Crown D-500
Little is documented about the Crown D-500 in the way of official specs or period reviews. The record comes mostly from owner accounts on the Lenco Heaven forum and a single Reverb listing. It shows a serious, high-current professional power amplifier from Crown International's "War Against the Beasts" era of the 1970s - 80s, when the company was taking aim at the big monster amps in the industry.
Owners describe the D-500 as a "huge giant" with "fantastic dynamics" and "quiet as a grave." It was built around a huge capacitor bank per side, with little heatsinks and multiple output transistors per side. That adds up to a high-current design. One forum user, recounting a phone conversation with a Crown engineer, reported that a 200 WPC amp in the D-500's class would safely drive 1-ohm and 2-ohm loads with ease. That reputation for driving punishing low-impedance loads made it a favorite for ribbon loudspeakers, particularly Apogees. Speaker designer John Dunlavy highly recommended D-500s in big Legacy or Dunlavy systems.
Beyond that, the record is thin. No official power ratings, dimensions, or production years have surfaced in the research. A single Reverb listing shows a D-500 offered at $1,299.00, sold as-is with no functional guarantee. No magazine reviews of the D-500 have been located.
Known specs (from owner reports, not official documentation)
- High-current amplifier, designed to drive very low impedance loads (1–2 ohms) with ease
- Large capacitor bank per channel; multiple output transistors per side; relatively small heatsinks
- Approximately 200 WPC class (per Crown engineer's reported comment, not a published spec)
- Current used-market asking price observed: $1,299.00 (as-is, no guarantee)
If you have documentation, service manuals, or period advertisements for the D-500, the Archive would welcome the contribution.
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