Cool amps
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
|
OP
shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044 |
OK, here's a question for y'all. (no, I'm not buying anything anytime soon...) Is it possible to make a cool running amp? Are there any extant today? My H/K 525 (7x75wpc) runs hot just sitting in the cabinet doing nothing. Seems like such a waste of power. I'm guessing the A1400 runs much cooler, but that's a biiiit out of the price range of many (myself included).
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
|
|
|
Re: Cool amps
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,331
axiomite
|
axiomite
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,331 |
Yeah, I was gonna say that I thought digital amps, like the Axiom, run relatively cool. I'm not gonna be much help cuz, off hand, I don't know of any other digital amps. I suspect they exist, I just don't know about 'em.
Jack
"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
|
|
|
Re: Cool amps
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
|
OP
shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044 |
They exist, but they're reputed to be problematic, from what I know. Or at least from what I know from reading the A1400 reviews...
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
|
|
|
Re: Cool amps
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 150
veteran
|
veteran
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 150 |
Wyred 4 Sound supposedly makes a good digital amp as well as Nu Force. All are somewhat pricey, but that is in the eyes of the beholder.
"Never, never, never give up "... Winston Churchill
|
|
|
Re: Cool amps
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,270
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,270 |
Hi kcarlile,
Class A/B analog solid-state amplifiers are about 50% to 60% efficient, so yes, they do waste lots of power, but at least we can console ourselves that we're not using vacuum tubes! You can warm up dinner on top of most tube amplifiers; in fact, tubes don't even work until the heater element inside heats up (that's what gives off the orange glow so beloved of tubo-philes) and stabilizes so that the electrons will flow.
Anyway, digital amplifiers like the Axiom A1400, which I have, run tepid or warm, but never really hot (like those old H/Ks, which I also have!), because as their output increases, they become more efficient (at near full output, the A1400 reaches about 95% efficiency).
The ICE digital amplifiers developed and licensed by Bang & Olefson (Pioneer uses them in some of their receivers) also do not run hot. Panasonic has made some really cheapo digital AV receivers which should run cooler than analog, but I've never had experience with them.
The real problem is sticking seven amplifiers plus all the preamp circuitry inside of one chassis. In the stereo days, you just had two amplifiers to worry about, and reasonable heat-sinking would keep them from running hot. But now, unless you put either a cycling or constant-running cooling fan into a 7-channel class A/B AV receiver, it's going to cook!
Regards, Alan
Alan Lofft, Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)
|
|
|
Re: Cool amps
|
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,789
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,789 |
If you don't want to risk the problems that come with most digital amps, you can look into type-H amps. They run much cooler than A/B amps, but usually run more than their A/B counterparts. The Emotiva MPS-7 is a good example of this sort of amp (http://emotiva.com/mps2.shtm), read up on it.
Like I said, they are more than A/B class amps, but not quite as pricey as the A1400... well, at least the Emotiva wasn't! lol
My Stuff :
M80's QS8's VP150 EP800 Denon 4802 Emotiva XPA-3 Samsung BD-P3600 Sharp 65 Inch Aquos LCD
|
|
|
Re: Cool amps
|
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,361
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,361 |
If you don't want to risk the problems that come with most digital amps, you can look into type-H amps. They run much cooler than A/B amps, but usually run more than their A/B counterparts. Second that. My GX5 is Class-H and runs very cool on the low rail. But once your want to feel the music, it gets hot via the high current rail. As expected, I don't know what any of that means, but I know it works! From QSC: The GX5 uses a Class H system, based on key elements of the PLX Series, almost doubling power in the same size and weight. QSC design expertise allows the output devices to shift from low-power to high-power rails in less than a millionth of a second, ensuring that the output power is always right where it needs to be without excess loss - runs cool on background music and TV, cranks till my ears bleed without clipping.
Panny 3000 PJ, 118" Carada, Denon 3300, PS3, Axiom QS8, PSB 5T, B&W sub, levitating speaker wire
|
|
|
Re: Cool amps
|
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 13,843 Likes: 13
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 13,843 Likes: 13 |
I would not recommend Emo with Axiom m80s.
M80s VP180 4xM22ow 4xM3ic EP600 2xEP350 AnthemAVM60 Outlaw7700 EmoA500 Epson5040UB FluanceRT85
|
|
|
Re: Cool amps
|
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,488
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,488 |
Yeah, Instead get something like Odyssey Stratos mono's... which will run cool due to their massive heat sink's. There arent even any vents in the chassis.
|
|
|
Re: Cool amps
|
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16 |
Ken, the NHT amp I'm using is a 200X5 with B/O Ice Power Modules in it. It runs cool. Heck, I even have the 3808 sitting on it and it still runs cool to the touch.
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics24,949
Posts442,510
Members15,619
|
Most Online2,082 Jan 22nd, 2020
|
|
0 members (),
1,034
guests, and
2
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|