BillFitzmaurice.info

new to live sound and need to get advice on amps, have decided to build 4 dr- 200's and 4 t-39's how much power do i need to get the most from these speakers using the premium drivers?, what are the best amps for the money?, will one amp do it all? or should i use multiple amps?

with that many speakers you'll need two amps. Everyone here will have a diff. opinion on prefered brand, and the prices vary widely. If you are truly on a tight budget, I've found the Behringer EP-2500's to be very reliable and inexpensive.

Look at the Crown Xti series. More expensive than the XLS, but the built in DSPs make outboard DSP and crossovers unnecessary, simplifying set up and reducing rack clutter, and ending up a draw in the end where total cost is concerned.

Which xti or combo of xti's would be best for the 4 dr's and 4 titans?

XTI 4000 is what I have and a similar setup to what you are proposing. A bit pricey but it is worth it to me. I recommend XTI 1000 or 2000 for monitors. Total amp rack weight is just over 60lbs. Compare that to a few (3)QSC RMX's or similar amp plus a rack and crossover. My back thanks me every gig.

Haysus: You have one XTi 4000 powering 4 tops and 4 subs? Does that work?

I have two XTi 1000s, one which powers 4 Tuba24s and the other which powers 2 EV SX100+ tops. I'm thinking about upgrading to 4 T39 or T48 along with 4 DR200. Will I need the XTi 2000 or 4000 instead?

OP: The XTi amps are great. Pop them in a nice small roto-rack with a suitcase handle and you'll never feel like your amp rack is a burden to haul around.

mattaudio wrote:Haysus: You have one XTi 4000 powering 4 tops and 4 subs? Does that work?

I have two XTi 1000s, one which powers 4 Tuba24s and the other which powers 2 EV SX100+ tops. I'm thinking about upgrading to 4 T39 or T48 along with 4 DR200. Will I need the XTi 2000 or 4000 instead?

Assuming you'll be using either the 3012LF or the 3015LF in your T39s or T48s, your subs will be rated for roughly 450 watts at 10 ohms. Running all four parallel would present a 2.5 ohm load capable of 1800 watts to the amp. The XTi4000 is rated for 1600 watts at 2 ohms, the XTi2000 is only rated for 1000 watts at 2 ohms. If the question is simply whether to get the 2000 or the 4000, I'd say go with the 4000 hands down.

On the other hand, I'm personally very wary of running any amp at or near 2 ohms for any extended period of time. If you already have the XTi1000, you could use that for the DR200s, and then buy an XTi 4000 for the subs, but run 2 subs a side - your amp will be seeing 5 ohms a side, and at 5 ohms that amp should be able to push roughly 950 watts per side - which is a great match for those subs. If you ever need to expand you could easily add another pair of subs (one to each side) and still only be pushing your amps with 3.3 ohms.

Just my $.02

Another option to consider for your tops is to build the DR200's with the Delta Pro 8B driver. It's the 16-ohm version of the recommended driver for those cabs. That will let you run all four in parallel off a single amp channel with a 4 ohm load. That's what I did with my four DR200's.

I currently only have 2 t39's 3012 loaded. I intend to build 2 more of the same. The amp will see a 2.5 ohmload with 4 cabs on one channel which is fine for me as I don't push my system to the max. The xti 4000 can handle it just fine IMHO. Sorry I can't quote OP from my Iphone.

Behringer EP-2500 - still going strong in its third year, first two years spent without a case!

Ben

Does anyone know if the Crown XTi amps are made in USA?

bossman wrote:Does anyone know if the Crown XTi amps are made in USA?

Probably not, but who cares? Very little is made here these days.

XLS,XS and Commercial Series versions were made in China but as far as I know the rest including the XTIs are USA made!

My XTI says "Proudly Made in the USA" on the back.

I'm with Bill on this, it doesn't really matter anymore. Americans are just as crappy at putting things together on an assembly line as Chinese are.

For $309 shipped on ebay, a XTI-1000 is really hard to beat if that's all the power you need.

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote:

bossman wrote:Does anyone know if the Crown XTi amps are made in USA?

Probably not, but who cares? Very little is made here these days.

I find that US made products exhibit a greater level of QC than Chinese made equivalents. It is unfortunate that so many companies are priced out of manufacturing their products in the USA. 10-15 Yrs ago, almost all of the high quality car audio amps and speakers were US made, now there is only but a few left. Costs have come down with the introduction of Asian made, but so has the product durability. The Chinese made products are 'disposable', whereas the US made ones were often repaired instead of tossed in the trash and replaced with new.

I was just curious to whether this has happened to the pro sound industry also. I wanted to know what would happen if an XTi amplifier were damaged. Could you bring it to a local shop to have it repaired or would they say "throw it out and buy a new one".