Let's do it again!

[Vintage Pete]

Well gang....In my last thread I shared with you my acquisition of a Crown D-75A amp that I decided to purchase for use as a dedicated headphone amp.
My interest in this little amp, and the smaller Crown amps had been going for quite a while. My recent acquistion of a pristine DC-300A amp for my office
system got me looking into the smaller D-series amplifiers again, and I landed a super deal on a brand new in box D-75A:

http://www.audioaficionado.org/pre-a...crown-amp.html


I was highly impressed with the performance of this little amp. To sum it up, it sounds absolutely wonderful, and it fits in with my main system quite well. It also
fits with my long affection with this companies amplifiers, in particular the D-series amps.

When my D-75A arrived, I first tried it out temporarily with the DCrown system in my office, before installing it in my main system. Once that was done, and I
continued to immensely enjoy this amp, I kept thinking of how nicely the D-75A amp looked sitting on top of the DC-300A in the temporary setup, how good it
sounded in that setup, and the fact that that system really doesn't have an adequate headphone facility. The IC-150A preamp had a headphone jack, but it is
really lacking as it probably only uses a simple op amp IC and really has no power behind it. I really wanted to have a D-75A in this syetm as well, so I decided.....

Let's do it again!!

My second brand new D-75A arrived yesterday, and I immediately set about integrating it into my vintage Crown office system.


Here we go......let's get this bad little boy unboxed!
























Everything looks good....so let's get it set up!



Pete

[Vintage Pete]

I decided to run an extension cord from the front of the amplifier to a spot next to where I normally sit in the office, similar to the way I set things up
in the main system.




A couple of more close up shots:







As expected, this little amp is performing wonderfully, and I couldn't be happier.


Pete

[Vintage Pete]

As I said, I couldn't be happier with the sound of this amp with headphones. Even my humble Sennheiser HD580's sound terrific with this amp. Now I realize
there are a lot of headphone amps out there, designed specifically for headphones. But this amp fits in perfectly with my gear (especially in the office) and
sounds great. It also fits in perfectly with my background and affection for the products produced by this company. I agree with the comment Dan aka jdandy
made in my other thread, that he would like to see Crown start producing some more products aimed at the home enthusiast, such as say a 500 watt class AB
amp. Crown products today are mostly aimed at the pro market, which is a shame.

This little amp does not disappoint for a moderate power application. I am particularly impressed with the warmth and detail in the low end. It is very well controlled,
as one would expect with an amplifier with a rated damping factor of greater than 400. It also has a very low noise floor, and very low distortion.

Onnce again I know there are lots of nice headphone amps out there, and I've considered quite a few. The Bryston BHA-1 is certainly very nice, but doesn't fit very
well in my scheme of components. Then you have the extremely good price I got on thse amps. All things considered, I could not possibly have done better.


The amp goes perfectly with both systems....












Now I just need to upgrade the phones themselves....


Thanks for looking friends.....


Pete

[jdandy]

Pete.......That first Crown D-75A must have impressed the heck out of you. Now you're set for headphones in the living room and the office. Very cool. The Crowns are sweet looking amps, and compact enough to slip in almost anywhere. I'm pleased to see you playing with your sound systems again. Thanks for all the super photos, too. Pictures are good.

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Pete.......That first Crown D-75A must have impressed the heck out of you. Now you're set for headphones in the living room and the office. Very cool. The Crowns are sweet looking amps, and compact enough to slip in almost anywhere. I'm pleased to see you playing with your sound systems again. Thanks for all the super photos, too. Pictures are good.

Dan....you're right, the first amp did impress me quite a bit...and the second is doing the same. I am listening to the phones in the office as I type right now. They do indeed fit in almost anywhere, being only one rack unit high. And of course the D-75A matches the office system perfectly.

The sound is deep, spacious and clean. I love it. You do have to be careful, the D-75A is pretty powerful for headphone use. You can rattle your eardrums pretty easily!


pete

[jfray]

Pete,

This setup looks awesome! I bet it sounds incredible...... . Your room has been the inspiration for my search for a vintage receiver.

Sent from my iPad using A.Aficionado

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by jfray

Pete,

This setup looks awesome! I bet it sounds incredible...... . Your room has been the inspiration for my search for a vintage receiver.

Sent from my iPad using A.Aficionado

Josh....thank you my friend. It is really coming along pretty well, and it is sounding quite decent for a secondary setup. I have four systems total, and they all have vintage gear in them-some are totally vintage, while the living room system is rather a mix of vintage and (nearly) current. I like to mix some of the latest products in with proven, old-school concepts and products.

I'm thinking that I could almost stop here with the office system. However, thoughts of upgrading the subwoofer with say, a JL F110 keeps finding its way into my thoughts. That would be a pretty ambitious step, and my present budget won't allow it.

But I'm having a lot of fun at the moment just the same, and I was really just in the right place at the right time with these Crown D-75A amps.

Good luck in your quest for a vintage receiver....your thread on that had me salivating earlier today. I love all the vintage gear!


Pete

[jfray]

Originally Posted by Vintage Pete

Josh....thank you my friend. It is really coming along pretty well, and it is sounding quite decent for a secondary setup. I have four systems total, and they all have vintage gear in them-some are totally vintage, while the living room system is rather a mix of vintage and (nearly) current. I like to mix some of the latest products in with proven, old-school concepts and products.

I'm thinking that I could almost stop here with the office system. However, thoughts of upgrading the subwoofer with say, a JL F110 keeps finding its way into my thoughts. That would be a pretty ambitious step, and my present budget won't allow it.

But I'm having a lot of fun at the moment just the same, and I was really just in the right place at the right time with these Crown D-75A amps.

Good luck in your quest for a vintage receiver....your thread on that had me salivating earlier today. I love all the vintage gear!

Pete

Coming along pretty well INDEED! your system is beautiful and enjoy all the pics you posted.

I am still thinking about which direction to go with the vintage receiver but I decide soon...... Thanks for your input!

Sent from my iPad using A.Aficionado

[tweet]

Pete,

Your admiration for Crown electronics and excitement setting up your new gear has been a joy to read. Congratulations, sir!

I was first smitten with Crown electronics at a rock concert back in the early 70s. Sitting near the stage at a Doobie Brothers concert, I could see stacks of Crown amplifiers in a rack under the edge of the stage and that was it - I had to own Crown. A few weeks later I purchased a brand new IC150A preamp, two D150A amplifiers to run in mono, a dbx 118 and dbx 21 to decode the dbx albums coming out at the time and a pair of Klipsch Cornwall loudspeakers. It probably cost more than my house and car, but I spent countless hours rocking with that setup and loved every minute of it. The Doobie Brothers had nothing on me!

Looking at your IC150A, DC300A and the new D-75A in such a beautiful setting is a real treat for this long-time Crown fan. Thanks for time to share your journey with us and the great photos. I hope it brings you many, many years of enjoyment!

Terry

[jdandy]

Terry.......Thanks for the story about how you became a Crown enthusiast. I enjoyed reading that. There's still lots of Crown gear in use, both pro and home audio. I use a Crown K1 amplifier in one of my studio control room racks. It can be patched in to drive the JBL monitors in the studio when I am recording. Excellent two channel power amp.