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Post by audiomo on Feb 1, 2020 2:40:12 GMT -5
Hi there
I purchased a XPA-5 Gen 3 new from an authorized dealer. Worked flawlessly for about 6 months then noticed that the middle channel, which is powering my centre channel is emitting white noise (wish) into the speaker contacted Emotive support and they said it is normal with highly sensitive speakers such as my Klipsch. So disconnected it.
The amp was powering 2 fronts and 2 surrounds and worked fine for a while. Then it started going into protect mode every time its triggered by the AVR (Anthem MRX720) even though nothing changed same speakers same wires same banana plugs. I did the trouble shooting process disconnected all RCAs and speakers wires, amp works fine, connected one speaker wire at a time amp works fine. Then started to connect the RCAs again one at a time and checked the amp is working until all 4 channels are connected again the amp is working (does not go into protect mode). I let it run for about 2 hours everything is working.
As soon as it is switched off (standby) switched back on it goes into protect mode, I have to switch it on and off 3 times before it starts. Manual says reset the fault by rocker switch on the back panel, this does not work for me, only standby button on the front.
When it goes into protect mode one light flashes red the middle one does that corresponds to 3rd channel?
Can any one help please? Sending it back to Emo is a very expensive thing to do due to shipping cost so I would like to avoid that if possible
BTW I'm an engineer and into diy audio gear, I built a 6 channel class d amp and its working flawlessly so I know a thing or two about electronics and how to handle high power smps
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Post by audiomo on Feb 1, 2020 3:18:13 GMT -5
I've also tried with different RCA cables... same result
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cawgijoe
Emo VIPs
"We made too many of the wrong mistakes." - Yogi Berra
Posts: 4,881
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Post by cawgijoe on Feb 1, 2020 7:29:01 GMT -5
Most likely the middle channel that flashes red is the culprit. Call Emotiva tech support on Monday. If you have to send it back, ask them if they will cover shipping or at least provide their lower shipping company rate.
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Post by Ex_Vintage on Feb 1, 2020 9:40:28 GMT -5
When you power up, do you hear anything from your speakers, like a thump? If you connect just the center (#3) channel does it go into protect? Have you tried different sources? A few ideas.
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Post by audiomo on Feb 1, 2020 15:54:59 GMT -5
Most likely the middle channel that flashes red is the culprit. Call Emotiva tech support on Monday. If you have to send it back, ask them if they will cover shipping or at least provide their lower shipping company rate. I didn't know Emotiva can cover shipping from outside the US, I will try that Thanks for you reply
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Post by audiomo on Feb 1, 2020 16:00:09 GMT -5
When you power up, do you hear anything from your speakers, like a thump? If you connect just the center (#3) channel does it go into protect? Have you tried different sources? A few ideas. From the center channel yes I hear a pop followed by wishshshshshshhshshshshh that fades away slowly, I have one source Apple TV > Anthem MRX720 > XPA 5 amp.
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Post by Gary Cook on Feb 1, 2020 16:09:08 GMT -5
Have you tried disconnecting everything, other than the power cable, then powering it up. If it goes into protection mode then you know it’s internal to the power amp not something external. If it doesn’t go onto protection mode then power it off and try the same process with only connecting one cable at a time, I’d start with interconnects (no processor connected). Working through each interconnect cable one at a time. Last test connect all of the interconnects, and connect the processor, power off each time in between. If it doesn’t go into protection mode, then do the same one by one with the speaker cables (no speakers connected, just the cables). Lastly connect the speakers one by one and repeat.
What you are looking for is one (or more) channel/s that trigger protection testing the amp itself, interconnect cable, processor channel, speaker cable or speaker one at a time. It’s not always the power amp that is the problem, in fact my experience has been that cables and then speakers are by far the most likely suspects.
Cheers Gary
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Post by audiomo on Feb 1, 2020 16:41:08 GMT -5
Have you tried disconnecting everything, other than the power cable, then powering it up. If it goes into protection mode then you know it’s internal to the power amp not something external. If it doesn’t go onto protection mode then power it off and try the same process with only connecting one cable at a time, I’d start with interconnects (no processor connected). Working through each interconnect cable one at a time. Last test connect all of the interconnects, and connect the processor, power off each time in between. If it doesn’t go into protection mode, then do the same one by one with the speaker cables (no speakers connected, just the cables). Lastly connect the speakers one by one and repeat. What you are looking for is one (or more) channel/s that trigger protection testing the amp itself, interconnect cable, processor channel, speaker cable or speaker one at a time. It’s not always the power amp that is the problem, in fact my experience has been that cables and then speakers are by far the most likely suspects. Cheers Gary Yes I did disconnect everything and it worked without a hitch as mentioned in my first post. I'm beginning to suspect a ground loop between the AVR and XPA5 5, not sure how to resolve that. The AVR has a ground connection on the back but Emo XPA does not. Any Ideas?
