Crown XLS DriveCore 2 Series Class-D Power Amps

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I’ve been using a NAD T973 on the end of an Anthem MRX 300 with my M&K S-125s/S-85s for the last few years, and for the last couple of months with my KK Q-125s/Q-85s. I’ve always been happy with the NAD’s sound and ability to drive my speakers to pretty good SPLs without sounding too strained or harsh.

But recently my NAD failed to switch on and displayed a row of solid red lights whilst carrying out its power up test routine. This isn’t the first time the NAD’s had issues, I had to get it repaired a couple of years ago, so I decided it was time to spend my (already allocated subwoofer) budget on some new amplification. :facepalm:

I’m extremely conscious of diminishing returns, and the higher-end consumer hi-fi brands’ power amp’s SRPs are, quite frankly, astronomical in my opinion. In the past I’ve used a number of active monitors, namely; Mackie, Genelec, Blue Sky, PMC, Miller & Kreisel, so I’m more than willing to consider professional gear to achieve the desired results.

With this in-mind I started to look at pro power amps. I found a YouTube video review by Andrew Robinson in which he highly recommended Crown’s XLS DriveCore 2 Series amps for home cinema use. After watching this, and upon realising their incredible power (see table below) at unheard of price points when compared to consumer brands, I started to research further and turned up a number of threads on various US based forums, where I found nothing but positive reports. I also found this video by Crown, in which the engineers describe the DriveCore chip replacing around 500 components found in traditional, analogue amplifiers! :cool:



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Due to the incredible reviews and extremely agreeable pricing, I’m now powering my LCR speakers with two 2502s (775W into 4Ω) and my rears with a single 2002 (650W into 4Ω). These turned up on Monday of this week, but initially I was convinced they were going to have to go back, due to a rather loud and intrusive hum from all channels.

However, with the help of Jase (Dr Manhattan) via Google hangouts, we eventually tracked the problem down to a ground-loop hum which seemed to originate from the HDMI connection between the plasma and the Anthem receiver. In the end this was fixed by simply using phono to XLR adapters and connecting the Anthem to the balanced inputs on the Crowns.

After level matching and running a few test scenes, along with playing plenty of music, I’m extremely happy with the way my system now sounds. As I said at the beginning, I was always happy with the sound of the NAD behind my speakers, but these sound much more open and effortless at higher SPLs. I’m yet to hear anything that sounds harsh or grating or notice any sibilance whatsoever. All of this seems all the more weird to me as these things weigh around 5kg each (the NAD weighs 32kg) and seemingly never even get warm, never mind hot!

No doubt I’ll continue to thrash them for the next few nights and for most of the weekend, so if I find anything to the contrary I’ll report back. In the meantime, if you’re in the market for a new power amp, do yourself a favour and check these out. :thumbsup:
 
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Jbl synthesis use a rebadged drive core. I did look into them myself.
 
Jbl synthesis use a rebadged drive core. I did look into them myself.
Crown and JBL are both part of the Harmon International Industries group of companies.
 
Are the fans obtrusive on these amps?

I'm not sure, as mine are situated in an adjacent room to my listening room. I'd imagine not though, unless you sit particularly near to them.
 
Interesting, always love the discussion around pro kit :)

How much did they cost out of interest?
 
I use the 2002s for conference work and the fans are fully speed controlled, so unless you are running them very hard - much harder than the average home cinema is going to need, the fans only tick over or don't run at all.

They sound great, but the Lab Gruppens sound even better. They are about 4 times the price though!!

At home, the budget doesn't quite stretch this far, so I use the Behringer A500 studio amps. These are convection cooled and sound really very good for the money.
 
Are the fans obtrusive on these amps?

We have been using Crowns from the CT and XLS range in installs for some time. We use a CT8150 in our demo room, and recently used 2 x XLS1002 in our demo room for the atmos channels. I only once heard the fan come on one XLS1002. It was not loud, and actually turned off once under load (they appear to keep cooler when running). They were around about reference for some months before being replaced with the CT range for size and convenience reasons:)
 
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Just to add to this, there are some nice functions associated with these amps:

- They have adjustable input sensitivity,
- a visual display to show when the input signal is being clipped. There could be many people that are actually clipping the signal from the pre-amp to the power amp without realizing.
- With the Series 2 of the XLS range, you can turn the displays and LEDs off (time delayed turned off).

The above is without even factoring in the weight, and efficiency factors.

The RRPs are between £432 - £792 for the XLS range (inc VAT).
 
These look very interesting, anyone who has one what is the width dimension of the case. I guess the width on the data sheet is of the front plate.

This site is even cheaper Crown XLS1002
 
I guess it'll be a bit like my iNuke 6000DSP as it is also a 19" rack mount amp. The case is a couple of inches narrower to fit in the rack (so maybe 17" wide as there doesn't look much difference in width from the rear view on your link).
 
