Removing the fan from a pro amp.

[Johnny Canuck]

So I removed the fan from the Behringer EP2500 as it was too loud in my living room. A couple hours later of playing music at a low volume, gain on about half or just past, it was almost too hot to touch. This can't be good. Opinions? I may try to get a smaller computer fan. But how will you change that?

 

[jcPanny]

Pro amp fan

Try to determine the CFM (cubic feet per minute) and voltage of the fan. Mabe you can replace it with one of the "quite" PC fans used in media centers. As you discovered, the fan is necessary for safe operation of the amp.
Other options are installing the amp in a media closet or other more remote location or swithing to an amp without a fan like the Behringer A500 or most HT amps.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

I looked at the A500 but the EP2500 was much much bigger and badder. And HT amps are far pricier for this much power.

I am taking the amp in to an electonics shop to have them either put a resistor on the fan to cut it in half or get a quieter fan installed.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I looked at the A500 but the EP2500 was much much bigger and badder. And HT amps are far pricier for this much power.

I am taking the amp in to an electonics shop to have them either put a resistor on the fan to cut it in half or get a quieter fan installed.

Well, if that melts, it ain't going to be badder

How about a variable resistor to change speed, or, since you are taking it in, see if they can determine the voltage and install a quiet fan with enough CFM. Then, you need to monitor it a few times.

 

[Jerm357]

The Behringer 1500 and 2500 use a 24 volt fan.

 

[skizzerflake]

The fan is in there for a reason and in all likelihood, to keep the amp from overheating, you will need to put in another fan that moves a similar amount of air. A replacement will probably make as much noise as the original since the aperture of the fan will be the same. Your only hope might be to remove the case and aim a larger, slower fan at the guts of the amp.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Thanks guys..hooked the fan back up and am going to try to live with it. it's there for a reason and is loud and powerful for a reason. My buddy actually burned his hand on it the other night it got so bloody hot.

I do not recommend unhooking the fan and again, learned something here on my own instead of listening to people on the net who have never tried something for themself.

 

[malvado78]

Thanks guys..hooked the fan back up and am going to try to live with it. it's there for a reason and is loud and powerful for a reason. My buddy actually burned his hand on it the other night it got so bloody hot.

I do not recommend unhooking the fan and again, learned something here on my own instead of listening to people on the net who have never tried something for themself.

I am reliability engineer in the defense industry and in general the reliability of electronics is directly relates to the ambient evnironment temperature. If the environment is Normally 40 degrees C (104 F) adn you removed the fan and the ambient temperature of the amp is raised to 60 C (140 F Which is a low gues if you fried burnt his hand on it but is a swag) the probability of failure raises by 50% ( Per the Reliability Analysis Center's Reliability Toolkit). So definitely want that fan in there!

Brad

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Johnny,

I have the EP 2500 running my subs. I slowed the fan down with a resistor from radio shack and also turned the fan around so it pulls air over the filter and you can clean it from the front. I have had no issues at all and the air coming out is cool even after hours of torture from U571. You can read about the mod here and do it yourself and save a ton of money. Will take you all of 10 minutes to do.

http://www.cwitt.com/epfanmodification/index.html

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Thanks jeff...may get a friend to help me as I am not good at this kind of thing. Snipping that wire looks dangerous . Nice job on the web page too..pictures and all...!

 

[rtcp]

Your only hope might be to remove the case and aim a larger, slower fan at the guts of the amp.

That's probably your best bet. The bigger the fan, the slower it needs to turn to move the same amount of air. I don't know how big that fan is to begin with, but something like a 120mm computer fan would probably do the trick. Also, a nice thing about these bigger fans is that they don't whine like smaller fans do. They just sound like moving air.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Thanks jeff...may get a friend to help me as I am not good at this kind of thing. Snipping that wire looks dangerous . Nice job on the web page too..pictures and all...!

No problem, not my web page though. I just found it with google.

 

[buckyg4]

LOL... There is a reason why you pay more for HT amps. Music is not intended to be listened to with a fan in the background. When will people in this forum learn???

 

[Haoleb]

From what i saw in the pictures that amplfier uses a tunnel design heatsink, Usually there are fins that sick out inside the tunnel and the fan draws air through it, A heat sink such as this wont work like a regular one you would see in an amp with the fins exposed to the circulating air. I dont think taking the cover off and blowing a fan on it will help either, The air needs to be pulled through the heat sink tunnel to disspate heat correctly.

