I'm trying to get this Icepower set up going but I keep getting -56 volts on the v-drive when the psu is enabled. pulled high by switching DVDD through PSU_ENABLE. There is only supposed to be +12 volts on that pin. It sits at +11.8 volts when the mains are connected without enabling the PSU_ENABLE. It is supposed to be +12 volts.
When I Enable the PSU + - rails are supposed to be 69 volts+- but they are only 67.9 volts The PSU is the only thing I have hooked up. It is mounted in the chassis with brass stand offs like it calls for and there is a mains power ground to the chassis as well. I don't understand what it is doing. Can anyone help?
I have 120 volts at the mains.
When I disconnect the PSU_ENABLE pin the voltage on the Vdrive slowly dissipates back to just under 12 volts but it takes about a minute.
When I Enable the PSU + - rails are supposed to be 69 volts+- but they are only 67.9 volts The PSU is the only thing I have hooked up. It is mounted in the chassis with brass stand offs like it calls for and there is a mains power ground to the chassis as well. I don't understand what it is doing. Can anyone help?
I have 120 volts at the mains.
When I disconnect the PSU_ENABLE pin the voltage on the Vdrive slowly dissipates back to just under 12 volts but it takes about a minute.
Vdrive is measured relative to VS (negative supply) and NOT Ground.
-67.9V to -56V = 12V potential difference.
Remember there is no such thing as 'Voltage'.
Only Potential Difference.
-67.9V to -56V = 12V potential difference.
Remember there is no such thing as 'Voltage'.
Only Potential Difference.
Thanks for responding. So that is expected then Okay. So I connect the Vdrive out of the PSU to the Vdrive in on the amp module then is that correct? One other question I have is how do I know if I should hook up DVDD/DVSS or the VDD/VSS to the amp modules. I can only hook up one or the other and I don't know which one I need or if I need either of them. I'm kind of new at this so please forgive my ignorance.
I expect the two connections are linked on the amp board hence the instruction to use one or the other.
Vd to VD
Vs to VS
GNDA to GND
AVDD to VDD
AVSS to VSS
Vdrive to Vdrive
Vd to VD
Vs to VS
GNDA to GND
AVDD to VDD
AVSS to VSS
Vdrive to Vdrive
Ok cool. That's actually how I was going to hook it up but wasn't sure. I was concerned because one has a higher voltage then the other AVDD/AVSS being +/- 7 volts and DVDD being +12 volts I think it was. The power supply only has DVDD, AVDD and AVSS. It has VS and VD as well but I already know where those go. Thanks.
You wouldn't know of a circuit I could use to implement a fan would you? One that is controlled by the temperature lead and is only on when it is needed.
The data sheet has this to say.
As a safeguard to protect against abnormal operation the primary side temperatures are measured, but not reported on
the temperature monitor output. Under all normal operation conditions, the primary side components will not reach the
shutdown limit.
Any measured temperature below approx. 23 °C will read out 2,6 V on the Temp output.
During thermal shutdown, the Temp output continues to report the measured temperature. The Temp output is an
analog output. Interface schematics can be found in Section 12.2
As it heats up the voltage begins to drop. Anyways any help is greatly appreciated. And thanks again.
The auxiliary supply voltage is an interesting question.
As you note AVDD/AVSS are +/- 7 V from the 1500S, if you look at the 400A2 datasheet the acceptable voltage range for VDD/VSS is +/- 7 to 17 V however the normal operating range for VDD/VSS is shown as +/- 11 to 14 V (12 V nominal). My current assumption is that AVDD/AVSS from the 1500S are meant for VDD/VSS but it seems odd that the +/- 7 V is on the very low end of the acceptable operating range.
Using +/- 7V from AVDD/AVSS to DVDD/DVSS also doesn't make much sense as the acceptable voltage range shown on the 400A2 datasheet is +/- 4.5 to 5.5 V.
I plan on buying a 1500S when they come back in stock for a 300A2 build. My current plan was to try AVDD/AVSS to VDD/VSS and if that did not work regulate AVDD/AVSS down to +/- 5 V and use that to DVDD/DVSS.
Definitely curious to hear about how your build goes and how what you end up doing with AVDD/AVSS. I also sent an e-mail directly to IcePower with this question but received no response.
Michael
OK then I'm not the only one confused by this. There is also no attempt made in the data sheets to explain why one would choose one over the other just that you can't use both. Also the 1500S doesn't have a DVSS out only a DVDD out and that is + voltage so I was assuming that the AVDD/AVSS went to VDD/VSS but didn't know for sure and didn't want to blow any thing up experimenting.
