Crown DriveCore XLS1500 Power Amplifier

In a nutshell: I was going to buy the newer 1502 version but when these went on sale it was a no-brainer! Careful shopping might find these for $199 each. Snap these up before they are all gone! Long version: I've been a "budget audiophile" for years, enjoying older, used amps and speakers for a fraction of the cost. I've owned all the big Yamaha iron, most of the Adcom lineup, some McIntosh, etc. and my speaker collection has been graced by everything from Vandersteen, Dahlquist, Snell, Polk reference, Magnepan, Martin Logan and the best of the AR Teledyne era, to name some of them. Eventually the DIY bug bit me and after a few trials and tribulations I sold my last pair of Martin Logan SL3 to make room for a pair of ugly birch plywood boxes housing professional 18" woofers with 8" "full range" drivers mounted to another slab of plywood standing on top. Next to go were my vintage Yamaha M-80 and M-65 amps I had been using for a couple of years. I tried newer amps including an excellent 50wpc "T-Amp" that you can also find on Amazon. I stumbled across a very long thread on the XLS series of amps on an audiophile forum and the more I read, the more I got interested. When I found out that the XLS were being replaced by the new, "improved" XLS2, I really started shopping. The new version offers lights you can turn off, an input gain switch, a bit more flexibility on the crossover section, and a black face, which I really liked. THEN I saw the original XLS series were seeing some massive discounts as they were being phased out... Careful shopping landed me a pair of XLS 1500 for $199 each. No, the lights aren't too bright, especially lower to the floor as I have them. Input gain troubled me a bit but after reading a good gain matching tutorial I got my Yamaha HT receiver to feed these amps just what they wanted, without messing about with XLR balanced/unbalanced conversion, etc. Tutorial linked below: http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/home-theater-receivers-processors-amps/35677-gain-structure-home-theater-getting-most-pro-audio-equipment-your-system.html I LOVE these amps! Great signal to noise ratio (the 1500 and higher are slightly better than the 1000, for some reason) and way more clean power than I will ever need. Damping factor of 200+ means that my 18" woofers (H-frame open baffles) get the kind of control that is even silly to ask of an AVR or older, home stereo amp. Even at theater level volume the clipping light has never even lit up. Control, punch, weight, and dynamics that only a few years ago I would have been contemplating $1000+ worth of second hand amps to achieve... with a warranty and pro-use build quality! Fan??? Oh yeah! There is one of those too! I had previously considered the Behringer iNUKE DSP amps but after reading how loud the fans in those were (most do a fan conversion to them for home use), I'm glad I went with the Crowns... These amps never even feel warm to the touch and I have yet to hear the fans. I imagine they DO come on, when I'm watching a movie or have the tunes jamming loudly, but *I've never heard them*. Don't want them to be on all the time? Pick up the Tripp Lite Outlet Eco-Surge Protector Power Strip, plug your AVR (or preamp, or whatever) into the "master" outlet and the Crown(s) into the slave outlets. When the AVR comes on, by remote, the Crowns click to life too! Highly recommended.

