This amplifier is one of the very best I've ever heard. It's very unique in that it is not the least bit bright. Fact is, it's actually slightly dark, even compared to some very high end tube amps. Comparing to my extremely low distortion class A amplifier (less than .00024%) which is totally grain free, the Studio Reference 1 sounds even a little darker. Comparing to the Krell KSA-300S I had also owned, the Studio Reference 1 is more airy, warmer, and the bass is tighter, more prominent and powerful. The sound doesn't tend to shout easily as the volume is turned up. The volume can be turned up more so than on most other amplifiers before your ears would have enough. It is so warm there are times when it can bottom the speakers before it starts to sound loud. Very musical grain free amplifier.

Enough power for most folks including me, but not as much as "800WPC" would suggest. This amp does seem to be bullet proof though, as squeezing it more and more just turns the fan on / up. Crown has a great warranty, doesn't weigh 120 pounds like each Rowland did, and there is a LOCAL repair facility should anything ever go wrong.

Volts x Amps = Watts. The 800WPC rating is misleading! My "350WPC" Rowlands and the "300WPC" Krell have more power! As if you would ever need it! Not the best sounding SS amp in the world, but for $4,000 new retail, should it? The Rowlands retailed for $11,000 when new! They should sound better for that price. They just shouldn't blow up at that price! Don't expect to get all the power and sound quality it is capable of unless you feed it proper doses of AC from dedicated lines on big conductors. Don't just plug it into the included "cheater" plug and run it off of your houses romex!

After using and destroying amplifiers from Jeff Rowland (Model 7 monoblocks) and Krell (KSA-300s) I was frustrated, discusted and generally pretty sick of high-end amplifiers. Sure, the Rowlands were the best sounding amplifiers I have ever owned. Then one of them FAILED (burned up!) one night, and I traded them off as-is for a new Meridian 588 CD player. I brought home a Krell KSA-200s to see if the thing could satisfy me the way the Rowlands did. Well, the bass was good, with decent slam and weight, and the rest of the presentation was pretty good. I wasn't really suprised the mids and treble were darker sounding and somwhat more "etched" compared to the Rowlands. It just didn't have enough power to satisfy me, and boy, did it get hot! So, back to the store it went, and I brought it's bigger brother home, the KSA-300s. This one was better, more of the bass and power I expected from Krell, with wider and bigger dynamics. It didn't get nearly as hot driving load either. All of the other shortcomings in the '200s were evident here as well, but I was starting to forgive them for the things it was doing very well. I was thinking I might have found a keeper. Then one night, late into the wee hours, the thing went south! The breaker in the load center poped, and would continue to everytime the amp was turned on. I later came to find a MOV in the AC side of the power supply burned up. Luckily, the store I brought it home from was reasonable with the fact that "I broke that which could NOT be broken" Yeah, whatever. Now more discusted with "champagne and caviar" amplifiers than ever, I decided my needs may be too much for even the most battleship-built high-enders. The realm of pro-audio amps got my attention. I figured that if they can stand up to the riggors of road and studio use by drugged and drunken techs, maybe they will work and continue to work for me. I did some research into Crown's flagship series. Initially interested in getting an original Macro Reference, a knowlegeable and FRIENDLY product specialist at Crown told me that the new Studio Reference 1 amplifiers were exactly the same audio circuit, but that the meter section was new and supplied from another manufacturer. Apparently, the meter circuit in the original Macro Reference amps burned out after a few years. So, armed with a new sence of confidence in high powered SS amps, I called Audio Classics in New York and ordered a used Crown Studio Reference 1. Having multiple runs of 8 gauge copper from multiple breakers in my load center feeding multiple outlets in my room, accomodating the power hungry Crown wasn't too much of a problem. I just uprated a 20A breaker in the LS to a 30A one, and changed a 5-15 duplex outlet out for a single 30A one. Later, I purchased a 30A 240 VAC in, 260-0 VAC out variac frrom PowerStat, and now run everything off of 1 240 VAC line into the variac, which I step down to 120 VAC to feed all outlets. I have been using the Crown in "plain potatoes" stereo mode with balannow for about 7 months, and while it does NOT have the midrange clarity or sweetness that my Rowland's possesed, and doesn't quite have the same earthquake bass the '300s had, it is very good. Open clarity, speed, and versatility is the amps strongest points. Yes, it is a LITTLE bright, but not to the point of being an iritant. I like this amp, and despite not being the sweetest thing in the world, I am confident it will CONTINUE TO WORK. The high power rating in the Studio Reference 1 comes from having a high voltage B+ supply. The Rowlands I owned and the Krells I tried use a lower B+ voltage, but have enormous current capability. (each Rowland, rated at 350W into 8 ohms, has [6] 22,000 uF caps) The crown has a relativly small B+ supply, and claims it's whopping 800WPC due to it's high voltage. The crown is NOT as powerful as those Rowlands were, despite double the rating. More to the point, there is less headroom with the Crown.

