Narrowing it down: used Crown DC-300A-2 vs. new Hafler TA-1600

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cliff K
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Cliff K

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Hi folks,
I'm narrowing down my power amp choices, and the information I've gotten from this board has been extremely helpful. I'm now down to seriously considering two amps that will work with my budget:
1) A new Hafler TA-1600
2) A used Crown DC-300A-2

I like the Hafler as it will be loud enough for my immediate needs as powering near filed monitors in a small home studio, it's relatively small, and it's new.

I like the Crown because it's got mucho power, and soon I'll be putting together a stereo synth/guitar rig for live use, and I think the Crown will be powerful enough to drive it (I think the Hafler TA-1600 may be a bit underpowered for that application), so the Crown could do double duty for me, or later be switched out for live use. I like it because of its long standing reputation as being such a workhorse amp, and the mojo of a classic amp.

My reservations about the Crown are that it's old and may require some work or maintenance that I'm not aware of right now, and also I've heard a few times that while the Crown is a great live sound reinforcement amp, it's not that great an amp for driving studio monitors. So, does anyone use the Crown DC-300A-2 for driving studio monitors? How do you like it? Is it true that it's really a live sound reinforcement amp, and not a studio monitor amp, or is that a false rumor?

Overall, given the choice between a used Crown DC-300A-2 and a new Hafler TA-1600, which one would you go for, and why?

I know I've been posting similar questions along these lines a couple of time: I don't mean to be saturating the board with my questions, it's just that I'm finally narrowing down my choices and this group has been extremely helpful.

Thanks,
Cliff
 
Think about it this way...when you need the live poweramp sometime in the future, you'll have to buy a poweramp regardless, unless you plan to stop mixing.

So, I would say: pick one :)

I think RE has recommended both of these amps and I certainly value his opinion. I can personally recommend the TA-1600.

If it were me, I'd go with a used TA-1600 at about $150. At that price it's hard to lose.

Old amps can be great, but those components in there don't last forever. If you're not willing to take the amp to or don't have access to a repair shop (that understands audio) then you are taking your chances.

I'm willing to bet that the resale value on both amps in the years to come will not drop much if any....unless the amp starts developing problems. That's another thing to take into consideration - making the "wrong" choice doesn't mean that you've thrown money down the toilet.

Slackmaster 2000
 
So the price difference between a used crown and a used TA-1600 is considerable.

I bought my TA-1600 used...it's a freakin tank. I wouldn't be leary of trying to find a used one in good shape instead of a new one.

Slackmaster 2000
 
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030625112713068011240156641193/g=rec/search/d=tp?q=TA1600

MF has the TA1600 for $179......bring that to GC and im sure theyll hook you up even lower.......

The TA series are nice amps....i have the TA110o and i have to bring it up a notch or 2 more than the 1600, but it still sounds great......when i bought it it was $199 and the 1600 was $299:mad: muthafuckas.......:D

if ya get it for $150, you still have $100 already to start saving for your live rig.....i wouldnt make the Hafler pull double duty though......dig up a cheap Peavey for that:eek:
 
Thanks for the input....those are pretty good reasons to go with the Hafler. Would anyone go for the Crown?
 
If you don't get an answer, send a PM to Recording Engineer.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Get the Crown if you are into collecting/restoring old amps.

Get the Hafler if you just want something clean and quiet and:
(like slack said: built like a tank).

BTW: with a rowdy PA amp You will have to have some sort of device to bring it into the realm of your monitors. :)

The TA 1600 is already there.
 
I would get an amp designed for its task. Dont expect an amp to be good for both studio monitoring and live sound / PA tasks.

If you are going for a hafler then I would recommend a rotel RA-01 or RA-02 integrated amp instead (RA02 has a remote otherwise is identical). Its nearly as powerful as the hafler ta-1600 and I believe is a more accurate and transparent amplifier. The measured power of the Rotel RA-02 is 81w into 4 ohms and 59w into 8 ohms (1khz @ 0.5% THD).

The rotel would also provide you with a (semi) decent volume control, the ability to switch between two sets of speakers and mute the speakers, an additional headphone output and some routing options with the tape outs/record selector (and a phono preamp if you ever want to connect a turntable).

The best thing would be to get both amps home on trial and compare them side by side with your speakers. My experience is that budget 'pro' amplifiers trade off sound quality for ruggedness and reliability. In a home recording situation, ruggedness is not an issue as you arent running these amps 24/7 in a hostile environment.

A previous discussion can be found here
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=86999&highlight=rotel
 
Cliff K said:
Thanks for the input....those are pretty good reasons to go with the Hafler. Would anyone go for the Crown?
Click to expand...

Crown used to be the industry standard (like Neumann). But, they did tend to blow up more than occasionally. Great power amp but maybe better left in the past.
 
alfalfa said:
If you are going for a hafler then I would recommend a rotel RA-01 or RA-02 integrated amp instead (RA02 has a remote otherwise is identical). Its nearly as powerful as the hafler ta-1600 and I believe is a more accurate and transparent amplifier. The measured power of the Rotel RA-02 is 81w into 4 ohms and 59w into 8 ohms (1khz @ 0.5% THD).
Click to expand...

That sounds like an interesting alternative, might offer some nice flexablity in a home studio. These look like nice amps. What this price on these, who seels them in the US?

Thanks,
Cliff
 
For a guitar/synth amp, you're gonna need something with an extensive powerband.Theres a lot of frequencies in those synth sounds and reproducing them at any kind of volume with any kind of efficiency is gonna require a real amp. The Crown will deliver all the frequencies at all of its volume continuosly for many many days at a time.Thats continuous program.And @8ohms per side thats around 155 watts conservatively rated. The hafler is a very clear and robust amp also and will fullfill your live needs admirably.I think its okay for studio monitors too.Okay.The Rotel is a much more detailed amp than the Hafler.Just not as much power.Crowns were meant to run full out at their specified loads and also at unbalanced impedances for years at a time.The only way I've ever blown up a Crown, was when there was a lightning strike near the studio and it got into the grounding and looped back to the power amp rack.Took out a 300a and a DC150 series two and a couple of nearfields.
 
Cliff, I am not sure if I was clear in my original post but the rotel is not appropriate for live/PA/guitar amp use. I would also argue that the hafler isnt either given the similar power rating.

Info on dealers at www.rotel.com
 
alfalfa said:
Cliff, I am not sure if I was clear in my original post but the rotel is not appropriate for live/PA/guitar amp use. I would also argue that the hafler isnt either given the similar power rating.

Info on dealers at www.rotel.com
Click to expand...

Hey alfalfa, yea, I know you meant it as a studio monitor amp consideration.
Thanks for the link.

Cliff
 
I thought very long and hard about buying a Crown DC300A as well. The rev 2's don't blow up like the initial ones did. A DC300A is a good amp that can push seriously low impedances. A DC300A also has an _amazingly_ flat freq response. The low end should be good because it's not run by a bunch of opamps turning on and off a zillion times a second. I think that a DC300A would make a great clean amp for running studio monitors off of.

However, I got these huge speakers from infinity (QLS1's) and they take alot of juice. Like 500 watts/4ohms. So I ended up getting a Halfer DH500 (375 ebay) which is an old amplifier with really good specs. The stereo imaging is better and the specs rival a Crown DC300A(rev2). The crowns are great amps but the Halfer is awesome.

The thing with it is there is no volume pot or balanced ins/outs. Just 55 pounds of whoopass.

If you do get the crown you can still get them fixed and the guys at the local pro audio shop here still seem pretty enamored by them.
 
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