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Post by bugfinder7 on Aug 24, 2023 19:10:18 GMT -5
Does anybody know what is the amperage draw of an XPA-DR2 at louder listening levels? I currently have a BasX A2 want to upgrade to a XPA-DR2 and I'm trying to figure out if I need a new dedicated 20amp line put in to supply the amp the power it needs? Thanks.
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Post by AudioHTIT on Aug 24, 2023 23:05:46 GMT -5
Does anybody know what is the amperage draw of an XPA-DR2 at louder listening levels? I currently have a BasX A2 want to upgrade to a XPA-DR2 and I'm trying to figure out if I need a new dedicated 20amp line put in to supply the amp the power it needs? Thanks. The DR2, like all the XPAs, runs on a 15A circuit (and has a 15A connector). You don’t need a 20A circuit, though if you’re pulling wire I’d run 12AWG for ‘potential future needs’, but not necessary at this time. |
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Post by davidl81 on Aug 25, 2023 5:03:28 GMT -5
I have a dedicated 20A line for mine, but that is just because the 15A service for the room it is in was shared across two rooms in the house and I wanted a separate breaker for my HT equipment. So I ran two 20A lines to the theater room. 15A would have been perfectly fine, but since the cost was so small to go 20A (basically just thicker wire) I figured what the heck.
I run the DR-2 through a Panamax and when I’m pushing it crazy loud I may see it hit 10A draw for a split second, but for the most part it’s pulling 7A or so (once again at basically max volumes).
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cawgijoe
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Post by cawgijoe on Aug 25, 2023 7:00:50 GMT -5
I don't have a separate 20A line for my equipment, however in terms of guage, my house was built in the early 80's when they used 12g Romex. When I replace an outlet I always use the side screw connectors, but even if I wanted to use the "push in" connections on the back, the wire won't fit being the new outlets are now made for 14g wire and not 12g.
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Post by leonski on Aug 25, 2023 22:54:14 GMT -5
Does anybody know what is the amperage draw of an XPA-DR2 at louder listening levels? I currently have a BasX A2 want to upgrade to a XPA-DR2 and I'm trying to figure out if I need a new dedicated 20amp line put in to supply the amp the power it needs? Thanks. NOTHING beats actual measure. To that end? I'd advise buying EITHER an Amp Clamp.....and fabricating a short extension cord with a short section of individual hot / ground / neutral wires so you can 'clamp' around either hot or neutral. Harbor freight sells a perfectly serviceable tool. My cheater line? about 3 feet of 12-3 with appropriate plugs. I CAREFULLY stripped the outer insulation to get to the 3 INNER wires....a white / a black and a GREEN=ground.... I added some short lenghts of head shrink at each end of the 3 wire section to act as stress relief..... www.harborfreight.com/electrical/electrician-s-tools/multimeters-testers/digital-clamp-meters.htmlPro level tools will go 100$ plus, but you do not need that level..... OR Buy a Kill-A-Watt plug in meter. These will show LIne voltage. current draw of device. Power in watts of device AND the power factor which is a measure of phase angle of power draw...... Currently (pardon the pun) they go for maybe 30$.....but mine is years old, still going and cost much less a couple years back..... www.amazon.com/Power-Meter-Kill-Hx2-3-Wx1-5/dp/B00R03CVEI/ref=sr_1_6?hvadid=604583073304&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9031333&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8837780474820105506&hvtargid=kwd-366640066557&hydadcr=12947_13389148&keywords=kill-a-watt+meter&qid=1693021927&s=electronics&sr=1-6I have both and use the clamp and fabricated cord for higher power stuff......like maybe a Microwave. The plug in meter is perfect for lower power devices AND it'll also record so you can get an idea of how much power your (fill in blank) uses for a given period of time...... THAN YOU WILL KNOW..... |
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Post by leonski on Aug 25, 2023 23:13:11 GMT -5
I don't have a separate 20A line for my equipment, however in terms of guage, my house was built in the early 80's when they used 12g Romex. When I replace an outlet I always use the side screw connectors, but even if I wanted to use the "push in" connections on the back, the wire won't fit being the new outlets are now made for 14g wire and not 12g. Would the push-in feature work if you got 20a/15a outlets? That way ALL you'd need to do would be to add a 20amp breaker and you'd be GOOD..... Breaker probably snaps into the box and has one wire and a 'bus'......easy to do... |
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cawgijoe
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Post by cawgijoe on Aug 26, 2023 6:52:38 GMT -5
I don't have a separate 20A line for my equipment, however in terms of guage, my house was built in the early 80's when they used 12g Romex. When I replace an outlet I always use the side screw connectors, but even if I wanted to use the "push in" connections on the back, the wire won't fit being the new outlets are now made for 14g wire and not 12g. Would the push-in feature work if you got 20a/15a outlets? That way ALL you'd need to do would be to add a 20amp breaker and you'd be GOOD..... Breaker probably snaps into the box and has one wire and a 'bus'......easy to do... At this point not worth the effort as we will be moving next year to a new home build in retirement. |
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Post by davidl81 on Aug 26, 2023 7:47:55 GMT -5
Messed around some more with my DR-2 yesterday while no one else was home. I forget sometimes just how clean and powerful this amp is as well as dead quite. I had my RMC-1 in Reference Stereo up to about -6dB and the most draw I would see on the Panamax was about 7A. I guess I could have pushed the volume more, but I see no reason to, it was very loud and sounded so so good.
