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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 12:18:17 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for you thoughts and ideas. I will be working out something for sure, and your help is appreciated. What I forgot to mention is that I have access to a CAD cutting table here at work, so any sticker I make, either a full circle or a doughnut ring, will be perfectly round. It also gives me the opportunity to quickly try several sizes to see which works and looks the best. I'll let you know what i work out. In today's world where more people have home theater type applications than stereo set ups, not having a dimmer or on/off switch on all components is just not good thorough thinking. You really have to love DVD or Blu-ray players that don't dim. There is no exaggerating that these XPA-2 lights are overly and obnoxiously bright. (It's not my retinas.) From what I can tell so far, it's the only thing I can find to fault about it. Since the light switch thought process was in their heads when designing the XPA-2, what a missed opportunity it was to make it perfect. Really, they didn't even need to add another switch, just change the wiring. One switch could turn on/off the meters, and the other should turn on/off ALL remaining lights. Just a matter of running the internal wires a bit different. Ultimately, a dimmer knob would be the sh*t, but that's a bigger change. Thanks again, and of course, if anyone has any other ideas, keep them coming!!! Cheers ---- Bonzo ;D
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 12:22:09 GMT -5
"the retina burning ring of death." Best description so far, props. One ring to rule them all.....
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 12:40:43 GMT -5
Give it some time. I initially called the light around the volume control on the USP-1 "the retina burning ring of death." Now it doesn't bother me. I won't be so lucky. I've had my DirecTV box for years now. It does dim, but every time they zap the box from up high it goes back to being bright. It's their way of letting you know they zapped your box. I lived with it for about 6 months but got tired of having to "re-dim" it every few weeks. Couldn't stand it being bright. So that's when I made the black sticker for it. Time won't save me from the retina ring of death. ;D
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 12:43:04 GMT -5
I wonder if you could get some window tint? You might be able to go to a shop that installs it for cars and get some scraps. Cut it to match and put it in. My nephew works at a sign shop and he does full car wraps all the time. He has this sort of material just lying around. I'll need to ask him for some scraps. Will give me another sticker option. Thanks.
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Post by ovenboi on Jun 28, 2012 12:54:30 GMT -5
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 13:08:02 GMT -5
Now would you look at THAT!!!!! THAT's a real fix. So did you go ahead and do it yourself? Definite possibility and looks easy. Although I wonder if this could void the warrantee? THANKS!!!!! ;D
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Post by ovenboi on Jun 28, 2012 13:52:10 GMT -5
Hi Bonzo, Yes I made the change to all 3 Amps.. Easy. ;D I suppose it would void the warrantee but that was of no concern to me. At least the product looks the way it sounds.. PREMIUM This picture with the amps switched off - Yellow Light Attachments:
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Post by ovenboi on Jun 28, 2012 13:53:28 GMT -5
This picture with the Amps switched ON - No lights (or you can still enable the LED metering or Status light) Attachments:
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Post by Entity on Jun 28, 2012 14:06:24 GMT -5
Only Emotiva would be able to answer the warranty thing. I can't imagine unplugging an led power wire and taping it back could have any negative side effects on the function of the amp itself. It might be a yes "officially" but in practice? I doubt it.
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Pauly
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Post by Pauly on Jun 28, 2012 14:10:37 GMT -5
You can open Emo amps to tighten the transformer bolt without voiding the warranty(which I've done). So I would think that unplugging a wire to the LED should be fine as well. Call them to make sure though. You never know.
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 15:05:08 GMT -5
You can open Emo amps to tighten the transformer bolt without voiding the warranty(which I've done). So I would think that unplugging a wire to the LED should be fine as well. Call them to make sure though. You never know. I think i might send them an e-mail. I can attach pictures used in the DIY thing above, with it translated to English. If they reply back with a no, then I know. But if they reply back with a yes, then I have it writing just in case.
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Pauly
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Post by Pauly on Jun 28, 2012 15:09:35 GMT -5
That sounds like a good plan. You may want to call them first and let them know what you want to do, and that you want to send them an email with pictures attached. If you don't, then you may be waiting a while. They're usually not very quick to respond to emails.
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 15:20:12 GMT -5
This picture with the Amps switched ON - No lights (or you can still enable the LED metering or Status light) Nice speakers by the way!! I love the look of the 800 series. Just can't afford them. And a quick story off topic.....my wife made me feel better when I was auditioning speakers years ago. She was probably lying, but I never did ask her. I got to play the 801's side by side with Def Tech 7001s with all Classe electronics through a switcher so we could do A/B comparisons. After hearing about 3 or 4 songs my wife said something like, "Eh, the fancy wood ones are okay, but I like the sound of the black cloth ones better. There's more, like they are more fun to listen to. I think they sound clearer, and the voices are more real. And besides, I wouldn't want those goofy looking space ship things in our house." It was then I told her the price difference of $20,000 to $3,750 and she was like, "okay then" and walked out. Of course I don't agree with her at all about the looks, and while she had some points about the sound, what she doesn't really get is the difference between laid back and more forward. 800's are definitely more laid back than the Def Techs. And like all speakers, the 801's sounded better with certain kinds of music and vice versa. It's all about preference, well, and money. Anyway, thanks for sharing the pics.
