CROWN ITECH 6000 Red Clip Lights always on without any audio feed

[EmpireEntertainment]

Right now i am having a large problem with majority of my crown itech 6000s where the Red clip lights are constantly staying on without any audio source being plugged in... i have sent them to crown and they have been fixed but every other week the same problem keeps happening, This has started to happen to all my amps all of a sudden... i have been using them for about 3 years now... These amps seem to be so unreliable because even after i send them to crown a week later the same problem is occuring... The service from crown seems to be quite crappy if they are not figuring out the root of this problem.. i cant be the only person with this issue... Is there anyone else that maybe having this issue?

Also... now that i am looking for a new amp.. any suggestions?
I am currently looking at some Lab Gruppens...
thanks

 

[Chris15]

Crown aren't going to tell you what the root of the problem is...
Trying to be unbiased here but ITechs just blow up because they are ITechs. We sent 20 odd on a gig a few years back (in desperation, we saw its of the warehouse we never knew existed that gig), and EVERY one of them died in the week they were out.

If you are looking at replacements, can you quantify which parts of the ITech spec you need to match? I guess a big one is do you need internal DSP?

 

[EmpireEntertainment]

chris, i would love to have a built in DSP but it is not crucial to have. I can get a driverack or something but my main concern is majority of the time we goto many convention centers and banquet halls and there is always a shortage of power... you got the video guys with their camera lights on a circuit and then you have photographers with their lights flashing off and on on their own circuit and by the end of it theres only 2 circuits left. Cant really do much when your running amps and moving heads with mixers and consoles with such little power.

For the ease of things, this is why i use a single itech 6000 mono to run 2 SRX 725s and 2 SRX 728s because i can run it on a seperate 15 AMP circuit and with the other circuit left i can then plug in 2 macs and a console with wireless mics and so on on it...
So my question now to you is... what other type of amp can i do the same thing with?? but RELIABLE!!

IF i have to consider a rack then ill run 2 amps for my systems with a driverack... then i have no choice but to look alot further to get power!
im considering.. 2 LAB gruppen 7000Q
1 for my tops and 1 for the bins
and a dbx driverack
please help me out

 

[Chris15]

Would an FP10000Q work for your needs? 4 channels at 2100W at 4 ohms, 2500w a channel at 2 ohms. (From memory, all labs are happy with 2 ohm loads).
If you were going for 2 amps, you might consider perhaps dropping back to an FP4000 for your tops, but I don't know how hard you tend to run your system...

I like labs. I believe we had to fix a fp6400, blown power supply cap. That's with a company that owns well over a million watts worth of labs (1.4 MW last marketing I read). That was a few years after the amp was bought and one of the very few repairs needed...

 

[EmpireEntertainment]

only problem is that the 10000Q is a 30 amp unit! i have to keep it to a 20 amp maximum because i can just cheat it by changing the connector to a 15 amp. also i am looking to push my system quite hard and be able to do events upto 550 ppl

 

[museav]

Before blaming it on repeated failures of the amps, tell us a bit more about the situation. For example, you mentioned "this is why i use a single itech 6000 mono to run 2 SRX 725s and 2 SRX 728s". Do you mean that you run the amp in stereo or two channel mode with two SRX725 on one channel and two SRX728S on the other channel or do you mean that you actually run the amp mono? And how are the speakers wired to the amp?

 

[EmpireEntertainment]

1 channel is my highs and mids, and my other channel is my bass bins...by doing this the amp wont draw as much power from a 15 amp circuit and prevents the electrical plug breaker from blowing... i bridge all 4 speakers and use the built in crossover... Also im using NL 4 speakon cable to wire it to the amp...

 

[museav]

i bridge all 4 speakers and use the built in crossover... Also im using NL 4 speakon cable to wire it to the amp...

Terminology again, but what do you mean by "i bridge all 4 speakers"? Do you have the amp set in bridge mode?

On the wiring, how is each speaker wired to the amp, for example do you have both SRX725 speakers wired in parallel to 1+ and 1- on the top NL4 and both SRX728S speakers wired in parallel to 1+ and 1- on the bottom NL4?

Just trying to eliminate there being any potential setting and wiring combination conflicts.

 

[FMEng]

Museav is on the right track as usual. It's buried in the I-tech manual in 4.6.2, but the clip lights go on if stereo/bridge mode is incorrectly set. For the setup you describe, your amplifier must be in stereo mode. The front panel bridge light should be off. The switches on both the 725s must be on passive mode. The switches on both the 728s must be set to +/-1.

If you miss any of those steps, the amp will be unhappy because the load is wrong. You should also have the DSP set to high-pass the channel driving the 725s and low-pass the channel for the 728s, and the inputs Y-ed together.

 

[EmpireEntertainment]

its wired where the 725s are 1+ 1- on top and both 728s are on the bottom 2+2- and the system is wired --> NL4 cable --- banana out from the amp to speakon to the 728 then jumped to the 725 then another cable from the 725 to the other 728 on the other side and thats jumped into the 725 top... also there is only 1 xlr that needs to be plugged into the amp in channel 1 input from a live mixer .... Sorry i did not make the programs for the itechs, i just got them from someone and loaded them....

 

[museav]

So you are using banana jacks at the amp and then you go from the amp to one SRX728S up to one of the SRX725 and then from there over to the other SRX728S and up to the other SRX725? So:

Amp Ch 1 + five way binding post to Pin 1+ on NL4 of SRX728S #1 to Pin 1+ on NL4 of SRX725 #1 to Pin 1+ on NL4 of SRX728S #2 to Pin 1+ on NL4 of SRX725 #2.