Point is a 15A breaker is plenty (obviously better if it’s dedicated, but depending on what else would be on that breaker when playing music at maximum volume not really necessary).
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Post by leonski on Aug 26, 2023 18:12:40 GMT -5
Trick is that music is 'dynamic' and has a large power swing from least to most.......10db or 20db are numbers I see bandied about.
An amp meter might not react as quickly as the music demands......
10db is 10x the power.....so from 5 watts to 50.....
MY recommendation would be to run a single test tone.....maybe1kz or one of the noise 'colors'.....White Noise? Pink Noise? Blue Noise?
You'll have to look up just what the heck is meant by each color!
But some broad spectrum noise? NOT to much output above maybe 10khz or below 50hz would perhaps work. LISTEN for any distorti0n than
react properly. DON'T fry a driever.....
CAW? if starting with a clean sheet design? You can build IN everal features which will make your new listening area much better from the git.
And other features, like several dedicated circuits OR even a sub-panel of 40 amps or so? Are Must-Haves.
I have a shopping list of features.....from offset studs to non-parallel walls and some overhead features. I'd even put an EXTERIOR door between the
listening room and the rest of the house.....
This of course, is time / space / money permitting....
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Post by 405x5 on Aug 27, 2023 9:30:26 GMT -5
One thing you will never see is an amplifier (designed for home Use) tripping a circuit breaker, because the music got loud. Only a short circuit during operation would cause that.
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Aug 27, 2023 9:34:56 GMT -5
Kill-A-Watt plug in meter is my go to when I need to know.
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Post by davidl81 on Aug 28, 2023 13:42:15 GMT -5
One thing you will never see is an amplifier (designed for home Use) tripping a circuit breaker, because the music got loud. Only a short circuit during operation would cause that. If on a circuit by itself I agree, but it seems like a lot of homes have circuits that share a breaker in the home. With a DR-2 I could see it tripping a breaker if it’s shared with a lot of other equipment on the circuit, but it would be very rare. |
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Post by 405x5 on Aug 28, 2023 13:55:56 GMT -5
One thing you will never see is an amplifier (designed for home Use) tripping a circuit breaker, because the music got loud. Only a short circuit during operation would cause that. If on a circuit by itself I agree, but it seems like a lot of homes have circuits that share a breaker in the home. With a DR-2 I could see it tripping a breaker if it’s shared with a lot of other equipment on the circuit, but it would be very rare. The assumption here (at least for myself) is that we’re talking about a circuit that has already been checked out to have a Max load within 80% of the capacity of the breaker. It’s a very simple process to figure that out for whatever you’ve got on a particular circuit. |
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Post by leonski on Aug 28, 2023 18:56:08 GMT -5
That 80% would be a 'constant' load. A couple amps and the rest on a single circuit would be up and down constantly.
I don't have the exact data, BUT something like 110% of max for maybe 10% of the time will NOT trip the breaker......That sort of thing......
But might cause a slight voltage drop. My Cube would dim the lights on the house-common circuit.....At the VERY highest levels.....
And yes, IF you were worried about just how big a load you potentially had? Simple matter of addition IF the data is available, and not just a fuse size......
A VERY FEW amps may stress a power line. My Carver Cube of only about 200x2 had a 15amp fuse! Very odd power supply.....
And at one time (still?) outlaw made an amp which required 2x seperate 15 amp circuits.......A powerful monster of 7 channels or some such.....
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Post by audiosyndrome on Aug 28, 2023 19:10:31 GMT -5
Will someone please post a picture of a dead horse. 😜
Ruse
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Post by 405x5 on Aug 28, 2023 21:54:04 GMT -5
Will someone please post a picture of a dead horse. 😜 Ruse  We aim to please! |
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geebo
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Post by geebo on Aug 28, 2023 22:26:56 GMT -5
Will someone please post a picture of a dead horse. 😜 Ruse You might want to start a new thread for dead horse pictures. |
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Post by 405x5 on Aug 29, 2023 7:15:21 GMT -5
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