Amps, Cables and Current: A Question


Hi folks. I have a few questions I'm wondering if you can help me with....

1. I've seen some amps, such as the Odyssey Monos, that list peak current capabilities around 65 amps. How is it possible to deliver that kind of current when the unit is connected to a wall outlet that is fed from a 15amp circuit?

2. I've been having a email dialogue with the folks at Audience. I'm still confused by their response. According to them, "the Audience power cords need to be thicker because they carry so much current. A power cable the same diameter as the Au24 speaker wire would be a fire hazard" because it would not be able to carry all the current coming from the wall. They continue by pointing out that the speaker wire can be thin because it carries much lower current than the powercord.

If you understand what I've said here I think you can see my confusion. If an amp like the Odyssey is putting out 65 amps of current then that far exceeds what is coming out of the wall and therefore my thin little Au24 should be melting or causing a fire or something, no?

I'm no electrical engineer, obviously. I have to be missing something. Can anyone help?
dodgealum

Showing 1 response by ampnut

On yr second question ...

The total POWER ( not current) consumed from the Wall outlet is the Max POWER ( not current) delivered to a speaker load, on a continious basis.

The AC Power charges up Capacitors in the amp that can dump Very High Instantanous ( Peak ) power into the speaker load, but on a continious basis, the power to the Speaker canot exceed the Power drawn from the wall.

Most Audio power amps ( Excluding the recent Class D, T and other switching amps ) have an over all efficiency of about 50% or Less.

That is why the Power Cord actually carries more Power ( Not necessarily more current ) than the speaker wires.

POWER = Voltage x Current

Hence 200 Watts drawn from the mains @ 120 VAC implies a current of 1.67 Amperes.

Power is also = Current x Current x Resistance

Hence a 100 Watt, 8 Ohm Speaker load draws ( Per channel ) a current of 3.5 amperes.