Pro audio vs consumer audio (1 Viewer)

Hi,

I was wondering what peoples thoughts were on the difference in quality between professional audio gear (like Crown amps, Alesis etc vs 'regular' consumer audio stuff (like Marantz, Rotel etc).

There seems to be a lot of high wattage amps on Ebay and elsewhere from the Pro Audio side that are quite cheap and I was wondering if they were worth it. I was considering buying an Alesis Matica 900 amp to power my speakers, but just don't know if these sorts of amps are appropriate for use in the home.

Cheers
Rod

Wayne,

This makes a lot of sense. You've answered questions I didn't even know I had, thank you very much for the detailed response.

As I was considering Kit amplification which produces oustanding results I don't think I'll pursue the pro-amp route, thanks again!

Rod

Do also have to say this too- sometimes the pro audio gear doesnt like the unbalanced RCA's converted to 1/4", I had trouble with ground loops.

Also, the amp itself may make a consierable amount of noise too. In a pro audio setting this may be fine. My crown macro-tech 5000vz amp (5000 watts cont, bridge mono 4 ohms), it can produce enough power to probably blow the house down, but the amp itself is noisy with its large transformers and fan. The fan is off usually when the amp is idle or low signal but once the music starts going, it'll turn on and it is loud.

It's a totally different world. First, the pro market consists of 4 main segments:

The "M.I." market. This is stuff sold in Musical instrument stores (Guitar Center, Musicland). Common brands are Peavey, Berhenger, Samson. This stuff is considered crap in the pro world. All about low prices.

The studio market. This is the most similar to the HT market, in terms of product requirements. Emphasis on super-accurate sound reproduction, lots of accoustic treatment products. Powered monitors are a big trend here. Amps for studios are big bucks, though very nice (Crown Studio-reference) Manley labs is a company that makes both hi-fi and studio gear. Of course, most recording tools will never be used in an HT.

The concert sound market. Big stuff, absurd power. Crown macro-tech, I-tech. QSC powerlight, Big huge line arrays (not the suff over in the DIY forum) A typical speaker stack may have two dozen 15" drivers, and twice that for mids and highs, plus a separate stack of 18" subs. Everything has active crossovers, 3 or 4 way. Maybe 50,000 watts a side going into $100,000 worth of speakers. Emphasis on extreme reliability and power output. Also things like "fly time" (how long it takes to hang the speakers in a venue) and "truck pack" (how many speakers you can fit into a semi) Most amps at this level are fan-cooled and way too noisy for HT. No "peak" output ratings in this game, everything is in RMS. Most concert stuff won't _fit_ in an HT.

The install market. This is a "cheaper concert sound" as far as amps go. Speakers for this market are all about directivity (getting sound to the audience, and not on other places, walls, ceilings, etc....) and amps are spec'ed after speakers are chosen. reliability is a big one here as well. The Crown K series is mostly aimed at this market, and is a great HT amp, especially for subs (no fan).

I am using 2 Crown XLS-402 amps in my HT and I am really surprised at how good it sounds. I did a short review of it at the AVS Forum - my username there is spacecowboy. I also have an Adcom 5-channel amp and have had other amps too from Parasound, HK, Acurus, and Carver. Like it was said earlier, not just any pro amp will give you great results, but stick w/ the likes of Crown, QSC, and Crest.

The only downsides to using a good pro amp is fan noise (although, the fans can be disconnected) and possible issues fitting it into your rack. For my room setup, the Crown produces a slightly "forward" sound that I, myself prefer. My Adcom has been described as sounding the same, but when comparing the 2, the Adcom, to me, is smoother w/ the Crown not far behind at all. You would think that a pro amp would be terrible for music in a home setting, but the Crown has a grace all its own that really shines w/ classical, jazz, and vocals. Anyone who is skeptical about pro amps like I was really needs to give 'em a try - you'll be surprised big time.

For what it's worth, my 10 year old Crown Macro Reference 760/watt channel amp has fans but they rarely turn on unless I drive my speakers very hard (which I rarely do anymore), and can't be heard over the sound from my seating position about four feet away.

The fans in the Crown 402 run constantly, warm or cool. They never cutoff and are fairly loud, but they can be disabled w/ minimal effort.

Nice folks over at Crown too.

Cool. I learned more in this thread about pro stuff than in that humongously long thread over at AVS. (Wayne! ) I've seen the Crown 402s mentioned a lot.

There are some digital pro amps too that seem to get good reviews?

Also, for consumer gear I can find stuff measured at Stereophile, S&V, HT mag, www.audiovideoreviews.com Secrets, etc.

If I want to "play it safe" with pro stuff, any place, web site, publication do a similar type of measurements?

In a previous life, I was a guitarist through high school, college, and some after. I know that the "pro" gear available in music stores is meant more for loudness than actual sound quality. At least the stuff I could afford back then. (Chris, I like how you divided things up.)