I too was originally going to use the 300A2's in my build but they didn't have any 1500S's at 57 volt in stock so they asked me if I wanted to wait but didn't know how long it would be before they would have them back in stock. My impression was it could be a while so they offered the 69 volt version and the 400A2's for the same price as an alternative. I figured what the hell it's way more power then I will ever use but the headroom won't hurt and I can always turn down the gains to help keep things tamed down a bit. I bought the boards straight from Icepower as Parts Express didn't offer them.
I'm building this amp to power a set of active 3 way floor standing speakers with a DSP front end that I'm also in the process of building. I'm much more competent at speaker building then building amplifiers even though it's probably more like assembling then building. I think you and me are about the only ones here on this board that are or will be using the 1500S and 300A2/400A2's to put together an amp. I don't know if that is because they are hard to get a hold of being that I don't think they where ever intended for the DIY market like the rest of their offerings or what but I've searched the forums and the only returns are from my postings. Reading through the data sheets for some of their other offerings in search of answers to my questions I've noticed they explain things a little better with the other stuff.
I too was originally going to use the 300A2's in my build but they didn't have any 1500S's at 57 volt in stock so they asked me if I wanted to wait but didn't know how long it would be before they would have them back in stock. My impression was it could be a while so they offered the 69 volt version and the 400A2's for the same price as an alternative. I figured what the hell it's way more power then I will ever use but the headroom won't hurt and I can always turn down the gains to help keep things tamed down a bit. I bought the boards straight from Icepower as Parts Express didn't offer them.
I'm building this amp to power a set of active 3 way floor standing speakers with a DSP front end that I'm also in the process of building. I'm much more competent at speaker building then building amplifiers even though it's probably more like assembling then building. I think you and me are about the only ones here on this board that are or will be using the 1500S and 300A2/400A2's to put together an amp. I don't know if that is because they are hard to get a hold of being that I don't think they where ever intended for the DIY market like the rest of their offerings or what but I've searched the forums and the only returns are from my postings. Reading through the data sheets for some of their other offerings in search of answers to my questions I've noticed they explain things a little better with the other stuff.
A pair of 300A2s will be hitting my doorstep tomorrow and I've been looking into an appropriate PSU to power them. Hence my arrival to this thread...
Did you guys ever consider the Micro-Audio SMPS630-G? Unfortunately, it is available only on backorder at the moment.
Also, have you requested access to the ICEPower Extranet? After I made my purchase, I sent an email to customer service requesting access in attempt to uncover any further documentation that may be of assistance with these modules, but I never received a reply.
So it sounds like you got your 400A2s working? Do tell, please!
Did you guys ever consider the Micro-Audio SMPS630-G? Unfortunately, it is available only on backorder at the moment.
Also, have you requested access to the ICEPower Extranet? After I made my purchase, I sent an email to customer service requesting access in attempt to uncover any further documentation that may be of assistance with these modules, but I never received a reply.
So it sounds like you got your 400A2s working? Do tell, please!
In a domestic setting it will run cool so I wouldn't bother.
Unless you're a DJ?
Actually it runs pretty hot. The transformer on the PSU and the toroidal coils on the amp modules get hot enough that you can't hold your fingers against them to long without burning them. The heat sinks get warm but not hot. I'm kind of wondering if I wired something a bit wonky.
The sound is good but my soundcard doesn't output enough voltage to drive the amps to high power much less full power. Playing a 1khz sine wave at full volume I'm not even seeing a full volt coming out of the sound card. I should be seeing a full 2 volts at that rate.
Yesterday I went and retrieved my ASUS Essence STX II sound card from my storage unit and I will be installing it in my PC today or tomorrow and If I can get it to play nice with my new AMD Ryzen desk top then I'm set. This sound card is about as good as they get. It's a really nice sound card but I have avoided putting it into my new desk top due to reported issues with compatibility with the AMD chip sets and ASUS not wanting to take the time to update the drivers for it. But there are third party drivers that I have found that supposedly work with it so I got my fingers crossed. I've had it in my last two Intel systems and it worked great.
Cool. The 300A2's need 57 volts to be driven to full power but they can run on less. I hadn't considered any other power supplies other then the Icepower 1500S that was designed primarily to power the A series modules.
So you have a pair of the mods coming in today then? What are your design goals? Are you going for a SE 4 channel in an active two way or a BTL high power stereo/dual mono two channel set up? Do you have a case for it yet? The one case maker that a lot of people use is that ghent audio.
https://www.ghentaudio.com/kit/index.html
They have some nice cases designed around certain builds but no one seams to be building amps from these modules so you won't find a custom fitted case there but their offerings are nice though. I bought my case here from the DIYAudio store.
https://diyaudiostore.com/collections/chassis
Nice cases made in Italy. Delivered to my door in California in about a week. Hardest part about using these cases are drilling out all of the holes for the various interconnects in the back panel. Trying real hard not to scratch the nice powder coated finish with the drilling process while also trying to keep everything properly spaced and aligned takes some diligence.
