New to Crown's Commercial Audio series is the 660A, a six-channel analogue amp designed for commercial and industrial audio applications such as paging, announcements and the provision of music in schools, hospitals, factories and restaurants. It has six inputs and six 60W outputs, so it can drive different types of speakers in different parts of a building or business. Four ohm outputs are available on all output channels, and channels 1 to 4 additionally offer constant-voltage outputs at 70V and 100V. Like other Crown Commercial Audio products, the 660A has its own circuit breakers and built-in protection against fault conditions like current and thermal overload.
Also getting their first showing in the UK are the recently launched XTi series of amps for portable PAs. There are three 2U models in the series, the XTi1000, XTi2000 and XTi4000, and they differ only in output power. The XTi1000 is capable of 500W per channel at 4 ohms, the XTi2000 can deliver 700W per channel at four ohms, and the XTi4000 is capable of 1200W per channel at four ohms. Built-in DSP functions are accessed via the front-panel LCD, including EQ (a six-band paragraphic per channel), filters, delay (up to 5ms, for signal/driver alignment), a sub-harmonic synthesizer, an anti-clipping output limiter, and 10 user presets, allowing instant recall of different settings for different venues or zones. Digital control is also possible via the rear-panel USB socket using Harman's proprietary HiQNet protocol. What's more, these are lightweight amps, weighing 8.4kg (18.5 pounds) each.
Similarly light in weight is the two-strong CDi (Contractor Digital Intelligence) range of power amps for installed-sound applications. Getting their first UK showing at this year's PLASA show, the two 2U models in the range are the CDi1000 and the CDi2000, which differ only in available output power and can drive either low-impedance or 70V loads. Onboard digital processing includes EQ (six parametric filters per channel), extensive high-pass, low-pass, Butterworth and Linkwitz-Riley filters (plus per-channel shelving filters), delay (up to 50ms in total) and an anti-clipping output limiter. There are also 20 user-definable presets, and HiQNet control is possible via the rear-panel USB connector. Finally, like all of the Crown products on show at PLASA, the models in the CDi range come with the company's three-year no-fault guarantee.
(Chris Henry)
