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**Archaea** · 12-20-2011, 09:34 PM

I was talking to Greg tonight and he says he's heard some info second hand that the Crown XLS amp doesn't produce much power in subwoofer territory.

I have no idea if that's true or not. Can anyone confirm?

I didn't see any testing links myself -- I'm curious where this source was?

HuskerOmaha -- Produce the goods! Can you provide the test url?

**Gorilla83** · 12-20-2011, 10:25 PM

Well, I'm going to find out first hand in a little bit. :) talked to Jeff re: this amp and he agreed it should be a beast. At this price definitely worth trying at least vs. my ep4000. :applause:

As for the comment around the xls - was that referring to the original xls or the new xls drive core series?

**HuskerOmaha** · 12-20-2011, 10:31 PM

Originally posted by Archaea

I was talking to Greg tonight and he says he's heard some info second hand that the Crown XLS amp doesn't produce much power in subwoofer territory.

I have no idea if that's true or not. Can anyone confirm?

I didn't see any testing links myself -- I'm curious where this source was?

HuskerOmaha -- Produce the goods! Can you provide the test url?

Not my information, I was just given it when inquiring about different Amp options on avsforum.

Make of this what you will....

A few guys that have built many subs (LMS builds, etc) told me Crown was not their preferred amps. The new clone amps, the EP4000, etc were better options for ensuring low end performance. I'm taking them at their word since I have no idea and can't find information elsewhere. Other than the amp thread Craig linked in the other thread...

**Gorilla83** · 12-21-2011, 08:23 AM

Here are my thoughts:

Unfortunately, like you said, there isn't a TON of feedback on the crown amps in general being used in a HT environment for sub duty. I think largely this is due to the lower value/$$ ratio that they provide - given options like the clones, behringers, Marathon, etc.

This amp seems to be a mirror image of the MA5050 which seems to be highly regarded by the DIY community. It's also strikingly similar to the QSC RMX5050 in terms of power and design - which sells for 1200-1500 new. In this case, the XLS5000 typically sells for ~1000. Obviously better values can be had when looking at it at that pricepoint. I understand many of the Crown amps rolloff around 10 hz. Frankly, I couldn't care less about response below that since my Caps will be about 0 output at that point anyway.

In addition, Many of the pro audio guys are using this amp to drive 4 18" subs / side - which shows it should have some balls.

I know Craig here has mentioned he's had good luck with some of the smaller crown amps - namely the XLS 2500. I do know that a few others that run the XS series amps for sub duty over at AVS and they seem to love them as well.

As for the clone amps - I don't think they would work very well in my case as they don't appear to be 2 ohm stereo / 4 ohm bridged stable.

Looks like someone over at HTS found this as well - http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...000-599-a.html

Like I said, for this price I'm going to give it a whirl. :applause: This is going to be a birthday present from my wife to me - January 19th which is coming up in about a month. In the meantime, I'll be abusing my EP4000 into clipping @ 2 ohm stereo, LOL! :angel:

**HuskerOmaha** · 12-21-2011, 09:24 AM

The Crown XLS 5000 spec is -1 db at 22hz.

Under 22hz we can't be sure what the rolloff is, though Josh Ricci posted this in my DIY thread...

I would suspect that it is -3db at 8Hz. Crown seems to favor a 18db/oct 8Hz high pass filter on most of their pro amps. They should be about 1dB down at 10Hz and dropping very rapidly after that if that is the case.

However that is only my guess from other Crowns I've had and I do not know this for sure. It could be either higher or lower. FWIW

**Gorilla83** · 12-21-2011, 09:30 AM

Originally posted by HuskerOmaha

The Crown XLS 5000 spec is -1 db at 22hz.

Under 22hz we can't be sure what the rolloff is, though Josh Ricci posted this in my DIY thread...

I will call Crown Tech service to see if they can be of any help. Would be interesting to know for other folks, but probably not as relevant in my case.

And, from the Crown spec site it quotes +0db at 22hz and -1DB at 20K hertz:

"Frequency Response (at 1 watt, 22 Hz - 20 kHz)
+0 dB, –1 dB"

http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/xls.htm#specs

**Archaea** · 12-21-2011, 09:33 AM

Originally posted by Gorilla83

In the meantime, I'll be abusing my EP4000 into clipping @ 2 ohm stereo, LOL! :angel:

With the cap pair setup you'll likely only do that once (and for a very short time period) before your ears hurt for a month. Ask me how I know.

:biglaugh::eek:;):doh! 1::salute:

**Gorilla83** · 12-21-2011, 10:09 AM

Originally posted by Archaea

With the cap pair setup you'll likely only do that once (and for a very short time period) before your ears hurt for a month. Ask me how I know.