I've always been skeptical of pro audio amps for home hi-fi use. The image I've always had of them was something that powered blaring, out of balance monitors at weddings when people sang karaoke. But for some reason I paid attention when someone in an audio forum extolled the virtues of his Crown XLS1500 amps, saying that they sounded no different than the hi-fi audio amps he has owned. My curiosity led me to look at the product page on Amazon, where I saw the sale price which to me seemed insanely low for a stereo amp that put out 300 watts per channel into 8 ohms. Further reading on various audio forums around the internet, as well as professional reviews, convinced me to order one and try it out. It seemed weird to me to have an amp that weighed less than 9 lbs and took up half the space of the amp I was using, which weighed 70+ lbs and put out the same 300 watts per channel. I hooked up the Crown, listened, and... it sounded no different than the amp I had been using. Sound quality was excellent, and it handled dynamics with ease. There are LED warning indicators on the face of the amp. The first green one shows when the amp is receiving a signal; the second green one when it is at 20 db below clipping level; the third when 10 db below clipping, and then there is a red LED to show when it is clipping. I played music at as loud a volume as I would ever listen to it and the second LED never lit up. Loud or soft, the sound was clear and clean and no different from the amp I had been using. I ended up buying four of these altogether, to use in a 5.1 system. Three of the amps are bridged to mono mode and power the left, center and right speakers, and the fourth amp is in stereo mode and powers the two surrounds. What I love is that they sound great yet I can lift all four amps at the same time with ease. All four together weigh about 35 lbs. The drawbacks? Only one - the amps are sort of ugly. I've gotten used to the way they look now, but they definitely do not look as good as the hi-fi amps I was using. The construction quality is not as robust, either but then I don't move them around or abuse them, and they do the job they were intended for, very well. They stay very cool - lukewarm at the warmest. The fan has come on when in use but it is a variable-speed fan and the loudest I have heard it is just a very low whirring sound that I can hear only with my ear right up to the front grill. Otherwise it is inaudible. There is also some hiss from the tweeters when the amp is on with no source playing but that hiss is faint and becomes inaudible about 6-8" from the tweeter. Oh yes - another drawback is the lack of an input for a power trigger so I have to get up and manually turn these on. But then that's no different than what I used to do in the "old days" when I had a turntable. As for the amp being ugly, the newer 1502 model remedies this with an attractive black faceplate but the price is a lot higher, too. I'll settle for the 1500. Excellent performance in a lightweight, compact package. I'm very pleased with these amps.

I first heard about these amps on a home theater forum where a pro reviewer was using them to power a line up of different speakers for review so I figured they must have a decent level of sound & quality. From my limited research I found any decent quality amp will sound good as your sound quality is more dependent on the speakers, so here is what I have. I have two XLS-1500's one for a pair of 12" 250W full range and one bridged into a duel 18" 1200W subwoofer. I've used these on several weekend retreats to play music and for speaking with microphone in rooms that were between 50x100 to 75x150 with a quiet crowd of less than 100 people which by no means pushed these amps, there was plenty of head room to spare. Before everything started I wanted to see what these babies could do so I cranked up some rock/pop music for a couple hours to around 75% power which was extremely loud, I don't know if the speakers could handle more but my ears were at their limit. The amps handled it flawlessly it was loud, clear, no distortion. The cooling fans barely cycled on and off. I like that they have built in crossovers, setting that up was easy. I'm no pro DJ this is my only experience with pro amp equipment but I would say 2 of these set up with speakers and sub like I have would be no problem covering 150 people in a loud bar. LIKES: Crown quality, Price point to performance, Inputs outputs in all configurations, rca, neutrik, xlr, 1/4", bare wire. They are light and easy to store, handle, transport. DISLIKES: none

One good thing about this amp is its light weight comparing to other brand name in this class i.e., Behringer which weighs a few more pounds, but others do weigh seriously...lots more. I don't see the point of extra pounds unless that directly relates to the over quality. One thing I absolutely dislike of this amp is the 3' long power cable, so impractically short. What a ridiculously dumb idea, probably meant for rack, but I can't see a 6' power cord would compromise its fitting into a rack. I've already run into issue with it the first day. Durability? Time will tell.

