Macro Tech Vs Macro Tech I

[felixm]

I'm looking to upgrade some of my amps from XTI 4000 to ether Crown Macro Tech's or Macro Tech I's.

I have 2 Yamaha SW218V subs now but will be upgrading to 4 EAW FR250z. I would like to run all 4 of the EAW's off of one amp. Below are the specs for the EAW's

Frequency Response (1 W @ 1m) ±3 dB 40 to 2100 Hz
-10 dB 33 Hz

Axial Sensitivity (dB SPL, 1 Watt @ 1m) 101

Impedance (Ohms) 4

Power Handling, AES Standard (Watts) 1000

Calculated Maximum Output (dB SPL) Peak 137.0
Long Term 131.0
Recommended High-Pass Frequency 24 dB/Octave 35Hz

I was going to go with Macro Techs but I took a look at the Macro Tech I's and now I'm not sure what I want. If there is someone out there that has used them both and can give me your thoughts on pros and cons of both that would be awesome.

 

[museav]

The Macro-Tech i series is a replacement for the Macro-Tech series, which has been discontinued.

No doubt that a Macro-Tech i series amps are generally a better amp than the XTi series but not knowing the application and the specific amp models involved, other than their being better able to handle the 2 Ohm load resulting from having two 4 Ohms subs per channel it is not clear whether the potential advantages of a Macro-Tech i in the application would necessarily justify the associated cost. The Macro-Tech i series does have some higher power rated models than the XTi series but you'd have to compare the specific models involved. And the Macro-Tech i series lacks the integral DSP of the XTi series, so replacing the current XTi amps with Macro-Tech i series amps might also require adding some external signal processing to replace the processing in the XTi amps.

 

[fx120]

Consider the Dynacord PowerH 5k's or EV TG7, personally I prefer them to the iTechs in their power class. For the same street price as a MA5000i, you very good internal processing (although no ethernet, CAN bus only), and a little more power. Another option if you can do without processing but still want to save your back would be a Lab fp 6400.

Of course if you can find a MA5002z used they're still fantastic amps, if you can stand to lift them. They're certainly the very definition of "old iron".

Another option if you'd like to save a few bucks and don't mind carting around 70lb amplifiers, take a look at the Face Audio TX-2000. Face is a relatively unknown company in the US still, but they've got a killer product at competitive prices, and excellent service and support.

 

[felixm]

Ok I think the question I was asking was unclear. I know that a Macro Tech and a Macro Tech I are better than an XTI. I want to know thoughts and opinions on the Macro tech Vs the Macro Tech I. I'm using them for the subs listed above. I do mostly bands in the club setting. I don't need the DSP of any amp as I have the equipment to handle that. Just want to know how the 2 amps stack up to each other.

 

[fx120]

They're only comparable by their name. The original MA amplifiers were a classic AB design with transformer power supplies while the new MAi's are a modern switching front end (Crown calls it "class-I") combined with a high efficiency switch-mode power supply.

If you need a lot of power in a compact and lightweight package, the go with MAi or one of the other amplifiers I mentioned. SQ wise I'd be surprised if you could tell the difference between the newer and older MA's on sub duty.

One thing you really should consider is that once you get into this class of power amplifier and start loading them down heavily, they do need a lot of power. Unless the venues you regularly visit have 30A 120V outlets or you're prepared to start packing around a distro, you might be better off considering going with two smaller amplifiers so you can split them across more readily available 15/20A circuits.

 

[museav]

Ok I think the question I was asking was unclear. I know that a Macro Tech and a Macro Tech I are better than an XTI. I want to know thoughts and opinions on the Macro tech Vs the Macro Tech I. I'm using them for the subs listed above. I do mostly bands in the club setting. I don't need the DSP of any amp as I have the equipment to handle that. Just want to know how the 2 amps stack up to each other.

Three factors jump out at me. The first I already noted, the Macro-Techs are discontinued so you'd only have the option of buying used. I do believe that the 3 year warranty on the Macro-Techs is transferable, although you may need some documentation of the original purchase date.

The second factor I also mentioned, the two series do not directly line up model to model. There are rough equivalents for some models but it depends on what specific models you'd be comparing.

The third is that the Macro-Tech or Macro-Tech i seem a rather costly option for most bar band applications. The subs are rated at 1,000W AES, so with two per channel you may be looking at wanting 4,000W at 2 Ohms per channel, so say an MA-12000i. Looking at the usual online suppliers that $6,855 while a MA-9000i would be $5,200. That is simply not the kind of investment that is typically associated with club bands. However, we do not know the size of the venues, the type of music, whether this is for a house or portable systems, etc., so maybe it is appropriate.

You are apparently looking at running two 4 Ohm rated subwoofers per amp channel, thus one relevant issue is the amp output for those conditions. If you look at Page 32 of this, http://www.crownaudio.com/pdf/legacy/130252.pdf, you see that the Macro-Tech ratings at low frequencies for 2 Ohm loads drop off quite a bit from the 1kHz ratings. Thus the ratings for sub use are lower, which is quite common. The MA-5000i also seems to be rated quite a bit lower for 20-20kHz than at 1kHz, however the MA-9000i and MA-12000i do not seem to exhibit the same reduction in low frequency output at 2 Ohms. So when comparing ratings be sure to compare for your condition at not based on some rating that is not applicable.

Along those same lines, the 4 Ohm rating of the FR250z is a nominal value and while no impedance chart or minimum impedance value are provided, it is quite possible that the minimum impedance may be less than 4 Ohms. If you plan to push the subs hard I personally would consider not running two subs per channel on either amp.