Pro amps

I've heared crown, under less than optimal conditions, but it definatly sounded pretty good.

I got the impression it was less refined than high end stereo amps.certainly had a lot of impact and slam though.

cannot comment on weight of these. Could they be digital amps? Digital generates less heat, therefore needs less heatsinks, and can seriously cut down on weight and size

I've not used / worked with Crown amps in a long time, but their older models sounded hard, bright and sterile. They were built quite well though and you could pound on them night and day, hence their popularity with the Pro Sound crowd. My guess is that they probably sound about the same ( give or take ) as they have to employ gobs of protection circuitry in order to keep from blowing up during less than optimal "pro" use conditions.

I've got a Pro amp here that i'll be hooking up this week. It is an AB International 1100A, which is rated at 525 wpc @8, 850 wpc @ 4 and 1100 wpc @ 2 ohms. I bought it for my "cousin-in-law's" PA system. Nothing special about this model, so don't read too much into the fact that i bought this one. I snagged it because of what i was able to find it for on the used market. At $380 including shipping, i couldn't pass it up. The fact that AB International has been building Pro Sound gear for 25+ years tells me that they've got to be at least half-way reliable to stay in business that long.

Some of the other "Pro" amps that i've seen people raving about on the net are WAY under-designed from what i can tell. Then again, they may work fine for specific applications, but i really don't think that they are suitable for use in a "high end" system. That's just my opinion though based on the information available to me at the present time. Others obviously think differently. Sean
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Slappy, no they're not digital but that brings up another point. The Carver Pro ZR series amps are digital. Anybody ever hear one of these?

Prp Amps are designed for a different purpose and I would stick to Home Audio designs.

As far as the ZR amps I know people that rate them over the Panaxonic Digi Amps which I have and they have both. I happily use the Panny and if the ZR is better I would consider it.

Other amps to consider used are Plinius and Sim Moon which are great pieces. Sim Mooon if you can afford them and a Plinus 2nd. I was talking to a dealer yesterday and he convinced me of the great value of the sonic attributes which the Sim W-3 has. I want one bad!

JMO

I agree with Panny. Pro-amps are designed for a different purpose. The only exception may be for subwoofer use. However, awesome pro amps are also a lot of money! I just sold a bunch of QSC amps without ever debating on keeping them for my theater. If you're wondering, I sold 2 qsc 9.0's, as well as a bunch of 4.0 and 3.4's. Go look up the wattage and you will be shocked. Power isn't everything though.
If you don't believe me, then contact me and tell me what kinds of amps you are looking for. I have a bunch more Crown, Crest & Qsc amps for 1/4 to 1/3 of original retail. I would much rather have my 400 watt Velodyne than a 1000 watt crest with a commercial JBL sub.

Thanks for your input. Elevick, I'm not really interested in getting one, I was just interested in everyones input about using one for home theater purposes. In other words, what is all the rave about? I'm tellin' ya, these guys will not part with these things for anything. Are they really that good? Price wise, they're a lot less expensive than dedicated HT amps. Just makes me wonder.

I'll also agree that the application has everything to do with the type of amp used & in my experience with pro sound, I really just look for something that will turn on when I want it to & do its job.

I really have no preference with pro audio gear when it comes to the amps as compared to home audio, which I definitely have my favorites. I'm not into HT but just for movies, I don't see how you could go wrong with a pro amp that is somewhat home audio friendly and by that I mean doesn't have a noisy fan & uses standard type connections.

BTW, we use all QSC amps for our PA, Crest board & EAW spkrs.

Yea, I think you are all right. I think the main draw to these amps is that you can get 500 wpc x2 for $585.00 on ebay. Forget the sound, that's a lot of power for not a lot of $$$$. I guess any 500 wpc amp for $585.00 would sound great!