Crown XLS402 report

This is an attempt to write a review of the Crown XLS402.

First some background. My system (2 channel) is bi-amplified. I have been using a heavily modified pair of Dynaco MK-III's. to drive my ESL's (only the transformers are left from the MK-III's). My electronic crossover is set at 80Hz. My TL subs (PVC sewer pipe) were, I thought working and sounding just fine (more on this later). A heavily modified Hafler DH-200 was powering them.

I had never considered a “Pro” amp. Then I read a post that Buddha on the Stereophile forum had written. He was/is using a XLS802 to drive a pair of the bigger Apogees. He said he was very impressed with the sound. Apogee ribbons present some of the most difficult loads any amp will ever see. Using Krell's with them at the shows made a name for both companies. The Krells they were using were original Krell Class A amps.

The KSA-200 doubled up in power as the load was halved. So the KSA-200 was capable of producing 1600 Watts continuous into a 2 Ohm load. Many of Apogee's speakers were 2 Ohm loads. The Scintilla could be strapped for 1 or 2 Ohms and is said to sound better at 1 Ohm.

So, I figured that any amp that could do a good job driving Apooge's was worth looking into. Me being a cheapskate I went for the XLS402. It's second from the bottom and the specs say it does 300WPC/8 Ohms, 450WPC/4 Ohms. The $199 price tag with free shipping wouldn't hurt my retired wallet too much.

I ordered one from B&H Photo on a Monday afternoon UPS delivered it on Wednesday.
So, I pull the Hafler connect up the Crown and give it a quick listen. It sounded okay but a little bass shy. No problem, Buddha did say they needed to be broken in. My main system is on when I'm home and awake. I left the Crown powered up for a week doing duty whenever the system was in use. The Bass smoothed out and now seems to sound richer than the Hafler. The two main differences are what sounds like another half octave of Bass and a feeling of effortless unlimited power. 450 Watts into a 12” TL can go loud quickly and easily. At this point I'd used the Crown to drive only my subs. That's when I decided to get another and bridge them for some real reserves for bass power.

Placed an order with B&H on a Monday. The amp arrived on Wednesday. (Ya gotta' love fast service). My tube mono's were due for some maintenance. So they go to the test bench and Crown number two gets attached to my “stats”. My initial response was okay but a bit underwhelming. Fast forward a week or so. The new one has been cooking and is ready for a real listen. I put on James Hunter, People Gonna Talk. This sounds like a minimal recording done with all of them in the studio at the same time. The first song comes on and Holy laser diodes, he's right over there. Next up is Jacintha here's To Ben. This had Jacintha standing front and center two feet in front of my speakers. The forty feet of room behind my speakers was still there. Yeah I was pulling out all the demo quality recordings. Including a promotional JBL produced double LP that has marvelous sound. Everything I played sounded really good with a nice slightly forward sound and very extended highs.

My impressions are that I'm hearing a slightly more forward mid-range and greater extension in the highs. The sound seems to come from a point slightly in front of my speakers. My tubes sound was mostly at the speaker plane and behind. The Crown seems to have as much depth but starts further in front of my speakers. I really like what I'm hearing. I still miss that glorious mid-range sweetness only tubes give. That's one of two caveats. It's one I can live with. I think.

My other caveat:
Well the fans can be noisy. I put 100 Ohm ¼ Watt resistors in the fan leads and they're quiet enough now.
caveat no more.
Buy one of these amps before Crown realizes what they've got. They could spend a few dollars for nice casework, make the fans auto variable speed and charge 3K to 4K for one of these. I am very impressed. Next I'm gonna' try one of those Class D amps Feanor just built. I like what he said about the mid-range.

Still tryin' for that tube sweetness with SS.

The Crown's are keepers for sure. Currently the two are driving my front speakers and subs. I'm in no rush to re-tube and tune up my mono blocks. I can damn near buy the parts for one of those Class D amps for what new tubes will cost. I'm looking forward to bridging them for my subs and trying one of those 250WPC class D amps on my panels.

Very nice review. I've always wondered how those Crown amps sounded. What are you using for a preamp? They might pair well with a tube preamp.

Nice going, Joe. It might be time for all of us to reevaluate pro audio and DIY options in case of class D amps. I suspect class D has reached a level of maturity where most audio enthsiasts will be quite satisfied with their sound versus any "mid-fi" options the likes of NAD, Adcom, Rotel, Cambridge, Onkyo, and Emotiva costing twice as much or more. Furthermore they might give a good many "high-end" products costing 3-5x a good run for the money. To generalize, my thesis is that class D can sound better for less money, with less weight and less heat than midrange A/B amps.

A year or two ago pundits at TAS evalutated several class D amps against high-end class A-A/B amps from the likes of Pass Labs. They still gave the edge to latter, but let's remember the latter are $5-10k units.

Recently I assembed a Class D Audio SDS-258 amp. I did this as much for something to do in retirement as anything else, but this amp has far exceeded my expectations. (I now longer have my original reservation that the amp might be a tad bright -- burning in plus Magneplanar's tweeter resistors have obviated that impression.)

Joe

Very nice write up and I am glad to see you are happy with the Crown.
A few Crown amps have popped up from time to time on CL ( there is a Crown CP660 near me right now) but I have always shied away from them because I do not see alot of write ups on them regarding home use. Since putting the DCM Time Windows in the front for my HT system the Pioneer is being pushed a little. Maybe using a Crown amp to help the Pioneer out might be the ticket.

Thanks Again!

BR:
I'm using an ARC SP-9 MkIII. It's a hybrid.

Feanor:
My next purchase will be a Class D Audio kit. It will probably be the same amp you built. I'm going to go with the case they offer.