Love the build! That chassis is f'ing pro level. The perforated base plate is tight. Is that a sub-floor? IT appears you're running three stereo pairs and one BTL mono? Did you sell your fitted sheets, comforter and bed frame so you could pick up that fine Italian coachwork? LOL! Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
I'm familiar with Ghent and those beautiful Italian designed audio cases as well. I have an order in with Mr. Xu for a pair of custom made amp harnesses for the 300A2s at this very moment.
I was looking to build a pair of BTL monoblocks with the 300A2s, hence my quest for a pair of individual SMPSs that I could enclose separately with each unit. However, I may modify that goal as further detailed below.
Currently, I'm using JRiver 27 on a 2015 MacAir which feeds via USB to a MOTU UltraLite MkV. I have the MkV mounted in a half width rack using a pair of 3U Redco ABB Auxiliary Rack Rail Brackets. The MkV feeds three subs, one center channel and 3 stereo pairs. Amplification is provided by three Sabaj A8s in mono BTL powering the front three - a pair of JBL Studio 580s and a 530C center. Two JBL 570s take surround duty and are powered by a TI EVM TPA3255 whereas two JBL 530s take up the rear surround and are powered by an Aiyima A07. A pair of JBL 550Ps subs are to the left and right sides of the soundstage with a Polk PSW10 sub in the rear. I am slowly replacing the TI 3255s with ICEPower modules and wanted to try a DIY pair of BTL 300A2s in lieu of the A07.
My original design goal was somewhat thwarted by the amount of space that the SMPS units will ultimately require. At first I was hoping to house the 300A2s (and SMPSs) in a half-width chassis mounted above the MkV, with the trio of Sabaj A8s stacked to the right hand side and the TI EVM on top of the A8 stack. I was lucky to score a Bud Industries 2U half-width rack mount chassis on ebay at a substantial discount, however once I started calculating sizes and clearances it became apparent that the 2U 8.5" x 8" Bud Industries rack mounted chassis wouldn't be large enough for the duo of amps and PSUs. Another stroll though ebay and I picked up a NIB Hammond 3U half-width chassis at a deep discount as well.
I am toying with the idea of mounting two Micro-Audio SMPS630-Gs side-by-side in the Hammond 3U half width chassis and then running their DC lines in umbilical fashion to the paired 300A2s as mounted separately in the Bud Industries 2U half-width chassis below.
So are you drilling the rear panel free hand? What type of punch are you using? Agreed, drilling the holes, properly spaced on metal is always nerve wracking. I've only done so on twenty dollar bargain aluminum chassis to date... Now on that beautiful Italian chassis?!?! No pressure!
Here's the ICEPower Extranet btw:
https://icepower.dk/no-access/
I still have yet to get a response to my inquiry regarding access...
Thank you for sharing your build. I really appreciate it! I'll circle back later today and post some photos of what I've got going on thus far...
Drew
I'm familiar with Ghent and those beautiful Italian designed audio cases as well. I have an order in with Mr. Xu for a pair of custom made amp harnesses for the 300A2s at this very moment.
I was looking to build a pair of BTL monoblocks with the 300A2s, hence my quest for a pair of individual SMPSs that I could enclose separately with each unit. However, I may modify that goal as further detailed below.
Currently, I'm using JRiver 27 on a 2015 MacAir which feeds via USB to a MOTU UltraLite MkV. I have the MkV mounted in a half width rack using a pair of 3U Redco ABB Auxiliary Rack Rail Brackets. The MkV feeds three subs, one center channel and 3 stereo pairs. Amplification is provided by three Sabaj A8s in mono BTL powering the front three - a pair of JBL Studio 580s and a 530C center. Two JBL 570s take surround duty and are powered by a TI EVM TPA3255 whereas two JBL 530s take up the rear surround and are powered by an Aiyima A07. A pair of JBL 550Ps subs are to the left and right sides of the soundstage with a Polk PSW10 sub in the rear. I am slowly replacing the TI 3255s with ICEPower modules and wanted to try a DIY pair of BTL 300A2s in lieu of the A07.
My original design goal was somewhat thwarted by the amount of space that the SMPS units will ultimately require. At first I was hoping to house the 300A2s (and SMPSs) in a half-width chassis mounted above the MkV, with the trio of Sabaj A8s stacked to the right hand side and the TI EVM on top of the A8 stack. I was lucky to score a Bud Industries 2U half-width rack mount chassis on ebay at a substantial discount, however once I started calculating sizes and clearances it became apparent that the 2U 8.5" x 8" Bud Industries rack mounted chassis wouldn't be large enough for the duo of amps and PSUs. Another stroll though ebay and I picked up a NIB Hammond 3U half-width chassis at a deep discount as well.
