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New amp is making me grin from ear to ear =) - Page 3

post #61 of 4947
7/5/04 at 11:14am
just a reminder guys. These are unbalanced signals that you are sending this amp. So keep the cable length as short as possible, or you are going to pick up some noise. Just something to keep in mind...

lata.
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post #62 of 4947
7/5/04 at 11:19am
Another option to buy the amps, today only, is to go to Guitar Center since they have a no sales tax sale today (July 5th). Then see if you can strike a deal. Especially if you get more than one you can save shipping.
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post #63 of 4947
7/5/04 at 11:19am
Thanks riff.
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post #64 of 4947
7/5/04 at 11:24am
Thank you, keepinitcool.
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post #65 of 4947
7/5/04 at 12:49pm
Quote:


Originally posted by Terrax
Thanks for the quick replys, brickie. And thank you the information. As to the cable, bare with me, just wanna make sure I get it right. I believe it would be a either male RCA to XLR male, (if I run straight from Pre-to-Amp) or a female RCA to male XLR (if I use another RCA to RCA cable). Correct? I tried the link you provided for the cable, but only took me to the home page of the site. Copy&Paste didnt work either.

Terry

That would be correct as far as the cables go.

As for your power hungry speakers, I say feed them an 8 course meal!!Seriously, I urge anyone to demo these for yourself.I bought 1 to checkout first and then when i was satisfied i bought the others..Specs are good, but my ears are WAY BETTER!! It's just the simple plain ol fact of trust your ears. So much in audio is placebo effect. Wow, it costed $5000 and is so and so brand..It must be good..Yeah okay! I will put this amp up against the big boys costing $$$$$$ more and i guranttee if it loses ,it will be CLOSE! Then all the money I saved,I'll go buy me some dvds..

brickie
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post #66 of 4947
7/5/04 at 1:01pm
Quote:


Originally posted by brickie
That would be correct as far as the cables go.

As for your power hungry speakers, I say feed them an 8 course meal!!Seriously, I urge anyone to demo these for yourself.I bought 1 to checkout first and then when i was satisfied i bought the others..Specs are good, but my ears are WAY BETTER!! It's just the simple plain ol fact of trust your ears. So much in audio is placebo effect. Wow, it costed $5000 and is so and so brand..It must be good..Yeah okay! I will put this amp up against the big boys costing $$$$$$ more and i guranttee if it loses ,it will be CLOSE! Then all the money I saved,I'll go buy me some dvds..

brickie


I could not agree more, but there are those with very deeeeeeeep pockets, that buy for name alone.

Thanks, brickie.
And thanks, Maz. For posting the thread, without which, I would not be clued in.

Terry
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post #67 of 4947
7/5/04 at 1:21pm
Hey brickie and Mazeroth, what level do you have the attenuators set to?

Thanks.
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post #68 of 4947
7/5/04 at 1:38pm
I assume you're talking about the "volume levels" on front of the amps...I run mine at 50 %.

brickie
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post #69 of 4947
7/5/04 at 2:21pm
Quote:


Originally posted by SteveCallas
Don't know how much of an effect this will have, but the THD and damping factor specs on the xls series are not very good.

Not sure what you're looking at..The THD for the XLS is 0.1%, this is less than the 0.2% of my Pioneer reciever and many I checked out at their website...

As far as Damping Factor goes, not sure about this one..But What Distortion their is you'll never hear.Your ears will be blownout first!

brickie
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post #70 of 4947
7/5/04 at 2:31pm
The damping factor (8 ohms) is greater than 200, from 10 to 400hz. Per Crowns spec sheet.
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post #71 of 4947
7/5/04 at 2:33pm
http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/xlsspec.htm

Here its says 0.5%, like I said, I don't know if that would even make an audible difference, but most home theater amps are along the lines of 0.05%, which is a pretty big difference.

Do you notice any distortion at louder levels?

I know you said you can't hear the fan running, but how about when multiple are being used at once? I would need four of these.

Just so you know, I'm not trying to play down these amps in anyway, I am quite interested, just wondering if there are any drawbacks you may not be mentioning that home theater amps would solve.
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post #72 of 4947
7/5/04 at 3:21pm
The THD rating of 0.5 is what Bob Carver puts on all the amps that Sunfire releases. Just a thought,
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post #73 of 4947
7/5/04 at 4:01pm
Quote:


Originally posted by F355
any integrated pro amps available?
also, if a digital amp's efficiency is not a priority, what are the[other] advantages of the carverpro ZR 1000/1600? its pretty expensive compared to others.

i sold pro amps for almost four years..... just like in the consumer side of the business, pro amplifiers do sound different from each other....



more specifically.... the carver ZR series does seem to be able to reproduce the details that many other amps miss.... call it "microdynamics".... it actually blows away many traditional consumer solid state amps in this respect....

some reviewers have actually called it "too detailed"......

just my thoughts after living with the ZR1000 since last october......

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post #74 of 4947
7/5/04 at 4:44pm
Quote:


Originally posted by SteveCallas
http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/xlsspec.htm

Here its says 0.5%, like I said, I don't know if that would even make an audible difference, but most home theater amps are along the lines of 0.05%, which is a pretty big difference.

Do you notice any distortion at louder levels?

I know you said you can't hear the fan running, but how about when multiple are being used at once? I would need four of these.

Just so you know, I'm not trying to play down these amps in anyway, I am quite interested, just wondering if there are any drawbacks you may not be mentioning that home theater amps would solve.

Understood..I'll be honest in HOME THEATER applications, i don't think the THD will be very important...Yesterday When listening to some Dave Koz I was hitting 110 spl on my meter at 15 ft from speaker !Amp was not even stressing at all! Still had PLENTY of volume to go on receiver to.Was at -30 i believe, and it stops at -6 if i'm not mistaken.And gain knobs on Crown are at 50% point..I don't like to turn them up past that..Just me being superstitious. The sound was incredibly clear!!No distortion or anything that made me think speakers or amp were about to give...As I often say,I gave up first!

As for fans, I'll have to report back on that hopefully by end week.Waiting for other 2 to get here.3 could be a factor, but I hope not.I'm expectiing to eventually have all my gear in a closet or seperate room so I'm willing to make the sacrifice IF it's necessary for now.

What does "damping factor" mean? I'm no audiophile at all, just know what my ears like!

brickie
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post #75 of 4947
7/5/04 at 4:52pm
Quote:


Originally posted by brickie


What does "damping factor" mean? I'm no audiophile at all, just know what my ears like!

brickie

I think it is how tightly the amp controls low frequency cone excursion. I have also read that any number above 40-50 for damping factor there is neglegible improvement.

Jim
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post #76 of 4947
7/5/04 at 4:57pm
okay, got it.

Mazeroth, can you comment on how your bass response is? I use towers with powered subs, so I wouldn't notice if i'm missing anything..

brickie
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post #77 of 4947
7/5/04 at 4:57pm
okay, got it.

Mazeroth, can you comment on how your bass response is? I use towers with powered subs, so I wouldn't notice if i'm missing anything..

brickie
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post #78 of 4947
7/5/04 at 6:49pm
Thread Starter 
The bass response is nothing short of SICKENING, honestly. I know we're making the amps out to be unbelievable, but they truly are.

I worked at Circuit City for 5 years, 3 in home audio and 2 in car audio/installation while in college. I know a thing or 2 and one thing I remember hearing time and time again is your ears really can't distinguish anything under 1.0% THD, and when you're talking bass your ears can't distinguish distortion under 10.0%.

I first hooked the Crown up to a set of Polk LSi15s and compared to running them off my HK receiver it was night and day, especially in the bass department. The mids are more apparent and the highs seem less harsh, like they're not being "forced", if you will. I am now testing the Crown on a set of Polk LSi7s (150w RMS at 4ohms) and they're loving every watt I can push at them. Currently listening to Norah Jones (I hate this kind of music, but it just sounds SO damn good heh).

I'm using 1 meter Monster Cable Reference RCAs ($100) that I got cheap from working at CC and am using the same XLR to RCA adapters Brickie is using from Sweetwater and the connection seems to be good.

As far as the fan noise goes if you could tuck them away in a closet or 2nd room that would be optimal. While watching a movie or listening to music at 80+ db I can't hear the fans at all from 15ft away. When I get my 5.1 installed and get 2 more I bet I *might* be able to hear them then, so I'm working on running the wires into our utility closet. Hope my fiancee doesn't mind
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post #79 of 4947
7/5/04 at 7:48pm
Total Harmonic Distortion really only comes into play when you are really pushing the amp hard. and since you guys are using a really really clean signal from dvd's, cd's, etc. then it doesn't really matter as much.

Now the question i have for you is...can you ACTUALLY hear the difference between .1% THD and .5%? If you say yes, then you have better ears than I.
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post #80 of 4947
7/5/04 at 8:49pm
okay, I'm interested! I currently have Vandersteen 2Ce sigs and running them with a marantz rcvr. I have been looking to switch to seperates mainly to improve my music listening. But the cost has been discouraging to say the least. My concern is that the soon to be built equipmt rack is about 15 to 20 feet from the future position of the front speakers. Will this be a problem ?

I am surprised the audiophiles have not bombarded this page with opposing opinions. I am no audiophile, but I do listen to their views (with a grain of salt )
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post #81 of 4947
7/5/04 at 9:35pm
Ok. I'm interested, too. I've been looking at separate power amps, hoping for at least 200wpc, and disheartened by the high prices. My major concern at this point is: how are you guys powering these on? There's no auto on/off or 12V trigger (as far as I can tell), which means they must be manually switched on, or have the power switch always on and running through some kind of power strip which you activate (either manually or through a Panamax, etc..
Does powering the amp on in this way cause the dreaded "thump" through your speakers? I'm fine with having the thump when I turn on my bass guitar amp, but I'd sure hate to hear it through my beloved Paradigm 100s!

Thanks!
Bart
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post #82 of 4947
7/5/04 at 10:25pm
I have my three crown 402's and one 202 in my laundry/storage/furnance room so the fans don't bother me at all. :-) And I turn them on by going up to them flipping the switchs on then turing the volume up, and for turning them off I do the reverse; turn the volume down then flipping the switchs off.
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post #83 of 4947
7/6/04 at 3:24am
SRR, same exact procedure that I use.

brickie
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post #84 of 4947
7/6/04 at 6:16am
Quote:
Originally posted by bartman_451
Ok. I'm interested, too. I've been looking at separate power amps, hoping for at least 200wpc, and disheartened by the high prices. My major concern at this point is: how are you guys powering these on? There's no auto on/off or 12V trigger (as far as I can tell), which means they must be manually switched on, or have the power switch always on and running through some kind of power strip which you activate (either manually or through a Panamax, etc..
Does powering the amp on in this way cause the dreaded "thump" through your speakers? I'm fine with having the thump when I turn on my bass guitar amp, but I'd sure hate to hear it through my beloved Paradigm 100s!

Thanks!
Bart


there are many pro amps that do have the 12 volt trigger feature....

my carver professional ZR1000 does have this..... as well as having a "soft start" feature that mutes the output so there is no thump on startup....

many crown and qsc models also offer this feature..... but not all.... just check out the specs.....

cheers!



or turn them on and off manually!
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post #85 of 4947
7/6/04 at 10:20am
Quote:
Originally posted by tubeguy44
there are many pro amps that do have the 12 volt trigger feature....

my carver professional ZR1000 does have this..... as well as having a "soft start" feature that mutes the output so there is no thump on startup....

many crown and qsc models also offer this feature..... but not all.... just check out the specs.....

cheers!



or turn them on and off manually!

After much deliberation, I sprung for a pro-audio amplifier versus a boutique amplifier. I really didn't have enough money for a comparable boutique amplifier anyways

Like tubeguy44, I've decided to give the ZR1000 a try. The digital amplification was its selling point. I was really impressed with a Panasonic XR50 I recently purchased for some one; let's hope the ZR1000 is even better! I'm planning to pair it with my Denon 3803 to drive some Polk RTi12's. At higher volume levels, they demand more power than my 3803 could deliver.
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post #86 of 4947
7/6/04 at 10:42am
Quote:
Originally posted by OregonLAN
After much deliberation, I sprung for a pro-audio amplifier versus a boutique amplifier. I really didn't have enough money for a comparable boutique amplifier anyways

Like tubeguy44, I've decided to give the ZR1000 a try. The digital amplification was its selling point. I was really impressed with a Panasonic XR50 I recently purchased for some one; let's hope the ZR1000 is even better! I'm planning to pair it with my Denon 3803 to drive some Polk RTi12's. At higher volume levels, they demand more power than my 3803 could deliver.


the ZR1000 will make your speakers perform up to their ability...... let us know how you like it after you get it hooked up!!!!

cheers!

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post #87 of 4947
7/6/04 at 10:49am
Welp, pulled the trigger on a Crown XLS-402A Amplifier today. Should be here by Thursday or Friday. I'll post my impressions then after I've had a chance to hook it up and give it a listen driving my Maggies.

Terry
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post #88 of 4947
7/6/04 at 11:53am
I sprung for 2 of them on Saturday. I'll be sure to post the results after comparing it w/ my current Adcom amp hooked up to my Yammie 5760. Please God, let this be the Genie In The Bottle that it sounds to be.
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post #89 of 4947
7/6/04 at 1:20pm
Damn, this is good..More reviews to come shortly!! I do reall yhope that it turns about to be a GREAT amp for you guys...Can't wait to hear your opinions of it!

brickie
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post #90 of 4947
7/6/04 at 1:27pm
If you guys don't mind, can you post your reviews here since we got this nice long thread going about these amps now..

brickie
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