Cool running amplifier

Look at Odyssey Audio amps. The run cool with plenty of power.

Ayre v5xe. Idles at 100 W. Can be put into standby and idles at 18 W but keeps all critical components warm. Even has a 12 V trigger. Typically found used at $2500 or less.  Whoops… Missed your budgetary constraint. 

Ayre v5xe. Idles at 100 W. Can be put into standby and idles at 18 W but keeps all critical components warm. Even has a 12 V trigger. Typically found used at $2500 or less.  Whoops… Missed your budgetary constraint.

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Really like the NAD Class D integrateds.

Hypex nc252mp-based designs are incredibly good value, with lots of clean power, and cool, low power consumption.  Like these:

https://www.marchaudio.net.au/product-page/p252-stereo-250-watt-power-amplifier

https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/product-page/nord-one-mp-nc250-stereo-power-amp-in-silver

Or get a Yamaha AS series if you want AB.

Sunfire symphonic reference power amplifier, 250 watt 8ohm doubled to 500 watt 4ohm. Auto input signal turn on is a nice ’set and forget’ feature, Load invariant technology which allows the amp to put out tremendous amounts of power while generating almost no heat.

Amps in cabinets is generally a bad idea unless provision is made for cooling. Even class D amps (the coolest running made) will make heat when you push them! Heat leads to failure so I would think about how to make the cabinet more amplifier friendly.

thanks everyone for the input. Let me add some clarification too:

The compartment that holds the power amp is ~24"h x 22"d,x 20"w. The amp sits on a shelf in the center and there is ventilation under and over. The back side of the compartment is open, but there is a glass door on the front.

I have had a B&K St140 running in it for the past 3 years and heat of the kind Atmosphere mentions has never been an issue though the 140 does idle slightly warmer than I would like, so I would turn the whole rig off when not in use.

In an effort to radically simplify for my wife's use, I want to leave the amp and preamp on 24/7. This way, she just turns on the tv, and the tv remote adjusts the volume. (Seriously, adding one more device to the turn on equation adds 5 orders of magnitude difficulty)  If we will be away for any length of time I will simply switch off the rig.

I swapped in a lm3886 chip amp for a couple of weeks (zero heat at idle or running) and it was perfect heat wise, not so much sonic wise. For now the St140 is back in place and I'll keep an eye on the heat. I would like to improve on the sonics of the St140 though, and with low/no idle heat.

The Sunfire auto signal turn on is an appealing feature. I started looking for an outboard device but so far no luck.

@bdgregory
You can try a Current Sensing Auto On/Off Outlet instead, plug the TV to ’Tools outlet’ and plug the amplifier to ’Vacuum/Accessory outlet’. , The amplifier will automatically turn on when you turn on the TV and amplifier will automatically turn off 7 seconds later after the TV is off.

https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Etoolcity-Technology-Overload-Eliminating/dp/B07YK9VBQK/ref=pd_cp_6...

@imhififan 
excellent. I have one on order, will give it a try.  Thanks 

Class D amplification recommended

“You can try a Current Sensing Auto On/Off Outlet instead, plug the TV to ’Tools outlet’ and plug the amplifier to ’Vacuum/Accessory outlet’. , The amplifier will automatically turn on when you turn on the TV and amplifier will automatically turn off 7 seconds later after the TV is off. 

https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Etoolcity-Technology-Overload-Eliminating/dp/B07YK9VBQK/ref=pd_cp_6...”

If you are using a separate pre amp with your amp this is a bad idea.

To avoid potential speaker damaging loud pops remember - 
Turn amp on last. Turn amp off first.

@sfseay
I believe OP’s preamp is on 24/7 and I think he has to try those outlet to be sure.

Yes, my preamp will remain on 24/7.  I received the switch yesterday and will try it out today. If I get any unnerving power on sounds I'll abandon the idea. 

I still ill have a search on for a good class d amp or other suitable class ab amp.

thanks again . . . 

You should be able to find a used Wyred 4 Sound amp in your price range.  They run cool and you can leave it on all the time.

ok, so I hooked up and tested the switch. It works great. The amp turns on soft as soon as (ie right after) the tv powers up.  Once the tv turns off, the amp powers down soft again (counted 7 seconds as advertised). Thanks @imhififan 

With this device I can also add a fan if I need. The B&K St140 sounds good for TV, but I'm trying to do some streaming on this system so I would like to get a better amp.  I could use my Eagle 2Cprime which sounds great with the Sttafs, but the face plate is 19" and won't fit through the door.

So now I have a few amps I'm on the lookout for . . .

@bdgregory
Glad I could help

I just picked up a great sounding,very underrated & cool running amp.  A rare non rack mount (17” wide) Nikko Alpha 130 in mint condition.  Everything I read and heard about Nikko power amps is that they are very underrated and under the radar, and after hearing it, I have to agree.

It sounds great, but I like trying out different things.  If you have one with the older cosmetics & are interested, I’d trade you for your ST140.  If you don’t like it, we’ll trade back, but I think you’ll be very impressed as I am.  I’m using it with a Museatex AVC1 preamp.  Thanks for your consideration.

For grins I decided to try a Crown XLS1500 that I have (it was powering pro/pa speakers in my jam studio). It's a class d 300 watts at 8 ohms. I didn't think it would fit through the cabinet door because it's 19" wide, but I managed to squeeze it in on an angle.

in any event, it powers the Sttafs really well and sounds surprisingly good.  Better bass than the st140 and very nice up the spectrum. It runs cool and has built in fans if needed (likely won't). So I'm going to run with this for now and see how it performs with more music play. I already ordered a replacement for the studio, and the st140 will be listed shortly along with my eagle 2c prime.

thanks everyone.

@bdgregory IIRC that amp has a programmable menu. Go into the menu and shut down all the DSP functions and the like. You may notice it sounding even better.

Thanks @atmasphere .  I'll check it out. 

ok, there's no DSP, just crossover and bridging modes. I had already bypassed all of that.One thing I did do is tune the gain controls (which I originally assumed were attenuaters) which helped a little. 

I'm very, pleasantly surprised by this little amp.