support needed to prove argument w/ amp gain settings

slicey · 21st August 2005, 08:40 AM

hello everyone, this post below on audio section of car forum got me into a debate, which i strongly believe i'm right but can't convince the other guy.

the 2nd post is what he said about amplifier gains being set to high, that's possibly responsible for the thermal

Problems with Arc KAR400.4 AMP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just got my components and amp installed from Don. Today the amp that's powering the components just cut off atleast 6-7 times at volumes that were a little loud, not too loud. When I opened the trunk to look at the AMP. It was EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY HOT. So much so I couldn't touch it for more than .1 seconds. What can it be?

possibly your gains are a lil' high-f you are the type that cranks your music pretty loudly for good periods of time-thats why i'm asking at what volumes on the AVN do you feel it gets the loudest.....or you really get on it?

So..........the statement for you to ponder, i hope

, having the gains set high or low has no relation to the heat generated by the amp's output devices. having the gains set high merely drives the amp to its rated power output with a lower source voltage. TRUE OR FALSE?

TO-3 · 21st August 2005, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by slicey
hello everyone, this post below on audio section of car forum got me into a debate, which i strongly believe i'm right but can't convince the other guy.

the 2nd post is what he said about amplifier gains being set to high, that's possibly responsible for the thermal

Problems with Arc KAR400.4 AMP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just got my components and amp installed from Don. Today the amp that's powering the components just cut off atleast 6-7 times at volumes that were a little loud, not too loud. When I opened the trunk to look at the AMP. It was EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY HOT. So much so I couldn't touch it for more than .1 seconds. What can it be?

possibly your gains are a lil' high-f you are the type that cranks your music pretty loudly for good periods of time-thats why i'm asking at what volumes on the AVN do you feel it gets the loudest.....or you really get on it?

So..........the statement for you to ponder, i hope , having the gains set high or low has no relation to the heat generated by the amp's output devices. having the gains set high merely drives the amp to its rated power output with a lower source voltage. TRUE OR FALSE?

Very true. Only the total power generated by the amplifier determines the amount of power that is dissipated as heat. High signal in, low gain is no different than low signal in, high gain.

sr20dem0n · 21st August 2005, 06:51 PM

true

and check your connections, sometimes a bad ground can cause the amp to heat up significantly, throwing it into thermal protection

Eva · 21st August 2005, 08:54 PM

This is obviously a poor cooling issue.

However, there are some 'lazy' people out there that, instead of improving cooling, would set the gain at minimum so that the head unit will be no longer capable of driving the amplifier to its maximum output, thus reducing maximum heating.

21st August 2005, 08:40 AM	#1
slicey diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: az	support needed to prove argument w/ amp gain settings hello everyone, this post below on audio section of car forum got me into a debate, which i strongly believe i'm right but can't convince the other guy. the 2nd post is what he said about amplifier gains being set to high, that's possibly responsible for the thermal Problems with Arc KAR400.4 AMP -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I just got my components and amp installed from Don. Today the amp that's powering the components just cut off atleast 6-7 times at volumes that were a little loud, not too loud. When I opened the trunk to look at the AMP. It was EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY HOT. So much so I couldn't touch it for more than .1 seconds. What can it be? possibly your gains are a lil' high-f you are the type that cranks your music pretty loudly for good periods of time-thats why i'm asking at what volumes on the AVN do you feel it gets the loudest.....or you really get on it? So..........the statement for you to ponder, i hope , having the gains set high or low has no relation to the heat generated by the amp's output devices. having the gains set high merely drives the amp to its rated power output with a lower source voltage. TRUE OR FALSE?

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21st August 2005, 06:51 PM	#3
sr20dem0n diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Broomfield, CO	true and check your connections, sometimes a bad ground can cause the amp to heat up significantly, throwing it into thermal protection

21st August 2005, 08:54 PM	#4
Eva diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Near the sea	This is obviously a poor cooling issue. However, there are some 'lazy' people out there that, instead of improving cooling, would set the gain at minimum so that the head unit will be no longer capable of driving the amplifier to its maximum output, thus reducing maximum heating.

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