Review and Measurements of Crown XLS 1502 Amp

[wav3form]

So when you set the subs to 75dB at reference what was the resulting trim level in the avr? Gain still set to max on the Crown?

I'm not sure how to set the sub to 75dB. Right now I'm just going by ear... the AVR isn't turned up very high at the moment.

 

[Chrispy]

I'm not sure how to set the sub to 75dB. Right now I'm just going by ear... the AVR isn't turned up very high at the moment.

You should just run Audyssey....

 

[wav3form]

You should just run Audyssey....

Ok I'll try that tomorrow after work. What's funny is my smaller powered sub can bounce me out of the room and this behemoth is quiet as a mouse. Thanks for the help, I'll post back the results.

 

[Chrispy]

Ok I'll try that tomorrow after work. What's funny is my smaller powered sub can bounce me out of the room and this behemoth is quiet as a mouse. Thanks for the help, I'll post back the results.

Depends on the sensitivity of the sub amp, most of my consumer subs with plate amps I only need maybe 25-30% gain set. On the Crowns close to max but not quite.

 

[Skylinestar]

I have read the XLS1002 teardown thread.
Is the XLS1502 (and above) using the same low quality capacitor?

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I have read the XLS1002 teardown thread.
Is the XLS1502 (and above) using the same low quality capacitor?

Yea. That is why you can drive over a Crown with an F350. Crown would send the Ford to the dealership.

 

[Jimster480]

Yea. That is why you can drive over a Crown with an F350. Crown would send the Ford to the dealership.

Not really applicable to this thread though. Most people don't know that Crown = Various Toyota's.

 

[dlaloum]

I have read the XLS1002 teardown thread.
Is the XLS1502 (and above) using the same low quality capacitor?

Same caps.

However my XLS2500 runs so cool, I never hear the fan, which is not surprising, as my usage peaks at 16W, and the amp can put out 440W ...
In domestic use, I doubt they ever get stressed enough for the cap quality to be an issue.

My 2 examplars are now about 15 years old, still running like new... they are a robust, solidly built amp designed for professional use by bands - ie designed to get a beating!

 

[rvsixer]

Yea. That is why you can drive over a Crown with an F350. Crown would send the Ford to the dealership.

Sure, my light gauge metal/plasticy 1502 would be dust if I ran over it with my 3/4 ton HD diesel pickup (iirc from actual weighing 2275 lb on each front axle) lol. Now can we get back to amps and be considerate of the review forum posting rules please.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Sure, my light gauge metal/plasticy 1502 would be dust if I ran over it with my 3/4 ton HD diesel pickup (iirc from actual weighing 2275 lb on each front axle) lol. Now can we get back to amps and be considerate of the review forum posting rules please.

Oh my.

 

[HighFutility]

I have two DIY subwoofers powered by the crown xls 1502. The drivers rms is rated at 400w 4ohm. Given that this amp max power rating is 336W. Can I safely crank it to max on the xls without worrying about blowing up the drivers? Drivers are max x 10 by Dayton and built to .55internal volume specs. Drivers don’t hit x max even at 400w. Unless I’m in the sub 20hz region but I have a filter preventing that.

 

[Archaea]

I have two DIY subwoofers powered by the crown xls 1502. The drivers rms is rated at 400w 4ohm. Given that this amp max power rating is 336W. Can I safely crank it to max on the xls without worrying about blowing up the drivers? Drivers are max x 10 by Dayton and built to .55internal volume specs. Drivers don’t hit x max even at 400w. Unless I’m in the sub 20hz region but I have a filter preventing that.

Just so you know — the knobs on the front are gain input attenuation knobs, not volume knobs. They are designed to match gain structure. You can get full amp output on the lowest indent setting if you supply enough incoming voltage.

That noted you probably won’t damage your subwoofers in your situation unless you encounter hard clipping or force output clipping, so watch your clip lights! Tickling is okay. Solid clip lights that stay on will hurt something.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

I have two DIY subwoofers powered by the crown xls 1502. The drivers rms is rated at 400w 4ohm. Given that this amp max power rating is 336W. Can I safely crank it to max on the xls without worrying about blowing up the drivers? Drivers are max x 10 by Dayton and built to .55internal volume specs. Drivers don’t hit x max even at 400w. Unless I’m in the sub 20hz region but I have a filter preventing that.

It will sound bad before it blows. So just turn it down if you hear something that sounds like jazz..

 

[Head_Unit]

Can I safely crank it to max on the xls without worrying about blowing up the drivers?

Depends what you mean by "max"-if you mean "maximum unclipped" it would be shocking if any damage ensued given what you said about Xmax. But if "max" means "drunked party clipping" then all can explode. Follow @Holdt's "jazz advice" ha ha

 

[grobalt]

I have two DIY subwoofers powered by the crown xls 1502. The drivers rms is rated at 400w 4ohm. Given that this amp max power rating is 336W. Can I safely crank it to max on the xls without worrying about blowing up the drivers? Drivers are max x 10 by Dayton and built to .55internal volume specs. Drivers don’t hit x max even at 400w. Unless I’m in the sub 20hz region but I have a filter preventing that.

