Silent Power Amps Problem

[CRAZY K]

I have a wierd problem--having tried to help out the local Church by replacing their ancient power amp ( with cooling fins) with a brand new KAM 400 watts aside Power Amp we have now got noise produced by the cooling fan on the amp which is disturbing the vicar when he is giving his sermon through the PA.

Im sure we all know as performers how annoying it is to have something like a hum across the speakers or a crackle--in this case absolute silence in the Church is disturbed by this noise.

The Disco Shop are going to fit another cooling fan which might be quieter--the existing one gives off a fairly high pitched whine which I must say is annoying--- and I did query this when I first switched it on although usually this is drowned out by loud music of course at a Barn Dance or Disco.

I just wondered--can you buy anything like this that does not have a cooling fan --I assume all modern amps need them because they are so reduced in size they have no way of dissipating the heat generated other than by a fan:confused:

Any suggestions welcomed unless we are talking mega money--the KAM was around £200 plus vat.

thanks

[DAVESOUNDS SERVICES]

How many watts do you need?
best i could recomend from personal experience are the Peavey IPR 1600 s
theyre silent as they generate no heat the little fan only cools the CPU.
Only downside there around 349 pounds ( but warrantied for 5 years)
The Kam stuff is to be fair bottom end cheapo budget so the fans are noisy
as theyre very much under spec for the job.
Also they fail often so i repace em with a quieter mains fan instead of the noisy low voltage ones
What was wrong with the old convection cooled amp?
is it repairable?
If your stuck ive some new Soundmaster uk made convection amps but there only 130 watts per chan into 4 ohms
theyre bulletproof . live for 10 years plus and made 4 miles from my house in Morley
any use ?
STOP PRESS just found a used VF400 in store 225 Watts a channel ( note the conservative truthful ratings )
http://www.m-jay.co.uk/smaster/poweramps.htm
Cheers

[Excalibur]

Interesting. Could you provide the Reverend Gentleman with an umpteen band graphic equaliser, so he can dial out the offending frequencies? :confused:

OK, I'll be serious. I don't know if these have fans, maybe worth a look.
http://www.djkit.com/w-audio/w-audio-horizon-1100-amplifier.html?cat=40

From the clutching at straws department:
Can you reroute the signal cables away from the fan area of the amp? Are the input cables decent quality screened cables? Could you switch off all gear, and flick the ground lift switch, see if that helps? ( No obvious reason why it should, but explore all avenues. While you're at it, turn the central heating off. It's been known to bleed through PA's, I had a venue where something used to cut in and out on a sensor, and drove me crackers. )

[DAVESOUNDS SERVICES]

Hi Peter id not bother the fans connected to the amps power supply and bleeds audio noise into the power stage....
They also sound like a Hoover er ok Dyson when you swith em on.
Cheers D

[chrisj]

The W Audio Horizon 1100 do have fans as I have just sold one that I no longer needed. They are very quiet.
I have a 1U Chevin Reseach amp that is for sale as I am reducing to just one rig.
http://www.hnny.nl/archief_chevin/Manual/Manual_A500.pdf
It is 200w into 8ohm and actually 325 into 4ohm.I do have another that I use for kids parties and used it last night into a pair of RCF Monitor 8 speakers, 300w at 8ohm and there is plenty of power.
£200 delivered if you are interested.

[wensleydale]

What about a digital amp? I may be wrong but I don't think they use fans, or if they do I think they are smaller.

[spin mobile disco]

Look for an older mosfet amp as they relied on passive cooling i.e a huge heatsink on the back. Downside for Dj's is they tend to be heavy due to the heatsink but for install it would be ideal. A slave mosfet would be the best as they can be had in pretty much any power rating required. But with mosfet always get bigger than you need as it helps keep them cool.
That or start a soup kitchen off one.

