Crown DL-2 (1970s)

The Crown DL-2 is a stereo preamplifier from the 1970s, which Crown positioned as a high-end component. Documentation is thin. Nearly everything known about it traces back to a single source.

The DL-2 used a dual-mono power supply with a toroidal transformer, with separate supplies for the left and right channels. The phono section was all-discrete and Class-A, and it accepted both MM and MC cartridges with adjustable loading. Outputs were direct-coupled, with no coupling capacitors in the signal path. The spec sheet looks impressive on paper: frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz ±0.2 dB, distortion rated at less than 0.001% at 1 kHz (2.4 V output), and signal-to-noise ratios of 95 dB (phono) and 105 dB (high level). Rated output was 2.4 V into 600 ohms, from a 0.3 V input.

Inputs were Phono MM, Phono MC, Tuner, AUX, and two tape loops. Outputs were two pairs of pre-outs plus tape out. The tone controls (bass, treble, balance, loudness) could be defeated. The unit measured 482 × 89 × 325 mm, weighed 6.5 kg, and ran on switchable 115/230 V AC power. Crown's own advertising in Audio (July 1978, p.23) asked whether it makes sense to buy a component "you can't hear," and argued that it does. The pitch was that the DL-2's "wholly new circuit concepts" were aimed at absolutely accurate reproduction.

Missing from the record: original price, exact production years, and any independent reviews or owner commentary. The MM/MC loading values aren't specified beyond "adjustable," and there's no mention of a headphone output or remote. For a preamp this ambitious, the silence is a little frustrating — but the design choices documented here suggest Crown was aiming squarely at the state of the art in the late 1970s.