2. amps-preamps
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Is my amp the problem?

I recently decided to bi-amp my speakers so I purchased a crown xls 1002. (225w 8 ohm). I am driving a 10 woofer. It sounds horrible. I can't seem to get it to put out much power despite its rating even when I make all the right adjustments. Its a class D amp. Is that my problem? It just doesn't seem to have any Ba**s. Lol. Advice is appreciated.
jimbones
jimbones OP
256 posts
 
agreed. usually you don't want to put any resistors in line with the woofer, right?. BTW, the speakers are my design and I use mills or mundorf resistors to pad down when needed. high now I have them running wide open!! I was hoping an amp might have some adjustment.. Just got a recommendation from someone about ART SLA-2. Looks to be pro sound. Not sure I want to go that route unless I know for sure its good.


almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
The input impedance of the ART (Applied Research and Technology) SLA-2 is 22K unbalanced and 44K balanced, the latter probably corresponding to 22K per leg. Too low to be optimal, or even close to being optimal, when driven in parallel with your Modwright amp by the LS100.

Also, the fact that its rated maximum power into 4 ohms is only 40% higher than its rating into 8 ohms says nothing positive about the robustness of its design.

I’ve used some other ART products for non-audiophile purposes, and in those non-critical applications I found them to be an excellent value. But I suspect that in a high quality audiophile-oriented system they would likely be disappointing, even if no impedance or other technical issues were present.

Regards,
-- Al

jimbones OP
256 posts
 
W4S St500? Adcom GFA555? emotiva xpa-2?
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

The Parasound amps are the only stereo audiophile amps I have seen that have a volume/level control.  The older THX certified multi-channel amps all had level controls, and pro audio amps have level controls.  There's a Parasound A23 on Audiogon for $699, but honestly I think you'll get better control with the two XPA-100 monoblocks (and cheaper).  You could always wire an Alps potentiometer directly into your RCA interconnect for the woofer amp.  It looks like there are cheap passive volume preamp for like $50-60 available.

I haven't used ART stuff, but I kind of view them as a lower end item, like Behringer.  Not bad, per say, but definitely inexpensive, with Crown and QSC being better quality (but more expensive also).

auxinput
2,920 posts
 

Wow, I thought we were looking at cheaper alternatives, lol.  I would avoid the Adcom.  I had an Adcom GFA-545.  It was on the warm/slow side and sounded dirty/smeared when compared to other better amps.

The Emotiva XPA-2 is definitely a contender if you are considering this and definitely better than the XPA-100 monoblocks.  Very strong amp.

I do not have any direct experience with the Wyred 4 Sound (or any other ICE based Class D amp).  Eric Squires likes the w4s, but I cannot give you an opinion on how well it will control the woofer.  It does have a radical 100k ohms input impedance!

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