[Excalibur]

Here you go, Alan. Check out the badge on the front. ;) :D :D :D :D
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/peavey-amp-model-xr-tm-500c-/250856042895?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item3a682f718f

[Kernow]

Interesting. Could you provide the Reverend Gentleman with an umpteen band graphic equaliser, so he can dial out the offending frequencies? :confused: )

Or remind him that the founder of Christianity is reputed to have addressed an open-air crowd of 5000, (including buffet ! ;)) , without the benefit of amplification or the reverberation of a large empty building ? :D

[Creature]

With the Kam Digital amps there is a 3 way side switch on the back - Kam set it to the left - if you switch it fully to the right it turns up the power to what it says on the box :)

[CRAZY K]

With the Kam Digital amps there is a 3 way side switch on the back - Kam set it to the left - if you switch it fully to the right it turns up the power to what it says on the box :)

Many thanks for all the input guys.:beer1: :beer1: :beer1:

On reflection it probably needed an amp with no cooling fan--but I dont want to suggest second hand---cos they have my phone number when it breaks down-- so I may be stuck with the situation--im assuming the old style which broke down---accurately described by Matt ( Spin ) with cooling fins is no longer available new ???????????

Im hoping the replacement fan will be less noisy--a fan type noise of rushing air is acceptable I think---not a high pitched whine which it has :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Obviously we bought budget---the Church funds are not overflowing.

An interesting observation from Kernow--sadly that was I am led to believe a miracle of course--KAM Amps are not miracles of Chinese Engineering-- mere mortals or possibly just budget priced;)
( cheap ) :eek:

[Excalibur]

Many thanks for all the input guys.:beer1: :beer1: :beer1:

On reflection it probably needed an amp with no cooling fan--but I dont want to suggest second hand--

You can still buy them new, Alan. Probably not big enough for the task, but you can still buy them. I have one that's way too small for you, and I think I have one nearly big enough.

I'm surprised you didn't fancy the Ebay one bearing the legendary P****y badge. :confused: :whistle:

[CRAZY K]

You can still buy them new, Alan. Probably not big enough for the task, but you can still buy them. I have one that's way too small for you, and I think I have one nearly big enough.

I'm surprised you didn't fancy the Ebay one bearing the legendary P****y badge. :confused: :whistle:

Always fancy P....y Peter--its just I need a power slave amp--I think that was a mixer amp:confused:

[Excalibur]

Always fancy P....y Peter--its just I need a power slave amp--I think that was a mixer amp:confused:

It was/is. Thing is, a mixer amp is also a power amp, but a power amp is never a mixer amp. ;)


You could of course go the "Easy" way. ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) A pair of Mackie SRM450's. :D :D :D :D :D :D Amps built in, no fans, just as you specified. :D :D

[Kernow]

A pair of Mackie SRM450's. :D :D :D :D :D :D Amps built in, no fans, just as you specified. :D :D

"Bring your own Brimstone" ? :p
;) :D :D :D

[CRAZY K]

It was/is. Thing is, a mixer amp is also a power amp, but a power amp is never a mixer amp. ;)


You could of course go the "Easy" way. ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) A pair of Mackie SRM450's. :D :D :D :D :D :D Amps built in, no fans, just as you specified. :D :D

Sorry to contradict--but dont some DJs use clip on fans on the back of these if they are Mk1s due to possible overheating :daft:

[Excalibur]

Sorry to contradict--but dont some DJs use clip on fans on the back of these if they are Mk1s due to possible overheating :daft:

Sarcasm rather than absolute and total seriousness. Sorry.

If you don't fancy the lean mean grilling machines, then other makes are equally if not more suitable.

[CRAZY K]

Sarcasm rather than absolute and total seriousness. Sorry.

If you don't fancy the lean mean grilling machines, then other makes are equally if not more suitable.

But way beyond the poor Church Mouse budget unfortunately.:eek:

[wensleydale]

What about a digital amp? I may be wrong but I don't think they use fans, or if they do I think they are smaller.

An amp without a fan. A good idea.