I am toying with the idea of mounting two Micro-Audio SMPS630-Gs side-by-side in the Hammond 3U half width chassis and then running their DC lines in umbilical fashion to the paired 300A2s as mounted separately in the Bud Industries 2U half-width chassis below.
So are you drilling the rear panel free hand? What type of punch are you using? Agreed, drilling the holes, properly spaced on metal is always nerve wracking. I've only done so on twenty dollar bargain aluminum chassis to date... Now on that beautiful Italian chassis?!?! No pressure!
Here's the ICEPower Extranet btw:
https://icepower.dk/no-access/
I still have yet to get a response to my inquiry regarding access...
Thank you for sharing your build. I really appreciate it! I'll circle back later today and post some photos of what I've got going on thus far...
Drew
I just pulled the trigger on a 1200AS2 with an accompanying cable kit. After confirming that the 1200AS2 can power a pair of 300A2s as hanger modules and noticing that the 1200AS2 amp is the same price as the 1500S, the reptilian "MoAR POwAH" instinct kicked in and took over.
God Bless Denmark!
God Bless Denmark!
Thanks man.
What I did was to start with I covered both sides of the piece with clear packing tape that you use for taping up moving boxes then I marked placements and set up a fence on the drill press so that all of my holes would line up. Then I start with a smaller bit first then move up to the size I needed to finish with. Then I burnish the edges. The hardest hole to make was the square one for the USB port in the upper left corner. I had to use a file on that one. The back plate already had the hole for the power cord punched out so that was one less hole to deal with. Ultimately a hydraulic punch would be a much better way of making the holes but I don't have one of those and wouldn't use it enough to justify buying one so I made due with the drill press that I do have. Drilling the large 7/8" hole through the 10mm aluminum front plate for the power switch was a bit sketch but it came out good. Aluminum is a lot easier to work with then steal in my opinion. I had to fabricate a shield and riser to mount the DSP in the box and did that out of aluminum. Hear is a pic with all of the wiring pretty much done.
I still have to wire the power for the DSP and there are a couple of LED's that I am going to hook up but I'm waiting on some resistors to be delivered. They should be here tomorrow. I'm thinking that I might make a PSB for the power delivery that I can mount down the middle of the chassis to eliminate all of those wires and the bus bars. I think it would make the install a whole lot tidier with out all of those power wires bundled up and running through there.
At first it was making a little bit of noise and I was thinking that I was going to need more shielding but then I realized my WiFi antenna was like a foot away from the open box and when I moved it and put the lid on the box it went away so It looks like I probably won't need any but I might put some aluminum dividers between the modules to isolate the toroidal chokes anyways. I don't know yet we will see.
Right now I have to get power to the DSP unit. It needs between 12 and 16 volts to operate and I don't want to run a separate cord into the box using the wall wart that came with it. I have to check the voltages on the auxiliary power supply and see what the voltages are. The documentation has conflicting data so I need to break out the volt meter and check it for my self. It might only have 9 volts available. In that case I will need to buck it up to 12. Also I'm thinking I'm probably going to use two of the modules in bridged BTL mode to power the woofers with. Which reminds me I was going to start a build thread for the speakers that I'm in the process of building right now. I should probably do that soon.
But thanks for the kind words. I've never built one of these things before and was feeling a bit intimidated for minute but I never let that stop me and I'm glad you like it.
I have one more question if someone smarter then me can chime in here. I need to get +12/16V to the DSP unit. 12V is the min but 14 or 16V would be preferred but not completely necessary. The two voltages on the auxiliary supply are +/- 7V and +9V which is confusing because the 400A2 modules are expecting +/- 12V at the VSS and the VDD inputs but the PSU only gives me the +/- 7V. It seems to work alright with 7V so I don't know. 
This PSU was designed to power these modules but the implementation I think could have been better or at the very least their data sheets could have been better.
Anyways back to my question, How do I get +12 to +16V to the DSP unit using the AUX supply of this PSU? Do I need to use a DC/DC buck converter or is there some other trick I don't know about? The data sheet for the PSU says the DVDD indicates a range of +7V to +12V with the typical V being +9V which is what it measures at. (+9.3V to be exact) I don't understand why they list the min/max rating as an output when there is only +9 volts present. Can anyone help me with this please?
Thanks
1500S PSU
400A2
This PSU was designed to power these modules but the implementation I think could have been better or at the very least their data sheets could have been better.Anyways back to my question, How do I get +12 to +16V to the DSP unit using the AUX supply of this PSU? Do I need to use a DC/DC buck converter or is there some other trick I don't know about? The data sheet for the PSU says the DVDD indicates a range of +7V to +12V with the typical V being +9V which is what it measures at. (+9.3V to be exact) I don't understand why they list the min/max rating as an output when there is only +9 volts present. Can anyone help me with this please?
Thanks
1500S PSU
400A2