Crown / JBL DSI 2.0

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   i finally was able to find pictures of internals ( on Ebay of all places )
here is the MA4 ( sold working ):

and here is the part under the Shroud from LA4 model - not working, sold for parts, it seems capacitors were removed ! you can see the capacitors in the pic of working amp but they aren't present in the PCB that is sold for parts.  though MA4 and LA4 aren't the same model they are the same wattage - just put it out into different ohms - so i would expect them to have capacitors in the same places.

now these are Cinema amps so obviously not a great choice for PA / touring use but i think they could be great for home theater.

what makes them interesting to me is that they are one of the latest designs from Crown - much more modern than stuff like I-Tech.  they also claim 4 X 2,200W in a fairly affordable package and now you can get them used for half the new price.

but looking at these pics of internals ... it seems a bit suspicious no ?  does this look like a 4 X 2,200W amp ?

my guess is JBL is honest but these are "cinema watts" rather than "dubstep watts"

what do you think ?

if you were doing a permanent install setup and needed to drive some subwoofers mainly for music would you rather use these ( used ) or I-Tech ( also used ) ?

my issue with used I-Tech is they would be pretty old and will have seen a lot of time in the truck but these DSI even used would not be old and in mint condition as they would have been installed in a rack maybe once in their entire life.

what do you think ?

for example this is the "used" condition of the amp from the first picture as it's being sold on Ebay for $1,800:

to me that is basically new !

Edited by Line Array - 27 March 2025 at 10:33am

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Line Array Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 19 March 2022 Location: New Jersey, USA Status: Offline Points: 204	Post Options Post Reply Quote Line Array Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Crown / JBL DSI 2.0 Posted: 27 March 2025 at 10:23am
	i finally was able to find pictures of internals ( on Ebay of all places ) here is the MA4 ( sold working ): and here is the part under the Shroud from LA4 model - not working, sold for parts, it seems capacitors were removed ! you can see the capacitors in the pic of working amp but they aren't present in the PCB that is sold for parts. though MA4 and LA4 aren't the same model they are the same wattage - just put it out into different ohms - so i would expect them to have capacitors in the same places. now these are Cinema amps so obviously not a great choice for PA / touring use but i think they could be great for home theater. what makes them interesting to me is that they are one of the latest designs from Crown - much more modern than stuff like I-Tech. they also claim 4 X 2,200W in a fairly affordable package and now you can get them used for half the new price. but looking at these pics of internals ... it seems a bit suspicious no ? does this look like a 4 X 2,200W amp ? my guess is JBL is honest but these are "cinema watts" rather than "dubstep watts" what do you think ? if you were doing a permanent install setup and needed to drive some subwoofers mainly for music would you rather use these ( used ) or I-Tech ( also used ) ? my issue with used I-Tech is they would be pretty old and will have seen a lot of time in the truck but these DSI even used would not be old and in mint condition as they would have been installed in a rack maybe once in their entire life. what do you think ? for example this is the "used" condition of the amp from the first picture as it's being sold on Ebay for $1,800: to me that is basically new ! Edited by Line Array - 27 March 2025 at 10:33am

Line Array Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 19 March 2022 Location: New Jersey, USA Status: Offline Points: 204	Post Options Post Reply Quote Line Array Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 31 March 2025 at 12:01pm
	i think what JBL / Crown is doing with this amp is they're trying to unify plate amp design with rackmount amp design this amp if you think about it basically consists of two plate amp PCBs each PCB has two channels plus it seems the PSU is integrated into the same PCB as the output stage ... which is something we also see in the Crown XLS series with so many active speakers today as well as with all the multi-amping that is going on i think it makes sense for Crown to make these multi-channel amps that are basically just a bunch of plate amps in a rackmount chassis ... and the Crown XLS can be thought of as a single, lower-power plate amp in an el-cheapo box for entry-level applications you could say this is cost cutting versus how something like I-Tech is designed but that cost saving is passed on to the consumer in this case with DSI 2.0 watt for watt costing half what I-Tech costs. with so many people using Behringer or Sinbosen for low cost i think it is right move for Crown to think a little bit more about offering VALUE and not simply building tanks. Edited by Line Array - 31 March 2025 at 12:03pm