Crown Audio XLS 2502 Stereo Power Amplifier (775W at 4 Ohm)

Depends on size of the room. Well, ok, at 3.3 feet (1meter) directly in front of the subs, the pair side by side, with I will say peak RMS single pulses at 700Watts, 4Ohms the math answer is: 122.45dB. Assuming they get 700Watts each, there is no EQ, aside from Audyssey MultiEQ XT (a favorite of mine) and they are foward-firing cones. 10 x log (700Watt) = 28.45dB + 88dB (1W/m) sub sensitivity + 6dB (2 equal channels) becomes 122.45dB. Bandpass (4th or 6th order), folded horns, undersize bass reflex/ported enclosures will absolutely add 2dB to 5dB at a narrow bass frequency range. Also assuming the sub pair is 1/3 inward from side walls and a solid 6 inches from the back wall. A tiny room may have reduced perceived output from not being able to fit long wavelengths and phase issues. I used to pressurize my old youth room of 13ft x 16ft x 8ft using a pair of Carver Amazing Loudspeaker Silver Edition (3x12 freeair+ 1in x 40in ribbon) and a car audio JBL 4Ohm GTCx12 in a sealed 1.6cf enclosure. A pair of B&K Sonata 200M amps, an HP 3Amp DC power supply running a Audio Control 24XS, Hafler Iris preamp, California Audio Labs Icon MkII Power Boss CD player and a Stewart Pro PA1800 switching supply amplifier, mono 1800Watts (but only -10dB amber light on solid, likely no more than 300 Watts). Door modulating, window springs rattling, shutters moving, gutters vibrating. Faust and LL Cool J. The late 1990's were fun. All the stuff, except the JBL, 24XS, and HP were used pieces.

The fan used is specified at 28.3 db/A. An engineer at Crown did a test and was getting between 71 and 75 dB right at the fan, and about 45-55 dB at 1 meter. The test was done in a lab with multiple amps and DSPs running in the background as well; so the unit alone would be much quieter.

Crown has not provided wattage ratings for 6 ohms, but they do list ratings for 4 and 8 ohms. We can use the specs listed for peak wattage to calculate RMS wattage at 4 and 8 ohms. 6 ohms is going to be right in the middle so you can get a better idea of how it would perform with your speaker. At 4 ohms, the XLS 2502 is rated at 775W per channel and 2400W bridged for peak power, which works out to approximately 550W per channel and 1700W bridged for RMS power at 4 ohms. At 8 ohms, the XLS 2502 is rated at 440W per channel and 1550W bridged for peak power, which works out to approximately 310W per channel and 1100W bridged for RMS power at 8 ohms.

Ratings given at 1KHz (1000Hz) ONLY. Shown as: 775Watts MAX RMS with 4Ohm nomimal impedance (likely a non-reactive, cooled load), both channels driven at.....1KHz, or 1000Hz only. 0.5% THD. I also noted the 120VAC mains label next to the IEC cord socket shows consumption as '425W'. Interesting. You know that the power WILL NOT be more at 40Hz, only LESS or the same, barring more expensive amps ($6000) with real-time, instantaneous load and output tracking. Distortion increases closer to clipping (no duh) AND towards higher frequencies. This spicy turkey with marketing experts writing the spec sheet is closer to a 450Wpc RMS amplifier at 4Ohms, both channels driven with 1%THD. It has an abysmal equivalent Damping Factor of 100 at 4Ohm impedance. "Hey! It says 200!". No, that is at 8Ohm nominal. Damping Factor is load impedance divided by (÷) output impedance of the amplifier circuit, therefore 200 at 8Ohms becomes: 200 = 8/x, then 200× = 8, and thennn 200÷8= 0.04Ohm or 40milliOhm amp circuit output impedance. A old school Macro Tech beast has an output impedance of one-fifth this, or 8milliOhm, or less. I do like the XLS series 2 very much, light, efficient, enough power for one pair of subs at 4Ohms each. Inexpensive. Great crossover. Easy to read display. So don't take my answer as rotten criticism of the product. I still have old Crown amps (Micro Tech, K2) and Stewart Audio World 2.1 amps.

For proper venting, it would be best to leave them side by side if you don't have a rack.

Is the xls 2502 stronger than an xli 3500 or vice versa?