I grew up in Elkhart, Ind. In many ways it's your typical small town, but also happens to be known as the RV manufacturing capital of the world, the place Alka-Seltzer was launched, and home to Crown Audio, a Harman company. In my early production days in northern Indiana we joked that we had no more than three degrees of separation from a Crown Audio worker.
I've always had a great deal of respect for the Crown name. This could stem from hometown pride, but I think it's more the fact that they have built a reputation on quality. The first amp I ever owned was an old CE1000. Through the years, I have used many Macro-Techs, Micro-Techs and K2 amplifiers. I even had one of Crown's early six-channel amps, the CP660, which they discontinued soon after I bought it.
Earlier this year Crown introduced the new XLS DriveCore 2 series, the next generation of the company's XLS line of audio power amplifiers. The new DriveCore2 line features a larger LCD screen and more DSP processing than previous versions. It comes in four models: 1002, 1502, 2002 and 2502. All are two-channel amps, the largest of which—the 2502—is able to produce 2,400 watts at 4 Ohms bridged.
For this review, Crown sent me the 1502 model, which produces 525 watts into each channel at 4 ohms and 1,550 watts in bridged mode. It weighs nine pounds—not what you'd expect if you've used earlier Crown amps, or any professional power amplifier for that matter. Many “production types,” including myself, have been conditioned to believe that heavier means more powerful or more reliable. So my first impression of this new Crown amp was that it was a prosumer product—designed for home theater or certainly something other than a serious pro audio environment.
That prosumer feeling, I quickly learned, is just an exterior perception. After spending more than a week evaluating this amplifier on a range of loudspeakers, I can report that the Crown XLS DriveCore 2 1502 power amplifier—with its light weight and super-efficient Class D technology—is capable of producing great audio.
Listening to the speakers in different environments, I found that the amplifier, including the built-in DSP, provided clean, clear sound.
Shaun Miller
Product Reviewer.
Nuts & Bolts
Initial perceptions that the Crown XLS 1502 is anything other than a pro audio product can quickly be brushed aside with one look at the I/O section. Input options are many, offering XLR, 1/4-inch and RCA. On the output side, it offers binding posts for banana plugs or bare wire and Speakon/1/4-inch combo plugs.
The front panel also has two volume control knobs, LED audio level indicators and an LCD screen.
DSP is accessible and controlled via three buttons and a small LED screen that, honestly, took a little getting used to. I kept backing out of the menu instead of saving my settings. This, however, is probably linked more to my inability to follow instructions; I am still unable to figure out duplex copying on the copy machine.
Once in the menu on the LCD screen, the XLS DriveCore 2 has three options for input routing: Stereo, Bridged Mono and Input Y. Stereo is pretty self-explanatory and is the factory default for the amp. Bridged Mono takes the input from channel one and routes it to the output one. In Bridged mode, you have more crossover filter features: Low Pass, Band Pass and High Pass. Using Input-Y mode, the amp uses the input from channel one and sends it as two separate inputs to power both outputs. With the DSP, you can select each channel and control it independently—a very cool feature allowing, for example, a two-way speaker on channel one and a subwoofer on channel two. Both can be fed the same full-range signal from the console.
Other features in the menu allow the user to turn off the LED level indicators if the amp is in an area where it would be distracting to the audience. Many options are available, including turning off the blue "style" lights. The clip LEDs cannot be disabled, which makes sense. The LCD screen can also be set to a sleep time, so it dims as well. If installed, it features an aux control terminal that allows a sleep mode via a contact closure. Finally, in the menu is a security feature that disables the buttons so the DSP cannot be changed by your arch nemesis from the church down the street … or the elementary-aged kids playing hide and seek backstage.
For the demo, I did my best to use the amp in varying combinations—both stereo and mono bridged. I compiled a series of different types of speakers: a pair of small JBL Control 1s, as well as larger JBL AM7215 15-inch, two-way loudspeakers with a JBL SRX718S 18-inch subwoofer. Listening to the speakers in different environments, I found the amplifier, including the built-in DSP, provided clean, and clear sound. DSP settings are not very robust, however. For example, there is no EQ or delay.
In addition to pushing this amplifier in a large environment, for a full week I had this amp under my desk powering some speakers connected directly to my computer via a stereo 1/8-inch-to-RCA cable. While the sound was excellent, I was amazed at how quiet the cooling is for this unit. It does have a fan to draw air, but I am not sure if I have ever heard it. I even made sure to crank the audio for a while on my favorite song so see if it just needs some encouragement to run. I never heard the fan.
The 1502 is one of the smaller members of Crown’s XLS DriveCore 2 series. I would recommend this particular unit for portable churches, churches with portable systems, youth groups and any number of smaller audio needs. The larger versions would certainly be capable of driving larger systems, although the DSP may be a limitation. The amplifier has a list price of $699, but street prices of around $359.99 can be found.
