Crown International
Encyclopedia
Crown International, or Crown Audio, is a manufacturer of audio electronics, and is a subsidiary
of Harman International Industries
. Today the company is known primarily for its power amplifiers, but has also manufactured microphone
s, a line of commercial audio products as well as digital audio
networking products.
, an Elkhart, Indiana
minister. The company started out building rugged, open reel tape recorder
s for use by missionaries in far off parts of the world. A converted chicken coop
served as the first manufacturing facility.
In the 1960s, the company's name was changed to "Crown International", as suggested by Moore's wife and co-founder, Ruby, as she felt the name "International Radio and Electronics Corporation" was too long, and because the emblem on many of their tape recorders was a crown. In 1975, the company's name was changed to Crown International, Inc., as voted by the stockholders.
A fire destroyed 60% of the Crown facility on Thanksgiving Day 1971 and rendered much of the remaining building severely damaged. US$1 million of uninsured assets were lost. The plant was rebuilt, and D-60 amplifier production was brought back on line within six weeks.
In March, 2000, Crown International was acquired by Harman International as their primary supplier of audio power amplifiers. The radio frequency broadcast division was subsequently repurchased by descendants of Clarence Moore who restructured the division in order to continue the manufacture of broadcast transmitters and RF amplifiers using Moore's original firm name: "International Radio & Electronics Corporation". Following Crown International's acquisition by Harman International, additional offices were set up in Northridge, Los Angeles, California
, where AKG Acoustics
, another Harman International company, maintains its North American headquarters.
s to make them more rugged. In 1949, Moore obtained a groundbreaking patent, the first tape recorder with a built-in power amplifier for public address
duties, which was introduced in 1950. In 1953, Crown added a line of compact loudspeaker
s as accessories to the reel to reel tape recorders.
In 1959, Crown began making standalone tube power amplifiers
. By 1963, solid state electronics
development allowed Crown to produce a more robust tape recorder, and in 1964, their first solid state power amplifier: the low-profile SA 20-20. In 1967, the DC300 was introduced as the first AB+B circuitry amplifier with 150 watts per channel at eight ohms. The DC300 proved very popular with sound reinforcement system
owners and moved Crown into a leadership position in terms of power amplifier sales worldwide. As well, the DC300 was seen as a breakthrough product by commercial sound system contractors seeking to power their constant voltage speaker system
s without the frequency response limitations and power losses associated with output power transformers which had previously been required. In November 2007, after 40 years of service, the Crown DC300 was inducted into the TEC Awards TECnology Hall of Fame in New York on the opening day of the Audio Engineering Society
's 123rd convention. George Peterson, executive editor of Mix magazine
, said of the DC300 that it "was a classic that really ushered in and defined the era of the modern power amplifier."
In 1971, the grounded bridge amplfier design was invented by Crown, allowing greater output power without increasing amplfier size and also gave lower distortion, less thermal stress and greater reliability. The first grounded bridge product released by Crown was the M600 amplifier (1974) primarily employed for commercial sound installations including constant voltage loudspeaker systems. Crown received a patent for the invention in 1974. After proving itself in the field, the topology was used to design the Microtech MT-1000 in 1984. Further development of the grounded bridge yielded the Macrotech line which set a new standard for touring sound reinforcement in 1992 with the MA-5000VZ.
In 1976, Crown patented the synergistic equalizer
, releasing the stereo EQ-2 graphic equalizer which used a combination of shelving-style tone controls
and eleven active frequency adjustment faders per channel. The faders were connected to constant bandwidth, variable Q
, 1/2-octave filters placed on octave centers but with adjustable frequency knobs to shift the center frequency for greater flexibility. A limited number of units were sold to audiophiles and audio researchers.
By 1977, all of Crown's tape recorder products had been phased out.
In 1979, Crown introduced the PSA-2 & SA-2 power amplifiers with analog computer control of transistor performance to maximize output characteristics. The FM-1 stereo radio tuner was praised at the Consumer Electronics Show
. In 1981, the FM-2 with digital tuning was released.
