Crown XLS2502 Stereo Amplifier Review

[Frank207be]

What was I thinking? I already run them 4Ohm bridged with the same woofers...

The impedance of these woofers only drops to 8 Ohm under 10Hz and above 200Hz in a sealed Qtc 0.7 enclosure.

 

[dlaloum]

Has anyone used the XLS2502 with a dual 2 Ohm load? Do the fans kick in earlier? I like the silence of them in easier loads. Or does the amp sound less controlled?

I'm about to build 6x18" subs with an 8 ohm impedance and my plan is to power them with a single XLS2502 in dual mono so each channel sees 2.6 Ohm. The alternative would be using 3x XLS1502 for each 18" pair.

Why doesn't Crown build an XLS3502?

I have the earlier XLS2500 running my L&R mains, which go down to 1.6 ohm - I have never heard the fans...
Speakers are around 85 or 86db /wm efficiency, and in my open living, cathedral ceiling space, I idle along at less than 4W even for thunderous movies.

I cannot even imagine what it would take to light up the -10db level led on the amp... but I know that it would be dangerous to the hearing of anyone in the house, and completely unbearable as well as dangerous!

Note: I am not using the XLS for subs, but for full range mains. (spec on the mains says they go down to 24Hz...)

I also tried using 2 x XLS with each bridged... (effective impedance on the speaker 0.8ohm) - the amps handled it fine, and I still did not hear the fans.

 

[livinon2wheels]

You can't get a 10 kHz square wave with a 20 kHz bandwidth amplifier.

And if you love square waves then you also like saxophones, and a bandwidth of 20k will start affecting square wave performance around 10k, so saxophones start sounding like something else. I agree these are good for vocal pa use and subwoofers and not much else

 

[xo3k]

And if you love square waves then you also like saxophones, and a bandwidth of 20k will start affecting square wave performance around 10k, so saxophones start sounding like something else. I agree these are good for vocal pa use and subwoofers and not much else

Saxophones do not produce square waves.

 

[livinon2wheels]

Saxophones do not produce square waves.

You may be right about that but saxophones have that grating edgy sound that reminds me of square waves…and I play a trombone which is arguably a nicer sound

 

[Spkrdctr]

If your listening to square waves it is because you are not committing to the science of sound. You need to go all in and only listen to frequency sweeps! Music? That is too low brow.......

 

[anotherhobby]

Has anyone used the XLS2502 with a dual 2 Ohm load? Do the fans kick in earlier? I like the silence of them in easier loads. Or does the amp sound less controlled?

I'm about to build 6x18" subs with an 8 ohm impedance and my plan is to power them with a single XLS2502 in dual mono so each channel sees 2.6 Ohm. The alternative would be using 3x XLS1502 for each 18" pair.

Why doesn't Crown build an XLS3502?

Not a direct answer, but I fed 4x Dayton ultimax subs wired in 2 Ohm pairs with a Crown XLS1500 for a couple of weeks while I waited for a 2nd amp to show up. It worked great and there was no observable performance differences. It was perfectly stable, the fans didn't run any extra, and it sounded the same. The only benefit the 2nd amp provided me with was the ability to apply DSP to all 4 subs individually (which was well worth it and necessary in my setup).

 

[livinon2wheels]

If your listening to square waves it is because you are not committing to the science of sound. You need to go all in and only listen to frequency sweeps! Music? That is too low brow.......

I do that enough that it is probably putting me on the edge of breaking my lease. That and blowing the horn....

 

[g_t_r]

I have tested this crown amp in typical hi-fi setup. It's OK sound as for PRO standards (so non typical boomy DJ sibilant sound), BUT... there is nowhere close to hi-end AB class amplifiers. I found some rather fanboys opinions on internet that this amp (XLS2502) outperformed krell mono blocks like 350mcx or Bryston amps... seriously? No way... actually I had in the past krell 350mcx amps, now I have Levinson 336 amplifier, and sorry to say... but this crown is not even close. This power is more on the paper. With levinson amp you are overwhelmed by 3D sound with scary strong / bass rattling your couch (you can feel the energy with your whole body / real power). Nothing like this is happening on crown amp. Even the bass is rather 'weak' /shy. Not complaining that much as I'm testing this amp for typical subwoofer use, however wanted to share some honest "non-fanboy" opinion.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

I have tested this crown amp in typical hi-fi setup. It's OK sound as for PRO standards (so non typical boomy DJ sibilant sound), BUT... there is nowhere close to hi-end AB class amplifiers. I found some rather fanboys opinions on internet that this amp (XLS2502) outperformed krell mono blocks like 350mcx or Bryston amps... seriously? No way... actually I had in the past krell 350mcx amps, now I have Levinson 336 amplifier, and sorry to say... but this crown is not even close. This power is more on the paper. With levinson amp you are overwhelmed by 3D sound with scary strong / bass rattling your couch (you can feel the energy with your whole body / real power). Nothing like this is happening on crown amp. Even the bass is rather 'weak' /shy. Not complaining that much as I'm testing this amp for typical subwoofer use, however wanted to share some honest "non-fanboy" opinion.

Well, that sounds about as likely as a coconut migrating..

