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The Crown XLS Drivecore amps look very intriguing. Although they don't have as many features as the Xti series, they'll cost less and weigh less. At Northern Sound & Light, they'll range from a little over $200 to well under $500. The 1000 and 1500 are under 9 pounds, and the 2000 and 2500 are under 11 pounds! They all have a 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley active crossover, ranging from 50Hz to 3 kHz. To me, these seem like they'll be right at home in a BF bass guitar system. They look cool, too!

Too many nice new affordable lightweight amps coming this year, it has become hard to choose. Crown XLS Drivecore, Peavey IPR, Behringer EPQ. All offer amazing watts per €/$/£ and per kg/lbs. None are available over here just yet though.

AntonZ wrote:None are available over here just yet though.

Thomann has the IPR1600 in stock by the end of march.

Northern S&L states that they'll be available in May.

I'm not generally a "brand snob", but I gotta admit that I'd rather have "Crown" seen in my rack than Peavey or "that B-word".

Mikey wrote:Northern S&L states that they'll be available in May.

I'm not generally a "brand snob", but I gotta admit that I'd rather have "Crown" seen in my rack than Peavey or "that B-word".

We usually lag way behind the US for new gear, so may have to wait longer.

That would be my order of preference as well: Crown, then Peavey, then Behringer. I like my XTi1000. But the budget is near zero while I probably need another amp later this year. Feel tempted to try an EPQ1000, B's power amps have a good value for $ reputation.

AntonZ wrote:That would be my order of preference as well: Crown, then Peavey, then Behringer. I like my XTi1000. But the budget is near zero while I probably need another amp later this year. Feel tempted to try an EPQ1000, B's power amps have a good value for $ reputation.

While the EP1500 & EP2500 have withstood the test of time to some extent, IMO, it's best to be a bit wary of Behringer's new products. Let's face it ... most of their gear is crap. Could you honestly say that you would trust any of their new products as much as you'd trust a new product from Crown or Peavey? If it were a case of massive difference in price, taking a chance might be more of a temptation, but have you seen the actual prices of these Drivecores? Northern S&L sells below MAP, so I'm not going to disclose here, but go to their site and have them email you their price for the Drivecore XLS1000. I think you'll be shocked! I was.

I've seen lots of B-ringer bashing in the past and it still continues till this day. I remember back when people were equally bashing Peavey.

Irregardless the fact remains that outsourcing construction of both the Crown XTI and XLS Drivecore series,QSC RMX and GX to China is a hard fact we must live with.So goes the peaveys too. Right along side of Behringer etc.

Bottom line will be: who holds their overseas manufacturers to higher quality standards? I suspect it will take time but Behringer truly has a lead in it's familiarity with China Manufacturing.They also recently bought Klark Teknik and Midas. I hear rumor of some more buys outs as well.

IMHO Behringer is starting out the way Hartley Peavey did with satisfying the demand for inexpensive gear in the MI Grade except they move much much faster. Sometimes a bit too fast and they like to do their fair share of cloning as well. Once established they simply started making more and more advanced pieces of gear. Some good, some better and some downright awful! Kind of reminds me of the Peavey unity boards. OK as long as you didn't get cigarette ashes or booze in the virtually non replaceable faders! Or drop them!!!

Make your purchases according to you real world budget.If you haven't got the budget for better stuff simply wait or buy within your budget and hope to earn the rest of what you need.All of us at one time or another probably proceeded with gear that was akin to walking on eggshells!

Would I buy a Crown over a Peavey. Absolutely I would. 9 out of 10 times.But I'd buy a Crown and a Peavey before a QSC.Not that I dislike QSC.I've grown to trust the Crowns and the Peaveys. I only ever owned 1 QSC and it cost me a major client! I dont hold all QSCs to the old MX that let me down. I just haven't got over the let down, After having something that works gig after gig no matter what I throw at it makes it hard to change now!!

Mikey wrote:The Crown XLS Drivecore amps look very intriguing. ...They all have a 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley active crossover, ranging from 50Hz to 3 kHz.