A line of Pressure zone microphones
(PZM) was introduced by Crown in 1980, culminating in the PZM-30 series in 1990. Other microphones introduced by Crown included the PCC-166 directional boundary microphone in 1986, the tiny GLM series and the patented differoid CM300 in 1987. The SASS stereo microphone was patented in 1989. Garth Brooks
was the first performer to wear the Crown CM311 headset microphone in 1993. The CM700 studio condenser was introduced in 1995.
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Harman International Industries
Harman International Industries
Harman International Industries is an American-based international audio and infotainment equipment company. The company designs, manufactures and markets audio and infotainment products for the car, the home, theatres and venues, as well as electronics for audio professionals...
. Today the company is known primarily for its power amplifiers, but has also manufactured microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
s, a line of commercial audio products as well as digital audio
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
networking products.
History
International Radio and Electronics Corporation (IREC) was established in 1947 by Clarence C. MooreClarence C. Moore
Clarence C. Moore was an engineer and minister at Radio Station HCJB with primary transmitters in Quito, Ecuador. He went on to found International Radio and Electronics Corporation in Elkhart, Indiana which was renamed Crown International in the 1960s at the suggestion of his wife Ruby...
, an Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
minister. The company started out building rugged, open reel tape recorder
Reel-to-reel audio tape recording
Reel-to-reel, open reel tape recording is the form of magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording medium is held on a reel, rather than being securely contained within a cassette....
s for use by missionaries in far off parts of the world. A converted chicken coop
Chicken coop
A chicken coop is a building where female chickens are kept. Inside there are often nest boxes for egg laying and perches on which the birds can sleep, although coops for meat birds seldom have either of these features....
served as the first manufacturing facility.
In the 1960s, the company's name was changed to "Crown International", as suggested by Moore's wife and co-founder, Ruby, as she felt the name "International Radio and Electronics Corporation" was too long, and because the emblem on many of their tape recorders was a crown. In 1975, the company's name was changed to Crown International, Inc., as voted by the stockholders.
A fire destroyed 60% of the Crown facility on Thanksgiving Day 1971 and rendered much of the remaining building severely damaged. US$1 million of uninsured assets were lost. The plant was rebuilt, and D-60 amplifier production was brought back on line within six weeks.
In March, 2000, Crown International was acquired by Harman International as their primary supplier of audio power amplifiers. The radio frequency broadcast division was subsequently repurchased by descendants of Clarence Moore who restructured the division in order to continue the manufacture of broadcast transmitters and RF amplifiers using Moore's original firm name: "International Radio & Electronics Corporation". Following Crown International's acquisition by Harman International, additional offices were set up in Northridge, Los Angeles, California
Northridge, Los Angeles, California
Northridge is a community located in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States.The 1994 Northridge earthquake is named for the place based on early estimates of the location of the quake's epicenter; however, further refinements showed it to be technically...
, where AKG Acoustics
AKG Acoustics
AKG Acoustics is an Austrian manufacturer of microphones, headphones, wireless audio systems and related accessories for professional and consumer markets...
, another Harman International company, maintains its North American headquarters.
Product timeline
In 1947, Clarence and Ruby Moore began by modifying existing makes and models of tape recorderTape recorder
An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
s to make them more rugged. In 1949, Moore obtained a groundbreaking patent, the first tape recorder with a built-in power amplifier for public address
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
duties, which was introduced in 1950. In 1953, Crown added a line of compact loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
s as accessories to the reel to reel tape recorders.
Valve audio amplifier
A valve audio amplifier or vacuum tube audio amplifier is a valve amplifier used for sound reinforcement, sound recording and reproduction....
