Newbie - XPA-1 Seems No Output, Help Appreciated!

[chicagorspec]

Hi, All. Been looking a lot here since buying a pair of XPA-1s about two months ago, but this is my first post. I moved to a new house and decided to give my stereo setup another try instead of sitting in the basement, as at my last house. Impressions on this forum are very positive, everyone is so respectful compared to a forum I use re: the car I drive, where every thread turns into an argument about who is smarter than the other guy.

Apologies in advance for the long post, but I'll try to be thorough here. Issue noted was no sound at all from left speaker. System is ERC-2 to a passive line level controller via XLR, then XLR cables to two XPA-1s, cables from the XPA-1s to stereo speakers. Everything has worked fine until today. Swapped speaker cables from left to right and sound went with wire, not speaker, so now no sound from right channel. Powered everything down, checked all the XLR connections are good, both XPA-1s set on "BAL" input, speaker connections tight on amps and power cables solid at wall and all three Emotiva units.

Here's where I'd appreciate other XPA-1 owners experiences, and thoughts on what to try next. I have noticed since Day 1 that the two amps behave somewhat differently on turn on. When the "Standby" button is first pressed, there is an immediate click and all the meter LEDs light. Then there is a soft click after about 1-2 seconds, and then a louder "Ka-thunk" 3 or seconds later, at which point the meter LEDs all go out and the amp is ready to output. On the second XPA-1, the "Ka-thunk" sound has always been noticeably softer than on the first XPA-1, and now today, the "Ka-thunk" on that amp is absent. When powering up from standby, the amp that should be driving the channel that is now silent makes the first click when the "Standby" button is pushed and all the meter LEDs light, but then the meter LEDs go out when the second soft click happens 1-2 seconds later, and the "Ka-thunk" never occurs. So it appears to never be enabling output, and the meter LEDs turn off (other than the first blue light) at a different point in the process than the amp that is working properly.

Thanks in advance to all of you for your thoughts on next steps. As I said above, I've really enjoyed seeing the level of respect here amongst the forum members, and look forward to continuing to support Big Dan & Co., given their outstanding customer service and my reignited fire for audio.

Randy

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Just a thought...

You stated that when you switched speaker cables, the "no sound" issue moved to the other speaker. Sounds to me like a bad speaker cable. Does the "Ka-thunk" issue sound the same on both amps if you operate them without any cables (input - XLR/output - speaker) connected except the power cables?

C

[guitarforlife]

If I have read this correct Cory is right.
It is a speaker wire.

[garbulky]

Just a question. I'm familiar with the clicks. However, is the loud Ka-thunk coming from your speakers? (Like a bass thud?) Because the emotiva amps I have don't do thuds. Just a few brief sounds from the amp only (not speakers). I too second using another cable to see if it can be replicatged. This also means changing the interconnects from the ERC to be sure.

[klinemj]

Randy - welcome! Agree on above comments but will add...double check those bal/unbal switches...even go as far as moving them to unbal and firmly back to bal...just to make sure....not that I had that problem myself - well, at least this week.

Mark

[chicagorspec]

Cory, Guitarforlife, Garbulky and Mark-

Thanks for your thoughts! I knew from what I had already read hanging out here that the community would be willing to lend a hand.

Here's what I have done since reading your posts:

1) Unplugged all connections from the back of each XPA-1, other than the power cable. No change. Amp that provides output makes "Click, click, Ka-thunk (LEDs go out). Amp that is not providing output makes "Click, click (LEDs go out), no "Ka-thunk". To be clear, all clicks and other noises described are from amps on turn-on; speakers are dead silent, no turn on pops, etc.

2) Connected each speaker/speaker cable to each amp. Sound from both speakers/speaker cables when connected to the amp that makes the "Ka-thunk" noise. No sound from either speaker/speaker cable when connected to the amp that does not make the "Ka-thunk" noise.

I went through the whole "No Sound" troubleshooting list in the online manual and think I have checked out everything on the list until I get down to the last one something like "An internal fuse may have blown, contact Emotiva for support". Though I could probably find and visually verify a fuse myself, I'm hesitant to do from the standpoints of potentially affecting the warranty given Emotiva says to contact them, and hate to mark up my pristine amp by taking a screwdriver to the screws and no doubt leaving is less pristine than it now is trying to remove and replace the cover after inspecting inside.

Any other ideas, or feedback from XPA-1 owners on the series of noises they hear from their amps on initial turn-on?

Thanks again, everyone. Happy Easter!

[chicagorspec]

Oh, almost forgot. Mark, I did cycle the input switches back and forth to "BAL" to make sure those were good and solid in the right places, as when I first hooked them up on delivery I was mystified as to why no output from either amp until I found those switches! Thanks.

[klinemj]

I am betting on the fuses now... I had fuses blow on either my XPA-5 or my old XPA-2. It's not hard to change them. Just make sure to a) unplug the amp and let it sit for a while to let the caps discharge on their own...slowly, and b) use the right replacement fuses. I am not sure which ones they use but a quick call to Emo will confirm for you. They even sent me replacements for free. They will even talk you through where to find the fuses inside the boxes. That may be here on the forum somewhere, also.

Mark

[chicagorspec]

Thanks, Mark. That's what I'm thinking/hoping, too, given what I have tried so far and that there is no fault indicator illuminated on the front panel. Fuses plural...do you know how many are inside?

[lar]

It is still possible that it is a cable issue that caused the fuse to blow. If you do find that a fuse is blown, after replacement, careful connecting your cables back up, perhaps one at a time to see if problem returns.

[audiofile]

Sound like a fuse issue to me as well.

Good luck and let us know what the resolution is!

[chicagorspec]

Thanks, lar and audiofile. Will do on both counts.

Any fellow XPA-1 owners out there able to comment on the consistency or inconsistency of the sounds their amps make on initial turn-on, compared to what mine are doing?

[robprentiss]

Did you ever try switching the XLR cables between the left and right channels? There is a lot of focus on the amp, but it is possible its the source or the interconnects to said source.

[chicagorspec]

Yep, tried that too.

Mar 31, 2013 13:51:36 GMT -5 robprentiss said:

Did you ever try switching the XLR cables between the left and right channels? There is a lot of focus on the amp, but it is possible its the source or the interconnects to said source.

[klinemj]

Randy - not assure how many fuses are inside, but there are separate fuses for front panel vs for the amp sections. I looked around to see if I could find the info on that on the lounge, but it's not where I thought it might be. Emo should be able to confirm this for you tomorrow in case another lounge member doesn't chime in.

Looking forward to hearing the outcome.

Mark

[garbulky]

Don't forget to rule out the cables from the source (your cd player)?

[GreenKiwi]

Also you can try the RCA inputs as another test.

[zmaxtt]

My xpa1s behaved the same way your working one does upon startup. Solid last thunk before they were ready to play...

[FLcanuck]

You've probably already checked this, but when the no "ka-thunk" amp is turned on out of standby, do you still get the single blue led or does it happen to be red or a full array of red leds (you'll have to have the toggles on the back set to on for "meter leds" and "status leds")?

In either case, I would also guess it's a fuse, based on you recently setting up the system. While I haven't had a need to change fuses on my XPA-1s, the XPA-2 has a set of fuses in the top front of the amp and a set at the lower back/underneath). You won't void the warranty by checking the fuses, but if you're worried, just call Emotiva and they can walk you through it, and perhaps offer other troubleshooting ideas.

[lynnmass]

2 t10 amp fuses located on bottom panel