This thing is great.. At the moment I have it bridged @8ohms powering a jbl 1014d 10in subwoofer in my home theater. It's phenomenal! I could run 4 15s if I wanted. There are many wiring options giving many different subwoofer configuring opportunities.. And I love that. Movies and music are spot on delivering sub sonic chest pounding bass from the depths of the darkness! I run Sewell Silverback 12 gauge cables with banana plugs no problem.. Oh yeah.. It's only 9lbs or so and does not even get warm.. And you can't hear the fan at all.. Buy this thing! I had this amp bench tested due to some reviewers claiming that the amplifiers ratings were false saying that it didn't make stated rms power to 8 or 4ohm loads. This claim is false. I had the amp tested extensively by a professional. He was so impressed he ordered one from Amazon right there on the spot from his phone! The amp actually exceeds the stated rms power by a few watts but does roll off drastically below 20hz but no biggie., an eq will quickly fix that for the theater side of things. It's a power horse that will deal with dirty A/C lines.. Buy this bad boy! -Update- March 3 2016- The people with gain structure and audible hiss issues are sadly mistaken.. Do your research.. This is the perfect pro amplifier for home use.. I'm using the Art Cleanbox Pro with Yamaha RX 377..ive stepped up to 4 Infinity Kappa 120.9 12in subs all being pushed by this one 1500 in stereo.. 2 subs per side @ 2ohms a channel.. The results are astonishing.. Each sub is sealed with 1.5 cubes each.. I plan on getting another one and run each mono but we'll see.. This is great..

I have this amplifier installed in my home audio sound system, driving two Dayton Audio 15" x 500Wrms subs. This amp drives them effortlessly w/ pristine cleanliness. This unit is completely silent & remains cool when driving my subs hard for prolonged periods of time. The cooling fan has never activated. It appears to be 100% sonically invisible. I have had absolutely no issues w/ground loops or hums. It's designed for both balanced & unbalanced audio. The "Peak Limiters" are outstanding for monitoring & preventing clipped audio signals from reaching your speakers. This is highly useful for setting the amps gains. NOTE: This unit has a sensitivity rating of 1.4 volts, so be sure you can supply this to the amp to permit its full power output. I have a DBX223s crossover installed upstream from my unit, which have gains that allow me to fully drive this amp. However, there are a couple different models of line drivers which can be used to boost a receivers preamp voltage to adequate levels (Art Pro & Samson S-Convert). This pro audio amp has pure, raw power & muscle you will not find in a consumer amp. Also, the cost/watt is superior to consumer hi-fi amplifiers. I 'm completely sold on using pro audio amps in household systems. Crown also has an outstanding warranty policy & reputation for durability!

I have just received the amp so this review will be based upon my initial impression and not long term use. I am using the amp to play CD's and vinyl through Mirage M3 speakers rated at 83 db that need a fair amount of power to drive properly and are quite revealing of any weak links in a system. I first ran the amp from the pre-outs of my Pioneer receiver that I use for home theatre. It is rated at 110 watts per channel. My initial reaction was very disappointing. There was audible hiss coming from the speakers and there did not seem to be any significant improvement over my receiver. The hiss was maddening and I was considering trying to return the amp. Then I tried hooking my CD player, and then alternately, my turntable directly to the RCA inputs on the amp. AMAZING difference! The sound was stunning. Incredible detail and punch and no hiss...the speakers were quiet as a church mouse. I used to run a Denon POA 2800 amp that finally died. I wish I could have done a side by side comparison but subjectively this amp is more than a match when the source players are connected directly. I would definitely recommend this unit. The seller was excellent as well and I received the unit sooner than expected and in perfect order. All in all a very rewarding experience and I am looking forward to enjoying my extensive music collection like I haven't heard it in a long time.

I bought this amp to drive my mid-range speakers in a 4-way PA (2 drivers per channel total 8 ohms, I did not use internal crossovers). On the bench the amp seemed to do the job, however out in the field the amp wimped out. As soon as the amp was powered up the temperature protection circuit tripped. The concert was an outdoor concert (5 days), and on the first day it was humid in the high 80's, and we could not get the amp to run for more than 5 seconds without a temp out. Even fans didn't help. Had to swap out to the Crown for a QSC that we were using for our stage monitors in order to get the mains going. We did not have a single problem with any of our QSC amps temping out. This amp is pretty lightweight, and I am guessing that the heat sinks are too small. You really need to consider your environment before you buy this...