Crown DA-1 (1986–1990)

The Crown DA-1 was Crown's first digital amplifier, and by the company's own account the world's first commercial digital amplifier. Crown introduced it in 1986 and produced it until 1990. It used Crown's proprietary Class-I amplification technology, with high-speed MOSFET switching instead of a conventional analog output stage. Contemporary coverage in High-Fidelity (February 1979, p.31) described Crown's consumer-oriented separates, including the Straight Line One preamp and Power Line One amp, the latter rated at 50 watts per side into 8 ohms.

The specs are serious. The DA-1 puts out 250 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 300 watts into 4 ohms. Frequency response is rated at 20Hz-20kHz ±0.1dB, THD at 0.05%, and signal-to-noise ratio at 100dB. Damping factor is specified at greater than 400, and input sensitivity at 1.4V. Inputs are balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA. Reviewers praised the clean, accurate sound and the ability to drive demanding loads. They criticized the high price and a tendency to run hot.

The record on this model is thin, and nearly everything above traces back to a single manufacturer source. No dimensions, weight or original price have surfaced. There's no independent documentation of common failures, maintenance quirks or current collector-market values. By most accounts the DA-1 delivered sonically, ran warm and cost accordingly.