Amp Overheating?

[whiteshark]

Anyone else have this problem? I think I may have just picked a crappy amp. It's a Lanzar Vibe 500w amp shown here. It came with a 3 year warranty so I exchanged it over the summer for a new one, but the new one does the same thing. After about 1.5-2 hours of use (and I'm not talking hard use here, I never have it up too loud) it shuts off from overheating, and sometimes will blow fuses if I push it too hard. It's really annoying. Has anyone else had this problem and is there a way to fix it? I've seen amp fans for sale but is it worth it? Or should I just junk the amp and get a good one?

[ March 07, 2003: Message edited by: whiteshark ]</p>

[jamie]

its a lanzar. its not a good amp. it can't handle it being hot. it probably has a ****ty heatsink on it, and no cooling what-so-ever. get ride of it and get a new/better amp. my friends kenwood is doing the same thing, and i have no clue how to get around it other than trying to keep it cool

[96firebird311]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by jamie:
its a lanzar. its not a good amp. <hr></blockquote>
Actually, some Lanzar's have proven to be a pretty decent buy for the buck. Particularly, the vibe series. The Vibe 1200D has been proven to output it's rated power of 1200WRMS, and for only $220.... it's hard to pass up. However, some other lines..... do indeed suck balls.

Whiteshark, the first thing that pops into my head..... how do you have you subs wired to the amp? Lower impedence loads means that the amp draws more current. Meaning more heat. Maybe you have it wired a little below the recommended impedence?

Jamie, same question to you and your friend.

[ March 07, 2003: Message edited by: 96firebird311 ]</p>

[DrMilhouse]

I'm guessing your both right. I'd say check the wiring, if you have it wired to a 2 ohm load, you'll need to be at 4 ohm. It's a Lanzar amp. You can't expect too much from it. You can't even expect it to handle a 2 ohm load to begin with even if it's rated for it.

C'mon, a quality 1200 watt amp for $220?

A 12 year old 1200 watt PPI amp (quality amp), will go on ebay for 500 minimum in GOOD (not excellent) condition. That's 12 years old. A new 1200 wat amp is going to go for $600-800 on an auction block and more like $1000 MSRP.

[whiteshark]

Lol, ok lots of big words I don't understand. First of all yes my amp is bridged and goes to one sub, as for impedence and ohm, got me. I had it professionally installed, I don't know how to wire stuff. How can I check the impedence and ohm? (use small words, I'm car stereo ignorant [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) Thanks for the help so far guys [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[96firebird311]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by DrMilhouse:
C'mon, a quality 1200 watt amp for $220?

A new 1200 wat amp is going to go for $600-800 on an auction block and more like $1000 MSRP.<hr></blockquote>

I'm not lying to you bro. The Lanzar Vibe 1200D has be tested to output rated power. And are you say that an amp that does 1200WRMS will cost between $600-$800?!?!?! I'm sure you've heard of the JBL BP1200.1? &lt;$300 for 1300WRMS@2ohms. And there's plently more where that came from.....

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> How can I check the impedence and ohm? <hr></blockquote> What sub are you using? You can take it out of the box and look on the back. It might say the model number or possibly the ohm load of the voice coil(s). Or if you give me the brand and model of the sub, I can look it up on the net and find out.

[whiteshark]

It's an MTX 6000 10" sub. The one that comes in the thunderform box. The site says 4 or 8 ohm.

[96firebird311]

The 10" 6000 also comes in 12 ohm. Just FYI. I'm not SURE which one they put in the thunderform box, but I can almost bet that it is the 4 ohm model. And you have the amp bridged? Hmmmm..... 4 ohm is just the nominal load. i see by the MTX spec sheet it has an actual Re of 3.28ohms. Maybe this is your problem....... I'll write more later. kinda in a rush... [img]smile.gif[/img]

[DrMilhouse]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 96firebird311:
I'm not lying to you bro. The Lanzar Vibe 1200D has be tested to output rated power. And are you say that an amp that does 1200WRMS will cost between $600-$800?!?!?! I'm sure you've heard of the JBL BP1200.1? &lt;$300 for 1300WRMS@2ohms. And there's plently more where that came from.....<hr></blockquote>

Like I said, a QUALITY amp. My opinion of JBL is not that much greater than Lanzar. Just one example of an amp with a little higher quality than what you can purchase a walmart:Here's a 1000 watt amp.

Here's another.

If you want 1000 watts of power for cheap, jump to a Xplode that is 1 ohm stable for $200... At least it is Sony. (Of course I don't like Sony Xplode that much either. That line is not called "xplode" for nothing.

My point is that you get what you pay for when it comes to this stuff. Hell, even the specs can look good on paper. Any manufacturer is going to put up their best test results which were obtained under perfectly ideal conditions for that test. What about the rest of us that live in the real world?

Here's a pretty good balance of saving some money and getting a pretty decent product. That's MTX and is actually 1500 x 1 @ 2. While I don't have a whole lot of experience with these, everyone I know that has had MTX amps has been happy with them. I haven't seen any posts really knocking them or talking about how they've blown up. Can't say the same for Lanzar.

[ March 08, 2003: Message edited by: DrMilhouse ]</p>

[DrMilhouse]

BTW, for the JBL BP1200.1 - MSRP: $ 750.00

(Yes, I know, they can be had all over the place for less than $300.) It's an MSRP.

[Christian]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 96firebird311:

Actually, some Lanzar's have proven to be a pretty decent buy for the buck. Particularly, the vibe series. The Vibe 1200D has been proven to output it's rated power of 1200WRMS, and for only $220.... it's hard to pass up. However, some other lines..... do indeed suck balls.

[ March 07, 2003: Message edited by: 96firebird311 ]<hr></blockquote>

Same here IMO, that VIBE series is pretty nice all things of course being considered. I personally think that sometimes people get too caught up in big names and big $$$$ rather than production, at the $$$ for a VIBE model, I have seen kick anus production on many occassions, but that's just my opinion.

[speedy-v6-camaro]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> BTW, for the JBL BP1200.1 - MSRP: $ 750.00
(Yes, I know, they can be had all over the place for less than $300.) It's an MSRP. <hr></blockquote>

What are you trying to say. I got a Lanzar 1500D for $200 and its MSRP is $699. Its not that hard to get cheap amps that retail for much higher.

[96firebird311]

Alright enough.... nobody cares anyway. Back to the question at hand. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Like I said, the MTX 6000 has a Re of 3.28ohms. If your amp is bridged, it requires a 4 ohm load. While the sub has a nominal load of 4 ohms.... it's actually only 3.28ohms. It's very common to see companies do this. Then the sub will draw more power and hit harder. In turn, making people think that their subs really bump hard.....when infact they are just getting more power then thought...... get it? Some are closer to their nominal ratings..... some aren't as close.... maybe try a friends sub? Just back your cars up to each other and run wires between the two. That way you don't have to move any gear. [img]smile.gif[/img] Look for something closer to 4 ohms....

If you don't understand anything I said, just ask. I would be happy to clarify as needed. [img]smile.gif[/img]