Minimum Power Matrix - Crown Macro-Tech 3600VZ Reference Manual

In an effort to provide you with as much information as possible about the high power-producing capabilities of your amplifier, we have
created the following power matrices.
Minimum Guaranteed Power Specifications
Crown's minimum power specifications represent the absolute smallest amount of output power you can expect from your amplifier
when it is driven to full output under the given conditions. Some spaces in each matrix may be left blank because the same guarantee
is not provided for those conditions—however, your amplifier will perform well under all conditions listed in each matrix.
When measuring power, 0.1% THD appears to be the industry standard for distortion. Two of the maximum average power
specifications shown in each minimum power matrix are measured at 0.1% THD so you can easily compare Crown specifications to
those of other manufacturers. But this high level of distortion actually allows for some clipping which is undesirable. Because of this,
a maximum average power specification at 0.05% THD is included in each minimum power matrix which represents non-clipped
conditions. Although most manufacturers do not give you power specifications at 0.05% THD, we encourage them to provide these
specifications so you will have a more realistic representation of the way amplifiers should be used in the real world—without a
clipped output signal.
Many manufacturers publish power specs with a tolerance of ±1 dB or worse. This means their amplifier can deviate more than 20%
in output! A 100 watt amplifier would meet their specification if it only produced 79.4 watts. Other manufacturers qualify their specs by
saying they are "typical, " "subject to manufacturing tolerances, " "single channel driven" or that they are specified with "fuses
Figure 6.1 Minimum Power Matrix
Page 32
Crown specifications are guaranteed for three years.
Macro-Tech 3600VZ Power Amplifier
bypassed. " Each of these statements effectively
removes any performance guarantee. In fact, some
manufacturers use these tactics to generate large
power numbers, and they don't even print a disclaimer.
We take a different approach at Crown—our amplifiers
are guaranteed to meet or exceed their specifications
for three years. Further, because our published specs
are set below our "in-house" measurements, you can
expect every Crown amplifier to exceed its published
minimum power specs. We believe you should get what
you pay for.
Minimum Power Notes:
All minimum power specifications are based on 0.5%
regulated AC mains with THD of less than 1.0% and an
ambient room temperature of 70° F (21° C). Standard
EIA power (RS-490) is not shown here because it is iden-
tical to FTC Continuous Average Power.
1. A 1 kHz sine wave is presented to the amplifier and
the output monitored for nonlinear distortion. The level
is increased until THD reaches 0.1%. At this point,
average power per channel is reported.
2. A sine wave is presented to the amplifier over the
range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and the output monitored
for nonlinear distortion. The level at each frequency
is increased until THD reaches 0.1%. At this point,
average power per channel is reported.
3. A 1 kHz sine wave is presented to the amplifier and
the output monitored for nonlinear distortion. The level
is increased until THD reaches 0.05%. At this point,
average power per channel is reported.
4. Continuous power in the context of Federal Trade
Commission testing is understood to be a minimum
of five minutes of operation. Harmonic distortion is
measured as the RMS sum total and given as a per-
centage of the fundamental output voltage. This ap-
plies for all wattages greater than 0.25 watts.
Reference Manual