interesting Art. That's alotta cheap entertainment for the sli-80. I've often wondered about factory published specs of power consumption as the sli-80 i owned for 5 yrs. stated around 65 watts at idle - is that correct? The Pass X250 I owned years ago ate up some juice & was a heater. The power consumption/heat/many tubes/mono amp thing has kept me from getting into OTL's for a long time. My present amp runs cool w/minimal number of tubes, uses 70 watts at idle & alittle more when in use - something I do think about -while sounding fantastic. happy new year, cheers!
Cost of running a tube amp.
Hey guys. (Any gals out there read this stuff?!!!)
I have long wondered about the power draw of my Cary SLI80 integrated amp.
The transformers get so hot that it is almost painful to touch them!
So I dusted off this old "Kill a watt" power measurement tool that I bought on a whim years ago and never used.
The Cary is using around 200 watts. A kilowatt every 5 hours.
It is the same whether it is playing music or on standby.
Here in Manhattan I am paying Con Edison around 30 cents per kwh total including transmission, generation, taxes, etc.
6 cent per hour to run the amp.
A long day would cost close to a dollar.
I think that where I used to live in the SF Bay Area I paid 15 cents or maybe 20 total per kw. Some parts of the U.S. pay a lot less.
Ok so running my amp is like running two 100 watt light bulbs.
Which, come to think of it, bulbs get HOT too.
Actually hotter.
Funny how we leave lights on in empty rooms, forgetting to turn them off, and don't really give it a second thought. But my amp is getting hot OMG!
Apparently I am worrying about the wrong thing.
Forget the amp.
Turn off lights!
(Or try to tolerate CFL's)
Happy New Year
Art
I have long wondered about the power draw of my Cary SLI80 integrated amp.
The transformers get so hot that it is almost painful to touch them!
So I dusted off this old "Kill a watt" power measurement tool that I bought on a whim years ago and never used.
The Cary is using around 200 watts. A kilowatt every 5 hours.
It is the same whether it is playing music or on standby.
Here in Manhattan I am paying Con Edison around 30 cents per kwh total including transmission, generation, taxes, etc.
6 cent per hour to run the amp.
A long day would cost close to a dollar.
I think that where I used to live in the SF Bay Area I paid 15 cents or maybe 20 total per kw. Some parts of the U.S. pay a lot less.
Ok so running my amp is like running two 100 watt light bulbs.
Which, come to think of it, bulbs get HOT too.
Actually hotter.
Funny how we leave lights on in empty rooms, forgetting to turn them off, and don't really give it a second thought. But my amp is getting hot OMG!
Apparently I am worrying about the wrong thing.
Forget the amp.
Turn off lights!
(Or try to tolerate CFL's)
Happy New Year
Art