interesting side note, I witnessed a rookie tech inadvertently wire the outputs of an MA-2400 and a K2 together and then drive both of them with signal (I didn't know this until after the fact). There was a brief battle and the n smoke began pouring out of the K2. The MA-2400 survived unscathed..... And, no the tech wasn't me!

 

You ever heard anyone use an EV P3000 for a bass power amp?

Hey, it's only 72 lbs.

 

Other than me? I took one from work to a gig once. Used my old SWR 220 as a preamp... Youch!!

Those are in my short list of top power amps. Very good power, those P-series amps. X-Array is still a great PA even though everyone's using line arrays these days...
Sometimes I miss the touring racket, though the idea of loading trucks when I'm 50 isn't appealing.

 

As far as I can remember, they've worked the kinks out of the K series in terms of reliability, though I do think they have a tendency to overheat when driven hard in hot conditions. I'd still give the MA the sonic advantage, but the K2 is no slouch and some people like them better (as RCZ said above).

That's a very nice preamp you have, BTW!!

 

Yeah Jae the K2 is been treating me very well. I love the idea of not having a fan humming along in the background while practicing.

BTW - any thoughts on the box that I sent you yet? Wrong forum I know, but I'd be shocked if you weren't elated with that baby. It might be the nicest looking 635 to date!