Crown XLI 800 airflow question mounted upright

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Timstools777

Member
Joined 2021
#1
Hi I want to mount my new Crow XLI 800 amp next to my chair on wall in a corner of my lounge. It is for powering my subwoofers.

I want the front face of the amp facing the ceiling and I will build a box around it to do this.

Is this ok for amp as it was never designed to go face up? How much space for airflow should I leave around it in the box?
Tim
 
#2
Suggest that you contact Crown about this. There is forced ventilation, but it would go
downward in that position (from front panel to rear panel). The manual does not specify
a mounting position. Certainly substantial free space would be needed underneath for
the hot air to disperse.
 
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#5
There may be stuff on the PCB that does not get the airflow from the fan, and is expecting to be mounted “correctly” in order to cool. Often popping the top off will reveal what you can and can’t do - if you understand how heat sinks are supposed to work.

Crown may not be as responsive as they used to be when supporting consumer-level pro product these days. It’s just a big global conglomerate now. You may end up having to figure it out for yourself.
 
#6

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#7
The only way I’d mount that is front (top) up. Transformer on top, and all the power transistors on the main PCBs would still have proper convection on both channels. On either side one board would get too hot. Transformer on the bottom would add heat to the main filter caps shortening life.
 
#8
Here's the innards, it appears. Crown considers this to be a public address amplifier, not for hi-fi.
Click to expand...

It is for Hi Fi use also, it is input selectable on rear has RCA inputs. Also has low or no fan noise.

I've had 3 or more Hi Fi subwoofer active plate amps and they all died. There are endless accounts of plate amps dieing before there used by dates on Google. Problem is there are not many passive amps available for dedicated home subwoofer use.

A technical review online says the Crown XLi is suitable as a subwoofer amp.

Best distortion is usually at lower frequencies and here, the improvement is quite good
For hi-fi use, it is not something I would consider to drive full-range speakers. For subwoofer or active woofer duty, it would be fine.
Click to expand...

477 user reviews 4.6 out of 5
https://www.amazon.com/Crown-XLi800...00AR0A3V4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
 
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#9
It's a professional amplifier from a reputable professional audio company. Most likely it's designed to run near maximum power all day long stacked in a rack with a dozen other similar amps. I wouldn't split hairs over its use as a single unit in a domestic installation where it will be running at just a few % of it's long term power handling capability. Your ears will likely bleed before the high speed fan kicks in.
 
#10
Yes the XLi 800 is good for sub amp but it's distortion gets worse with higher frequencies. I have seen some videos etc and the little more expensive Crown XLS 1502 and it's smaller sibling the 1002 rate highly for home use with much lower distortion

The 1502 has less distortion than the Pioneer, NAD and Klipsch amps tested (see pic just below midway on graph). Although in this review it still says it is not suitable for HI Fi because of bandwidth and resolution. I don't understand what that means.

Review and Measurements of Crown XLS 1502 Amp | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

Best Stereo Amplifiers Reviewed and Tested.png

Crown XLi 800 Power Amplifier Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
 
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