Tired of EP2500. Need replacement ideas.

[gmichael]

This give me cognitive dissonance; could you further explain what you meant.

IMHO the loudness of a fan has very little to do with its cooling efficiency and therefore loud music.

Now if the fan is quiet because it is undersized for the required heat dissipation and if the amp is placed directly on the carpet so ambient cooling doesn't work or has a load with such low impedance that the current causes excessive heat build-up, so that there is not adequate ambient and forced cooling then the amp could overheat and have premature failures and/or clipping which can downline cause speaker failure and bad smells

YOMBD ( Your Opinion May Be Different)


Peace and Good Sound,

Forest Man

I think that he may mean, that at the volume that most bands play at, no one will notice a loud fan.

 

[njedpx3]

I think that he may mean, that at the volume that most bands play at, no one will notice a loud fan.

gmichael,

Thanks for the explanation ; you are probably correct


Later,

Forest Man

 

[chris357]

as far as heat goes, my b&k runs warm. but my krell runs hot!!! that particular room is probably 5 degree warmer. and I have 9 inches above it on my rack

 

[highfigh]

This give me cognitive dissonance; could you further explain what you meant.

IMHO the loudness of a fan has very little to do with its cooling efficiency and therefore loud music.

Now if the fan is quiet because it is undersized for the required heat dissipation and if the amp is placed directly on the carpet so ambient cooling doesn't work or has a load with such low impedance that the current causes excessive heat build-up, so that there is not adequate ambient and forced cooling then the amp could overheat and have premature failures and/or clipping which can downline cause speaker failure and bad smells

YOMBD ( Your Opinion May Be Different)


Peace and Good Sound,

Forest Man

Often, fan noise is from the rotation speed. Quieter fans often rotate at lower RPM, reducing the cooling effect. I know some fans screech and make other noises but without knowing exactly what fan was in it before and what replaced it, all I could do is assume that it's a lower RPM mode, as I have used voltage dividers to accomplish the same thing when a noisy fan was annoying but wasn't mounted on an amplifier.

Now, he also posted that he has the amp sitting on carpet, it's bridged, he cranks it and the load is 4 Ohms. Add a different fan with specs that weren't checked (based on the fact that the manual was obviously not read) and I think it's a safe assumption that it's not cooling for more than one reason. I would say the bad smells are from the amp and carpet, not the speaker. However, we haven't been told where the smells came from.

 

[highfigh]

I think that he may mean, that at the volume that most bands play at, no one will notice a loud fan.

Right- and at a live music venue, at the volume people speak, clink glasses, etc, nobody will hear it unless it's extremely loud or they're right next to the amp rack. Not the best spot for listening to a band, IMO.

 

[highfigh]

as far as heat goes, my b&k runs warm. but my krell runs hot!!! that particular room is probably 5 degree warmer. and I have 9 inches above it on my rack

How much space below it? You can have 6' above it but if the cooler air can't get in from the bottom, it will run hot. If it's on a rack shelf, I would consider getting a vented shelf and maybe putting a vented blank panel in the space below it.

 

[gmichael]

Right- and at a live music venue, at the volume people speak, clink glasses, etc, nobody will hear it unless it's extremely loud or they're right next to the amp rack. Not the best spot for listening to a band, IMO.

Or the best protocol for a band to set up their amps where someone could spill a drink on them.

 

[chris357]

How much space below it? You can have 6' above it but if the cooler air can't get in from the bottom, it will run hot. If it's on a rack shelf, I would consider getting a vented shelf and maybe putting a vented blank panel in the space below it.

i have a flexy so i only have about 3/4 inches below it.. I soudl try putting something under the rubber feet to raise it a bit. Thats actually a good idea i think that will be my weekend project

 

[KEW]

i have a flexy so i only have about 3/4 inches below it.. I soudl try putting something under the rubber feet to raise it a bit. Thats actually a good idea i think that will be my weekend project

This is what I did to add clearances among my components. They look pretty nice (the blue plastic is actually transparent, but tinted blue - not clear from this photo).

http://www.amazon.com/Rockler-26357-Bench-Cookies-4-Pack/dp/B002VZ3YKA

It wil add just under 1" of height after teh rubber grip material (neoprene?) is compressed.

PS: If anyone knows an easy way to lift off the decals, let me know. They don't look bad, but I'd rather they be bare.

 

[Shock]

Can someone enlighten me to the size of the fan on a stock 2500?

N.B. The stock fan blows back to front

Edit: Nothing beats posting without reading the entire thread first.

This give me cognitive dissonance; could you further explain what you meant.

I think he means, quiet fans do not push enough air to cool components run near their limit.

 

[chris357]

80mm ?

search the threads for the fan upgrade it will tell the size for sure

 

[Shock]

80mm ?

search the threads for the fan upgrade it will tell the size for sure

Dur, why didn't I think of that?

I R SMRT

 

[Shock]

Okay so here is the mod I would do, firstly buy a 80mm to 120mm fan adapter.
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=26519&vpn=120MM-ADAPT&manufacture=Nexus Technology USA
Then get yourself a nice silent 120 mm fan, this one pushes 57 CFM at less than 20 dBA, so pretty much dead silent.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27129&vpn=NF-P12-1300&manufacture=Noctua
Then simply screw the adapter onto the back of the unit and attach your 120mm fan. You'll also need to raise the entire unit a small amount to account for the increase height of the bracket, but that shouldn't be too difficult. The good thing about this is the bracket will eliminate the deadzone on normal fans and increase the air pressure of the fan. Driving air through heatsinks isn't easy and static pressure is key to good heat dissipation.

