Bob Jeremias has owned and operated Soundmaster for more than 12 years, providing sound hire services across the Greater Northeast. Jeremias and Soundmaster have used Crest amps for years with great results, and recently purchased five Crest Pro 8200s and two Crest Pro 7200s for their large, three-way and four-way FOH rigs.
Jeremias and his four employees deliver FOH and monitors for sold-out concerts featuring chart-topping entertainers, as well as corporate events for some of the world’s biggest and most recognizable brands. Soundmaster’s client list includes Mariah Carey, Funkmaster Flex, Sony Music, Reebok, Motorola, MCA, Tommy Hilfiger, Vibe Magazine and Teen People Magazine.
Since Soundmaster provides FOH and monitors for some of the biggest names in music, taking a chance with sound quality and dependability was simply out of the question. Jeremias has found the lightweight Crest Pro 200 Series power amps do not sacrifice high-fidelity output or reliability. “I love that the Pro 200 Series amps are lightweight, because they make it so much easier to move my racks in and out of gigs,” said Jeremias. “And the fact that they’re shallow is great. It’s really nice not needing a two- or three-foot-long rack case to house my amps.”
Jeremias has been quite impressed with the Pro 200 Series’ sonic performance. “It’s always a legitimate concern that the sound will suffer when you go to a lightweight amp, but my Pro 8200s and Pro 7200s sound as good or better than any other amp on the market,” he said. “Both models produce more bottom end than can be expected from other lightweight amps. A lot of guys in my position have been frustrated by the lack of bottom end generated by lightweight amps, but these new Crest Pro 200 Series amps solve that problem. I’ve run A/B tests with these amps against some of the heavier amps available, and the Pro 200s not only compare–they always sound better.”
After putting his Pro 8200s and Pro 7200s through their paces, Jeremias is confident that they’re extremely dependable and trustworthy performers. “They have been 100% reliable at 2 Ohms,” he said. “They are very efficient amps, and now matter how hard I’ve run them I haven’t been able to blow out a 20 Amp circuit, which is pretty significant considering how much power they generate. Blowing circuits and tripping breakers is a real killer in this business, especially when you’re running FOH for a large concert. Knowing that the Pro 200s will generate tons of power without blowing a circuit gives me great peace of mind.”
Keeping up with the changing demands of mixing a three-hour concert is a challenging task, but even more so once the lights go off and knobs, buttons and meters slip into darkness. That’s why Jeremias appreciates the new ultra-bright LEDs on the new Pro 200 Series amps. “It may seem like a small detail, but the new LEDs on these amps make a big difference,” he said. “They’re so bright that you could probably see them from the other end of a football field. They jump right out at you, and there’s no mistaking what’s on and what’s off, or what’s clipping.”
All Crest Pro 200 Series amplifiers occupy 2RU and weigh 25 lbs. The Pro 8200 delivers 1450 Watts per channel (4500 Watts bridge mode) into 4 Ohms; the Pro 7200 provides 1000 Watts per channel (3300 Watts bridge mode); and the Pro 5200 has 525 Watts per channel (1800 Watts bridge mode). U.S. MSRPs are as follows: Pro 8200, $2630; Pro 7200, $1970; and Pro 5200, $1600.