Crown XLS 2000 Power Amplifier (2100 Watts)

Weighing only 11 pounds, the Crown XLS 2000 power amplifier puts out 2100 watts -- and with this amp's built-in line conditioner, dirty AC is no problem.

Overall User Ratings (based on 9 ratings)
  • Overall:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Sound:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Features:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Ease of Use:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Quality:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Value:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Manufacturer Support:
    4 out of 5 stars
  • The Wow Factor:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(9) (see rating details)
Submitted February 10, 2013 by Brad S in West Palm Beach, FL

"THE MOST AMAZING, SENSATIONAL POWER AMP I'VE HEARD!!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I've been an audiophile since I first listened to my Dad's Fisher tube amplifier and Bozak speaker (about the size of the Altec Lancing voice of the theater). In short the early 60's. I still go to High End appointment only stores and audition ridiculously expensive equipment amps etc. You get the idea. All I can say is, I have never ever heard any amp that sounds this good, certainly not for very conservatively ten times the price or more. The sound difference is just profound. I'm running two CROWN XLS 2000'S right now in bridged mode yielding about 1650 watts RMS @ 6 OHMS EACH into Newform Research R-45s along with a HSU subwoofer which plays 16 HZ effortlessly. I may add some TEKTON speakers some day. This ain't your Dad's Class AB amp, Class A amp, or Tube Amp. This is better. I discovered this Crown Drivecore series amp from the managing editor of home theater review. They have now become his reference amps for good reason. He has a blog on a forum I don't think they will let me link here, called the Crown XLS Drivecore the official thread. He also has under his name Andrew Robinson a review of it. So aside from the "Blow your mind" sound what else is so good about this Crown XLS 2000? Here's what... It has it's own built in line conditioner, yes that's right this bad boy is designed from the ground up to handle bad and variable quality electrical power. It has its own DIGITAL crossover built in should you choose to use it if you can bi-amp your speakers. It runs as a stereo power amp as well. And after you hear this baby for a little while you will want to save up and get another one and then run them as dual mono-blocks. Does even more ridiculously higher wattage sound even better? YES. How can that be? Perhaps its just the wattage grabs hold of the speakers and never lets go. Who knows? All I know is I have NEVER had this kind of power to play with before. These amps never get more than a few degrees above ambient temperature either. Amazing. Crown claims they are 98% efficient and that's how. How come amps of this magnitude are so cheap? One reason is they have lost about 500 parts in making these compared to Class AB. How easy is it to configure this amp? Very, all settings are made by the buttons on the front below the LCD screen. How clear are the directions in the manual? Very, only a few pages for the whole manual. Go to Crown usa and check it out. Several Crown employees use these in Home Theater applications and/or home audio applications. Which model do they ALL use? This one. They said the two lower models are more stripped down and this one the 2000 or the 2500 should be chosen. How is their tech support? Excellent! I got in under a minute each time. These are built for pro use under often very demanding conditions and take a "lickin' and keep on tickin!" I read the transferable warranty to cover almost everything unless you drop it in a lake or throw it off a roof and is transferable and lasts 3 years under PRO use. You should definitely pull the trigger on this one. But first you must be made aware of the differences between the world of pro audio & home audio. Pro audio equipment uses somewhat higher preamplifier voltage than SOME home stuff. Crown states the input voltage should be 1.4 VOLTS minimum, my preamp puts out 1.0 volts for example, and yes that DOES make a difference. Does it work? Yes just fine but I've got to turn my preamp volume control up to 3PM with a volume control range of 8AM to 5PM just before audible distortion. That helps a lot but you won't be able to blast out an auditorium for example like you could with the specified input voltages. I'm looking into a very basic gain control to deliver the specified voltage. After much searching I have found a simple elegant solution. HTD or home theater direct, has a "line level gain booster" which you can find from THEIR search box. It has the ability to reduce or increase line level (preamplifier) gain up to 12 DB. It is made in Taiwan, with quality similar to Japan. After 48 hours break-in, it adds no noise, nor does it introduce any sonic problems of its own. This little device solves any gain problem anyone might have thereby allowing ANY home theater or audiophile enthusiast to enjoy this incredible pro-audio amplifier. A musician friend of mine just told me about a similar one which uses a single 12AX7 tube per channel and loves it. We'll see. The banana plug receptacles come plugged with a plastic insert which need to be pulled out. The easiest way to do this is to insert a screw into them just enough to grip them and pull them out by hand and they pop out easily. For audiophile purposes you should set the gain controls to 12:00 noon to plus 1 click MAXIMUM. Finally like most fine audio equipment you need to break it in for 72 TO 96 hours before it gets sweeter. You should run it 24/7 even at barely audible volume at night when sleeping. What's the bummer? It only comes with a 3ft power cord so you may need a 15 amp 3 prong extension cord Go ahead and pull the trigger on this one and grin from ear to ear. That's what I'm doing. And yes these are now my reference amps and I'm done looking. I could NEVER get rid of these things