:biglaugh::eek:;):doh! 1::salute:

You're probably right. Hopefully my full tilt sessions are limited to a few 'tests' as well as some demos for local friends and our upcoming GTG in February. :D

I'm hoping that the Caps sound great at low-mid volumes too!

**HuskerOmaha** · 12-21-2011, 10:23 AM

I haven't read through your AVS thread, but you have two Caps, correct?

Powered by one EP4000, right?

Why not just buy another EP4000, since they are proven to only be down 3 db at 5hz? Then you'll never worry I guess....

I guess I don't know what config your caps are resistance wise. Just throwing ideas out there.

**Gorilla83** · 12-21-2011, 10:37 AM

Originally posted by HuskerOmaha

I haven't read through your AVS thread, but you have two Caps, correct?

Powered by one EP4000, right?

Why not just buy another EP4000, since they are proven to only be down 3 db at 5hz? Then you'll never worry I guess....

I guess I don't know what config your caps are resistance wise. Just throwing ideas out there.

Hey Greg,

I will have (when they arrive) a pair of passive caps, wired each at 2 ohms. Based on the EP2500 test that was done at AVS, the amp puts out around ~900/channel in 2 ohm stereo. Since the caps can be run individually only as 2 or 8 ohm, in a dual amp situation I'd be looking at running both in 8 ohm bridged. Unfortunately, this number increases only to ~1300 watts in an 8 ohm bridged situation, leaving me with an extra ~400 watts per sub over a single EP4K.

And if you haven't been following my posts, I'm more of an 'experimental' kind of guy. I've owned a pair of 18.Ts, Definitive trinity, Klipsch RW12, and now a pair of caps within 3 months, LOL. Should I not like the amp within it's 'trial' period I'll either sell it off or use it for some other project. If it happens to work out, great, and hopefully my feedback will be useful to the rest of the community. As an added note if in fact the new Peavey IPR7500 actually does materialize, I'd love to try one of those as well.

BTW I've been following your DIY thread over at AVS - looks awesome, can't wait to see what you wind up with. I've been collecting tools at my place to take on a DIY project of my own sometime early next year.

Cheers!

**diamonddelts** · 12-22-2011, 02:26 PM

Damn I would love to have this amp. But the specs state it comes with a 20 amp adapter cord and you need a dedicated 20 amp circuit to use it.:(

**Gorilla83** · 12-22-2011, 08:45 PM

Originally posted by diamonddelts

Damn I would love to have this amp. But the specs state it comes with a 20 amp adapter cord and you need a dedicated 20 amp circuit to use it.:(

Yes, the amp does a NEMA 5-20 plug. To get the full output out of the amp (5000+ watts) you will definitely need a dedicated 20 amp line - this thing is serious. To give you some indication, it has two 20a internal breakers. If youre limited to only 15a, you could always get away with a 15A outlet in the meantime using an adapter if need be - http://www.quick220.com/220_CORD102.htm.
I'm sure some may balk at this but I'd bet that a large majority of the time the amp would not be drawing anywhere near full tilt. Wired at 4 ohm bridged I wouldn't be surprised if the breaker tripped though.

BTW mine arrived tonight and it's a MONSTER. I'm not a small dude my any means and I was NOT expecting the box to be that heavy. The unfortunate part is that it's going to be my bday gift from the wife to me so I won't be able to play with it until January 19th. :( In the meantime I'm running another either 20 or 30A line and outlet to the HT area. :D

BTW DD - Did you used to hang out over at BB.com in the Home gym section? :)

**Archaea** · 12-23-2011, 03:06 PM

Gorilla - any chance of sneaking it out of the box this weekend and powering it up to see how the fan sounds? /// if it looks easy to replace --- what size is it?

I find myself still interested in this amp -- despite my better sense and full acknowledgement that the Inuke DSP3000 is plenty of amp for my situation.

I have two EP4000 amps - one blown, one unused currently, one Inuke DSP 3000, and I could probably sell the lot of them and buy one of those amps and a minidsp and ....

profit?

**HuskerOmaha** · 12-23-2011, 03:39 PM

Originally posted by Archaea

Gorilla - any chance of sneaking it out of the box this weekend and powering it up to see how the fan sounds? /// if it looks easy to replace --- what size is it?

I find myself still interested in this amp -- despite my better sense and full acknowledgement that the Inuke DSP3000 is plenty of amp for my situation.
I have two EP4000 amps - one blown, one working unused, one Inuke DSP 3000, and I could probably sell the lot of them and buy one of those amps and a minidsp and ....

profit?

Remember our talk? You said "I DONT NEED ANYTHING ELSE" regarding your amp and subs.

Oh and yeah I broke my promise not to do anything prior to the GTG.

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Crown XLS 5000 534 shipped!

Crown XLS 5000 534 shipped!

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