Glen, yes Classe picked up the tab and even paid shipping back to my dealer -- I just paid $92 CDN for shipping to them -- that's it. The "clicking" you here is just the protection and warmup circuts doing their normal power-on routines. Come to think of it, my 301 did trip the breakers on my Audioprism Power II and this is with dedicated circuts. I think I'll go with a passive device (Hydra) since this thing sucks juice faster them my SUV sucks gas.
And Kelly, I'm stealing your "brain fart" line -- best one I've heard in a while and certainly explains my middle age memory. --Lorne |
That's an excellent point Bob and often overlooked. Big amps require big power. Low voltage can cause an amp to oscillate, causing damage to output devices, blowing caps in the output section, etc... With the amount of draw that these two amps are capable of, especially when "standing on the throttle", a typical house wiring scheme could become a problem. It might not be severe enough to do damage to the amps, etc.. but you might not ever see the full potential of those components or the entire system until that problem is addressed. Those that have gone to large monoblocks, two big amps to bi-amp, etc... that haven't gotten the results that they think they should have may want to take this into consideration. Sean
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Good idea to check your supply voltage at that breaker's output when you reset it, & then again while driving a load (several hundred watts of floor lamp, vacuum cleaner motor, etc). The whole rig may have been drawing enough current to load down your supply voltage (through too small a conductor) to a marginal point, at which point anything could happen. Perhaps the still-working amp remained in its protection mode for quite awhile? They don't always reset immediately esp. if catastrophic conditions were encountered. |
No problem *CFB*
Say Lorne Your post reads like classe picked up the entire tab on your repair is that correct? I too have a 301 also purchased at agon used. I about had a heart attack when I opened the box and saw that it was shipped across the country upside down. It seems to be working fine despite the rough ride. Say, can you tell me what the clicks and pops are during warm-up. I have not recieved the manual yet. (Canadian snail mail is the worse) Thanks |
Things happen from time to time. Sometimes it isnt our fault. I had an $ 8,000 amp that blew up in my living room after using it for two years. Just because you pay alot doesnt mean things cant happen. Good Luck Hope you get this rectified soon. It sucks to be without the system |
Many thanks for all your help and suggestions. The voltage is ok (110V), and I am pretty sure that I had everything unplugged when I was attaching the cabling. In any case, I will try and see whether I can borrow another amp to isolate the process: good tip, Sean.
Thanks again, guys. |
glen: of course, you are right. i did mean volts, not amps. thank you for your correction. (my secratary calls these foul-ups "brain farts"; the older i get, it seems, the more flatulent is my mind.) -kelly |
Had the same problem with my Classe 301 ... worked great for three days and then .... a puff of smoke, a blown fuse and one awfull smelling shorted capicator. When I called the Classe engineer/support he suggested that certain tube preamps can cause a problem with the Classe. I suspected that a speaker cable might have come loose (I had shotguns with two spades per lug so tightening was a problem). Even though I bought the amp used (through an audiogon auction) Classe treated me like with their namesake. Not only did they fix the amp in four days, but they also gave me a new factory box, replaced a stripped screw in the case and paid for shipping back the 120lbs beheemoth back to me. Quite impressive service, considering their warranty does not even cover subsequent owners! Haven't had a problem since.
What I've learned from all this, is that high powered amps are much more sensitive to "mistakes" than their lower power bretheren, and, I now take so called "protection" circurity with a grain of salt. I thus turn EVERYTHING off when making a cabling change or even minor adjustment "back there" and constantly (weekly) check that the amp's lugs and all interconnects are tightened down. --Lorne |
I think cornfed meant to say 110 volts not amps. Good call, make sure your set to the correct voltage on the back of the amp. |
where in the world do you live? is it possible that the classe's were set for 110 amps and you were running them where 220 is the standard, or vice versa? -kelly |
Is this your first time cabling a high end system together? Was the power off and everything unplugged during the cabling process? Is there any chance the speaker leads were touching each other at either connection point? Do you keep a fire extinguisher in the house? |
Are your speakers with the same cables & preamp working correctly with another amp at this point in time ??? Sean
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