Crown amplifiers have a reputation for rugged dependability in the face of tough operating conditions, but a pair of Harman engineers recently thought they'd see just how much one of the latest I-Tech amps could take. Inspired by TV shows like 'Myth Busters', they set up and filmed a test to see what would happen to an amp if it was dropped heavily while music was playing through it. The front-panel readout showed that the amp's output suffered no errors, and the music kept playing even as the mischievous engineers increased the height from which the suffering amp was dashed to a concrete floor. Audio was briefly muted by an internal breaker to prevent damaging transients coming through, but the music was rapidly restored automatically each time.

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Meanwhile, one of Crown's other amp ranges has come through an altogether different series of tests to achieve much more respectable acclaim. The company's DSi range of digitally integrated power amps for cinema sound applications, comprising the DSi 1000, DSi 2000, DSi 4000 and DSi 8m system monitor, has been approved for use in THX‑certified cinemas by THX's Director of Technical Operations and Certifications, and will be added to the Approved Equipment list on the THX web site at www.thx.com.

This move allows the DSi-series amps to be used as part of the installed audio and amplification systems at cinemas carrying THX certification, the widely recognised 'gold standard' for cinema sound and vision. To gain THX certification, audio products have to pass a series of tests to prove that they come up to THX's carefully defined acoustic performance and background noise standards, and the DSi series have been now given the green light to join that exclusive club of products.

British Crown distributor Harman Pro UK is a regular supplier of DSi-series amps for large-scale cinema installation projects in the UK, such as the 2006 refit of the flagship Empire cinema in Leicester Square and the recently opened multiplex at the O2 in Greenwich, and this development paves the way for many more of these large-scale cinema installations to be THX-certified.