texhex
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So apparently I always have to learn things the hard way. I was running the volumes too low on my Matrix because I was afraid of cooking these new Polks. Guess what, I cooked the tweeters anyway. This is a good read if you have some time: Why Do Tweeters Blow When Amplifiers Distort? Basically by running the power amp too low and the preamp too high the tweeters cooked due to distortion (which I couldn't notice or hear).
The tweeters are pretty beefy but in the long run couldn't take Shortest Straw (fitting song to die to) at full volume and EQing the highs too much along with the preamp push and not enough power amp.
Anyway, Polk warranty replaced the tweeters without question! Very nice of them. Lesson learned.
Honestly the power of the Matrix kinda still scares me running it into these speakers, plus it has a pretty obnoxious cooling fan noise, so I decided to start looking into a replacement. Enter the Crown XLS 1002.
Of course I'm a cheap ass so.... $259 Open Box from eBay - Arrived like new condition, not a single sign of wear or use. Weird but I'll take it. Pretty good seller too.
I've been running this thing now for about a month and it's fantastic so far. Silent operation, literally zero noise from this thing. There is also minimal hiss from the speakers when it's up all the way. If I put my ear right up next to the speaker I can hear it but from 3 feet away, nothing.
Right now I'm using the Crown amp and the Polks as a monitoring solution (and for listening to music) and I couldn't be happier. The height of the Polks puts the mids and tweeters right at ear level while seated at my desk and the dual 8" woofers fill out the low end nicely. Are the Polks perfectly flat... no but they sound great and for what I paid for them plus the XLS 1002 vs. what I would get in dedicated monitors, I'm totally thrilled.
I would imagine that this amp would also work very well for Modelers into guitar cabs. There is plenty of power to drive a 2x12 and probably a 4x12 but you might want the XLS 1502 for 16 Ohm cabs. You would need to purchase Speakon to 1/4 inch adapters because there are no 1/4 inch outs.
Something like these should work:
I also love the fact that you can turn off all the lights (even though I keep leaving the damn thing overnight) and it just does it's thing. This is a fantastic sounding, clean, lightweight, powerful and silent power amp. Highly recommend!
Now I just need to get a new desk.
Some other online reviews of this amp. It's a pretty strong performer, considering the price.
www.audiosciencereview.com
www.audiosciencereview.com
The tweeters are pretty beefy but in the long run couldn't take Shortest Straw (fitting song to die to) at full volume and EQing the highs too much along with the preamp push and not enough power amp.
Anyway, Polk warranty replaced the tweeters without question! Very nice of them. Lesson learned.
Honestly the power of the Matrix kinda still scares me running it into these speakers, plus it has a pretty obnoxious cooling fan noise, so I decided to start looking into a replacement. Enter the Crown XLS 1002.
Of course I'm a cheap ass so.... $259 Open Box from eBay - Arrived like new condition, not a single sign of wear or use. Weird but I'll take it. Pretty good seller too.
I've been running this thing now for about a month and it's fantastic so far. Silent operation, literally zero noise from this thing. There is also minimal hiss from the speakers when it's up all the way. If I put my ear right up next to the speaker I can hear it but from 3 feet away, nothing.
Right now I'm using the Crown amp and the Polks as a monitoring solution (and for listening to music) and I couldn't be happier. The height of the Polks puts the mids and tweeters right at ear level while seated at my desk and the dual 8" woofers fill out the low end nicely. Are the Polks perfectly flat... no but they sound great and for what I paid for them plus the XLS 1002 vs. what I would get in dedicated monitors, I'm totally thrilled.
I would imagine that this amp would also work very well for Modelers into guitar cabs. There is plenty of power to drive a 2x12 and probably a 4x12 but you might want the XLS 1502 for 16 Ohm cabs. You would need to purchase Speakon to 1/4 inch adapters because there are no 1/4 inch outs.
Something like these should work:
I also love the fact that you can turn off all the lights (even though I keep leaving the damn thing overnight) and it just does it's thing. This is a fantastic sounding, clean, lightweight, powerful and silent power amp. Highly recommend!
Now I just need to get a new desk.
Some other online reviews of this amp. It's a pretty strong performer, considering the price.
Crown XLS1002 Pro Amplifier Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Crown XLS 1002 rack mounted pro amplifier. It was kindly purchased new by a member and drop shipped to me. The 1002 costs US $339 including Prime shipping from Amazon. Note: our company, Madrona Digital, is a dealer for Harman and hence Crown...
www.audiosciencereview.com
Crown XLS1002 Amplifier Teardown
I recently reviewed the Crown XLS1002 Amplifier. This is a teardown of the same. Let's get right into it with the overview shot: A single board contains the entire guts of the machine, sans the front panel display. Using one board lowers labor cost and increases reliability due to...
www.audiosciencereview.com
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