Similar Products Used:

Stated above. Associated equipment: Custom Clamp Rack Custom power distrubution system feeding: Meridain 588 CD player, balanced out into Classe CP-60 Preamp, balanced out into The Crown

Very powerful. Rugged Build. Versatile input options.

Painfully hard and bright presntation. Very obtrusive loud cooling fan.

Although damaging my own chances of selling this amplifier I feel I must warn potential buyers. This amp is totally unsuitable for a domestic high-end audiophile system. The sound is over-bright and fatiguing with any combination of pre-amps or interconnects. This is a studio product which should not have been marketed for home use.
I used this amp with a Mark Levinson 26 pre-amp in balanced mode and direct feed from a Naim CDS player. Speakers use were ATC 20s and Wilson Audio Watt/Puppies.

Similar Products Used:

Sugden Class A Masterclass Power amp.

EVERYTHING IS GREAT WITH THIS AMP!! HAS EVERYTHING AND DOES EVERYTHING!

A LITTLE BRUTAL AT FIRST BUT AFTER A FEW MONTHS IT SOUNDS BROKEN IN AND VERY DELICATE!

BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT! FOR THE MONEY THERE IS NO WAY YOU WILL BE DISSAPPOINTED AT THE AMOUNT OF HEADROOM YOU HAVE DAMPING FACTOR IS GREAT S/N IS OUTRAGEOUS CHECK OUT THE SPECKS! AT THE WEBSITE OR DO THE SMART THING AND BUY THIS AMP!!!!!!! THERE IS NO BETTER DEAL FOR THGE CLARITY AND POWER RATING AT THIS PRICE ALONG WITH THE CLASSIC SOUND!!

YOU WILL BE HAPPY WITH THIS AMP
PLEASE EMAIL ME FOR ANY QUESTIONS!

RALPH!!

Similar Products Used:

ACCUPHASE(ALL) THRESHOLD,.KRELL,.CONRAD JOHNSON

GREAT UNCLIPPABLE POWER AT OVER 1,100 WATTS IN TO 4 OHM IN SYEREO,...RUGGED BUILD,..LOOKS ARE MODERN,..RELIABLE AS A MERCEDES-BENZ DIESEL!!!,..TO MANY TO LIST!!

IS ALMOST TO ACCURATE IN 24 BIT MUSIC REPRODUCTION IF YOU HAVE A BAD RECORDING ON CD OR LP THE AMP WILL LET YOU KNOW ABOUT IT AND THATS ABOUT THE ONLY FAULT I KNOW EXCEPT IT IS A LITTLE BRIGHT FOR THE MOST PART AND A NICE TUBE PREAMP IF AFFORDABLE CAN TONE THE AMP DOWN A LITTLE BIT.

I RECENTLY SOLD MY PREVIOUS AMPS WHICH WERE THE BRYSTON 7B'S FOR THE CROWN DONT GET ME WRONG IM EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH THE CROWN BUT IT IS A LITTLE IN YOUR FACE..IF YOU DONT MIND THAT THIS ONE SHOULD NOT BE PASSED UP BUY IT BUY IT!!! EXTREMELY GOOD LOWS AND GREAT CRYSTAL CLEAR HIGHS!! GREAT FEATURES LET YOU KNOW WHEN ANY DISTORTION GETS ABOVE .05..GREAT BALANCED OUTPUTS ACCEPTS BANANA PLUGS TO MUCH TO LIST!!

SPO IF YOU NEED A OUTRAGIOUS POWER AMP WITHOUT LIMITS THIS IS THE ONE FOR YOU THE BRYSTONS WERE A LITTLE EASIER ON THE EARS BUT FOR OVERALL RELIABILITY EVEN WITH THE 20 YEAR WARRANTY FROM BRYSTON IM VERY HAPPY WITH THE CROWN STUDIO REF. 1.!

OTHER PIECES USED,..B&K PRO 10 PRE AMP,..ACURUS ACD11 CD PLAYER PARASOUNDTUNER,...2 PAIRS POLK AUDIO LS-90 SPEAKERS OLDER PAIR CERWIN VEGA D-9'S OVERALL YTHIS SYSTEM CAN BE HEARD 3 BLOCKS AWAY AT MY FRIENDS HOUSE!! WITH OUT THE AMP GETTING TO WARM!! THE FAN IS NOT TO BAD AT BEING A BUMMER..BECAUSE IF THE AMP WILL BE DRIVEN FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME AT HIGH VOLUMES YOU WONT HEAR THE FAN ANYWAY AND AT LOW VOLUME WHEN COOL THE FAN SHUTS OFF!! IF YOU NEED A RELIABLE DEPENDABLE RUGGED HIGHPOWER SEPERATE AMPLIFIER I RECOMEND IT BUT IF YOU HAVE 20,000 TO POP FOR THE KRELL GO AHEAD BUT FOR THE MONEY THIS PIECE IS ABOUT AS GOOD AS YOU'LL GET FOR THE GREAT SPECS PLEASE SEE CROWNAUDIO.COM AND CHECK THE SPECS THERE AMAZING!!