Enjoy

 

[Aerius-Aye]

I really love this amp. It sits in my main rig along with my Benchmark DAC2 and a MiniDSP SHD room correction box. I sold my old Krell KAV300i integrated and bought this amp for much less. It does a beautiful job driving my Martin Logan Aerius-i speakers, which I have been in love with for over 20 years. And knock wood, I am still on the original set of electrostatic panels! With speakers like these, having huge headroom and being able to push all the different loads the panels swing through is a big deal (see screenshot). I also love the balanced outputs.

The 1502 may not be what we call high end around these parts, but when I factor in the AC and refrigerator noise in my living room, I might not be able to hear that noise floor anyway. One thing is for sure, the Crown XLS 1502 sounds great to my ears. By the way, thank you @amirm for your great video on understanding the ASR test suite. Cheers to all.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

I really love this amp. It sits in my main rig along with my Benchmark DAC2 and a MiniDSP SHD room correction box. I sold my old Krell KAV300i integrated and bought this amp for much less. It does a beautiful job driving my Martin Logan Aerius-i speakers, which I have been in love with for over 20 years. And knock wood, I am still on the original set of electrostatic panels! With speakers like these, having huge headroom and being able to push all the different loads the panels swing through is a big deal (see screenshot). I also love the balanced outputs.

The 1502 may not be what we call high end around these parts, but when I factor in the AC and refrigerator noise in my living room, I might not be able to hear that noise floor anyway. One thing is for sure, the Crown XLS 1502 sounds great to my ears. By the way, thank you @amirm for your great video on understanding the ASR test suite. Cheers to all.

Don't worry about it. I can't hear any noise or distortion from my pro amp. No difference with "Hi-Fi" amps as far as I'm concerned. Just sufficient power and built to work hard. Not all measurements matter in real life.

 

[dlaloum]

I really love this amp. It sits in my main rig along with my Benchmark DAC2 and a MiniDSP SHD room correction box. I sold my old Krell KAV300i integrated and bought this amp for much less. It does a beautiful job driving my Martin Logan Aerius-i speakers, which I have been in love with for over 20 years. And knock wood, I am still on the original set of electrostatic panels! With speakers like these, having huge headroom and being able to push all the different loads the panels swing through is a big deal (see screenshot). I also love the balanced outputs.

The 1502 may not be what we call high end around these parts, but when I factor in the AC and refrigerator noise in my living room, I might not be able to hear that noise floor anyway. One thing is for sure, the Crown XLS 1502 sounds great to my ears. By the way, thank you @amirm for your great video on understanding the ASR test suite. Cheers to all.

I've never heard the noise floor on my XLS2500's

If you read the extensive XLS thread on Audiocircle, there were a lot of complaints about noise floor initially, but ultimately the ended up being resolved by gain adjustment.

If you have a mismatch of gain between pre and power, it can raise the noise floor massively - and cause the "noise" issue. - This can be a problem with many power amps! - and was much more of an issue 10 to 15 years ago, when pre-outs were often still aligned with the older standard ... 0.7V for domestic, 1.4V for pro / Balanced.

Nowadays domestic is often 2V...

I run my XLS' at around 70% gain - off the output of my Integra AVR (capable of around 3.5V) - the pre can still drive them to max output, and there is no audible noise. (they are the earlier series with 1.4V input only)

In theory the spec for the Integra states 1V output, which should be circa 70% of 1.4V... so I have plenty of headroom! (as the Integra can actually output more than 3x its spec!)

 

[Deleted member 48726]

I've never heard the noise floor on my XLS2500's

If you read the extensive XLS thread on Audiocircle, there were a lot of complaints about noise floor initially, but ultimately the ended up being resolved by gain adjustment.

If you have a mismatch of gain between pre and power, it can raise the noise floor massively - and cause the "noise" issue. - This can be a problem with many power amps! - and was much more of an issue 10 to 15 years ago, when pre-outs were often still aligned with the older standard ... 0.7V for domestic, 1.4V for pro / Balanced.

Nowadays domestic is often 2V...

I run my XLS' at around 70% gain - off the output of my Integra AVR (capable of around 3.5V) - the pre can still drive them to max output, and there is no audible noise. (they are the earlier series with 1.4V input only)

In theory the spec for the Integra states 1V output, which should be circa 70% of 1.4V... so I have plenty of headroom! (as the Integra can actually output more than 3x its spec!)

Exactly. And if you are limited by your pre-amp output voltage but still need the power and want to keep the noise to a minimum you can just get the bigger amp. e.g. going from XLS1502 to XLS2502 and use more attenuation. It's not like they are expensive.

 

[JeffGB]

I've never been able to hear any difference in noise level between 0 and 100 with my XLS 1500, as long as it is driven by a low noise Balanced pre-amp or Dac. The level controls in the XLS are only for attenuation. I usually use my XLS at 100% and use either one of my balanced DAC's with volume control or with my Schiit Magnius, which is also balanced. If I attempt to use any of my unbalanced sources, I do get noise. I'm pretty sure that those that have noise that is level dependent (using the XLS controls) would find no difference if they unhooked their source.
I don't think most of people's sources have audible noise so it's likely ground loops or RF noise. Pro amps do seem more likely to have these issues when driven by an unbalanced connection probably due to the three wire power cable used for safety for places moisture could be an issue.