Just wait one minute....

[Drewbert]

I was searching around today and found this thread.
Yeah yeah.... whats my point? Post 8....
Here is the quote if youre lazy

Only way to tell for sure is in your home, with both amps there at the same time.

I had 6 guys over and we did a side by side with the A51 and a Crown XLS402 (a $220 pro amp). The results were shocking. Very hard to tell any difference at all. Every single person in attendance said there is no way they'd ever spend the money on the Halo after hearing how close the Crown was (test was informal but done blind, equipment is in a different room than the speakers, levels were matched and double checked). 3 people said they couldn't hear a difference, the others thought they could but said it was very, very close.

My point is simply that hearing them side by side is a must in order to determine whether there are truly differences and whether it's worth the money to you to pay for any differences.

Btw, I use the crown for my subs only, even after the test.

So I wanted some thoughts.... Could one if so inclined just get some of these amps instead of a Rotel, or Halo? ( I use these as an example as I am really really stuck on them) Seems to me IF there is next to no difference, then wouldnt be a cheaper alternative? I already have one for my sub.... IM thinking of hooking it up to my fronts just to try it :E

[Snap]

My first thoughts is something is not right. The crown amp he is talking about is NOT $220. I wanted to make sure before I posted but, Musicians friend has them on sale right now for $329. The MSRP on that amp is over $500. So that is the first thing wrong with that guys post.

The other things is .5% distortion is a tad much for HT use I think. Most HT stuff is .05 not .5% THD distortion.

The final thing is Each of those Crown Amps have 2 fans. So if you throw in 3 Crown amps you are going to have a boat load of fans making a lot of noise.

Crown is a GREAT Pro amp. I like them very much. But to power a whole HT. I do not think it would be that good of an idea.

My .o2 cents on the post.

EDIT: Specs were got from Crown XLS 402 Man pg. 17

[Sim reality]

The golden rules of audio upgrades are:

1) Law of diminishing returns... the difference between $100-$1000 of equipment is larger then the difference between $1000 to $10000
2) If you can't hear the difference, stop upgrading
3) Get the WAF on new components or you will never enjoy your audio purchase

I think this would fall under rule #2

[Blazar]

The big issue now is on the ever cheaper digital switching or "Class-D" amps. If they in fact sound as good or better than standard amps.... these make the most sense with the low power consumption, compact, high output wattages, and low heat. Basically small, powerful, and efficient.

They also cost a pretty penny still but I'm sure the prices will come down with more circuit manufacturers coming out with the modules for them.

[Drewbert]

Thanks guys!