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Post by ovenboi on Jun 28, 2012 16:06:48 GMT -5
Thanks Bonzo. These are actually the smaller 802diamonds. I love the different look they have and the workmanship on them are just faultless. After seeing them my wife are calling them designer furniture rather than just speakers Good luck with your Led removal project
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 16:08:51 GMT -5
Here are the instructions translated from Norwegian to English. In order to make it read better, I edited it myself, so it's slightly different than the original.
How To Get Rid Of The Overly Bright Power Button On the XPA-1
For a long time I've wanted to get rid of the overly bright blue power light on my XPA-1 amp. It's okay for 2 channel music, but for home theater movie watching with the house lights turned down, the blue light is very distracting.
Now I've finally taken the time to take a closer look at this issue and have concluded that the solution is relatively simple.
But it means that you must open the product to tinker a bit. What this does to the warranty I don't know (but I do not care), so if you choose to perform this procedure on your own product, please be aware that the warranty may be voided.
The procedure I describe below is for an XPA-1, but I assume it will be about the same on all XPA model amplifiers.
You will need the following tools:
- Philips Screwdriver - Flathead Screwdrivers (various sizes) - Small Sharp X-ACTO Knife - Needle nose Pliers
1. Put the component on a suitable table or workbench, and unscrew the top lid.
2. Slide the component to the edge of the table so you get to the bottom, and unscrew the 4 screws at the front. 3. Slide the component back onto the table so that you have about 8 inches available in front, and unscrew the 5 screws at the top of the front. 4. Now that the front is loose you can lay it down gently. Unscrew the 2 screws holding the power button circuit board in place. 5. Here is how the power button circuit board looks on the back. 6. And how it looks on the front. Note the like color notations, 2 Blue and 2 Amber. Note in the picture above in step #5, these are the connectors labeled R02-200R and R01-200R. 7. Now disconnect the wire clip. Unfortunately it has some loc-tite glue material to keep it securely fastened, So, VERY carefully cut the glue around the edges with a knife. 8. Insert a small flat screwdriver between the plug and socket so that the glue lets go. 9. Then grasp the plug end with some needle nose pliers, and gently pull the plug loose. Take your time to do this carefully. 10. As you can see from this side, the leader to the 2 Blue 200R connecters is named "B". 11. Use the small flat screwdriver to depress the small tab that holds corresponding "B" wire. 12. Then just pull out the wire exposing the metal end. 13. Fold the wire back and use electrical tape to make sure it is completely secured and covered. Plug the cord back into the socket. Note: This the second easiest way to do it. The easiest would be to just cut the "B" wire and tape both ends. But I would recommend you do it the way indicated, since you may need to connect again later in the event of resale.
14. Now just put it all back together again in reverse order.
The result will look like this:
As usual when it is OFF. And without blue lights when ON. This looks much better. The little LED in the meter display is good enough indication that the component is on.
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 16:13:49 GMT -5
These are actually the smaller 802diamonds. Oh, so you only paid like $12,000 for the pair....... ;D They are about the same size as the 801's aren't they? I forget exactly since it's been a few years, but I think most of the difference is in the bass drivers. I remember thinking years ago that the extra $8000 was a lot just for a little tighter bass. Anyway, thanks again for the info, and I'll keep you posted on my project.
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Pauly
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Post by Pauly on Jun 28, 2012 16:26:12 GMT -5
Hmmm, that project is pretty tempting.
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 16:35:47 GMT -5
Hmmm, that project is pretty tempting. Yeah, it would be very easy to do and I have no reservations about accomplishing it well. It's the warrantee thing we need to figure out. I've got the e-mail in progress, just a bit more typing to do. I'll keep ya posted here.
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Post by roadrunner on Jun 28, 2012 17:06:51 GMT -5
I guess I am lucky. I don't really even notice the blue led lights while watching movies or TV. My Plasma monitor sits on top of my equipment rack and all my components are on the two bottom shelves. The shelf directly under the plasma screen holds my center channel speaker. It looks like the closest blue led is about 20 inches below the Screen.
Unless someone points out the blue light I do not notice it at all. It is very easy for me to ignore. I know that some people find this very irritating, but I had not even thought about it until some owners started posting about it three years ago.
For those who want to place something on the power button to block the light, you might want to use "Blue Tac". It will hold most any material in place and will easily clean off the button when you feel like removing it. Blue Tac is used on speakers to help keep them secure on the plate in your speaker post. Others also use it in museums to safely mount all sort of display pieces on their shelf or on the wall. Easy cleans off of all surfaces.
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Post by Bonzo on Jun 28, 2012 17:26:53 GMT -5
E-mail has been sent to Emotiva, so I guess we'll see.
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