These pro amps are made more for power output than anything else, Thats why there is a reason that most people dont buy them for home use. Theres more to an amplifier than watts, regardless of what a few folks around here think. You want to keep the amp as cool as possible, Perhaps this just isint the one for your application.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

LOL... There is a reason why you pay more for HT amps. Music is not intended to be listened to with a fan in the background. When will people in this forum learn???

You're kidding, right?

Read all these posts, then reply back.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8705975#post8705975

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Don't listen to any of these uninformed nay sayers. Once I slowed the fan down and reversed it, it is no louder than the fan on my RX-V2600 when it comes on and not much louder than the fan in my projector. Once you turn on any music or movie, it can not be heard at all. These pro amps are the best bang for the buck I have ever seen, and they perform better than a lot of so called high-end stuff.

 

[Nick250]

You're kidding, right?

Read all these posts, then reply back.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8705975#post8705975

Quote:
Originally Posted by buckyg4
LOL... There is a reason why you pay more for HT amps. Music is not intended to be listened to with a fan in the background. When will people in this forum learn???

Damn, I thought I wrote a snippy reply to this post. Must have been another thread. Anyway, buckyg, educate us on the specifics that support your comments. You will find people on this board willing to hear out someone who has something of value to offer. The ball is in your court buckyg4.

Nick

 

[Seth=L]

I am going to keep my mouth shut untill I hear a pro amp with some good speakers, I have heard them, just not with "good speakers".

 

[Johnny Canuck]

I did the modification as described.

It works flawlessly now. Thank you to everybody who helped me. I can not hear the fan whatsoever and the amp is stone cold after being on all night.

Naysayers have no idea what they are talking about. Go spend three times as much for an amp that only looks prettier. I now have 450 W continuous power driving my Polk RTI 12's and I honestly can say I am very happy. These babies now sound like they were intended to.

I also picked up a pro EQ, Behringer DEQ 1024. Makes the world of difference. Those naysayers about EQ's should also be told you are wrong. An EQ does make a difference. It is however, very ugly. The high pass filter and the "stereo image" knob that widens the stereo sound make it worth it alone. Add some bass, and lower some centre frequencies and lower the treble a tad and I think I am close to audio bliss now.

Adding an amp and driving all channels flat is useless. You need to accenuate certain frequencies. Flat is flat, at 50W or 450W. That's where EQ and tone controls come in. For two years I have been struggling with not enough bass to my towers and complaining about brightness. Adding bass, whether by EQ or tone, is essential. If you don't, you just make flat sound louder with an amp.

 

[Seth=L]

I also picked up a pro EQ, Behringer DEQ 1024. Makes the world of difference. Those naysayers about EQ's should also be told you are wrong. An EQ does make a difference. It is however, very ugly. The high pass filter and the "stereo image" knob that widens the stereo sound make it worth it alone. Add some bass, and lower some centre frequencies and lower the treble a tad and I think I am close to audio bliss now.

Adding an amp and driving all channels flat is useless. You need to accenuate certain frequencies. Flat is flat, at 50W or 450W. That's where EQ and tone controls come in. For two years I have been struggling with not enough bass to my towers and complaining about brightness. Adding bass, whether by EQ or tone, is essential. If you don't, you just make flat sound louder with an amp.

Sorry, but this is just a itch that I have to scratch.

First, what does flat mean? It means that over the entire audible frequency spectrum there aren't any variations in decibels at any given frequency. Now say you have some very flat responce speakers and a very good recording. If you leave the tonal controls and the EQ alone, then you should get the closest possible representation of the original performance, assuming your room is properly set-up. If you tamper with the bass then you have just changed what the original performance sounds like. The Polk RTi 12 speakers are very good speakers, and should have a fairly relaxed and neutral sound, and a pretty flat responce.

I am not saying that an EQ isn't good at all, just that most audiophiles see no need for such a device, just another detriment to the signal path as they say. Some people like to have more bass, and an EQ can help with that, having more than normal bass.

If you have virtually perfectly flat/neutral speakers, then an EQ would be almost entirely pointless, with the expeption that you like to hear something other than the performance, but I like to keep it real.