Can pro amps possibly sound good? Crown, QSC, etc

Oops the last line should have read "Macro Tech" rather than "Macro Reference"...the latter is discontinued.

Thanks for all the input, guys. From some of the not-so-glowing commentary about the lower end of the pro gear spectrum, I guess I'll be avoiding the low end, at least for the fronts, and probably the sides and rears as well. So the real question becomes whether higher-end pro amps (since QSC, Crown, Crest, etc. have lines at different price points) might sound comparable to respected audiophile gear. Some background: I am currently thinking of Revel Ultima2 Studio2 and Voice2 for my fronts. These are 6 ohm nominal and rated to 500W continuous but I want to have at least 750-1000W into 6 ohms on hand for short-term peaks. Something like the Bryston 7B-SST or 14B-SST establishes the low end of what I want to have as far as power (600W/8ohm - 900W/4ohm) and at $3000 street per channel may be beyond the very top end of what I might spring for pricewise....I'd rather keep it to $1000-2000/ch. Hence my interest in pro amps.

Elevick - do you know which Crest product line it was that you liked?

Seasoned - It is a reasonable theory, that the need for reliability and (usually) low weight will restrict the choices avaible to a pro amp designer, which could have audible consequences. I guess me feeling is that first, I wouldn't mind having something that, in a home environment, may last me a lifetime. Second, I have a theory that might counteract yours: I think that the audiophile amp designer's budget has bigger pieces allocated to making the exterior look pretty, and to marketing dollars; additionally, the audiophile amp company probably enjoys lesser economies of scale, and so may not be able to get as good pricing on parts as the big pro amp companies. So I'm wondering if, by spending enough money on parts (which should be possible for the higher end pro product lines), the pro amp designer can design a product that is reliable and light, but without significant impact on sound quality. Just conjecture on my part.

Ait - you wrote "Not quite the sound quality of my audiophile rig in the family room, but pretty darned close for the money". It might be a hard question to answer, but could you please try to characterize the difference in sound? And what audiophile amp are you comparing the XLS to?

Thanks.

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts. Grannyring - thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not looking for 80-85% of the performance of "great amps" for $200-300 per channel, but rather (I'm hoping) 99-100%, for up to $1000-2000 per channel. I'm wondering how a $1200 QSC PLX3602 or $1600 QSC DCA3422 is going to sound vs a $6000 Bryston 14B-SST, for example. I know the Bryston has somewhat better specs, but is QSC already at the point where differences are inaudible? Unfortunately, the Crown Studio Reference I posted the review of is discontinued.

I have my doubts as to whether I would be able to discern differences by auditioning different amps in different locations with differing associated gear and acoustics.

Shardorne - in fact I currently have actives in a 2.1 setup, the Paradigm Active/40s. For the new HT, at one point I was looking into smallish actives like the JBL LSR4300 series, and the Focal Solo6 Be (if people aren't aware, these list for 45% less than Focal Electras with the exact same drivers, and you get the amps thrown in for free). Anyway, I started becoming more concerned about SPL capabilities, and turned toward the Revels. Pro active speakers are still a possibility, but if I go that way I'd go for the higher SPL, 3-way midfield or "main" monitors. The thing is, these are designed to be flush-mounted, and at this point I think I'd prefer free-standing fronts.

Shardorne,

Thanks, what you've said is going to make me revisit the possibility of going with flush-mounted speakers. Do you have any opinions as to sound quality of various pro alternatives, Genelec, Adam, Dynaudio, etc?

Grannyring, thanks for the suggestion, but 200W/ch isn't enough power for me. And I'm told that bridging increases distortion. I'll keep an eye on their website, assuming I go ahead with separate amps rather than active speakers, to see if they introduce higher-powered units, as it will be some time before I design and build the room itself.