Amp Ch 1 - five way binding post to Pin 1- on NL4 of SRX728S #1 to Pin 1- on NL4 of SRX725 #1 to Pin 1- on NL4 of SRX728S #2 to Pin 1- on NL4 of SRX725 #2.

Amp Ch 2 + five way binding post to Pin 2+ on NL4 of SRX728S #1 to Pin 2+ on NL4 of SRX725 #1 to Pin 2+ on NL4 of SRX728S #2 to Pin 2+ on NL4 of SRX725 #2.

Amp Ch 2 - five way binding post to Pin 2- on NL4 of SRX728S #1 to Pin 2- on NL4 of SRX725 #1 to Pin 2- on NL4 of SRX728S #2 to Pin 2- on NL4 of SRX725 #2.


And you then have the amp set for dual channel mode, the SRX725 speakers set to passive mode on the rear panel switch and the SRX728S subs set to NL4 +/-2 on the rear panel switch.

Is that all correct? There seems to be several places things could get crossed which could be compunded by not knowing what is programmed.

 

[FMEng]

its wired where the 725s are 1+ 1- on top and both 728s are on the bottom 2+2- and the system is wired --> NL4 cable --- banana out from the amp to speakon to the 728 then jumped to the 725 then another cable from the 725 to the other 728 on the other side and thats jumped into the 725 top... also there is only 1 xlr that needs to be plugged into the amp in channel 1 input from a live mixer .... Sorry i did not make the programs for the itechs, i just got them from someone and loaded them....

The I-techs can tie the channel 1 input to both channels with a software setting. You really need to check that bridge mode light. If they are set for bridge that would explain everything.

 

[EmpireEntertainment]

hey museav... everything is done the way you are saying... and sorry there is no bridge light on

 

[museav]

Do the clip lights stay on regardless of whether the speakers are connected or not? Have you verified the power voltage and wiring serving the amps? Have you been sending them to Crown's facilities in Indiana for repair?

 

[museav]

The service from crown seems to be quite crappy if they are not figuring out the root of this problem.. i cant be the only person with this issue...

Crown aren't going to tell you what the root of the problem is...

Hmmm, all I did was ask my contact at Crown if they could tell me what the clip lights being on might represent and along with a response that day, even though they were over in London at PLASA, Crown Application Support also took it upon themselves to get an I-T6000 out of stock and short outputs, etc. trying to recreate the problem. They have asked me to verify that the clip lights are on with nothing physically plugged into the amp or if you instead mean with nothing at the other end or with no audio signal present.

 

[EmpireEntertainment]

Hmmm, all I did was ask my contact at Crown if they could tell me what the clip lights being on might represent and along with a response that day, even though they were over in London at PLASA, Crown Application Support also took it upon themselves to get an I-T6000 out of stock and short outputs, etc. trying to recreate the problem. They have asked me to verify that the clip lights are on with nothing physically plugged into the amp or if you instead mean with nothing at the other end or with no audio signal present.

once audio plays doesnt matter how soft or hard... the clip light stays on in channel 2 or channel 1 or sometimes both... and this is happening over 5-6 amps so its not the same one that gives me the errors... perhaps i could try a different tuning?? do you have any or know anyone that could help me out?... ive been running them for 3 years like this with no issues... and all of a sudden this is happening to all my amps!!
Now im considering getting some other amps... any suggestions? XTI 6000? or LAB gruppens 7000...
let me know your thoughts please.... and if you have any other suggestions please let me know.... also i would like to run each amp on a 15 amp circuit and i am usually running 2 SRX 725s and 2 SRX 728s.... thanks

 

[philhaney]

...ive been running them for 3 years like this with no issues... and all of a sudden this is happening to all my amps!!

The first thought that comes to mind is, "What other component(s) did you change in your system?"

I have no experience with these amps at all, but from previous posts it sounds like they are programmable. Did they all get the same software upgrade/update, and now they are acting wonky?

 

[themuzicman]

I can get a driverack or something but my main concern is majority of the time we goto many convention centers and banquet halls and there is always a shortage of power... you got the video guys with their camera lights on a circuit and then you have photographers with their lights flashing off and on on their own circuit and by the end of it theres only 2 circuits left. Cant really do much when your running amps and moving heads with mixers and consoles with such little power.

If you're doing a lot of gigs where power is a problem, you might want to consider buying a power distro. A simple NEMA L14-30 tie in that splits to breakered 5-15 receptacles should work! It would give you dedicated sound power, and give you the circuits you would need to run your system!

I have never worked in a convention center that didn't have a place you could tie in for power. This could be as simple as replacing an open breaker in circuit breaker panel with an 100A breaker and running your own wiring, but whatever the case may be, there is usually a way to get more power if you know what to do.

 

[cesargoose]

Did you have a conclusion to your problem? I also have an I-tech 6000 and when it is active in sound or none at all the red (clip) light makes it impossible to let signal through. You can't hear music, maybe just loud pops of electricity or static to connected speakers.

 

[museav]

I also have an I-tech 6000 and when it is active in sound or none at all the red (clip) light makes it impossible to let signal through. You can't hear music, maybe just loud pops of electricity or static to connected speakers.

Can you describe the situation a bit more. Are you saying that the red clip light is on all the time and you can never get signal through or that when the clip light is on you lose signal or is it some other issue?