Outlaw Audio M2200/200 VS Crown XLS 1000

[adept777]

Guys I know I wanted to see a post like this before purchasing my amps and did not find any so I would like to share my comparative results on the Crown XLS 1000 and the Outlaw Audio Model 2200/200 for fellows like moi First and foremost, I am no audiophile or anything close to that but I am also not exaggerating. So, please feel free to correct any technicalities if you may. FYI - this is simply IMHO:

Outlaw Audio M2200/M200 produces a more lively sound than the Crown XLS 1000. The vocals sounds amazingly transparent as though the singer is singing right in front of you in the room, the bass sounds tight and detailed, treble is clean and pleasant to listen to. Overall it brings nuances and detail to my system.

As for the Crown XLS 1000 most importantly it is much smaller in width and length but not the height, it is way lighter in weight than the Outlaw. As for the sound stage; it does produce more "sound" and even the panning is more realistic as sound moves around the room. You will definitely know it's loud but it will not hurt your ears, it is clean. I did not notice any fan noise as claimed by some users. As a matter of fact I think the fan does not even click in. And the amp is super cool even after two movies in a row!!

Overall, I think they both stand tall in their own respective ways and it is definitely a listeners choice between sound and detail. I personally prefer the Outlaw only because of some of the details I hear from them when it comes to music. And I am not a big fan of shinning led lights distracting my otherwise dark home theater! I like the clean black look of the outlaw better. But that was definitely not the biggest reason in deciding to keep it! IMHO anyone looking to get either one should listen to them both before deciding on one.

[Big Daddy]

Thank you for the review.

Did you test the two amplifiers with exactly the same equipment and the same speaker arrangement?

[adept777]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Thank you for the review.

Did you test the two amplifiers with exactly the same equipment and the same speaker arrangement?

You are welcome, It is simply an inspiration from folks like yourself. I am among the many who are very grateful to you for your many awesome reviews and guides. And to answer your question; Yes, I did use the exact same components including the cables and speaker distance.

Energy CF 70, Energy CC 10, Onkyo HT RC270, AR PR171 6ft Audio Cable.

Movies:
Fight Club - Blu-ray, King Kong - Blu-ray, Avatar - Blu-Ray, A Beautiful Mind - Blu-ray.

Music:
Von Kessels: Requiem - SACD, Norah Jones: Come Away With Me - SACD, BOTDF - MiniDisc among a few others.

[callas01]

awesome Adept, thanks for reviewing both the amps. I think that the Outlaw is built for the musical audiophile and the Crown is a Professional amp, so it might be that its more about sound for pro's


Glad that you really like the Outlaws. did you end up getting the 200s used?

[lojack1976]

I have the Crown myself and I don't find anything lacking with it musically. It has great power and clarity, and detail has been phenomenal which I attribute more to my receiver and my speakers. Keep in mind that it is a Class D amp, so it will have some sonic differences from the Outlaw which is Class AB. It's all a matter of one's tastes. I've listened to the CF-70's and I find them to be great speakers, but they are definitely a much different sound from my ML's which I love.

Touching on the subject of the fan the Crown being Class D runs very cool and the fan will rarely come on. When it does it spins pretty slowly and its totally inaudible. This is one of the reasons I went with it over the QSC GX3 that I was also considering which is Class AB. The GX3 is pretty quiet as well, but not quite as quiet as the Crown, and of course it pulls a lot more powr from the wall. Anyhow, I'm glad you found what you were looking for in the Outlaws. I'm sure they are great amps.

[adept777]

Originally Posted by callas01

awesome Adept, thanks for reviewing both the amps. I think that the Outlaw is built for the musical audiophile and the Crown is a Professional amp, so it might be that its more about sound for pro's


Glad that you really like the Outlaws. did you end up getting the 200s used?

Yes I ended up buying two of the 200s. So in total I have one 2200, two 200 and one crown xls 1000. I have already went a little over my budget but I am not complaining. LOL

[adept777]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

I have the Crown myself and I don't find anything lacking with it musically. It has great power and clarity, and detail has been phenomenal which I attribute more to my receiver and my speakers. Keep in mind that it is a Class D amp, so it will have some sonic differences from the Outlaw which is Class AB. It's all a matter of one's tastes. I've listened to the CF-70's and I find them to be great speakers, but they are definitely a much different sound from my ML's which I love.

Touching on the subject of the fan the Crown being Class D runs very cool and the fan will rarely come on. When it does it spins pretty slowly and its totally inaudible. This is one of the reasons I went with it over the QSC GX3 that I was also considering which is Class AB. The GX3 is pretty quiet as well, but not quite as quiet as the Crown, and of course it pulls a lot more powr from the wall. Anyhow, I'm glad you found what you were looking for in the Outlaws. I'm sure they are great amps.

oh no lojack1976, I am not claiming the Crown to lack musicality. I am just saying that my ears seems to hear more from the Outlaws. It maybe due to that fact that the Outlaw does produce more acoustic quality.

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by adept777

oh no lojack1976, I am not claiming the Crown to lack musicality. I am just saying that my ears seems to hear more from the Outlaws. It maybe due to that fact that the Outlaw does produce more acoustic quality.

In describing the Outlaw you say it has more detail and on the other hand you say the Crown produces a wider sound stage. Now you're saying the Crown doesn't lack musicality, but then you turn around and say the Outlaw has more acoustic quality. I'm not saying you're wrong to prefer one over the other, but I gotta say that an amp has very little bearing on detail and musicality in general. You either get a lot of(or a little) clean or distorted power. Class AB amplification will sound a little different than Class D amplification and different amps will handle transients differently, but things like detail and the sound stage is dependent on your processor and speakers. Now, if you used the Crown with the crossover enabled then you will get different results since that would be in addition to the crossovers used on your receiver. You should have the amp set to Stereo Bypass for best results. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that the Outlaws turned out to be optimal choice for you since you not only got the power you wanted, but you also got the aesthetics. Enjoy!

[Blu Balls]

I'm considering the Outlaw 2200 Monoblocks and was just curious on your opinions having used them first hand. I have Energy CF50's and a CC10. If I was to get 2 Mblocks to power the CF50's and let my receiver (Pioneer VSX 1120-K) power the center, will I hear a considerable improvement or should I just wait until I have better/larger speakers?

[adept777]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

In describing the Outlaw you say it has more detail and on the other hand you say the Crown produces a wider sound stage. Now you're saying the Crown doesn't lack musicality, but then you turn around and say the Outlaw has more acoustic quality. I'm not saying you're wrong to prefer one over the other, but I gotta say that an amp has very little bearing on detail and musicality in general. You either get a lot of(or a little) clean or distorted power. Class AB amplification will sound a little different than Class D amplification and different amps will handle transients differently, but things like detail and the sound stage is dependent on your processor and speakers. Now, if you used the Crown with the crossover enabled then you will get different results since that would be in addition to the crossovers used on your receiver. You should have the amp set to Stereo Bypass for best results. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that the Outlaws turned out to be optimal choice for you since you not only got the power you wanted, but you also got the aesthetics. Enjoy!

I am sorry but I don't know the technicalities of what a class AB or class D stands for or what it means (please educate if you can) but like I said I do prefer the sound of the outlaw better. I have tried the several available setup modes on the amp and I do currently have it set to bridge mode.

What I mean to say by wider sound stage is that it sounds loud, big. I seem to hear more treble and such when connected to it. I am not going to say it does not have any musicality about it as everyone has their own interpretation of music. All I am saying is it does not feed my needs. Nevertheless I am more than sure that it will make happy anyone else who buys it.

[Blu Balls]

I don't feel that I am lacking any treble but more of a full rich sound. I have an A2-300 but, I don't get the mid bass that I'm looking for. This may be because of the size of my speakers. I guess this means I should wait and by something with larger/stronger woofers rather then amplifying the CF50's that I currently have?

[callas01]

I know I have said not to go from the cf50s to the cf70s but maybe the jump will be worth it to you.

Adept, did you feel a better grip on the bass with the monos added into the mix?

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by Blu Balls

I don't feel that I am lacking any treble but more of a full rich sound. I have an A2-300 but, I don't get the mid bass that I'm looking for. This may be because of the size of my speakers. I guess this means I should wait and by something with larger/stronger woofers rather then amplifying the CF50's that I currently have?

I don't know man...I get the feeling that you may need to consider auditioning other speakers higher up the ladder to get what you're looking for. I've heard both the CF-50's and CF-70's and I just don't think moving up to the CF-70's will give you what you're looking for. You're just going to get more of what you already have. I think you may need to look for a more forward sounding speaker that's a little more exciting to satisfy your needs. I like the sound of the Energy CF series a lot, but they are pretty laid back sounding speakers. A laid back sound is not for everybody, so I suggest that you determine a budget and go out and start demoing speakers.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

I don't know man...I get the feeling that you may need to consider auditioning other speakers higher up the ladder to get what you're looking for. I've heard both the CF-50's and CF-70's and I just don't think moving up to the CF-70's will give you what you're looking for. You're just going to get more of what you already have. I think you may need to look for a more forward sounding speaker that's a little more exciting to satisfy your needs. I like the sound of the Energy CF series a lot, but they are pretty laid back sounding speakers. A laid back sound is not for everybody, so I suggest that you determine a budget and go out and start demoing speakers.

I think what he's actually saying is he wants more BASS. He brought it up in another thread/post before. I think what he might prefer is the Veritas line. Or a different speaker brand all together.

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by callas01

I think what he's actually saying is he wants more BASS. He brought it up in another thread/post before. I think what he might prefer is the Veritas line. Or a different speaker brand all together.

From what he stated I was thinking the mid-range wasn't as prominent as he may want, but if he's looking for more bass but wants a sound in the same ballpark as what he has then he may want to look at the Veritas or perhaps look into some Def Tech offerings.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

From what he stated I was thinking the mid-range wasn't as prominent as he may want, but if he's looking for more bass but wants a sound in the same ballpark as what he has then he may want to look at the Veritas or perhaps look into some Def Tech offerings.

Energy typically has plenty of mid-range, the highs tend to roll off a bit, the bass is OK depending on the model. The CF70s have better bass, but if he likes the sound and performance of the CF50s, he may find the 70s right up his ally, or he could get the veritas speakers, and they should be a little more forward in the lower treble, plus add more mid-range detail and better bass performance.

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by callas01

Energy typically has plenty of mid-range, the highs tend to roll off a bit, the bass is OK depending on the model. The CF70s have better bass, but if he likes the sound and performance of the CF50s, he may find the 70s right up his ally, or he could get the veritas speakers, and they should be a little more forward in the lower treble, plus add more mid-range detail and better bass performance.

I find the mid-range full on the CF-70's, but I've heard speakers with a more prominent mid-range. As you also stated the highs do roll off a bit quickly, and the overall sound of the speaker is pretty laid back. The CF-70 has more low end than the CF-50, but it's not a drastic enough difference to move up from CF-50's to CF-70's IMO. I think moving to the Veritas is a much better way to go, but even still he should audition other brands to ensure he's getting what he's looking for. Energy makes great sounding speakers, but they don't produce the most exciting sound around. He could be looking for a livelier sound.

[Blu Balls]

Thanks for the help. I think in the end, all I can really do is go demo and listen to different speakers. It just sucks that you can't go demo speakers from the internet direct companies. The CF50's will do for now. Merry Christmas everybody! Go Bulls!

[lojack1976]

Yup...do all the demoing you can. Merry Christmas to all!!

[adept777]

Originally Posted by callas01

I know I have said not to go from the cf50s to the cf70s but maybe the jump will be worth it to you.

Adept, did you feel a better grip on the bass with the monos added into the mix?

Absolutely! But I feel my CF 70 offers more crisp than punch. As for Blu Balls, I feel the same, maybe going to RC or Veritas would be a better and significant upgrade than the CF70. Though it is an amazing speaker!