Just a heads up that is limited at 24 db per octave. (which is ok, but not premium)

Mikey wrote:

AntonZ wrote:That would be my order of preference as well: Crown, then Peavey, then Behringer. I like my XTi1000. But the budget is near zero while I probably need another amp later this year. Feel tempted to try an EPQ1000, B's power amps have a good value for $ reputation.

While the EP1500 & EP2500 have withstood the test of time to some extent, IMO, it's best to be a bit wary of Behringer's new products. Let's face it ... most of their gear is crap. Could you honestly say that you would trust any of their new products as much as you'd trust a new product from Crown or Peavey? If it were a case of massive difference in price, taking a chance might be more of a temptation, but have you seen the actual prices of these Drivecores? Northern S&L sells below MAP, so I'm not going to disclose here, but go to their site and have them email you their price for the Drivecore XLS1000. I think you'll be shocked! I was.

Fair points, but the Behringer gear has indeed been getting a lot better over the past few years, as Ron points out. They have had bad gear, possibly copied designs, but some very nice stuff at a pricepoint way way below competition, not just 25%. The DCX, DEQ and ADA8000 for instance, while not completely free of trouble, have an incredible feature set for the money. I cannot afford any of the alternatives. Unfortunately, shopping at NSL is not an option for me. They don't ship to Europe, and most of the gear is 120V/60Hz while I am on 240V/50Hz. The Crown XTi amps are the only "affordable" amp that I know of that runs on anything between 110V and 250V out of the box.

Also, most gear costs way more here than it does in the US. With Behringer being an exception, possibly because the headquarters are German. The EPQ amps will sell for equal amount of € / $, most other gear is $ + 50%. E.g. Crown XTi 1000 is well over €500 new. Behringer EPQ1000 is expected to sells a tad over €200. No doubt the Crown is a better amp in many respects, but it'd better be for costing that much more.

And last but not least, I'm not a pro, this is fun for me. I don't loose business. If the costs and profits more or less balance out, that's enough for me. Making a little money in the long run would be nice, not a necessity. So far making music has been a money pit rather than a money source. Pro range gear at pro prices tip the balance to the wrong side for me.

Ron, I've personally had bad experiences with B gear, except EP2500s. Even with my satisfaction with the EP2500s, the bad taste that all of their other gear has left in my mouth leaves me overwhelmingly wary of anything Behringer, especially if it's a new product (hasn't proved itself over time). Maybe they're improving (?), I don't know, but I'm not personally ready to trust them yet.

That being said ...

Anton, obviously, you're in a much different position than those of us in the US. With Behringers being that much cheaper, plus the fact that your situation isn't critical, it makes sense to give them a shot. If you can buy an extended warranty for a reasonable cost, that might be something to consider.

tammojsmit wrote:

Mikey wrote:The Crown XLS Drivecore amps look very intriguing. ...They all have a 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley active crossover, ranging from 50Hz to 3 kHz.

Just a heads up that is limited at 24 db per octave. (which is ok, but not premium)

Yup. To me, the price and features of this amp line make them a possible good choice for a BF biamped bass rig. Add a preamp and you're ready to rock. For a "small" BF PA, the Xti series is a little better. For a larger PA, the cost and weight of these amps may still make them attractive to some, using outboard gear instead of the on-board xovers. Four XLS2500s in a rack would only weigh around 50 pounds!

i have my Crown DriveCore XLS1500 running 250hz^ 300w @8 to a Gallien-Krueger 2x10 + 525w @4 to a MarkBass 4x10LF

with a Line6 Bass POD Live in front....unbalanced BooOooooOo but workin on that cant find my favorite D.I. yet....

overall awesome amp so light compared to my old 30lb 450w Ampeg with more power and features really...

also the NEW DriveCore amps are designed made produced all that in Elkhart, IN SO PROUD...

i found it on an early listing on amazon.com from 8thstreet.com very reliable company turns out and they got more in stock ready to ship they said only the 1000s tho...

Great, thanks for the update on the Drivecore amps and welcome to the BFM forum. Any plans to build BFM cabs to go with your new amp? Could you have a look at the specs on the rear of your amp and see if it says to run on 100V - 240V, or is it made to run on just one single voltage?