 

[Frank207be]

I have tested this crown amp in typical hi-fi setup. It's OK sound as for PRO standards (so non typical boomy DJ sibilant sound), BUT... there is nowhere close to hi-end AB class amplifiers. I found some rather fanboys opinions on internet that this amp (XLS2502) outperformed krell mono blocks like 350mcx or Bryston amps... seriously? No way... actually I had in the past krell 350mcx amps, now I have Levinson 336 amplifier, and sorry to say... but this crown is not even close. This power is more on the paper. With levinson amp you are overwhelmed by 3D sound with scary strong / bass rattling your couch (you can feel the energy with your whole body / real power). Nothing like this is happening on crown amp. Even the bass is rather 'weak' /shy. Not complaining that much as I'm testing this amp for typical subwoofer use, however wanted to share some honest "non-fanboy" opinion.

No problem with opinions and I agree about the HiFi part.
I'll soon buy my fourth and maybe fifth XLS2502 for subwoofer duties in my living room HT/stereo system. Main reasons are its very quiet operation and reliability plus easy rack mounting . 3 of them and a XLS1002 already deliver a visceral experience snd 5 of them will blow the doors out of their hinges.

 

[Jonas_h]

I have tested this crown amp in typical hi-fi setup. It's OK sound as for PRO standards (so non typical boomy DJ sibilant sound), BUT... there is nowhere close to hi-end AB class amplifiers. I found some rather fanboys opinions on internet that this amp (XLS2502) outperformed krell mono blocks like 350mcx or Bryston amps... seriously? No way... actually I had in the past krell 350mcx amps, now I have Levinson 336 amplifier, and sorry to say... but this crown is not even close. This power is more on the paper. With levinson amp you are overwhelmed by 3D sound with scary strong / bass rattling your couch (you can feel the energy with your whole body / real power). Nothing like this is happening on crown amp. Even the bass is rather 'weak' /shy. Not complaining that much as I'm testing this amp for typical subwoofer use, however wanted to share some honest "non-fanboy" opinion.

I value opinions - but when I read night and day descriptions like this, all alarms start ringing.

"with scary strong / bass rattling your couch (you can feel the energy with your whole body / real power). Nothing like this is happening on crown amp."

So the hifi-amp is rattling your couch and you can feel the energy in your whole body and the other is not? That is an extreme difference. You are sure that you disabled all high pass filters in the Crown?

 

[g_t_r]

I value opinions - but when I read night and day descriptions like this, all alarms start ringing.

"with scary strong / bass rattling your couch (you can feel the energy with your whole body / real power). Nothing like this is happening on crown amp."

So the hifi-amp is rattling your couch and you can feel the energy in your whole body and the other is not? That is an extreme difference. You are sure that you disabled all high pass filters in the Crown?

Yes. Pure settings. I'm guessing hiend amps like Levinson or krell can deliver more ampers/better impulse response. Look for example on power cable of krell 350mcx... I'm assuming such thickness is not done only to look nice but for the purpose. I'm saying that in subject listening this crazy power od crown (700W per channel) is not that impressive comparing to power of almost 70kg class aby amplifier.

 

[Jonas_h]

Ok. I gotta admin that it sounds suspect to my ears with these significant differences in the bass response. If the Crown does not have sufficient amperes for the given load and SPL-requirement you have, the clipping lights will tell you that it cannot handle this.

Have you tried comparing them without knowing which one is playing? Seems you praise the Krell on a lot of physical attributes such as weight, cable thickness, topology etc. All things which can help trick impressions very easily.

 

[Frank207be]

Yes. Pure settings. I'm guessing hiend amps like Levinson or krell can deliver more ampers/better impulse response. Look for example on power cable of krell 350mcx... I'm assuming such thickness is not done only to look nice but for the purpose. I'm saying that in subject listening this crazy power od crown (700W per channel) is not that impressive comparing to power of almost 70kg class aby amplifier.

Isn't this related to damping factor?

I'm using my Crowns on various 18" and 21" PA woofers and they never fail to deliver.

 

[Audio Science Pal]

I have tested this crown amp ...

Yes. Pure settings. ...

To be fair and proper, the subwoofers would perform much better if the recommended DSP settings are applied.

 

[Chrispy]

Using a 2502 on my L/R speakers in a hifi system now, no audible clues that I can detect compared to "higher fi" amps. The power cable thing was funny, tho.

 

[Everett T]

Look for example on power cable of krell 350mcx... I'm assuming such thickness is not done only to look nice but for the purpose. .

Is it thicker than the romex/wire that is run in your home?

 

[g_t_r]

Is it thicker than the romex/wire that is run in your home?

Obviously not Nevertheless my point is that it is not so obvious to achieve the same quality level from D-class amp like from hi-end power amp. If it would be so easy I would sell Levinson gear (which is big, super heavy and heats my whole room so quickly) and replace by much cheaper crown pro amp.

 

[mike70]

Obviously not Nevertheless my point is that it is not so obvious to achieve the same quality level from D-class amp like from hi-end power amp. If it would be so easy I would sell Levinson gear (which is big, super heavy and heats my whole room so quickly) and replace by much cheaper crown pro amp.

But you can replace your high end Levinson amps with Purifi or Hypex based class D amps for 1/5 (or less) price tag.