Crown XLI 3500 Curious Specs

[diamonddelts]

I think this is a new amp from Crown. I've never seen it before and i do weekly searches for good deals on new or existing pro amps. I figured this would be a good amp to run my speakers with. I know many people state crown amps have good sound quality.

The 8 ohm specs are good for the price. However the 4 ohm specs and 8ohm bridged specs seem very, very weak. I'm trying to figure out why is this amp's 4 ohm and bridged specs are so pathetic?

Here's a link:

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-CRO-XLI3500-LIST

XLI Series:

http://www.crownaudio.com/row/xli-series.html

[sbdman]

My wag would be the 8 ohm specs are bloated. Twice the resistance, and you would expect half the power in stereo.

The lowest model produces 1/3 more power at twice the resistance, the top model produces 41% more. Not saying it's impossible, just unusual.

I would agree, Crown is more trustable than most, but...

[craigsub]

DD - You should try out the MQ-600. I think you would be pleasantly surprised.

[stormwind13]

at that pricepoint, i'd say there are much better choices. I have an xls-1500 I use for my f20s and it's been nothing but stellar though.

[diamonddelts]

at that pricepoint, i'd say there are much better choices. I have an xls-1500 I use for my f20s and it's been nothing but stellar though.

I agree. At this point, after using over twenty amps, I'd say I have a pretty good ear for amp power vs. specs. After listening to so many amps with fluffed up specs over the years, I have become a bit jaded. Now I normally don't look any amps below 1,000 watts a channel @8 ohms for my setup.

I know there are some hidden gems with lower specs under 1kw a channel like the Samson Sx 3200 but it's such a pain to keep buying and selling amps every few months. I just try to stay at 1,000 watts a channel @8ohms or above because I assume every company is fluffing their rms specs by 25% or more.

[dane]

at that pricepoint, i'd say there are much better choices. I have an xls-1500 I use for my f20s and it's been nothing but stellar though.

Did you do the fan mod? I have an old crate audio amp that I picked up for $100 because it's so heavy (79lbs!!) .. But it's also got some loud fans. Not really stock sizes either, so I haven't been able to replace them yet. I'm wanting to move up to a class-D to keep the power and loose the weight and noise..

cheers,
..dane

[tesseract]

The 8 ohm specs are good for the price. However the 4 ohm specs and 8ohm bridged specs seem very, very weak. I'm trying to figure out why is this amp's 4 ohm and bridged specs are so pathetic?

The 8 ohm mono rating is very impressive, and happens to be double the 4 ohm rating. That figure (2700 watts), and the fact that there is no 4 ohm mono rating, tells me that the amp is limited by the wall current and/or power supply limits.

I wouldn't worry about the lowish 4 ohm rating, that amp has plenty of juice. Peaks should be well over the rating.

[diamonddelts]

The 8 ohm mono rating is very impressive, and happens to be double the 4 ohm rating. That figure (2700 watts), and the fact that there is no 4 ohm mono rating, tells me that the amp is limited by the wall current and/or power supply limits.

I wouldn't worry about the lowish 4 ohm rating, that amp has plenty of juice. Peaks should be well over the rating.

I'm definitely interested in how this amp stacks up against the Inuke 6000. But then again I could have two Inuke 6000's for one of these so I guess it's not a fair comparison in the bang for buck category. Though I know fluffed up specs don't tell the entire story so I definitely want to compare these two amps by ear.

I'm willing to roll the dice on one of these but I am waiting on the release of the Inuke 12000 before I make my next amp purchase. Also, I thought the Crown x3000 was a interesting buy. It's got great reviews in terms of sound quality and low distortion. Here's a link: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-a...750w-power-amp

[diamonddelts]

Well my curiosity has peaked again for this amp. It's price online has been slashed down to $649 which is what it should have been all along. It's definitely not a $800+ amp. With that being said, I'm thinking it might match the specs of my U215 speakers better than the Inuke 6000.

After talking to some of the pro guys over at prosoundweb.net it turns out the program watts listed for the U215 is the equivalent of peak wattage. So they are 1800 watts peak and 900 watts rms. The U15 is 1000 watts program/peak and 500 watts rms. The aformentioned specs are 4ohm figures.

The U15's mids and highs were going into protection mode with the Inuke 6000 set at half gain so I know it's too much for the U15 and I'm afraid it could blow a component in the U215 over time. So I want to go with a amp with no more than 1500 watts per channel @ 4 ohms. I'm also hoping there will be an increase in sound quality with this amp over the Inuke 6000.