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Post by audiomo on Feb 1, 2020 16:43:19 GMT -5
The question is, should I ground the XPA chases or not?
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Post by Gary Cook on Feb 1, 2020 17:27:37 GMT -5
Have you tried disconnecting everything, other than the power cable, then powering it up. If it goes into protection mode then you know it’s internal to the power amp not something external. If it doesn’t go onto protection mode then power it off and try the same process with only connecting one cable at a time, I’d start with interconnects (no processor connected). Working through each interconnect cable one at a time. Last test connect all of the interconnects, and connect the processor, power off each time in between. If it doesn’t go into protection mode, then do the same one by one with the speaker cables (no speakers connected, just the cables). Lastly connect the speakers one by one and repeat. What you are looking for is one (or more) channel/s that trigger protection testing the amp itself, interconnect cable, processor channel, speaker cable or speaker one at a time. It’s not always the power amp that is the problem, in fact my experience has been that cables and then speakers are by far the most likely suspects. Yes I did disconnect everything and it worked without a hitch as mentioned in my first post. I'm beginning to suspect a ground loop between the AVR and XPA5 5, not sure how to resolve that. The AVR has a ground connection on the back but Emo XPA does not. Any Ideas? Both units should be grounded via their power plugs, if they have 3 pins. Unlikely to be your issue. It might be worthwhile trying a separate power circuit for the power amp by, say, running a power cord from somewhere else. I did read your first post, the steps that I think you might be missing (sorry but it is time consuming) is to connect one interconnect/one speaker cable/one speaker at a time and each time trying the off/standby/on sequence. This the only way to isolate it to one particular cable/channel/speaker. Once you know which channel/cable/speaker it is then you can fault find that particular piece of gear. By swapping them around and/or by swapping them out. Even if it end up being one channel in the power amp then at least you can tell Emotiva that much. My guess, and it is only a guess, is an intermittent short circuit (or close to short circuit) in a cable or speaker driver. What is connected to the "3rd channel"? Have you tried disconnecting it and connecting all of the other channels and testing it? When testing are you triggering the amp turn on using the AVR or by pushing the front button on the power amp? If triggering I'd suggest disconnecting that and then testing the sequence. Since you purchased it from an authorise dealer then you should only be obliged to return it to that dealer for warranty. It's their job to return it to Emotiva, that's why they get the margin on the sale. Cheers Gary
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Post by doc1963 on Feb 1, 2020 17:35:57 GMT -5
When you power up, do you hear anything from your speakers, like a thump? If you connect just the center (#3) channel does it go into protect? Have you tried different sources? A few ideas. From the center channel yes I hear a pop followed by wishshshshshshhshshshshh that fades away slowly, I have one source Apple TV > Anthem MRX720 > XPA 5 amp. Disconnect the offending speaker’s cable (only) from the back of the amp and turn the system on as you typically would. Does the amp still go into protect mode...? If no, then move both the interconnect and speaker cable for the center channel speaker to a different channel on the amp. Does the problem move to a different channel...? If yes, then you likely have a component failure in the your center channel speaker. That pop followed by a fading whoosh sounds like a failed capacitor in the crossover to me... But if the problem remains on the same channel (on the amp), but the pop and whoosh moves to a different speaker (being driven by that channel of the amp), then the problem lies within the amp.