Musical Background:

AUDIOPHILE

Musical Style:

i own two for bi-amping with electronic crossover.
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Submitted February 5, 2012 by Robert H

"Crown XLS 2000 Power Amp"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This is a great power amp for the price. It’s made in overseas but the quality appears to be top notch. It’s light weight and has a nice shallow depth so it fits perfect in a SKB shallow rack case. The amp is packed with a lot’s of features. The manual is not inclusive of everything this amp can do which is strange. I had to e-mail the company a few times through their customer support and I got an answer back within 1 day or sooner. Customer support is in the USA by the way and they know the products inside and out. I’m very impressed with Crown’s customer service. I’ve used the amp at a few gigs so far and it has performed great. Lots of head room with the 2000 model. I had the 1500 model at first but I sent it back because I wanted more head room. The 2000 model does it. If you are buying one of these amps spend the extra money and get the 2000 model. The only negative is it doesn’t have the combo Speakon ¼ output jacks for speakers. It just has the Speakon, RCA, and bare wire connectors outputs. Speakon is kind of the industry standard these days but the ¼ combo jacks are nice in case you are in a situation where you need to connect a speaker using a ¼ jack. I purchased a Speakon ¼ adaptor that I carry around with the amp just in case so problem solved but I can’t imagine it would have cost that much more to build it with the combo jacks. Other than that issue I really would not change a thing with the amp. If you want a super light weight and powerful amp head this is it.

Musical Background:

Been playing in bands for over 15 years. Play paying gigs almost every week-end all year.

Musical Style:

Rockabilly, Honky Tonk, Surk
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Submitted July 28, 2014 by Blair Gregson in Newcomb, NY

"One pleased musician "

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I purchased this resealed Crown 2100 amp and am very happy with all its features and sound and lightness as it weighs about 11lbs. I also purchased a new Crown 2500 when they were delivered to my door in less than 24 hrs I was amazed Both came totally sealed in identicle packages and when I looked inside you can't tell the new one from the resealed one they both were flawless and un tuoched

Musical Background:

Been playing since 1969 I play guitar and harmonica and sing

Musical Style:

What was once called country rock as well as our own music
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Submitted March 4, 2015 by Michael P in Henderson, NV

"Great Buy!!"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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First, let me thank zZounds for doing what they do best which is putting great prices, selection and shipping on all things related to performing, producing, presenting and enjoying great music!! I bought this amp to power my CVP-2153's and does the job well enough for home entertainment. It is very quiet and I read in some other reviews that a small hiss is audible when no music is playing. I didn't notice any hiss on mine, it might be because I only connect mine to my PC directly through 1/4 TRS (14 gauge HOSA). Anyway I also don't hear the fan at all either, it does come on at a very low RPM. The temperature of the air out the back is still cool though. I use the HOSA 14 gauge speakon cables to connect the 2153's and I get great highs, mids and bass. When cranked I still get clean sound. I might try getting another xls2000 and run them in mono to get full potential out. Right now I get great sound out of one xls and I don't need a lot of SPL in my bedroom. It is very light and small compared to my old pioneer amp and has a lot of blue lights on the outside and inside! I had to by little rubber feet over at Lowes because it has none. I don't have a rack to mount it in but the rubber feet work just great. The manual is a bit on the thin side but I didn't need it since the menu system is quite easy to navigate. I am very happy and surprised I can get great sound out of such a small lite box with no hiss!!

Musical Background:

Play at home

Musical Style:

everything
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Submitted April 4, 2014 by Michael Williams in Bedford, VA

"Great light-weight amp with built in crossover, but high noise-floor"

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This was purchased to replace a Mackie M1400i for my subs. The XLS2000 is less than 1/3 the weight of the M1400i and slightly more power. It also has the DSP allowing the amp to do the crossover function (eliminating a separate crossover). HOWEVER, the idle noise-floor of the amp is higher. As soon as you power it up (with the gain at its lowest setting and no inputs connected) the speakers hiss from the amp's noisy components is more noticeable than the M1400i. I measured 7 dBA higher than the M1400i's idle noise-floor while connected to a JBL JRX115. If you are using this with a sub (as is my case) the noise-floor is not noticeable and a non-issue. The DSP configuration is very intuitive and easy to set. There is no way to lock it however, which may or may not be an issue depending on your setup.

Musical Background:

Sound Reinforcement Engineering since 1982

Musical Style:

pop, southern gospel, folk, choral, praise & worship
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