Specifications
page 5
Studio Reference I & II Professional Studio Amplifiers
Operation Manual
1 Welcome
The stunning realism you will experience when
listening to a Crown
®
Studio Reference™ ampli-
fier will redefine your expectations. The evolu-
tion of this studio standard ushers in a new era
of powerful, ultraquiet amplifiers capable of
faithfully reproducing the most demanding of
signals. This kind of sonic integrity does not
happen accidentally. It demands the leadership
and technical excellence for which Crown has
long been known.
With the best transfer function in the industry,
ultra-high dynamic range and extraordinary
damping factor, your Studio Reference amplifier
comes closer to the ideal “straight wire with
gain” than any other amplifier. As you listen, it
will become apparent—the amplifier’s low-fre-
quency transient response is the standard by
which all others must be judged.
We have taken great care at every step in the cre-
ation of your amplifier—from the selection of its
components to the routing of each wire. It is our
goal to provide you with total satisfaction. This is
one reason why we have spent considerable
effort in providing you with the most complete
Reference Manual in the business. Please read it
carefully—especially the instructions, warnings
and cautions. It will help you successfully install
and use your new amplifier. Be sure to read Sec-
tions 2.5.2 and 2.5.3 if you plan to use one of the
amplifier’s two mono modes.
1.1 Features
• Accurate Studio Reference amplifiers integrate
several cutting edge technologies that make
them the most accurate reference amplifiers
available. For example, in Stereo mode each
channel can actually be treated as a separate
amplifier because of its separate high-voltage
power supplies and ultra-low crosstalk. Here are
some of its many impressive features:
• Crown’s unconventional Grounded Bridge™
circuitry delivers incredible voltage swings with-
out using stressful output transistor configura-
tions like other more traditional amplifiers. This
results in significantly lower distortion and
superior reliability.
• Patented ODEP
®
(Output Device Emulation
Protection) circuitry detects and compensates
for overheating and overload to keep the ampli-
fier working when others would fail.
• IOC
®
(Input/Output Comparator) circuitry
immediately alerts you of any distortion that
exceeds 0.05% to provide dynamic proof of dis-
tortion-free performance.
• PIP™ (Programmable Input Processor) con-
nector accepts accessories that tailor your
amplifier to suit specific applications.
• Extremely wide dynamic range.
• Ultra-high damping factor delivers superior
loudspeaker motion control for the cleanest,
tightest bottom end you’ve ever felt—or heard.
• Super-low harmonic and intermodulation dis-
tortion give your amplifier the best transfer func-
tion in the business.
• Two mono modes (Bridge-Mono and Parallel-
Mono) for driving a wide range of load imped-
ances.
• Custom-designed, tape-wound, low-noise
toroidal supplies with extremely high power den-
sity.
• High-voltage headroom and high-current
headroom provide energy reserves that make it
easy to drive low-impedance loads and highly
reactive loads to full power.
• Full protection against shorted outputs, mis-
matched loads, general overheating, DC and
®