ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Solid-state power amplifier

DC-300 amplifier

Crown · 1967

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

The Crown DC300, designed by Gerald Stanley, was introduced in 1967 as a reliable solid-state amplifier rated at 150 watts per channel into 8 ohms, when 50–100 watt valve amplifiers were considered large. It sold for about $685.

Introduced
1967
Category
Solid-state power amplifier
Intended use
High-power professional, studio and live amplification
Production
Crown International, Elkhart, Indiana, from 1967

Equipment photographs · 1

Crown DC300A, the revised DC-300 amplifier, three views

1 / 1 · Crown DC300A, the revised DC-300 amplifier, three views

Crown DC300A, the revised DC-300 amplifier, three views·Binksternet·CC BY-SA 3.0

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It was the first widely trusted high-power solid-state amplifier, ending the reliance on valve designs for large systems.

  2. 02

    Its power density made it a staple of the first touring concert systems; it entered the TECnology Hall of Fame in 2007.

Engineering record

Power
150 W per channel at 8 ohms, using AB+B circuitry[1][2]
Protection
Thermal and voltage-current limiting[2]

Original pricing

$685 retail (1967)

2026 equivalent

≈ $6,870

Period US list or retail price reported by the cited source.[2]

Estimated in 2026 US dollars using the BLS CPI-U annual average for 1967 (33.4) and 334.980 for 2026, rounded to the nearest $10.[4]

Use in the field

Widely adopted for touring concert sound and high-level studio monitoring from the late 1960s[3]

Manuals & original documents

No authoritative manual or original document has been located for this profile.

Sources

  1. 1History Files: The Crown DC300 Amplifier Leads The Solid-State RevolutionProSoundWeb · technical paper · 2013-08-15
  2. 21967 Crown International DC 300 Power AmplifierMix · reference · 2007-09-01
  3. 3Crown DC 300 Enters TECnology Hall Of FameFOH · archive · 2007-11-28
  4. 4CPI Inflation Calculator methodology and CPI-U dataU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · reference · 2026

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