Similar Products Used:

CARVIN DCM 2000,.....ONKYO M-504,...ACURUS,...KRELL 250

sound,headroom,looks,protection curcuits,power,clarity and more clarity even at high volumes

rough electrical bills at times,30 amp curcuit breaker needed which really sucks as i had to pay an electrician to come out and run new wires special for the amp which cost me 300 dollars

i would recomend this amp if you have the correct house wiring..if not youll need to do it your self or pay a pro like i did!! thats a big hassle as im concerned. but for the sound. im in heaven right now the sound is so effortless as with my other amps they would get extremely ghot and i had alot of problems with my other amps due to the heat problem..this amp has a built in fan which comes on and cools the amp down with vents in the front they must be cleaned once a year as i do not smoke in my house and the smoke makeds dust which gets into the filters of the amp!there are many features of the amp which is great..bal inputs and reg rca inputs high quality binding posts as well as a huge power cord. the wall outlet is supplied with the amp in thre box the spec sheet is also supplied with the amp and tested before it leaves the factory and those specs are in the box when you get it and the amp is pretty heavy! i recomend this amp to whoever wants mega power and clarity from a very well known name in the hifi industry, as well as being super dependable my dad has an old crown amp since he was in the navy many moons ago. there warranty though not that long is pretty good, also has a extendable 3 years to the already three year warranty.the amo will show definate problems with bad recordings as well in your cd player or turntable depending what the refcording is!
i try to get only remastered cds and use alot of grams on my turntable for max sound quality. im sure youll be more than happy with this amp whoever you are as i am super pleased with the sound quality and functionability!! so all you audiophiles out there give this piece a try and be open minded..not just" must be expensive to be good" well this piece wont break your account and might just put you in audio heaven..as i am my speakers are ariel 10t which i believe have a 3.2 ohm load to the amp and its rated to only 4 in stereo and has been trouble free for about a year now..i also called crown and talked to one of the tech guys and he said "no problem with the speakers as the amp is only rated to 4 ohm because for studios and audiophiles are rarely buying anything that moight say otherwise..but he assured me that this monster was very capable of the speakers im driving! so go out and charge your crredit card with one and see 4 yourself!!!

Similar Products Used:

plinius,krell,b&k,nad,

just about everything...sound,power the clarity is superb

havent found but one and thats the bright presentation but dissappears after about 6 months of average use and after that the sound is very warm

remarkable amp at any price unmatched power if you have the reserve to give it what it needs..bass,midrange,treble----ALL FLAWLESS--even at extremely high volume and not once have i had the protection coe on the fan is a bit noisy aut it does need cooling---but is not that loud

great amp,get one before i buy tghem all up

Similar Products Used:

conrad johnson 8a's, bryston 4b threshold 100 class a amp

.
everything about these amps is godly!!!!!! tons and tons of unmatched power will not clip on you at any volume..very clear highs and midrange is wonderful.,,,bass is oh my god,,, so fast and tight youll think your chest will cave in

lots of lights i could live without..needs a minimum(recomended) 30 or higher amp circuit breaker

like i said i have two of them running in parrellel mono to one pair of 802's per amp and the sound pressure levels get pretty damn loud..even for b&w standards..these babies have been us4ed for a couple years now and would put them up against ANY AUDIOPHILE AMP OUT THERE ""ANY AMP OUT THERE"

....AND IM SURE THESE BABIES WOULD SCHOOL ANY BNRAND NAME OF HIFI AMP IN THE WORLD...MAYBEE FOR THE EXCEPTION OF THE NEW KING OF BEASTS"KRELL MASTERCLASS POWER AMPS"!!

