Crown 3, 2 manual Minimum Power Specifications, Power Base-1 Minimum Guaranteed Power Watts

Power Base Series Power Amplifiers

Crown specifications are guaranteed for three years.

In an effort to provide you with as much information as possible about the high power-producing capabilities of your amplifier, we have created the following power matrices.

Minimum Power Specifications

Crown’s minimum power specifications represent the absolute smallest amount of output power you can expect from your amplifier when it is driven to full output under the given conditions. Some spaces in each matrix may be left blank because the same guarantee is not provided for those conditions—however, your amplifier will perform well under all conditions listed in each matrix.

When measuring power, 0.1% THD appears to be the industry standard for distortion. Two of the maximum average power specifications shown in each minimum power matrix are measured at 0.1% THD so you can easily compare Crown specifications to those of other manu- facturers. But this high level of distortion actually allows for some clipping which is undesirable. Because of this, a maximum average power spec at 0.05% THD is included in each minimum power matrix which represents non-clipped conditions. Although most manufacturers do not give you power specifications at 0.05% THD, we encourage them to provide these specifications so you will have a more realistic representation of the way amplifiers should be used in the real world—without a clipped output signal.

Many manufacturers publish power specs with a tolerance of ±1 dB or worse. This means their amplifier can deviate more than 20% in output! A 100 watt amplifier would meet their specification if it only produced 79.4 watts. Other manufacturers qualify their specs by saying they are “typical,” “subject to manufacturing tolerances,” “single channel driven” or that they are specified with “fuses bypassed”. Each of these statements effectively removes any performance guarantee. In fact, some manufacturers use these tactics to generate large power numbers, and they don’t even print a disclaimer. We take a different approach at Crown—our amplifiers are guaranteed to meet or exceed their specifications for three years. Further, because our published specs are set below our “in-house” measurements, you can expect every Crown amplifier to exceed its published minimum power specs. We believe you should get what you pay for.

Minimum Power Notes:

All minimum power specifications are based on 0.1% regulated AC mains and an ambient room temperature of 70° F (21° C). A 100V, 50Hz model was used because of its higher current demand. The standard EIA power measurement (RS-490) is not identified here because it is identical to the FTC Continuous Average Power specification.

1.A 1 kHz sine wave is presented to the amplifier and the output monitored for nonlinear distortion. The level is increased until the THD reaches 0.1%. At this level the average power per channel is reported.

2.A sine wave is presented to the amplifier over the range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and the output monitored for nonlinear distortion. The level at each frequency is increased until the THD reaches 0.1%. At this level the average power per channel is reported.

3.A 1 kHz sine wave is presented to the amplifier and the output monitored for nonlinear distortion. The level is increased until the THD reaches 0.05%. At this level the average power per channel is reported.

4.Continuous power in the context of Federal Trade Commission testing is understood to be a minimum of five minutes of operation. Harmonic distortion is measured as the RMS sum total and given as a percentage of the fundamental output voltage. This applies for all wattages greater than 0.25 watts.

International Units 120 VAC, 60 Hz Units AC Mains

Power Base-1 – Minimum Guaranteed Power (Watts)

		(Ohms)	Maximum Average			FTC Continuous Average
Stereo-Mono			0.1% THD+N	0.1% THD+N	0.05% THD+N	0.1% THD + Noise
Mode		Load	(See note 1)	(See note 2)	(See note 3)	(See note 4)
			1 kHz	20Hz-20kHz	1 kHz	1 kHz	20Hz-20kHz
Stereo	4		240	175	235
(both channels
driven)	8		200	185	200	200	180
Bridge-Mono	8		455	360	455
(balanced output)	16		395	370	390	390	350
Parallel-Mono	2		455		445
	4		400		395	390
Stereo	4		230	165	225
(both channels	8			185		200	175
driven)			205		200
Bridge-Mono	8		465	355	455
(balanced output)	16		410	375	405	390	350
Parallel-Mono	2		440		430
	4		410		405	390

Fig. 4.1 Power Base-1 Minimum Power Matrix

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