Though it's so hard to "reprogram" myself into going with a weaker amp for my speakers since I've always believed in buying the most watts you can at any particular price point. But with the new price I'm willing to take the plunge on this amp.

I've also read that the Crown XLS, XTI,XLI, and X3000 amps have zero hum and hiss problems which have plagued me since day one with Behringer amps.

[diamonddelts]

Also, here is the Crown X series:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/crown-x-series-power-amps

Their specs are the exact same as the XLI series and their prices were the same until recently. However now the XLI series a good deal cheaper with the recent price slashes.

The XLI 2500 which is 750 watts @ 4 ohm is $400 and now the XLI 3500 is $649. What interests me the most is in the specs it says these amps have builtin in cicruitry for zero on/off thumps and zero radio interference or hum.

Wow if this is true I need these amps. I love the look of the X series however the XLI series seems to be the same amps design wise. I think It's time for me to pull the trigger.

[diamonddelts]

Trigger pulled. IMPATIENTLY waiting on amp to be enroute to my house now. I wanted it delivered five minutes ago. Lol. :D

[Gorilla83]

That looks like a very nice amp DD. The build quality of the new Crown amps is outstanding. I think you will be impressed with the build quality vs. the beringers. I'd imagine most of the time the fans should be much quieter as well. Should have more than ample power with your U215's as well - I know my 'little' XLS2000 will drive me out of the room (listening 20' back!) while barely tickling the signal lights. :)

[Eric]

DD,

There is no 2 ohm stereo rating, 4 ohm bridged rating on this amp which most likely means the power supply is the weak link here.

It matters little as you would most likely be limited by the current capacity of a 15 or 20 amp circuit anyway.

I'm with Craig on this one. Why not give the MQ-600 a try? All indications are it is a bit more powerful than a QSC RMX2450 which I am very familiar with. that makes it quite a deal for that kind of power.

[diamonddelts]

DD,

There is no 2 ohm stereo rating, 4 ohm bridged rating on this amp which most likely means the power supply is the weak link here.

It matters little as you would most likely be limited by the current capacity of a 15 or 20 amp circuit anyway.

I'm with Craig on this one. Why not give the MQ-600 a try? All indications are it is a bit more powerful than a QSC RMX2450 which I am very familiar with. that makes it quite a deal for that kind of power.

I don't consider the RMX 2450 a powerful amp. I place it alongside the EP 4000 in what I consider good beginner amps for those just getting into the pro amp world. I try to stay with amps rated no lower than 800 watts a channel @ 8 ohms nowadays.

This amp does seem to be severely limited at 4 ohms but that is what I want since I've found out the Unities can't take near the power I thought they could. However I've had them hooked up to amps in the 500 to 700 watts a channel range and they sounded weak.

Not to blame this on the amps per say, but the Unities are very picky with what you power them with in my experience. Plus I'm tired of the constant ground hum and hiss problems I've had with numerous amps and I figure this amp might have the internal circuitry to minimize these nuisances.

One thing that always concerns me is how guys will throw oodles of power at subs all day long however these same people use receivers or "just enough power" amps to power speakers. I am a big believer in throwing a good amount of power at speakers to get them to their full potential. I know plenty of speakers will get loud on a 100 watt a channel receiver or a 300 to 500 watt a channel amp but don't they convince me with dynamics during playback.

I've done three blind listening tests in San Antonio with a friend and each time I correctly called out the weaker amp. I know all specs are fluffed and they are far from the end all, be all in purchasing a amp. But with that being said, I've found that sticking with amps rated at 800 to 1000 watts a channel is a good start for me as well as the bare minimum I will consider at this point in my audio journey.

[Eric]

I don't consider the RMX 2450 a powerful amp. I place it alongside the EP 4000 in what I consider good beginner amps for those just getting into the pro amp world. I try to stay with amps rated no lower than 800 watts a channel @ 8 ohms nowadays.

I understand what you're saying although I would say an EP4000 (which is a copy of an RMX2450 with arguably lesser quality components) is not quite as good an amp. There are certainly more powerful options but at 750W/channel into 4 ohms, it drove my old CS Ultras well. The point I attempted to make, although not well is an entry level QSC RMX is 2 ohm stereo, 4 ohm mono rated whereas the Crown is not. Crown makes some great amplifiers. The fact that this one is not 4 ohm mono rated would lead me to question the quality of its construction, specifically the power supply section. That being said, it may be just what you're looking for as long as the impedance of your speakers does not dip too low. :cool: