Crown DC 300 (Updated August 2010)

Fab amp. Get em’ cheap. Eventually they WILL fry your speakers. Count on it. Assume it. Maybe not now, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow… UNLESS you use a cap on the outputs correctly to stop DC, and fuse the output as well. I learned the hard way. Spring for a Hafler, or Bryston, etc if you are looking for a studio monitor amp.

I must stress that the dc300 is an amazing sounding amp. I am not sure what it sounds like with a cap on the outputs, but there are some very good caps available today, so maybe you can come out ahead in the deal. The scenario for frying speakers is NOT a failure in the amp, quite the opposite. The DC300 is a Laboratory instrument. It will take a low level of DC at its inputs, and dutifully amplify it. A low level of DC at the input could be a little bit of DC bias coming out of the preamp… even when it’s not “playing” anything. So, the power amp will just push out the speaker cone a little bit, and keep it there. In a matter of hours, or days, with no other symptom (everything will work fine even while the problem is happening) you will walk in to your studio to small a slight bit of burning insulation smell. Your speakers won’t work. The Amp will test perfectly. It’s too late at that point. Your voice coils are fried. No warranty will cover it … every speak manufacturer looks for this, and can tell what happened, and its not their fault. J. T.