Quick Question re: Pass Labs

[Dave_72]

Ok, bear with me here. Since the Pass Labs amps run hot, do they tend to shut down when pushed hard? Thanks.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by Dave_72

Ok, bear with me here. Since the Pass Labs amps run hot, do they tend to shut down when pushed hard? Thanks.

Dave,

No. Their design is total overkill. Huge heatsinks do an excellent job dissipating the significant heat produced by their Class A amps. They run very warm but not too hot to touch. Their vertical heatsinks dissipate the heat more evenly than their horizontal heatsinks. I have owned both the XA-100.5 (horizontal heatsinks) and XA-100.8 (vertical heatsinks).

Best,
Ken

[Dave_72]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

Dave,

No. Their design is total overkill. Huge heatsinks do an excellent job dissipating the significant heat produced by their Class A amps. They run very warm but not too hot to touch. Their vertical heatsinks dissipate the heat more evenly than their horizontal heatsinks. I have owned both the XA-100.5 (horizontal heatsinks) and XA-100.8 (vertical heatsinks).

Best,
Ken

Ok, thanks Ken, I appreciate that. I'm interested in the X350.8 A/B amp.

Stupid question, but do the Pass Labs amps have some sort of protection circuitry. What happens when it goes off.

[BlueFox]

Originally Posted by Dave_72

Ok, bear with me here. Since the Pass Labs amps run hot, do they tend to shut down when pushed hard? Thanks.

LOL. I have two Pass X600.5 amps, and each has its own 20 amp circuit. One night I am just blasting the music with the XP-20 preamp at its max (I didn't realize it was maxed out), and the meters are bouncing widely on the right side of the dial while cranking out 1200 watts on each channel. Anyway, I was sitting there just amazed at how good the stereo sounded while being pounded with sound, then BAM. The right Magico S5 went silent. I blew out the tweeter and mid-range. It never even affected the amps.

[cma29]

The manual for the XA100.5 says that if the heat sink temperature reaches 75 deg Celsius (that's very hot), the shutdown circuitry will trigger, but this should not occur unless something has gone wrong with the amp.

[Dave_72]

Originally Posted by BlueFox

LOL. I have two Pass X600.5 amps, and each has its own 20 amp circuit. One night I am just blasting the music with the XP-20 preamp at its max (I didn't realize it was maxed out), and the meters are bouncing widely on the right side of the dial while cranking out 1200 watts on each channel. Anyway, I was sitting there just amazed at how good the stereo sounded while being pounded with sound, then BAM. The right Magico S5 went silent. I blew out the tweeter and mid-range. It never even affected the amps.

Haha, ok. Sounds good! Well, except for your speaker blowing on you. Those Magico drivers are probably not cheap to replace!

and would it be advisable to get a dedicated 20 or 30 amp circuit for the X350.8?

[Dave_72]

Originally Posted by cma29

The manual for the XA100.5 says that if the heat sink temperature reaches 75 deg Celsius (that's very hot), the shutdown circuitry will trigger, but this should not occur unless something has gone wrong with the amp.

Oh ok. Thanks for that. It puts me at ease for the most part.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by Dave_72

Ok, thanks Ken, I appreciate that. I'm interested in the X350.8 A/B amp.

Stupid question, but do the Pass Labs amps have some sort of protection circuitry. What happens when it goes off.

Dave,

The X350.8 leaves Class A at 18 watts peak, so this amp will run much cooler than the XA-100.8 unless you're really cranking it up. It will also idle much cooler.

Ken

[cma29]

Originally Posted by Dave_72

Haha, ok. Sounds good! Well, except for your speaker blowing on you. Those Magico drivers are probably not cheap to replace!

and would it be advisable to get a dedicated 20 or 30 amp circuit for the X350.8?

20-amp circuit would be nice, but this amp should work with a 15-amp outlet.

[Dave_72]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

Dave,

The X350.8 leaves Class A at 18 watts peak, so this amp will run much cooler than the XA-100.8 unless you're really cranking it up. It will also idle much cooler.

Ken

Ok, thanks. Much appreciated.