Crown or Crest

[loudsubz]

Looking to add a little headroom to my subs for future. I have an RMX 850 now but looking to get a Crest CPX2600 or Crown XTI 2000. Are either a safe bet?

[wallywally]

If you plan on keeping the RMX in the same rack be aware of cooling airflow direction. If that's not and issue, I prefer Crown. I have 2 XTi2000's and they have been very reliable overall. The only minor issues I have with them is about every 6 months I have to reflash the firmware. They will improperly boot and 1 channel won't work, If I reboot it comes alive, reflashing takes care of this problem for about 6 months. Also these amps do have a slight hiss when used with the mains. I have no experience with Crest products.

[loudsubz]

Thanks for your honest feedback.

After searching a bit more seems crest is now owners by Peavey. There is also a peavey pv1700 for the same price.

[wallywally]

The XTi weighs half of either of the other offerings and has built in DSP. If the price is comparable the XTi would seem to win without much competition.

[loudsubz]

I'm not too concerned about dsp as I have an external BBE ds48 so I'm mainly concerned about true power output and reliability.

[subharmonic]

I'm not too concerned about dsp as I have an external BBE ds48 so I'm mainly concerned about true power output and reliability.

the XTI would be a backup to the BBE. Jon Barnhardt had a output issue on one of his DS26 during our listening party.

[Jon Barnhardt]

I'm not too concerned about dsp as I have an external BBE ds48 so I'm mainly concerned about true power output and reliability.

the XTI would be a backup to the BBE. Jon Barnhardt had a output issue on one of his DS26 during our listening party.

Actually it was my ds48, but it was essentially an "extra" channel as there are two sum sub outs in the configuration I was using...

[loudsubz]

Been doing some more reading and its weird that some people mention some amps are no good for Bass duty but fine for mid/high. Are they just blowing smoke or does it have to do with the internals of the amp not able to withstand the abuse from running alot of current through the components?

[Tom Smit]

I think it has more to do with the capacitance of the supply. Not enough storage and therefore the voltage sags under high demand such as a strong bass note. Much more noticeable on a sub than on a top.

[Jon Barnhardt]

I think it has more to do with the capacitance of the supply. Not enough storage and therefore the voltage sags under high demand such as a strong bass note. Much more noticeable on a sub than on a top.

+ 1

Until you start paying more for the new lighter amps, they won't have the kick of the old heavy iron amps of years past.

My RMX 2450's will kick the snot out of my QSC GSX5's, but my PLX models (3602, 3402, 3102, 3002) will beat the RMX's...

Those cheap XTI's? Forgetaboutit in my opinion on bass duty...

Bill's designs are a little more forgiving as they are more efficient than the direct radiator options. That is where you really notice the lack of balls in the cheap lightweight amps...

[camrynekai]

Those cheap XTI's? Forgetaboutit in my opinion on bass duty...

The only XTI amp that is worthy of sub duty is the XTI6000...its a totally different beast then the the rest of their XTI line.

[SirNickity]

Quick word on the Crest stuff. I've never used them myself, but they're supposed to be industrial class amps. Peavey is the small-scale pro-sound brand. Crest is what you find in the larger houses or touring acts with a significant budget. One of the engineers from Peavey posts in forums from time to time and says, if you want 500W with music, buy a Peavey. If you want to be able to play a 500W sine wave indefinitely, buy a Crest.

So, while I've never owned either of the amps you're referring to (but I do own a couple older, non-Class D Crown XLS amps), I would not consider the XTi in the same class as a Crest. Whether that matters in your case is up to you.

[loudsubz]

Ended up going back to QSC again, can't beat em.

Picked up a QSC 1850HD after originally wanting to go with a 2450 for sub duty, seems the HD stuff will handle it better. Got a very good deal too ($590 + tax)