. By 1963, solid state electronics
Solid state (electronics)
Solid-state electronics are those circuits or devices built entirely from solid materials and in which the electrons, or other charge carriers, are confined entirely within the solid material...
development allowed Crown to produce a more robust tape recorder, and in 1964, their first solid state power amplifier: the low-profile SA 20-20. In 1967, the DC300 was introduced as the first AB+B circuitry amplifier with 150 watts per channel at eight ohms. The DC300 proved very popular with sound reinforcement system
Sound reinforcement system
A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds to a larger or more distant audience...
owners and moved Crown into a leadership position in terms of power amplifier sales worldwide. As well, the DC300 was seen as a breakthrough product by commercial sound system contractors seeking to power their constant voltage speaker system
Constant voltage speaker system
Constant voltage speaker systems refer to networks of loudspeakers which are connected to an audio amplifier using step-up and step-down transformers to simplify impedance calculations and to minimize power loss over the speaker cables. They are more appropriately called high-voltage audio...
s without the frequency response limitations and power losses associated with output power transformers which had previously been required. In November 2007, after 40 years of service, the Crown DC300 was inducted into the TEC Awards TECnology Hall of Fame in New York on the opening day of the Audio Engineering Society
Audio Engineering Society
Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
's 123rd convention. George Peterson, executive editor of Mix magazine
Mix (magazine)
Mix magazine is a periodical billing itself as "the world's leading magazine for the professional recording and sound production technology industry". The magazine is distributed in 94 countries....
, said of the DC300 that it "was a classic that really ushered in and defined the era of the modern power amplifier."
In 1971, the grounded bridge amplfier design was invented by Crown, allowing greater output power without increasing amplfier size and also gave lower distortion, less thermal stress and greater reliability. The first grounded bridge product released by Crown was the M600 amplifier (1974) primarily employed for commercial sound installations including constant voltage loudspeaker systems. Crown received a patent for the invention in 1974. After proving itself in the field, the topology was used to design the Microtech MT-1000 in 1984. Further development of the grounded bridge yielded the Macrotech line which set a new standard for touring sound reinforcement in 1992 with the MA-5000VZ.
In 1976, Crown patented the synergistic equalizer
Equalizer
Equalizer or equaliser may refer to:*Equalization, the process of adjusting the strength of certain frequencies within a signal*An equalization filter for used audio and similar signals...
, releasing the stereo EQ-2 graphic equalizer which used a combination of shelving-style tone controls
Tone control circuits
Tone control is a type of equalization used to make specific pitches or "frequencies" in an audio signal softer or louder. A tone control circuit is an electronic circuit that consists of a network of filters which modify the signal before it is fed to speakers, headphones or recording devices by...
and eleven active frequency adjustment faders per channel. The faders were connected to constant bandwidth, variable Q
Q factor
In physics and engineering the quality factor or Q factor is a dimensionless parameter that describes how under-damped an oscillator or resonator is, or equivalently, characterizes a resonator's bandwidth relative to its center frequency....
, 1/2-octave filters placed on octave centers but with adjustable frequency knobs to shift the center frequency for greater flexibility. A limited number of units were sold to audiophiles and audio researchers.
By 1977, all of Crown's tape recorder products had been phased out.
In 1979, Crown introduced the PSA-2 & SA-2 power amplifiers with analog computer control of transistor performance to maximize output characteristics. The FM-1 stereo radio tuner was praised at the Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
. In 1981, the FM-2 with digital tuning was released.
A line of Pressure zone microphones
PZM (microphone)
PZM is an acronym for Pressure Zone Microphone; it generally refers to a "boundary microphone" in which a small omnidirectional condenser mic capsule faces a boundary a few thousandths of an inch away. PZM is a trademark of Crown International....
(PZM) was introduced by Crown in 1980, culminating in the PZM-30 series in 1990. Other microphones introduced by Crown included the PCC-166 directional boundary microphone in 1986, the tiny GLM series and the patented differoid CM300 in 1987. The SASS stereo microphone was patented in 1989. Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
was the first performer to wear the Crown CM311 headset microphone in 1993. The CM700 studio condenser was introduced in 1995.