Crown and QSC are good people. Hafler, though most of that stuff I've seen is fairly old. I know some people like the Mackie amps; I don't have any experience with 'em in any setting.

Alesis is not a bad word all-together. They've some nice recording equipment, and I kind of like their unpowered monitor speakers - they're pretty good, even if they are ported designs. Haven't tried an Alesis amp, though.

I know QSC and Crown both have lines of amps that are THX approved for theater sound systems... had a Crown MicroTech 600 at one installation that was pretty nice.

I did see one interesting setup over at Maryweather Post Pavilion in Columbia... they were setting up for a Jazz Festival one early summer. Sound contractor brought in a massive stack of speakers; each speaker was bi-amped: midrange and tweeter. Subs all over the place; both 'mid' subs (60-120Hz type stuff) and 'low' subs (20-60hz.)

If I remember right, they had 90 2x2kw amplifiers on stage (that is, 180 channels of 2kw RMS amplifiers!)

My understanding was that with this gross overkill, it meant that whatever the jazz people put out, their system would be running with massive amounts of headroom, not stressing anything anywhere for plenty of volume, clean sound, and (virtually) no distortion.

Leo Kerr

(The below excludes MI market stuff)

The measurments that are available for pro gear from reputable manufactures are usually pretty accurate. There's a lot less B.S. in this industry, because everybody has test equipement to check the gear with, and it's a small world; if you put out a sucky product EVERYBODY is going to know about it.

Pro Sound Web is the website for gobs of pro-sound info

Warning: Do not post to the forums until you have lurked for a few weeks at a minimum. These folks do not like newbies. Exception, the "Lab Lounge" is more newbie friendly.

I agree that crown and qsc dominate this market, and both manufactures are now selling lower price point gear that still has a good reputation. I don't think you will regret buying amps from either of these two companies. But, you can buy a 7x100 watt amp from outlaw for $799 ? 8 channels of Crown XLS amplification is $1076 (4 of the smallest 202's), and you have to deal with a bunch of fans and more rack space.
For subs though, Pro amps can't be beat, and if your looking at more than 100 watts per channel, pro amps become more attractive.

The jury is still out on "digital" amps in the pro world as well.

Chris, Leo, Kevin anyone?

Hi,

I am recently the proud owner of a h/k 7200 and, as I listen to music/movies at ungodly amounts of dB, purchased a Crown XLS 402 (Nice eh Kevin?). The Crown I would like to drive the Axiom M60Ti's, with the H/k driving the center (VP150), l/r surrounds (QS8). The sub is an SVS 20-39 PCi. This is a 5.1 system, don't want or need 7.1 as I am using the H/K "surround sides" for zone 2.

My question is, how do you setup the crown with the H/K for appropriate SPL (85 dB per Avia and RS SPL meter)? I just can't get this part right in my head.

I know that I need 1) a pair of RCA to XLR interconnects (got those already) to hook from the H/K's pre-outs into the crown and then from the Crown into the R/L Mains (12 guage wire). What do you set the amp to in order to SPL everything so that it sounds as one? Do I have to set the gains on the amp to match the SPL from the H/K?

My brain hurts...tried a search...got nothing...neither here nor at AVS (boy that "amps...amps...amps" thread is something).

Thanks for all your help.

Rich,
From all my readings on these Crown amps(try the volume knobs on the Crown at 50% and 100% and see what you like). I have heard people doing either...just depends on your preference.
Run the Avia setup and see if one works better than the other.

Although a lot of people turn the gains up all the way, I would recommend that you start at about 3/4 the way up. They aren't attenuater knobs like on a regular volume control, they are sensitivity knobs. You also might try leaving the reciever trims at zero, and adjusting the amp instead.

Regardless, 6 on one hand, half dozen on the other.....

Awesome stuff. Thanks!!

I set my tones at 75db, although 85 will work as well.

The following is a fairly detailed, technical review of the Crown Macrotech-5000VZ.
http://www.pcavtech.com/pwramp/macrot-5000VZ/index.htm

OK, I found a good "bad" example.

The new Lexicon amps are built by Crown, instead of Bryston as previously.

Take a look-see here. Look in the Lab Report box.

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-...?reviewid=3418

Measured power output, 300W into 8 ohms, 275W into 4 ohms for 2 ch.

Huh? The power *decreases* going into 4 ohms vs 8? I've seen that for 2 vs 4, but this is the first time I've ever seen it for 4 vs 8. 5 ch is similarly bad.

This is why I get so paranoid about "pro" gear. But maybe this is just a singularly bad example.

Chu- Your review looks like a good example, except that I couldn't find the "traditional" power output vs distortion curves for 8, 4, 2 ohm loads?