# WHICH AMP??



## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

Hello,
I'm expanding to add two more speakers (Ascends 340SE's) to my current Ascends setup and I would like to get an outboard stereo amp to take some load off the Onkyo 709. I've been looking at the EMO XA-100 ($215) Onkyo M-282 ($199) and the Crown XLS 1000 ($255), power ratings EMO 60, Onkyo 100 and Crown 215 watts RMS into 8 Ohms. I am familiar with EMO but not so with the Crown or Onkyo. The reviews are very good for all three with the edge to Crown. I realize the Crown is class D Pro Audio and I need to buy additional cables to use with the 709, 1/4 to RCA or XLR to RCA, I know a lot of people using pro audio gear in their HT's. I would appreciate some thoughts on these choices, I realize this is no major purchase and anyone of these amps would fill the bill but would like to hear from anyone who might be using any of these amps. Thanks for the time.
Cheers Jeff


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## jackfish (Dec 27, 2006)

The Crown XLS 1000 Drivecore amp has RCA inputs, no RCA to XLR adapters necessary.

http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/xls_drivecore_panels.htm


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

jackfish said:


> The Crown XLS 1000 Drivecore amp has RCA inputs, no RCA to XLR adapters necessary.
> 
> http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/xls_drivecore_panels.htm


Thanks Jack, I did not know that as the sales rep from zzsounds suggested that I use either of the cables I mentioned, I too looked at the rear panel and thought I saw RCA inputs as well. What's you take on this amp? It weighs in at under twelve pounds and has received stellar reviews in it's price class. I can't imagine an amp of this size can output 215 watts RMS.
Cheers


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

I just looked again at rear of 1000 and now do not see RCA inputs? Maybe I'm missing this.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

On the right hand side, two white RCA inputs stacked between the XLR's. There are also two black RCA outputs.


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

nova said:


> On the right hand side, two white RCA inputs stacked between the XLR's. There are also two black RCA outputs.


Thanks Nova, I see them now...


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## jackfish (Dec 27, 2006)

They are small amps because of the switching power supply. I don't see why one wouldn't perform admirably in a front speaker home theater application. I've heard they really have to be driven hard into low impedances for the fans to activate, so probably no need to replace the fan with quieter a one.


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## jackfish (Dec 27, 2006)

The black jacks are not RCA jacks. The outer most black jacks are ¼-inch input connectors that can also be used to loop-thru the input signal to additional amplifiers.


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

I believe on the Crown amps the fan is varible speed so should it kick in you may not even hear it.:T


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## MikeBiker (Jan 3, 2010)

The manual for the Crown XLS series says that there are RCA inputs


> Connect Left/Right signal source to Channel 1 and Channel 2 using either
> the XLR, ¼ Inch, or RCA connectors.


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

jackfish said:


> The black jacks are not RCA jacks. The outer most black jacks are ¼-inch input connectors that can also be used to loop-thru the input signal to additional amplifiers.


Thanks Jack, good to know


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

bambino said:


> I believe on the Crown amps the fan is varible speed so should it kick in you may not even hear it.:T


bam, I was told that they are very quiet and run cool unless pushed hard. It seems to all here that is the amp I should go with, any thoughts on the Onkyo M-282 paired with the Onk 709?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

You should also look at Samson, they make great amps. The "servo" line uses a toroidal power supply.
The Samson servo 600 is a fantastic amp for the money and has both RCA (unbalanced) and 1/4" (balanced) inputs.


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

MikeBiker said:


> The manual for the Crown XLS series says that there are RCA inputs


Thanks Mike, I'm really undecided at this point, I'm ready to pull the trigger on the Onkyo 709 and Onkyo M-282 from Amazon for $709 delivered for both. The 709 by itself will be $535 from Amazon and the XLS 1000 will be $260, so do I go for the $795 or $709?
Cheers Jeff


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

tonyvdb said:


> You should also look at Samson, they make great amps. The "servo" line uses a toroidal power supply.
> The Samson servo 600 is a fantastic amp for the money and has both RCA (unbalanced) and 1/4" (balanced) inputs.


Tony, the 600 looks very impressive, I have an email I'm waiting for from zz sounds for a price quote. I'm still considering the Onkyo M-282, any thoughts?
Cheers Jeff


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

The Onkyo would be fine as well, Im using the 600 and have had no issues, The fan dose run all the time on low and ramps up if needed but I dont hear it once the movie is running.


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

tonyvdb said:


> The Onkyo would be fine as well, Im using the 600 and have had no issues, The fan dose run all the time on low and ramps up if needed but I dont hear it once the movie is running.


Thanks Tony, I think I will go with the 709 and M-282, I think they would complement each other in my setup. Thanks again for your input.
Jeff


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## jackfish (Dec 27, 2006)

What are you trying to achieve? The Onkyo M-282 is likely to give you little, if any, advantage over the internal amp of the Onkyo TX-NR709.


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

jackfish said:


> What are you trying to achieve? The Onkyo M-282 is likely to give you little, if any, advantage over the internal amp of the Onkyo TX-NR709.


Jack, I'm not trying to really achieve anything, I just like having the extra headroom an enternal amp may provide, and I may setup additional speakers in my rig, I just like the idea of having an amp or two around, plus I ordered the M-282 with the 709 today and got a real good price with the combo plus 12 months free financing, I really don't need it (282) just wanted it. I have to find some use for the Onkyo TX-SR702 which is mint and working flawlessly.


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

needspeed52 said:


> bam, I was told that they are very quiet and run cool unless pushed hard. It seems to all here that is the amp I should go with, any thoughts on the Onkyo M-282 paired with the Onk 709?


I think you'll enjoy the sound you get from the Crowns and yes the fans are quiet. Alot of folks run pro amps for there mains and are quite happy as far as Onkyo goes i believe you would enjoy them also but they may run a for a few more dollers then the pros.:T


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## needspeed52 (Aug 2, 2008)

bambino said:


> I think you'll enjoy the sound you get from the Crowns and yes the fans are quiet. Alot of folks run pro amps for there mains and are quite happy as far as Onkyo goes i believe you would enjoy them also but they may run a for a few more dollers then the pros.:T


Thanks Bam for the reply, I decided to go with the all Onkyo components, 709 and M-282, I really don't need the amp, couldn't pass it up, thanks again my friend.
Jeff


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