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Crestron Pro Amplifiers In My Home System

Dogum

Dogum

Livin' the dream, then woke up...
I don't mind trying pro equipment in my home system so when I saw a used Crestron AMP3x80MM for $30USD including shipping I decided to give it a try. This amp is typically used in schools, business and whole house sound systems. They are replaced by the next big thing that is in fashion and the used equipment is liquidated or thrown away. It has two music channels and one voice channel which I don't use. So two channels at 80 watts per channel into 8 ohms.

Some of the drawbacks of these amps are the Phoenix type connecters for all connections, each one a different pitch and pin number, balanced inputs (if that is an issue) and less than stellar spec of .1%THD but a respectable SNR of 110db. On the plus side, it is convection cooled (no fan), no 24 volt communication input required and a thin size.

I put this amp in my test system with some of my least favorite speakers, a pair of Bose 301s and some cheap Wharfedales. This was the first amp that brought the Wharfedales alive with solid bass and good mid range.

My original intent was to bridge each of the two amps but each one has found a place in one of my five basement systems.

With the success of the AMP3x80MM I took a chance and doubled my original investment into a Crestron 2210 for $70USD. Two channels, 120 watts per channel into 8 ohms. I put this amp and a Yamaha cx830 preamp into my main system. Again this amp brought to life my Boston Acoustics t1030s which I have always felt never quite lived up to their potential with previous systems. Now they are hitting hard in the bass with clear highs and mids. A very enjoyable experience.

Are the Crestron amps colored to bring out the bass response? I do not know, the 20Hz-20kHz +0/-3db response spec says no. At this point I don't care.

Will I stop repairing my old amps and replace all my amps with Crestron amps? No, of course not, but they do have a place in the rotation.
 
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Their stuff seems to be real good. I have a 7 channel amp and ATI most definitely built it.
 
Thanks hamrules! I own an ATI amp! Didn't think I could afford one.

Yes avguytx, 5 systems. I wanted to play more of my turntables than just a single rotation at a time. I like this setup so I can try different amps, preamps and speaker combinations. Sometimes the synergy a random setup gives is very surprising.
 
Toroidal transformers are a sure sign of quality. They are twice the price of a laminated transformer but typically offer the highest signal to noise ratio.

I like to buy equipment based on the availability of a service manual and a repair knowledge base such as AK. These are almost non-existant for Crestron. In the unlikely event these amps have hammered away for 10 years and now fail in my light use, it is more cost effective just to replace it with another one.
 
Dogum said:
I don't mind trying pro equipment in my home system so when I saw a used Crestron AMP3x80MM for $30USD including shipping I decided to give it a try. This amp is typically used in schools, business and whole house sound systems. They are replaced by the next big thing that is in fashion and the used equipment is liquidated or thrown away. It has two music channels and one voice channel which I don't use. So two channels at 80 watts per channel into 8 ohms.

Some of the drawbacks of these amps are the Phoenix type connecters for all connections, each one a different pitch and pin number, balanced inputs (if that is an issue) and less than stellar spec of .1%THD but a respectable SNR of 110db. On the plus side, it is convection cooled (no fan), no 24 volt communication input required and a thin size.

I put this amp in my test system with some of my least favorite speakers, a pair of Bose 301s and some cheap Wharfedales. This was the first amp that brought the Wharfedales alive with solid bass and good mid range.

My original intent was to bridge each of the two amps but each one has found a place in one of my five basement systems.

With the success of the AMP3x80MM I took a chance and doubled my original investment into a Crestron 2210 for $70USD. Two channels, 120 watts per channel into 8 ohms. I put this amp and a Yamaha cx830 preamp into my main system. Again this amp brought to life my Boston Acoustics t1030s which I have always felt never quite lived up to their potential with previous systems. Now they are hitting hard in the bass with clear highs and mids. A very enjoyable experience.

Are the Crestron amps colored to bring out the bass response? I do not know, the 20Hz-20kHz +0/-3db response spec says no. At this point I don't care.

Will I stop repairing my old amps and replace all my amps with Crestron amps? No, of course not, but they do have a place in the rotation.
Click to expand...
Hi! Do you remember what speaker output connectors you found/used for the Crestron 2210 ? These are 30mm 4pin blocks. How are these called and where to find them?
Crestron are not very big on explaining things. (not to mention that the phoenix connectors are really crappy solution if you don't have adapter for them)
Thanks!
 
4ey said:
Hi! Do you remember what speaker output connectors you found/used for the Crestron 2210 ? These are 30mm 4pin blocks. How are these called and where to find them?
Crestron are not very big on explaining things. (not to mention that the phoenix connectors are really crappy solution if you don't have adapter for them)
Thanks!
Click to expand...
I believe those are called Phoenix connectors. I think I know where these can be found.
 
eiraved said:
I believe those are called Phoenix connectors. I think I know where these can be found.
Click to expand...
Hey! Thanks! That weirdly confuses the heck out of me. Four pin Phoenix are marketed as 5.3 or 5.5 mm so I don't know what that number measures. This thing is 30mm long. Also if judging by phoenix 3 pin connector, the four pin would be way too small for this output.
I have a the 3 and 6 pin connectors used for the line in and the remote and even the 6 pin is too short/small for the this four pin used for the output. (pictured here)
 

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eiraved said:
I believe those are called Phoenix connectors. I think I know where these can be found.
Click to expand...
So to clarify for those that may fall into the same conundrum: the ones pictured above need what is called Phoenix type, four POLE connectors.
 
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