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biggest power amps I have EVER seen

hammr7 said:
1. be bounced around a lot and still perform (in trucks, on stage, etc.),
2. Be run at, and beyond, their limits for hours on end without FAILURE (when on tour). They'll take a less than perfect sound so long as they have continuous sound for as long as the concert tour (and of course each concert) lasts, and
3. Be cost efficient on a per-watt basis, because on tour everything relates the the power (think "11" in Spinal Tap).
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4. power to weight(/size) ratio is also a big thing in PA land.
Next to the touring companies lot of the bigger rental companies (around here) use all neo speaker systems (often with SMPS type racked amps) or active neo speaker sets.

Top PA is like the GT class in Amplifiers imo. Durability and performance, performance performance.

So, to get back to this topic, the days of monterously (physically) big PA amps are over.
For instance the Powersoft Digam K20 is rated at 9000 W @ 2Ohm (2700 @ 8 Ohm) per channel. Pretty nasty for a 1 rackunit amp...
 
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Don't forget this compact little unit:
 

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Lets not forget about the Manley Ichiban which was manufactured at the VTL plant: 100 lb each.
 
I don't think those were plasma amplifiers or industrial amplifiers for weird applications. They listed audio specs for it. So I suspect they were used in a large hall or for bands that play in huge spaces driving multiple speakers. Ever been to some of those huge arenas when the circus comes to town or a rock band is playing. That's what those amps would be for I believe. If they were used for something else, industrial applications or the like, they wouldn't be listing audio specs for them. Could have been used on a large ship for playing revelie or whatever they play on ships. Or just for general announcements. Ever been on an aircraft carrier? As big as a town with 5000 people on board. When you need everyone to hear an order, you need something this large.
 
princeoftides said:
I don't think those were plasma amplifiers or industrial amplifiers for weird applications.
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The Techrons were primarily used for industrial applications. Just look at the website. Doesn't mean they couldn't be used for audio, but that wasn't really their prime function.
 
The amps in the OP were starting to give me a gear-inferiority complex, until i read that the amps only had 32 transistors apiece. Bah, mere pipsqueaks! The 101M has forty! :D

Seriously, those are some heavy-duty amps, for sure, but I'd want to audition their sonic qualities before popping them into the main system permanently. That said, the specs on some industrial-type amps, perhaps with minor mods to make them compatible with other audio gear, suggest they'd be extremely good. The ultra-low distortion and extended frequency range needed for the amps in a medical MRI machine, for example, suggest that they could make incredibly good-sounding audio amps, if modded to suit otherwise.


There are amps around that are as big or bigger than those Crowns, that are made for audio. Gryphon's TOTL amp, for example, is HUGE, too. There have been some similar-sized Krell amps, and brands like Halcro and Burmester have huge amps, too. I seem to remember a large pair of monoblocks from Marc Levinson some years back, too. But hi-fi amps of that size are guaranteed to be very expensive, so you don't see too many of them around.

rifftrax said:
Somone needs to find that woman and marry her quick! :D
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I think I already did! :yes: Well, almost, except that my version is a little cuter and prettier! :thmbsp: But mine didn't come with that amplifier, more's the pity! :D
 
bowtie427ss said:
Really? I can only find electrical specs.

For most audio applications the 3.3volt input sensitivity would NOT be compatible.

Notice also that no specs are given for damping, generally an important spec to advertise in the audio world.

Spec sheet for the amplifiers in the OP: http://www.aetechron.com/pdf/7560.pdf
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Umm, althought the damping factor is not present, if we use a general DF calculation of DF = load impedence/output impedence, the damping factor for the stereo connection at 8 ohms is 8 ohms/0.005 ohm (5 mohms, milliohms) = 1600, at 4 ohms it would be aprox. 800. These values are pretty typical for high power amps with lots of output devices and power reserve, so, IMO, very on par with most other high power solid state amps, in fact much higher than some especially considering the amount of raw current these amps could source to the load. Perhaps in the industrial world, damping factor, as a calculated number, is not so much a real world spec in the world of shaker tables and MRI power supplies?

In reading the 7560 PDF specs noted in the link above, all of the specs seem to be similarly stated to any typical audio or professional audio power amp. THD and IM distortion over frequency range and power bandwith, power output at frequency and load impedence, straight DC current output (20A, yikes!), frequency response, slew rate (32v/usec), phase response, etc. etc. Techron/Crown always published conservative specs so you can rely on the specs to be bettered with proper functioning and maintainence.

As for the input sensitivity, 3.3V for rated power is well within the range of professiional gear used to drive amps (professional and industrial) of this type. Usually output of preamps, mixers and line amps will be on the order of 5V plus. Most general consumer preamps should be able to generate something close (3 volts or more) from their line amp sections. If the preamp is unable to push that much (say 1.5V output would still get you 400 watts), that is a problem with the preamp. Also, input barrier strip can be wired directly to additional cards that can provide for preamplification if the driving source has a limited drive capability. See Special Input section on spec sheet near end.

For consumer examples, the venerable 1977 Dynaco PAT5 could put out in excess of 10V into >10,000 ohms. The PAS3X during Stereo Review testing in 1966 put out 4.4volts into an unstated impedence but likely over 10Kohms. The 1979 APT Holman preamp drives with "undistorted output of at least 7 volts". So unless preamps have much less drive today, they should be able to drive this amp.

I've used a number of Crown amps in professional PA / Church work and they are solid, strong workhorses, that most of the time sound fine to great. Techron products are an offshoot company catering to the industrial use crowd but strongly based on the same Crown technology developed for home and professional use. I would expect and see the same committment to quality, robust to tank like construction and reliability that regular Crown products have.
 
I agree with everything in your post Mech986.

But, we're not talking about Crown amplifiers, of which i have used many in the professional arena.

We're talking about their "sister" products aimed at and specifically tailored for the industrial market.

I think somewhere in the Techron literature it mentions that most models can be "customized" for audio applications

The CE4000(maybe the other CE models too) is the only "audio targeted" Crown that i know of that has an input sensitivity over 1.4 volts. It's actually switchable .775, 1.4, or 3.4, i miss the CE4000's like i'd miss a migraine.

No argument intended, just trying to point out that as well as the amplifiers themselves, the marketing data is also tweaked for their specific applications. This is why i mentioned the absence of a damping spec, it is usually a concern for the audio numbers freaks. It's absence helps support the idea that these are not marketed to the audio community, that's all.

FWIW, what i find most impressive about the Techrons is the abilty to strap multiples together for a single output of up to 1000A or 1000V! That should wake up a subwoofer eh?
 
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