I have no problem with testing different classes of equipment with different standards and test. The write-up was very clear that this is not intended or recommended to be on somebody's hifi rack connected to a turntable. This is meant to power PA speakers and and would also do a great job with a subwoofer or could fill the role in a home theater for movies. It was not designed to have a great SINAD. I'm judging it for what it is.
... I would personally love to see some QSC amps get tested as Crown's quality control has gone really downhill. I've replaced four of their amps all less than six years old in the last year. None were abused. Half were hardly ever used. Every professional I've talked to have move to purchasing the QSC product lines. I'd send one to Amir if I didn't need them being used. Might still if an opportunity arises.
Please continue to tell me real world pertinent information on the products and tailor your tests to what product you are testing so long as it's clear in the write-up what the product is intended for and what it might be recommended for.
Very well stated! The XLS2502
should be a viable, powerful SUB-class amp with a good power envelope as long as we pay attention to it's boarder limits. That what Amir's testing found and he conveyed early in the report. Now, when we want to take that motor and run it differently from his recommendations - that's a different USE CASE. We need to be careful not to boil-the-ocean with specs and use-cases.
It is akin to engine manufacturer saying I have a "great engine for $500" And then you buy it for your built-to-order auto b/c you figure the engine will fit into your custom Honda but then you decide you'd rather use it in your custom hot-rod Mustang. Those are quite a different use cases. Could you find an poweramp for both probably if that's what you state you need.
I am also a bit cautious with watt-efficient, cost-optimized Class D's as the years have taught me well "we get what we pay for (99.9999%) most of the time." But sometimes you don't know until you try either and that's part of what Amir's is helping us decide. Crown, QSC, Crest and others have AMPS designed for many price points.
Each version is compromise in cost, performance, reliability and serviceability.
Do you spend $350 on a used Crown XLS2502 and use it for 5-6 years and then trade it or sunset it or pitch it when it dies or do you spend $1500-$2000 for another AMP that might well last for 30 years? Many times, this is a personal call. How many times to do you want to tear out your AV setup and/or deal with warranty issues? Our time is more valuable than we often remember.
WRT Q/C of the Crown, the QSC RMX2450 units are often in the top 5 recommendations of "good" sub AMP too. In this case b/c of it's build (I read it
can go down to
5Hz) but there's a host of others too: Crown K2 (no longer made), anything Powersoft, , Crown XLI3500, plus others.
I spent probably 40+ hours scouring the web for recommendations and info is starting to blur. WRT the Crown line, there are varying views and surprisingly the XLi3500 surfaces quite often for a good SUB amp. But as long as I say I'm looking for an amp which can drive from 5Hz - 200Hz motor loads (pistons, not speakers) @ 4 ohm from 400 (min) to 1000W (max) for mostly HT use - that's *@(@* specific use case. Now if I say I want to listen to classical 2 channel in the absolute "cleanest" environment I can afford, that's a totally different zebra / use case.
I've got some AMPs which are easily 25 years old. I have them re-capped every 15 or so years and they are GTG another cycle. I'm seriously considering just picking up some older amps and doing that for these loads b/c outside of a very small slice of AMPs, most cannot deal well with my "piston" use-case.
BTW, someone mentioned the Damping Factor maybe in this thread. I ran across an 25 year old AMP which stated it had a damping factor of 600.... nothing like that I have seen anywhere today. Have a great NYE and 2020!
Peace.
