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XLS202 to BBE Bmax Help

I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm not sure why you are cutting the cables...Just go 1/4" patch cable from the main out on the BMax into one of the inputs of the Crown amp.

+1, Look at what you need out the BBE pre and then into the crown, then go buy it. IN my opinion of course. That cord exist and it is cheap enough.
 
I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm not sure why you are cutting the cables...Just go 1/4" patch cable from the main out on the BMax into one of the inputs of the Crown amp.


That amp doesn't offer the feature of putting the channels in parallele mono so to get both sides working it takes a Y cable.

I don't have he specific pin outs for that Y cable but IIRC the Crown site does. Crown's tech support is also some of the best available period - or at least it was - I haven't called them on a long time.

If you give the boy's in Elkhart, IN a call, they'll step you through it I'm sure. Give that a whack first and let us know ?
 
The BBE B-Max has 1/4 unbalanced out and the crown only accepts xlr Balanced in so I purchased a cable but the sound is weak and the guy told me I need to unbalance the cable cause it it providing a weak siginal.

It's going to be weak even if you unbalance the cable. The problem is not the third wire "taking power away", the problem is that some preamp/amp combinations drop 6dB in level if you connect an unbalanced output to a balanced input--and the Crown's input will be balanced no matter what you do to the cable.

Also, the Crown's input sensitivity is 1.25 V, which means you need a very strong output from the BBE to get proper levels out of the Crown. I don't know the max output of the BBE, but it's entirely likely that it is just never going to be compatible with that power amp.
 
Or maybe the OP adds another gain stage ... I didn't have any isses running a 2402 off the BMax or the BMaxT ...had an XLS here a short while and I don't recall it being much of an issue but it didn't stick here very long - too heay ... I'm not actually sure what I even paired it up with at this point ... probably PA gear...
 
This might be a dumb suggestion but, what about the balanced DI out? It's level is controlled by the master volume control so it'll act like a regular pre-amp out. Don't know if the DI out is pre or post EQ, though. That could be a deal breaker.
 
Your pre will work with darned near anything from QSC. The XLS is not a bad amp. It's really more suited to living in a PA rack or a fixed install though ...

If you don't mind the weight, a QSC RMX would be a great choice. Choose the power level you need and go... The selectable 30 &50 hz filter can really tighten up low bass. You can run it in stereo, parallel mono, or bridged all via the dip switchwes on the rear panel.

If weight is an issue a used PLX will do you nicely or if you're feeling Gucci.. a new PLXII

RMX's are hard to kill, really, really hard to kill. They don't command a lot of cash in the used market either. You'll note that in the current market a used PLX 2402 will get around 450 used. Almost exactly where they were this time last year. PLX II's almost never show up... RMX's are selling at maybe 2/3rds of what they were a year ago ... so if ya don't mind the weight. They can be had easily ...

there are other choices out there but the QSC feature set is hard to resist when you really look at what the amps offer...
 
Not to hijack the thread, but would the Ashdown RPM-1 Preamp work with a Crown XLS? Reason I ask is I already have both and plan to use them in a rack bass rig next summer when I can afford new cabinets. The Ashdown RPM-1 has a +4dBu output signal boost and a tube preamp that can be driven really hot.
 
The BMax will work with the Crown. I used to use an XLS402 with mine. I also used a QSC RMX 2450 and now use a QSC GX 5. Never had a problem with a BMax into any of them. If anything there have been problems with the BMax preamps being too hot and clipping the input on the poweramp.

This picture is of my old SS BMax. I now run a Bmax-T into the same GX5 with no problem and this rig is LOUD. That whole set up in the picture weighed 45 lbs. So it isn't light but it was a very compact and easy to manage 45lbs thanks to the shallow depth of the GX5. However I had a special 45 degree XLR input plug for the DI out because it was really tight in there.

It's true about the RMX series being nearly indestructable. I have owned several that I used for PA's along with the PLX models and never had one fail on me.
 

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The prob is I need a balanced xlr to unbalanced 1/4 a friend of mine says I need to cut a mic cable then wire pos to the tip of the 1/4 and the shield and neg to the barrel. I could buy one but i alwats have spare cables and connectors hand so no need to buy one I Just wanna make shure he is correct befor i blow up something in my rack.