I own a Crown K2 amplifier - the big brother to the K1. I bought it to use as a subwoofer amp since these amps are reputed to be incredibly powerful and bullet proof. That's been my experience. They have great slam in the low end and have none of the problems that your friend suggested. My amp turns on and off without any pops or other nasty artifacts. They do not have RCA inputs but instead use 1/4" phono plugs, so you need to make some custom cables or build some adapters. Other than that it's been a very nice amp and very much plug and play.
Recently I put it into service for a secondary system that I set up in my work room and use it full range. I use a Squeezebox classic to a DAC (a modified ART DI/O) and then through a transformer volume control preamp to the Crown. I found the amp to be surprisingly sensitive to the quality of the stand and damping material. Putting it on 3 Black Diamond Racing cones (type #3) improved the sound quite a bit making it smoother and more 3 dimensional.
So my experience is that the Crown can be a surprisingly good amplifier with the right tweaks. Enjoy it and don't worry about what others tell you.
---Gary
Recently I put it into service for a secondary system that I set up in my work room and use it full range. I use a Squeezebox classic to a DAC (a modified ART DI/O) and then through a transformer volume control preamp to the Crown. I found the amp to be surprisingly sensitive to the quality of the stand and damping material. Putting it on 3 Black Diamond Racing cones (type #3) improved the sound quite a bit making it smoother and more 3 dimensional.
So my experience is that the Crown can be a surprisingly good amplifier with the right tweaks. Enjoy it and don't worry about what others tell you.
---Gary