has anybody done a a/b test with the Crown Macro,

Even so, it is arguably the best SUBWOOFER amp ever made. It has an outrageous DF, and a huge current reserve so it is great for hauling around woofers with accuracy.

The sound you get from it in "normal" listening *might* be variable, since they are more or less class B pro amps with an extra feedback loop in the Macro Reference as compared to the Macro Techs... so the bias setting could have a pretty dramatic effect on the resultant sound coming out. They're set near the hairy edge of A/B in the pro models coming from the factory and I can see crossover notches with no problem on the scope. Of course, they should not be set this way in the Reference, but I have not had a Reference on the bench to be sure of it.

_-_-bear

I have to agree with "Mejames" How ever I had to live with my Crown Macro Ref. for a little longer then an hour, I had sold my Luxman M-6000 to pay for the Crown and was so upset after it arived that went out to my car to listen to my tunes. I did manage to sell it off about two weeks later and buy a "BALLS TO THE WALLS" KSA-250..

had a macro reference in house compared to a Counterpoint sa 220 amplifier the macro was in system less than 1 hour before packing it up and taking back to dealer, no contest the macro isn't any good in my opinion and compared to the brands you listed above is a complete joke.