It looks as if there should be plenty of room on the back for the bracket to sit without blocking anything. Some of your more tech orientated people might want to give it a try for an ultra silent and high air flow rig. The best of the best silent 80mm fans will only push about 31 CFM in comparison.

 

[highfigh]

Or the best protocol for a band to set up their amps where someone could spill a drink on them.

Never underestimate the ability of a drunken person to get liquid on something that will die because of it.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

i see. you are using bridged 4 ohms ... basically stereo 2 ohms.

you're gonna need a way bigger amp if you need that much power into 4 ohms on a single channel (get an amp with enough power on ONE channel so you wouldn't need to bridge)

have you tried just using one channel on the EP2500? that would give you 650w RMS and it would run a lot cooler.

This does not make any sense. This amp is bridged with a 4 ohm load. It supposed to put out a lot of power into 4 ohm's. No I will not run it on a single channel, would rather buy a new amp.

At the risk of sounding rude, that strikes me as a pointless stance. Is your driver actually requiring or using the 2400 watts you get with bridged mono? I’ll bet it would do just fine with the 750 watts you’d get from a single channel @ 4 ohms. As others have mentioned, if you’re going to drive the amp hard bridged, you should re-install the stock fan.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[monsterman]

The quite fan is excellent, it's the best quite fan available. There must be something wrong with the amp. I should be able to drive this amp at 80% max capabilities for over 10 minutes without it overheating. I will follow advice and make this sucker work.

 

[Slare]

It's been said but you are blaming the EP2500 for setup items which are of no flaw of its own. You need a different amp, not because the EP2500 is problematic, but because you are using it wrong.

It seems you are running the EP2500 in bridged mode to a single 4 ohm woofer. In a sealed enclosure no less that may well be presenting a much less than 4 ohm load at times. Then you are stacking compromised cooling on it and *****ing about why it can't be run at full tilt without getting hot.

The EP2500 (nor most) amplifiers are not capable of running in that way. You need an amplifier designed to drive a 2-4 ohm load... like one channel of the EP2500 is capable of doing, but not bridged.

Most stereo (PA or otherwise) won't do what you want in bridged mode. Some will, but they will be spec'd as such. Such amps are not common and you will pay for the ability.

Also, a EP2500 pushed to full tilt is capable of nearly tripping a 15A breaker, especially if you have older wiring. If it is on the same breaker as your TV or some other fairly substantial item, it is not unheard of to pop a 15A breaker.

This post may read as sort of dickish, but that is not my intention. You need to realize what you are expecting out of your amplifier or you are set for a lot of disappointment as you try to fix the problem with other amplifiers. There is a pretty short list of gear that will get you where you want.

 

[highfigh]

The quite fan is excellent, it's the best quite fan available. There must be something wrong with the amp. I should be able to drive this amp at 80% max capabilities for over 10 minutes without it overheating. I will follow advice and make this sucker work.

Slare brings up a good point- what is your line voltage when the amp is cranked? If it's lower than 110, you don't have adequate wiring.

Do you know, for a fact, that the fan you installed is capable of moving as much air across the heat sinks as the original one? Read the manual and use the amp the way it was designed. Without knowing the voltage, CFM of the fan and how it's supposed to operate, you have no basis for your assumption that you should be able to run it a 80% for 10 minutes. The fact that you want it to do this doesn't matter. What matters is what the amp was designed to do and the fact that you altered its cooling system by changing the fan and putting it on carpet. What happens if you remove the fan from your car's motor and rev it up while parked? It will overheat. While driving, the fan isn't necessary but parked, it needs to remove heat from the radiator.

 

[monsterman]

It's been said but you are blaming the EP2500 for setup items which are of no flaw of its own. You need a different amp, not because the EP2500 is problematic, but because you are using it wrong.

It seems you are running the EP2500 in bridged mode to a single 4 ohm woofer. In a sealed enclosure no less that may well be presenting a much less than 4 ohm load at times. Then you are stacking compromised cooling on it and *****ing about why it can't be run at full tilt without getting hot.

The EP2500 (nor most) amplifiers are not capable of running in that way. You need an amplifier designed to drive a 2-4 ohm load... like one channel of the EP2500 is capable of doing, but not bridged.

Most stereo (PA or otherwise) won't do what you want in bridged mode. Some will, but they will be spec'd as such. Such amps are not common and you will pay for the ability.

Also, a EP2500 pushed to full tilt is capable of nearly tripping a 15A breaker, especially if you have older wiring. If it is on the same breaker as your TV or some other fairly substantial item, it is not unheard of to pop a 15A breaker.

This post may read as sort of dickish, but that is not my intention. You need to realize what you are expecting out of your amplifier or you are set for a lot of disappointment as you try to fix the problem with other amplifiers. There is a pretty short list of gear that will get you where you want.

You are, in fact, coming off as dickish. I understand it is not your intention. And you are stating things that have already been said, why? I now realize, with the help of many more knowledgeable people's advice, that I need to fix a few things before wanting to replace an amp. I have a hard time understanding what your post did to help solve the problem or provide any type of solution. It has pop'ed a breaker, it does overheat and I do (and will continue) to push this amp to its limits without changing back to a loud *** fan. Perhaps when I move out of my tiny room and give this amp some space I will reinstall a more powerful fan.
Here is what I have learned so far from this thread.
-Move my amp off the carpet
-Check wiring from amp to subwoofer inside and out to make sure nothing it touching
-EP2500 has limits and Emotiva mono is super sexy IRL.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I doubt getting it off the carpet will make much difference, if any. That would be relevant with a convection-cooled home audio amp, but not an amp with forced-air cooling. Amps like these should be able to comfortably operate sandwiched in a rack with other amps above and below (as amp racks are often configured). And adjacent amps would be generating heat, unlike carpet.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt