Anyone using Crown amps?

Mystery
Mystery Posts: 2,546
edited June 2014 in Vintage Speakers
I have a little Crown D-75 that I bought without knowing how many wpc it is.
I hooked them up with monitor 7's and man they pound!
Sound was punchy in all ranges compared to my Yamaha stereo receiver and sounded very good.

The IOC (Input Output Comparator) lights were not even blinking remotely indicating it still had a lot of headroom and sound level was already very high. The mid woofer was moving like crazy.

So I checked its specifications and WHAT???
Mere 35 wpc @ 8 ohms and 45 wpc @ 4ohms bridgeable to 95 wpc @ 8 ohms.

Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
Post edited by Mystery on
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,416
    edited June 2014
    DSkip wrote: »
    Mine is propped under tires to keep my camaro from rolling out of the garage.



    Just kidding... I wouldn't do that to my camaro.





    Agreed... the proper place would be under a Mustang. They also make a very nice boat anchor. :lol:
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    edited June 2014
    I have to buy a Camaro or mustang or a boat then.
    Too bad I already sold my Camaro in 2007. :lol:

    BTW, here is a pic of my Camaro.

    Camaro.jpg

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    edited June 2014
    D-75 and D-300 are legendary in recording and radio studios across the globe. They however have very little in common with Crown's current entry level XLS and other import series amps that many taught as sounding great simply because they are Crown...

    Macro-Tech is another animal though, nice stuff.
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
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  • OldmanSRS
    OldmanSRS Posts: 419
    edited June 2014
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    They also make a very nice boat anchor. :lol:

    Until the EPA sees ya doing it :cry:
    '65 427 Shelby Cobra
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  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    edited June 2014
    So we have quite a few Crown haters here eh?

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,416
    edited June 2014
    Mystery wrote: »
    So we have quite a few Crown haters here eh?

    Crown/Emotiva... whats the difference?





    LOL.... just kidding everyone...:lol:
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,441
    edited June 2014
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    Crown/Emotiva... whats the difference?

    about 30.00:lol:
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited June 2014
    I do have a D-150 and an IC-150 that I found on the swap pile at our (erstwhile) town dump, FWIW.

    10421218693_36db119ee8_b.jpgDSC_6956_zps997c022a by mhardy6647, on Flickr

    The IC-150 is notoriously awful sounding -- the D-150 is a workhorse, and somewhat less awful.
    I don't use them for anything except taking up space and collecting dust.
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  • Msabot1
    Msabot1 Posts: 2,098
    edited June 2014
    Why have them then???
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  • Habanero Monk
    Habanero Monk Posts: 715
    edited June 2014
    If you use the forum search function here and elsewhere for DriveCore it will give you an indication how Crown's next up from entry level Amps are doing in various environments.

    Crown still sells the D-75A I believe.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited June 2014
    The original Crown International (once family owned, now part of Harman) of Elkhart, IN, was a very interesting company.
    There hardware was (and, to some extent, still is) extraordinarily rugged.

    Crown does indeed (last I knew) still sell a version of the D-75; it's been on the market for a long, long time.

    Crown's flagship products, to my way of thinking, were their reel to reel decks. They were - literally - built "missionary tough" for the church missions market. Folks dragged them around to improbable "developing world" locations of all sorts. Many of the Crown decks were absolutely superb.

    Why do I have them? Why not have them? I am a big believer in basing my opinions on experience. I can go back and listen to 'em and re-confirm (or change) my opinion on them (e.g., using different loudspeakers).
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  • Msabot1
    Msabot1 Posts: 2,098
    edited June 2014
    I agree...better to use and rotate than just collect dust...
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,554
    edited June 2014
    They also make a very nice boat anchor.

    Nope, way too light weight.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • leftwinger57
    leftwinger57 Posts: 2,917
    edited June 2014
    To me they looked way to industrial like they should be in a back store room shelf like a Bogen back ground music system. Never liked them. I think they were in direct competition w/ SAE and Sound Craftsman which clearly had the better look whether a rack mount or not. The pre that doc Hardy has almost has that Dynaco look but not even there either.
    2chl- Adcom GFA- 555-Onkyo P-3150v pre/amp- JVC-QL-A200 tt- Denon 1940 ci cdp- Adcom GFS-6 -Modded '87 SDA 2Bs - Dynamat Ext.- BH-5- X-Overs VR-3, RDO-194 tweeters, Larry's Rings, Speakon/Neutrik I/C- Cherry stain tops Advent Maestros,Ohm model E

    H/T- Toshiba au40" flat- Yamaha RX- V665 avr- YSD-11 Dock- I-Pod- Klipsch #400HD Speaker set-

    Bdrm- Nikko 6065 receiver- JBL -G-200s--Pioneer 305 headphones--Sony CE375-5 disc
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  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    edited June 2014
    So I need to get rid of it then.
    Any takers? :lol:

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited June 2014
    They were used for pro as well as consumer application -- they weren't designed to be looked at.
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  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    edited June 2014
    I'll give Crown amps credit for actually being made in the U.S.A. back then. There's probably still a few 30 or 40 years old crown amps that still work.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited June 2014
    ... like the one upstairs at my house, which is likely from the early 1970s. There's older Crown stuff than that still in use, I'm sure.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 10,716
    edited June 2014
    got a couple of Crown power-base 1's for the garage when the neighbors pool parties get to crazy.
    I also have a couple of com-tech 210's that are nice. I also have an Emotiva amp so I suck.
    Please send me all Crown amps. Just PM me. I'll pay for shipping.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 10,716
    edited June 2014
    Crown amps and JBL speakers seem to be de rigueur at the music exchanges. :cheesygrin:
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 10,716
    edited June 2014
    The guy I bought my RT-7's off of had the big boy Crown amps and a DJ setup that he bought from the estate of
    a dead rapper or something like that. He just pulled it out for block parties. He fired up one amp and ripped my
    face off.
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  • Mikey081057
    Mikey081057 Posts: 7,127
    edited June 2014
    I used to have one of these


    dc300a_face.jpg
    My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160

    Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |

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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 10,716
    edited June 2014
    Anyone have a Crown Studio Reference I they don't want anymore?
    I'll pay for running a 30 amp circuit.
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  • Habanero Monk
    Habanero Monk Posts: 715
    edited June 2014
    I use Yamaha but certainly researched Crown. Both sounded more than capable in my auditioning. The Yamaha had better aesthetic for me (and now it's all in a rack in a closet).

    One interesting thing: Back in the 80's Crown was recognized as a company that made uber clean, high bandwidth power supplies.

    GE Imaging systems contracted Crown for X-Ray and MRI and other medical imaging devices.

    The spin off company AETechron still exists today and has amps that deliver DC to 300Khz ruler flat.

    So anyone that has been in one of these devices most likely benefited from Crown know how.
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  • OldmanSRS
    OldmanSRS Posts: 419
    edited June 2014
    Habanero Monk wrote: »

    GE Imaging systems contracted Crown for X-Ray and MRI and other medical imaging devices.

    This it true. We used them on our older MRI scanners for gradient field amplifiers. The coils these amps drove had a 0.1 Ohm DCR. They warped the static magnetic field to provide slice thickness, slice selection and phase encoding to the MRI image.

    3 phase 208V input voltage, slew rate 32V/micro second, 3,000W peak output monoblock amps. There were 3 per system.

    Pick one up today: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Techron-GE-Medical-8606-Gradient-Amplifier-Power-Supply-For-Sale-Used-/201002865493
    '65 427 Shelby Cobra
    '72 Triumph TR-6
    __________________
    '88 Polk SDA SRS 1.2, with upgraded XO caps and Erse SDA inductors
    '86 Polk SDA CRS+
    '84 Polk Monitor 10A (Peerless tweeters)
    '05 HSU VTF-3 Sub (Original OEM)
    '20 HSU VTF-3 Sub (three more, 100% cloned)
    '93 Carver TFM-35
    '88 Carver M-1.0t
    '88 Adcom GFT-555
    '88 Adcom GFP-555
    '88 Adcom GFA-555 (upgraded/restored)
    '88 Adcom GFA-555 (a second one upgraded/restored)
    '05 Onkyo DV-555 media
    '89 Fosgate 360 Digital Space Matrix
    '89 Fosgate 360 Digital Space Matrix, internal surround amp bridged to drive only a center channel
    '91 Kenwood Basic M1D Amp
    '89 Pioneer Laser Disc media
    '89 Sony SuperBeta HiFi media
    One PGA2310 based custom built remote volume control
    Four Polk T-15's
    Four Polk TSi-200's
    Four Polk TSi-100's
    Two Polk CS-10's
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited June 2014
    That's interesting!
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,441
    edited June 2014
    If you don't learn something new everyday your DEAD..

    Today I'm alive:) and learned something new...
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  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    edited June 2014
    The D-75 is not bad.
    May be not for critical listening but I don't have all the gears to have a critical listening session anyways. I mean D-75 is not the weakest link in the chain.
    It's in my basement for now and does a good job with monitor 7's. icon14.png
    Plus it's very small so doesn't even look like it's there under the pre-amp. :wink:

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
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  • leftwinger57
    leftwinger57 Posts: 2,917
    edited June 2014
    If there was a better or worse, Phase Linear 400 or that Crown DC 300. The PL w/ meters no level controls rack mount or the Crown w/ dual controls also rack mount and one big honkin led on/ff switch? Given the nick name of the PLs.
    2chl- Adcom GFA- 555-Onkyo P-3150v pre/amp- JVC-QL-A200 tt- Denon 1940 ci cdp- Adcom GFS-6 -Modded '87 SDA 2Bs - Dynamat Ext.- BH-5- X-Overs VR-3, RDO-194 tweeters, Larry's Rings, Speakon/Neutrik I/C- Cherry stain tops Advent Maestros,Ohm model E

    H/T- Toshiba au40" flat- Yamaha RX- V665 avr- YSD-11 Dock- I-Pod- Klipsch #400HD Speaker set-

    Bdrm- Nikko 6065 receiver- JBL -G-200s--Pioneer 305 headphones--Sony CE375-5 disc
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  • Habanero Monk
    Habanero Monk Posts: 715
    edited June 2014
    OldmanSRS wrote: »
    This it true. We used them on our older MRI scanners for gradient field amplifiers. The coils these amps drove had a 0.1 Ohm DCR. They warped the static magnetic field to provide slice thickness, slice selection and phase encoding to the MRI image.

    3 phase 208V input voltage, slew rate 32V/micro second, 3,000W peak output monoblock amps. There were 3 per system.

    Pick one up today: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Techron-GE-Medical-8606-Gradient-Amplifier-Power-Supply-For-Sale-Used-/201002865493

    I never bought the line that Crown's amps were meat cleavers when it comes to audio since they have such an extensive line.

    Do you know what Power Cords they used with those? :biggrin:
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