Crown I-Tech HD’s Take German Market By Storm, Providing Highest Level of Power And Reliability For Tour Sound Applications

Harman Professional’s German distributor, Audio Pro Heilbronn, is reporting unanimously positive feedback to Crown’s I-Tech HD series amplifiers from several of the country’s leading PA companies. This year, multiple German companies, such as LITT Eventprofiler, Little Vieth and B + B, have ordered large quantities of the HD’s — in many cases to drive their JBL VERTEC line array rigs.

“These are great amps, delivering a powerful and superb sounding DSP,” stated Audio Pro Heilbronn product manager, Carsten Peter. “Customers like the fact that these amps are very reliable, road proven and are perfectly matched for all professional loudspeakers. The Crown brand also enjoys global acceptance, which is vitally important for international clients.”

The advanced feature set, which includes analogue, AES/EBU, CobraNet, HiQnet™, Ethernet connectivity, LevelMax limiters and HiQnet configurability, appealed greatly to Stefan Todeskino, owner of Essen-based TDA Rental GmbH, when he purchased a total of 56 units, divided between 32 I-Tech 5000HD’s and 24 I-Tech 9000HD’s more than a year ago.

Another feature that impressed Todeskino was the flexibility of the I-Tech HD’s, enabling them to be used with all speaker types and in any application, while Harman Pro’s powerful HiQnet and System Architect™ software made programming and control a simple task.

Located east of Berlin, production company LITT Eventprofiler was another early adopter, making the decision to add 46 I-Tech 5000HD amplifiers to its Crown inventory, which over the past 10 years has included Crown MA 5002 and IT-4000 amplifiers.
 
Nottuln-based Little Vieth PA Service had more than 45 Crown vintage PSA-2’s in their inventory, stepping up first to Crown’s MA-5002VZ and then I-Techs after investing in a JBL VERTEC PA system.  “In total we were using 68 I-Tech 4000 amps, but starting this year, we are now replacing them with I-Tech HD’s,” said Günter Vieth, founder, Little Vieth.

Vieth noted the impressive performance versus price ratio and general feature set — particularly the BSS Ominidrive-related DSP processing with IIR filters and linear phase FIR filters. “This was a major selling point,” he stated.

In 2004, Dortmund-based B+B Veranstaltungstechnik also turned to Crown after purchasing a JBL VERTEC system, powering the rig with CTs-3000, equipped with DSP-based USP-3 PIP modules. Two years later, following the acquisition of a JBL VRX932LA system, it expanded its hire fleet by adding a quantity of Crown I-Tech 4000’s.

The addition of further VERTEC’s created the demand for even more amplifiers. As a result, Sebastian Müller-Eckhard of B+B, recently replaced the IT4000’s with 36 I-Tech 5000HD amplifiers as their front line devices. The new HD’s are divided into a series of 6-amp and 2-amp racks — respectively used in VERTEC configurations VRX or additional subs.

“We recognized that we were experiencing much fewer problems with damaged speakers once we started using I-Tech’s. And the HD’s have the additional benefit over the IT-4000 of an expanded DSP resolution, which provides an impressive sound quality,” stated Müller-Eckhard.

Harman HiQnet™ is the world's first connectivity and control protocol that integrates all product categories in the signal chain for professional audio systems of all types, size, and applications. Harman HiQnet no longer requires the user to manage multiple disparate operating systems or be responsible for programming individual signal processors, speaker controllers, wireless microphone systems, and mixing consoles. HiQnet was developed by engineers from across Harman’s Professional Division and is coordinated by the System Development and Integration Group (SDIG), a team of dedicated systems specialists based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems.  HARMAN has a workforce of about 11,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.2 billion for the last twelve months ended March 31, 2010.  The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

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