I guess it'll be a bit like my iNuke 6000DSP as it is also a 19" rack mount amp. The case is a couple of inches narrower to fit in the rack (so maybe 17" wide as there doesn't look much difference in width from the rear view on your link).
That would be good as my rack is only designed to take standard Hifi width.
I am seriously considering these for my LCR. Shame they don't have a 12v trigger, I wonder how much power they draw with no signal.
 
If they are class D they should be quite low power draw with no signal, but I turn my iNuke off when not in use. My main power amp is 12 volt triggered and my TV turns on my 'processor' (SR6010) via HDMI/ARC but no way other than physically walking to the cupboard and turning my iNuke on if I want subs with TV content (don't usually bother for News/DIY shows/soaps unless it's a decent drama series). If it's driving your main speakers though that's another matter.

It seems that 12 volt triggers aren't so common on 'Pro' gear though, but I suppose there has to be some compromise.
 
That would be good as my rack is only designed to take standard Hifi width.
I am seriously considering these for my LCR. Shame they don't have a 12v trigger, I wonder how much power they draw with no signal.

They are all standard rack mount width with ears for mounting already incorporated.

Under 1w if in a 'deep sleep' if I remember right.

[-]You would use the aux port for trigger/sleep, so does work:)[/-] Xls uses contact closure so needs a relay.
 
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They are all standard rack mount width with ears for mounting already incorporated.

Under 1w if in a 'deep sleep' if I remember right.

You would use the aux port for trigger/sleep, so does work:)
I did read the manual and it looks like the aux port is some strange connection rather than the standard 3.5mm.

Were the 1002 noisy as I see their signal to noise ratio isn't as good as the 1502.
 
You would use the aux port for trigger/sleep, so does work:)

That would be useful as I need a second power amp for another pair of subs. Even if that one only came on via trigger it would be useful (don't need the full 4 subs for day to day TV). Shame that even the 2502 doesn't give the output I need...I wonder if other models might have that function and be able to give up to 1400 watts x 2 into 4ohms? Also needs output down to 10Hz which rules out the XTi models from what I've read. :(
 
I did read the manual and it looks like the aux port is some strange connection rather than the standard 3.5mm.

Were the 1002 noisy as I see their signal to noise ratio isn't as good as the 1502.

I did have a ground loop hum at one point seemed to be related to kaleidescape and specific HDMI port on the AVR. Once I changed the port used this it was fine, and noise gone. This using phono.
 
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I think getting a couple of these are in my future.
The 1502 can be had for under £400 at Thomann.
I was going to look at a secondhand Rotel or Arcam but a lot of pro gear is often better than AV / HiFi stuff and usually significantly cheaper.

I have read that a lot of the Crowns have undefeatable 20hz high pass filters so I don't know how good they are for subs.
 
They give you the plug, so you just need to split the photo, and connect the right ports:)
Are you sure Ricky? It appears to me the XLS xxx2 range need a contact closure so would require you to connect a relay to the "aux" port powered by 12v out from your processor.

If you've tried connecting a 12v trigger and it works I apologise, but sounds like bad advice to me.
 
Are you sure Ricky? It appears to me the XLS xxx2 range need a contact closure so would require you to connect a relay to the "aux" port powered by 12v out from your processor.

If you've tried connecting a 12v trigger and it works I apologise, but sounds like bad advice to me.

I have not tried it on the xls xxx2. I had used in other models some time ago and that worked, but I have scrubbed my posts based on this, as you are correct, it is now using contact closure (maybe it was not before). Thanks for highlighting this:)
 
I have read that a lot of the Crowns have undefeatable 20hz high pass filters so I don't know how good they are for subs.

That's what I've read too, though it doesn't stop them being used for main LCR purposes (assuming you have a separate sub). It's a shame as the XTi models looked like a possible alternative to the ubiquitous iNuke 3000/6000 options for sub use.

The trigger bit could be worked round using the 12 volt output from a processor to switch a relay, but would need to make sure the trigger out wasn't going to be overloaded by the relay. Might need a transistor stage to drive the relay which in turn would mean a power supply too, so it all starts to get complicated just to have auto switch on.
 
That's what I've read too, though it doesn't stop them being used for main LCR purposes (assuming you have a separate sub). It's a shame as the XTi models looked like a possible alternative to the ubiquitous iNuke 3000/6000 options for sub use.

The trigger bit could be worked round using the 12 volt output from a processor to switch a relay, but would need to make sure the trigger out wasn't going to be overloaded by the relay. Might need a transistor stage to drive the relay which in turn would mean a power supply too, so it all starts to get complicated just to have auto switch on.
I agree it would probably be easier just to turn on / off the switch on the front.
I also wonder how much current draw they have on start up.
With two or three being turned on all at once I wonder if it would trip the breaker.
 
The trigger bit could be worked round using the 12 volt output from a processor to switch a relay, but would need to make sure the trigger out wasn't going to be overloaded by the relay. Might need a transistor stage to drive the relay which in turn would mean a power supply too, so it all starts to get complicated just to have auto switch on.
some info in Automatically Powering on Pro Amps via Relay (guide w/ pics) - AVS Forum | Home Theater Discussions And Reviews might be useful
 

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