Nobsound Tube Pre-Amp+Crown XLS-1500 Digital Amp

HiFiJeff

Super Member
I am really trying to figure out how to power my high efficiency Tekton speakers. On a budget of course. There are so many options out there. I really had my heart set on a Decware set amp. Pun intended. The SE84 Super Zen Triode. But have been reading a lot about the Crown XLS amplifiers and a tube pre-amp to go along with it. Looks like a real winner. What do you guys think?

http://www.amazon.com/Crown-DriveCo...qid=1433968617&sr=8-1&keywords=crown+xls+1500

http://www.amazon.com/Nobsound®-Pre...=UTF8&qid=1433970264&sr=1-5&keywords=nobsound
 
If you're looking at the excellent Decware your amp budget must be around a grand. Correct?

If so you have better tube amp options than the Crown which is a fine pro amp but can't say it's audiophile quality nor is it intended for home audio full range HE speakers.

I'm anxious to buy a Crown XLS to drive my DIY subs.
 
I think it's hard to say the Crown isn't intended for use with high sensitivity speakers when many, perhaps most, SR/pro audio speakers are high sensitivity.

How it all works together I can't say. If there is 30-day return or something like that in case you don't like it what's the harm in trying besides a little return shipping?

Don't know about that tube pre but even if you chose to sell the Crown you'd likely get most of your money back on that.
 
If you're looking at the excellent Decware your amp budget must be around a grand. Correct?

If so you have better tube amp options than the Crown which is a fine pro amp but can't say it's audiophile quality nor is it intended for home audio full range HE speakers.

I'm anxious to buy a Crown XLS to drive my DIY subs.

Andrew Robinson is using it to drive his HE Tekton Pendragon's and raves about it. At about page 6 is where he is talking about the the 1500 series and up.


http://www.hometheaterequipment.com...vecore-series-amplifier-official-thread-1319/
 
Here's a article explaining why flea watt SET amps and HE full range speakers with minimal crossovers or no crossovers work so well together. It's nothing new as anyone who has owned the combination will say the same.

http://www.decware.com/paper43.htm

Check out Audio Circle as there are entire forums devoted to flea watt amps and HE full range drivers. The Bottlehead forum also offers good information on this topic.
 
I think it's hard to say the Crown isn't intended for use with high sensitivity speakers when many, perhaps most, SR/pro audio speakers are high sensitivity.

How it all works together I can't say. If there is 30-day return or something like that in case you don't like it what's the harm in trying besides a little return shipping?

Don't know about that tube pre but even if you chose to sell the Crown you'd likely get most of your money back on that.

That would be "home audio" HE full range speakers such as Tekton, Omega, Zu, HS Horns, Lowther, etc. which are not the same as pro audio HE speakers but surely you know that.
 
That would be "home audio" HE full range speakers such as Tekton, Omega, Zu, HS Horns, Lowther, etc. which are not the same as pro audio HE speakers but surely you know that.

Yeah, I know of differences of course. Not sure why a pro amp would be excluded though, other than maybe too much power...if one believes there is such a thing as having too much power on hand.
 
I don't know how tube pre would work with the crown. Never used one. I only used passive volume controllers and active pres/mixers with my crowns. I used my xls 2500 on my large reworked altecs which I love and it is very sensitive at I believe 101db@1w but has power handling of 200 watts and never thought my xls 2500 was any less hi-fi for full range use as any my other amps in the past.

I wouldn't call it digital amp either since it still uses parts like output transistors and a power supply. The Texas instrument chip is only made for tracking the output voltages and for the crossovers.

The xls are well designed amps and will not fail so easily cause I pushed my crown beyond clipping point for long periods and it never shut down and stays nice and cool.

I love my xls and it impressed me more then I thought it would. it's a solid amp.
 
I wouldn't call it digital amp either since it still uses parts like output transistors and a power supply. The Texas instrument chip is only made for tracking the output voltages and for the crossovers.

It is a switching amp (aka "digital" amp). The type of power supply is irrespective of the way it amplifies a signal. Yes, they use output transistors but they are switched fully "on" or fully "off" rapidly, varying the on to off ratio/time domain to control the output.

Whereas, conventional output control is basically voltage/amplitude control.

Both use transistors, but in quite different ways.
 
Even over something from Decware?

It would be a step up from the excellent SE84. FWIW in 6moons' review of the original Miniwatt/APPJ it was said to remind them of that entry level Decware.

The 2a3 is a direct heated tube and the favorite triode among many SET owners. It's got almost twice the power which is not that big of a deal with the 98 db Lores. In Asia the 2a3 is referred to as the "Queen of Tubes" and is known for it's refinement, detail and finesse.

If Decware offered a 2a3 amp it would probably cost more than double the price of the SE84.

Raphaelite Sinovt who makes this amp is a major producer of high quality transformers which are sold all over the world. Many folks will tell you a good tube amp is only as good as it's transformers. If you notice this amp has no cover hiding tiny transformers. They're exposed and of impressive size.
 
It would be a step up from the excellent SE84. FWIW in 6moons' review of the original Miniwatt/APPJ it was said to remind them of that entry level Decware.

The 2a3 is a direct heated tube and the favorite triode among many SET owners. It's got almost twice the power which is not that big of a deal with the 98 db Lores. In Asia the 2a3 is referred to as the "Queen of Tubes" and is known for it's refinement, detail and finesse.

If Decware offered a 2a3 amp it would probably cost more than double the price of the SE84.

Raphaelite Sinovt who makes this amp is a major producer of high quality transformers which are sold all over the world. Many folks will tell you a good tube amp is only as good as it's transformers. If you notice this amp has no cover hiding tiny transformers. They're exposed and of impressive size.

So this is one of the best 2a3 SET's available at this price? Is there anything I need to do with it? Replace the tubes? Is it self biasing? I want to keep it simple for my first journey into tube amps. Oh and the Miniwatt is as good as the Super Zen Decware???
 
If so you have better tube amp options than the Crown which is a fine pro amp but can't say it's audiophile quality nor is it intended for home audio full range HE speakers.

Not to be rude but I think this is a pile of bunk.

I have some speakers that might be considered high sensativity, they are all horn.

I have used:

McIntosh MC-30 monoblocks
McIntosh MC-2102
Wright 2A3 SET monoblocks
Viva 300B SET
Transcendent SE-OTL monoblocks
Quad II monoblocks
Jolida 502 (I forget the actual model number)

Most of those are at least decent amps.

Today, I am using a pair of Crown K2's and don't feel that I'm losing anything. Now, are there differences between the above amps? Sure there are but, in my experience, the difference is miniscule when you are listening to them within their respective ranges.

My Crowns play dead silent (thank you gain control and convection cooling) and if I want to step things up, they will rise to the occasion with hardly breaking a sweat.

I am using a tube preamp though.

I often think people can perhaps get closer to where they want to go by revisiting their speaker choice first and worry about the amp later.
 
So this is one of the best 2a3 SET's available at this price? Is there anything I need to do with it? Replace the tubes? Is it self biasing? I want to keep it simple for my first journey into tube amps. Oh and the Miniwatt is as good as the Super Zen Decware???

It has the build quality, hand wired point to point and with good iron which many Chinese amps can't claim. I would expect it to trump my Dared 2a3c and sound as good or better than my Bottlehead 2a3 mono blocks.

The small Chinese preamp tubes usually aren't very good so they'll probably need to be replaced. If it comes with 2a3 Shuguang power tubes I'd keep them as they're very good. All SETs I've seen require no bias adjustment. The nice thing about Amazon is they have a great return policy if you aren't satisfied.

I didn't say the MW was as good as the Decware only that the reviewer said it reminded him of the Decware.
 
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Do you have the original 4 tube S1 SET which won 6moons Realization Award or the 3 tube N3 SEP?

To quote Srajan in the review below: "The Miniwatt reminds me of the crystalline, fast as a whip lit up EL84 Decware sound."

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/miniwatt/miniwatt.html

Hi Poultrygeist. It's the original with the upgraded tubes that you recommended. One thing to consider is that the Zen amp that Srajan was comparing it to has gone through upgrades and improvements since then.
 
Hi Poultrygeist. It's the original with the upgraded tubes that you recommended. One thing to consider is that the Zen amp that Srajan was comparing it to has gone through upgrades and improvements since then.

That's true and my MW has the diode mod which made a difference. The S1 comes off a little thin compared to the lush sounding 2a3's.
 
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