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Post by audiomo on Feb 2, 2020 7:45:30 GMT -5
Have you tried disconnecting everything, other than the power cable, then powering it up. If it goes into protection mode then you know it’s internal to the power amp not something external. If it doesn’t go onto protection mode then power it off and try the same process with only connecting one cable at a time, I’d start with interconnects (no processor connected). Working through each interconnect cable one at a time. Last test connect all of the interconnects, and connect the processor, power off each time in between. If it doesn’t go into protection mode, then do the same one by one with the speaker cables (no speakers connected, just the cables). Lastly connect the speakers one by one and repeat. What you are looking for is one (or more) channel/s that trigger protection testing the amp itself, interconnect cable, processor channel, speaker cable or speaker one at a time. It’s not always the power amp that is the problem, in fact my experience has been that cables and then speakers are by far the most likely suspects. Cheers Gary Yes I did that with everything disconnected except power cable its starts up after I do fault reset (off/on) repeated this and its starts just fine. After that I started connecting speaker cables one at a time and the process I used was power off from the back> connect speaker wire> on (amp in stand by) > start by pressing the standby button> put the amp in standby and start up again before moving to the next speaker. When all speakers are connected the amp started with no issues. I'll repeat the process and start with interconnects. Thanks
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Post by audiomo on Feb 2, 2020 7:50:09 GMT -5
Yes I did disconnect everything and it worked without a hitch as mentioned in my first post. I'm beginning to suspect a ground loop between the AVR and XPA5 5, not sure how to resolve that. The AVR has a ground connection on the back but Emo XPA does not. Any Ideas? Both units should be grounded via their power plugs, if they have 3 pins. Unlikely to be your issue. It might be worthwhile trying a separate power circuit for the power amp by, say, running a power cord from somewhere else. I did read your first post, the steps that I think you might be missing (sorry but it is time consuming) is to connect one interconnect/one speaker cable/one speaker at a time and each time trying the off/standby/on sequence. This the only way to isolate it to one particular cable/channel/speaker. Once you know which channel/cable/speaker it is then you can fault find that particular piece of gear. By swapping them around and/or by swapping them out. Even if it end up being one channel in the power amp then at least you can tell Emotiva that much. My guess, and it is only a guess, is an intermittent short circuit (or close to short circuit) in a cable or speaker driver. What is connected to the "3rd channel"? Have you tried disconnecting it and connecting all of the other channels and testing it? When testing are you triggering the amp turn on using the AVR or by pushing the front button on the power amp? If triggering I'd suggest disconnecting that and then testing the sequence. Since you purchased it from an authorise dealer then you should only be obliged to return it to that dealer for warranty. It's their job to return it to Emotiva, that's why they get the margin on the sale. Cheers Gar Both units don't have ground terminals Thanks for the suggestion I'll do that.
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Post by audiomo on Feb 2, 2020 7:51:33 GMT -5
From the center channel yes I hear a pop followed by wishshshshshshhshshshshh that fades away slowly, I have one source Apple TV > Anthem MRX720 > XPA 5 amp. Disconnect the offending speaker’s cable (only) from the back of the amp and turn the system on as you typically would. Does the amp still go into protect mode...? If no, then move both the interconnect and speaker cable for the center channel speaker to a different channel on the amp. Does the problem move to a different channel...? If yes, then you likely have a component failure in the your center channel speaker. That pop followed by a fading whoosh sounds like a failed capacitor in the crossover to me... But if the problem remains on the same channel (on the amp), but the pop and whoosh moves to a different speaker (being driven by that channel of the amp), then the problem lies within the amp. I'll do that and let you know Thanks
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Post by audiomo on Feb 13, 2020 4:53:27 GMT -5
Update:
I was traveling for the last two weeks so did not have a chance to retest until this morning
I did what most of you recommended, with nothing connected except power cable the amp still goes into protection or fault mode. I tried to reset it as per the manual but after 4 or 5 attempt I gave up. I took a video but I can't upload it file is big.
It's going back....
Regards
Mo
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2020 11:44:40 GMT -5
From your first post, it sounded like a faulty amp blade & needs servicing.
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Post by vcautokid on Feb 14, 2020 11:31:25 GMT -5
Yep the I agree a defective amp blade. Could be a driver transistor is giving up the ghost or a Cap. But till Emotiva puts it on the bench, it is all guess work unfortunately.
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Post by audiomo on Apr 18, 2020 6:09:02 GMT -5
Update - Lockdown
Took my amp for service 6weeks ago, middle blade was faulty, was replaced with a new one sent from Emo and everything is working as it should for the last 3 weeks.
I learned two things; 1. when the amp goes into protection mode the LED of the blade where error is detected will blink in my case it was the middle one.
2. The auth. reseller charged me approx $100 for service so its not free despite being under warranty.
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Lsc
Emo VIPs
Posts: 3,337
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Post by Lsc on Apr 19, 2020 17:10:47 GMT -5
Update - Lockdown Took my amp for service 6weeks ago, middle blade was faulty, was replaced with a new one sent from Emo and everything is working as it should for the last 3 weeks. I learned two things; 1. when the amp goes into protection mode the LED of the blade where error is detected will blink in my case it was the middle one. 2. The auth. reseller charged me approx $100 for service so its not free despite being under warranty. You were charged $100 from an authorized dealer? That makes zero sense.
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Post by vcautokid on Apr 19, 2020 23:01:43 GMT -5
Yes I am confused on that too. It was within warranty, and still you paid $100.00 to the dealer. What the actual!
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