Members GZsound Posted June 26, 2007 Members Share Posted June 26, 2007 I just bought a Crown XLS 402 for dirt cheap. Not really sure what I need it for, but the price was great so.. Any experience with this line of Crown amps? It appears to be designed to be an "affordable" Crown amp. It sounds good and has plenty of power, and although the fans are a little noisy, in a live environment that won't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jbutler1982 Posted June 26, 2007 Members Share Posted June 26, 2007 Aww_dee_o mentioned a while back that there were some problems with Crown amps' durability and ability to put out sound before clipping. I'm not sure if that is accurate though. I have used the 402 before bridged into some PV mains before i bought a nice system. It worked fine and gave no problems. However, a drummer I used to play with had one for our practice system and a channel failed on it. That being said, Crown was great about it and fixed it fast AND sent back the fixed amp with a $200 rebate certificate good on any crown product and a very apologetic letter. So, good service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GZsound Posted June 27, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 27, 2007 Aww_dee_o mentioned a while back that there were some problems with Crown amps' durability and ability to put out sound before clipping. I'm not sure if that is accurate though.I have used the 402 before bridged into some PV mains before i bought a nice system. It worked fine and gave no problems. However, a drummer I used to play with had one for our practice system and a channel failed on it. That being said, Crown was great about it and fixed it fast AND sent back the fixed amp with a $200 rebate certificate good on any crown product and a very apologetic letter. So, good service. Thanks.. I am counting on Crown being a great company if I do have any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldrock Posted June 27, 2007 Members Share Posted June 27, 2007 i bought one of those 402D amps while they had that smoking rebate deal going. I haven't got to do any long term reliability tests on it yet but it seems to work fine and doesn't seem to generate much heat when driven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sherpakroto Posted June 28, 2007 Members Share Posted June 28, 2007 So far very happy with my 402 and 602 (same deal: huge rebate). I use the 602 for my subs (JBL JRX118) and the 402 for my mains (Yamaha SM12V). Sound good, stay cool, and push enough sound for my needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldrock Posted June 28, 2007 Members Share Posted June 28, 2007 sherp, I think alot of the more seasoned folks on the forum are down on the xls series because it clearly has corners cut on the design. having said that, compared to any other offering in the price range, it beats them hands down. The no questions asked 3 year warranty was just icing on the cake. I know the old saying you get what you pay for but in this case, you get more than you pay for. With that rebate deal they had offered, it was a no brainer for me. Now that the rebate is over, it would be a harder decission so I am glad I got mine when I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted June 29, 2007 Members Share Posted June 29, 2007 sherp, I think alot of the more seasoned folks on the forum are down on the xls series because it clearly has corners cut on the design. In the industry it's refered to as "value engineered" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GZsound Posted June 29, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 29, 2007 In the industry it's refered to as "value engineered" As long as the reliability is there and the unit performs it's tasks as advertised, I think "value engineering" is a good thing. I do believe that's how Peavey got started as well. We always called Peavey gear "the one percent stuff" in the 70's because it wasn't the cleanest mixer or amp or speaker, but it was reliable and worked as advertised. Mackie appears to have done the same thing with their Tapco line. Since I ended up only paying $125 for the amp, I think it will work fine as a backup unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heatheroo Posted June 29, 2007 Members Share Posted June 29, 2007 our singer bought an XLS802. it seems to work fine but it is bare bones as far as features go compared to a peavey CS or QSC RMX series: no switchable filters, no choices for input cabling, etc. For S&Gs, I compared the specs against our old CS800 and the Peavey beats it hands down for THD and whatnot. BUT..........it's got that Crown name, so....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gregidon Posted June 29, 2007 Members Share Posted June 29, 2007 our singer bought an XLS802. it seems to work fine but it is bare bones as far as features go compared to a peavey CS or QSC RMX series: no switchable filters, no choices for input cabling, etc. For S&Gs, I compared the specs against our old CS800 and the Peavey beats it hands down for THD and whatnot. BUT..........it's got that Crown name, so....... You forgot one important spec. I bet that XLS weighs a lot less than a CS800. I'd also be willing to bet it's most efficient. It all depends on what your priorities are. Additionally it's a whole heck of a lot easier to get a XLS fixed than an old CS800 who's parts aren't readily available anymore..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 29, 2007 Members Share Posted June 29, 2007 Forget the THD specs, they are way too dependent on measurement methods. The Crown is easily just as good in the THD department as the CS-800 when measured apples for apples. It's a marketing spec for all intensive purposes. As far as repairing, I would have to say the CS-800 is a much easier amp to repair, and I can't think of any parts that aren't as easy to get (or modify in case of the mechanical parts) on a CS-800 as on any Crown product... which are in general extremely difficult amps to repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neonfacelift Posted June 29, 2007 Members Share Posted June 29, 2007 I've got the 402 in my bass rig. It's been solid so far. I've had it for about two months. It is a tad noisy, but it's not like that will ever really matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted June 30, 2007 Members Share Posted June 30, 2007 I've got an older, 3 rack space XLS-402 that I bought new in 2001. It's been abused. First it was a bass amp, then it was a amp for ridiculously loud band rehearsals and now it is my monitor amp. I've never had a bit of trouble out of it. No bells and whistles, but my FOH rack has all of that crap in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted June 30, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted June 30, 2007 If the features meet the needs, and the price is within budget and competitive, I don't see a problem. I don't recall seeing an unusual number of problems with this line, as opposed to the more expensive CE-1000 and -2000 which seemed to have some problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sherpakroto Posted July 2, 2007 Members Share Posted July 2, 2007 oldrock/dboomer: agree on all points. We do this strictly for fun, not for paying gigs (unless you consider that we do the paying). We have decent, not outstanding equipment, and we use it as often as we can. The XLS's do the job for us, and picking the pair up for $375, net/shipped (after rebate) is what did it for me. YMMV. Still a big upgrade from only having my Yamaha Powered mixer. Now I see Peavey mixers on rebate. Oh no... the PV14 looks about right for us (though I'd like more sends), but the FX16 looks even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Not Serial Posted July 2, 2007 Members Share Posted July 2, 2007 how does the XLS comare to the discontinued XS series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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