BUT THEY COST A WHOPPOING $120,000!!
SO IF YOU WANT SUPER CLARITY OF BOTH MID AND HIGHS WITH THUNDEROUS BASS!!! this amp is a total man among boys when it comes to the complete package..so if you have the 8000 or so or just want one of them to run in stereo i highly recomend these amps! as im sure your ears will thank you...""""""""""""""""" YOU BE THE JUDGE, BUY ONE AND BRING IT DOWN TO ANY HIFI SHOP NEAR YOU AND SAY YOU WANT A SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON WITH THERE SO CALLED BAD BOY AMP AND SIT BACK AS THE SALESMAN WILL TRY TO BS HIS WAY AROUNG IT BUT YOULL DEFINATELY KNOW WHICH IS THE MAN AND WHICH IS THE BOY! CROWN WILL PREVAIL..MY DEALER SAID THE CROWN WAS A SHOCKER TO HIM AND THAT FOR THE MONEY AND POWER COMBO ALONG WITH THE GREAT DETAIL OF SOUNDS THAT CAME OUT OF THE MAGNEPANS HE IS NOW A BELIEVER!!

ROCK ON!!

Similar Products Used:

none like this i recently brought one of these amps to my local dealer ( i have two of them and have them parrellel bridged to run two pair if b&w 802's) unbelievable!!!

everything...to much to list great power..extremely clean and effortless sound very r4evealing but isnt that an amplifier should do?!! great features ,balanced and unbalanced inputs...looks are great..i could write a book on this subject,..needs about 4 weeks burn in time to really sound good!..when i obtained this amp,..i hooked it up and let the source material play for 3 days straight at about 1/3 power continiously and then plugged in my speakers and was amazed at the transparency and airyness of this amp!
you can do better by having a better brand name but why pay for a name when the crown is one helluva a power amp!!

extremely accurate(isnt that what an amp should be) and honest(another thing an amp should be...right) a little bright at first but the burn time is a must for great sound as well..let the amp run for several days after youve firsr heard it right out of the box. there is a huge difference after the 3 day burn in.!!!

if your looking for an amp to knock your socks off this is it,. the fan is not a problem for me as when the spl is loud you wont hear it anyway. and it is computer controlled to only come on when the circuits detect the transistors are getting warm...that takes some beating on the amp to do this..sound is very nuetral as an amp should be ..bass is lightning fast.,...midrange is a little choppy at first but after time they sound not quite tube like but very clean and defined!!,,highs are superb as they can get from a solid state power amp and vocals are very airy. like your right in fromt of the singer. Hmmm....i really cant say enough about this amp please audition this next to any very high priced amps like krell,.levinson,.plinius,.mcintosh,.you'll be pretty damn sure which amp you'll buy. crown also makes these amps per order at there factory in indiana as well on demand so when you order one there made just for you,not mass made and sitting in the wherehouses waiting to be bought.in conclusion, if your looking for a great reliable high power amp that will last you a long time i guess this is the end of the road!

my system is pretty average for a woman and here it is

power amp....crown studio ref. 1
pre-amp...b&k pro 10 with phono section
cd player acurus acd 11
polk ls-90 speakers

Similar Products Used:

krell 350m mono blocks,...threshold 150 wpc,,...onkyo m-510 grand power amp,....bryston 14 b,..7b's

EXCELLENT DYNAMIC RANGE (DUE TO HIGH POWER).KILLER BASS CONTROL (DUE TO HIGH DAMPING FACTOR).NICE LOOKS AND CONSTRUCTION.

NONE IN MY OPINION.

MY AMP IS THE EARLIER MACROREFERENCE.THERE ARE SOME COSMETIC DIFFERENCES,HOWEVER IT IS THE SAME AMP AS THE STUDIO ONE.THE AMP WAS MADE IN 93,I BOUGHT IT USED IN 96.IT HAS BEEN IN MY MAIN SYSTEM EVER SINCE.I DRIVE THIS AMP WITH A CROWN STRAIGHT LINE ONE PREAMP(HAS NO TONE CONTROLS) INTO A PAIR OF KEF 104/2'S.THIS AMP IS VERY REVEALING,AND WILL SHOW ANY WEAKNESS IN YOUR SOURCE EQUIPMENT,AS WELL AS POOR RECORDINGS.I USE A THORENS TD 125 MK2 TABLE WITH A SME 3012 ARM/SHURE V15 COMBO INTO A CROWN DL2 PHONO PRE-PREAMP.WOW!GREAT SOUND !MY DIGITAL SOURCE IS A YAMAHA CDX 1120 RS(27 POUNDER !)AGAIN GREAT SOUND.BASS IS TIGHT AND CONTROLED, HIGHS ARE CRISP AND CLEAN.MIDS ,WHILE NOT TUBE LIKE,ARE VERY NEUTRAL AND SMOOTH.THIS AMP RECEIVED A CLASS "B" RATING FROM STEREOPHILE,AND WAS FAVORABLY REVIEWED IN THE NOW DEFUNCT "AUDIO" MAGAZINE.

Similar Products Used:

CROWN POWER LINE FOUR,CROWN DC300A/2,CROWN SXA TUBE AMP(1960),AND MANY OTHER CROWN AMPS.