Got a Pair of XPA-1L Amps and Have Some Questions

[drumace]

Hello friends,
Some questions about my XPA-1L Gen 2 I recently bought used on eBay:

1. Does running them in class A affect (and reduce) their life span?
2. If I run them in class AB, how many watts they will keep in class A before switching to AB internally? (my speakers are GoldenEar Triton 1)
3. I turn the power switch on their back off when not in use to prevent an accidental turn on when not expected (they are covered when not in use). Will this working mode affect their life span?
4. When switched off, the amps sends a "swishhhh" sound through the speakers. Is that normal?
   
   Thanks! 

[garbulky]

Feb 20, 2018 3:27:10 GMT -5 drumace said:

Hello friends,
Some questions about my XPA-1L Gen 2 I recently bought used on eBay:

1. Does running them in class A affect (and reduce) their life span?
2. If I run them in class AB, how many watts they will keep in class A before switching to AB internally? (my speakers are GoldenEar Triton 1)
3. I turn the power switch on their back off when not in use to prevent an accidental turn on when not expected (they are covered when not in use). Will this working mode affect their life span?
4. When switched off, the amps sends a "swishhhh" sound through the speakers. Is that normal?
   
   Thanks! 

1. Unknown. However note that they were designed to be class A amps and handle the heat. But heat is detrimental to electronics. What I do with my XPA-1 gen 2 is leave it on but turn it off class A mode when I'm not listening. But so far they've been rock solid. It's probably not a real worry.
2. I'm guessing a little higher than the other amps but not by much.
3. No it should not.
Btw interesting tid bit I use an Emotiva ET-3 trigger module. It is connected to a smart plug (can be had for about $14) which works with my Amazon echo dot. So when I say "Alexa turn off/on my amps" the smart plug turns off/on which then affects the et-3 which sends the signal to the amp to turn off or on. Then if you want to be really sure nobody will press the power button anyway you can tape something solid like a metal bottle cap painted black or something on top of the power button.

4. Is probably not normal. My emo amps don't do this.

[klinemj]

If I recall correctly, the XPA-1L has some type of thermal protection built in such that even if you force it to class A and it gets too hot - it might switch to Class B. Someone else could comment to confirm or deny...it's been a while since we talked these amps.

But, if you are concerned about heat - plenty of folks use various cooling fans on their gear to take away excess heat.

Mark

[KeithL]

Answers #1 thru #3 sound right.

As for #4.
Most of our amps do not have a speaker-output relay, so remain connected to the speaker when you turn them off.
As a result, it's possible that a few slightly odd noises may occur when the amp is turned on and off.
Although most don't do it, a slight noise as the power supplies settle down when you turn the amp off is no cause for alarm, and won't cause any harm.

Feb 20, 2018 10:50:15 GMT -5 garbulky said:

Feb 20, 2018 3:27:10 GMT -5 drumace said:

Hello friends,
Some questions about my XPA-1L Gen 2 I recently bought used on eBay:

1. Does running them in class A affect (and reduce) their life span?
2. If I run them in class AB, how many watts they will keep in class A before switching to AB internally? (my speakers are GoldenEar Triton 1)
3. I turn the power switch on their back off when not in use to prevent an accidental turn on when not expected (they are covered when not in use). Will this working mode affect their life span?
4. When switched off, the amps sends a "swishhhh" sound through the speakers. Is that normal?
   
   Thanks! 

1. Unknown. However note that they were designed to be class A amps and handle the heat. But heat is detrimental to electronics. What I do with my XPA-1 gen 2 is leave it on but turn it off class A mode when I'm not listening. But so far they've been rock solid. It's probably not a real worry.
2. I'm guessing a little higher than the other amps but not by much.
3. No it should not.
Btw interesting tid bit I use an Emotiva ET-3 trigger module. It is connected to a smart plug (can be had for about $14) which works with my Amazon echo dot. So when I say "Alexa turn off/on my amps" the smart plug turns off/on which then affects the et-3 which sends the signal to the amp to turn off or on. Then if you want to be really sure nobody will press the power button anyway you can tape something solid like a metal bottle cap painted black or something on top of the power button.

4. Is probably not normal. My emo amps don't do this.

[leonski]

Heat is the ENEMY of electronics. More important is how well ventilated the amps are. Enclosed in ANY kind of box will kill 'em sooner than later. One way to kind of get a feel for this is to beg / borrow / steal a Kill-A-Watt meter. Plug the amps in ONE at a time and let idle for half an hour. Switch the A-A/B switch to the other position. Let it sit again.
Record 'watts' keeping in mind that with NO music playing what you read turns into heat. All of it.
If you have an IR camera, take a picture of the amps. You will easily be able to identify 'hot spots' and maybe even estimate temperature.

Since you mention covering them when not in use, I'd wait 30 minutes AFTER shutdown before covering. Let 'em cool before covering.

The A-A/B transition is NOT a brick wall where you can say......'It is running in A/B' and than turning it up a click, it is no 'Running in A'. It is a sliding scale and depends on may factors, not the least of which is your speakers and their characteristic impedance curve as well as how much of a capacitor or inductor they look
like to the partnering amp.