new amp runs hot.......whats up?

[audioraptured]

Good morning members,
I am Audioraptured with my ML Ascent and Theater speakers across the front. So much so that I just purchased the Aragon Stage One and the Aragon 8008mkll. I have two Acurus 200x3 of which I will use one for the center and rears and sell the other. They are about two years old and not used much. I set the system up on Monday and played them for an hour. As I was finished I went to turn the amps off, and they were very hot. Almost too hot to touch. The Acurus has never done this. I have it set up in a wooden cabinet with no room on the sides, but with the 8008 on the bottom, give about two inches,and the Acurus above it with about an inch and a half space and the preamp an inch above it. The speakers sound great, but what's with this heat from the amps? Can't they push these Ascents or are they just in a break-in-phase, or what? Should I move the amps to a shelf only type of stand with no sides, or; what kind of small fan, (that's quiet), could I use? Thanks in advance for all the ideas and help.

 

[Anthony A.]

firstly, your equipment needs way more space between the them and possibly some form of ventilation. secondly, it may be possible that your amps are having a hard time to deliver enough power to the speakers so they are working super hard and are getting really hot. check the specs of how low the amps imoedance can drive and compare it to your speakers.

 

[Spike]

Ventilation

Looks like you don't have enough ventilation for your equipment rack. The Aragon 8008MkII idles at 120 watts (more with music passages) producing heat going up through the V-shape notch on the top of the amp. With this "heater" on the bottom, feeding hot air upward to your Acurus amplifier, I would not be surprised that your amps are running hot. I just glanced through the on-line manual of the Aragon as well as Acurus, both state clearly that these amps need room for ventilation. Especially the Aragon since it is biased on the high-side for performance. You can try taking either the Acurus or the Aragon out of the rack and play them for an hour to see whether they are still running hot. If they run cooler, that's an indication that the current wooden cabinet does not provide adequate ventilation given the Aragon is taking residence inside.

Good Luck.
Spike

 

[garmtz]

This amp runs hot no matter what... It is based heavily into class a, so no worries, it is part of the design...

 

[Robin]

Too Darn Hot...

This amp runs hot no matter what... It is based heavily into class a, so no worries, it is part of the design...

aduioraptured,

I agree, IMHO, I think, you need to put at least a foot of space above the amps., for proper ventilation. You might try a spot ventilation fan too. IMHO, Power amp.'s need to breath.

What are the dimentions of your HT?

By-the-way, Welcome to the ML Club!

Cheers

-Robin

 

[audioraptured]

new amp runs hot

Thanks all for your prompt replies:
AnthonyA.: I did write to Klipsh and they wrote back that their amp would handle the load, that was a good idea to check.
Spike: That was a fine point and I am redesigning my rack. I am going to use shelves and put the amps on top, with the dish, dvd, cd, and vhs players underneath.
garmtz: As you could read between the lines I felt concerned about whether I made the right purchase. Its good to know there is a lean toward the hot side with this Aragon. After I get the new rack built, I'll use a thermometer and check out how hot this really runs.
Robin. Thank you for your welcome, and info. To answer your question, the room is almost 20'x30' with a peak of 15 feet at the center and 8' at the walls. I do have fans from the ceiling, so when I redo the rack with the amps on top I am hopefull this will solve my oversight. When its all finished I will snap a picture and share what I hope will be a great system. Especially after all the work that goes into building these islands of respites.