How hot is pure Class A solid state vs. SET?


Generally speaking, would a Class A solid state amp generate a lot more or similar heat as a single ended tube amp? Not surface temp, but the air around it. Tubes get hot, but their surface area is usually very small compared to big heat sinks on a SS Class A amp.

I am thinking about going from an AB SS amp to a Pass Aleph 30, but I am concerned about the heat. I have an Almarro A205A 5 WPC EL84/12AX7 SEP amp that is fine for me in this regard.
eugene81

Showing 1 response by arj

For Class A, the heat generated in inversely proportional to the Sensitivity of your speakers.
Since it is always going to draw 200W from the wall socket, the amount of energy "left" after driving the speakers will be spent as Heat...so a Totem may not cause the amp to generate too much heat but a Proac just might

in a Class AB, since the power input varies depending on the speaker load, this dissipation is tno too much of an issue (but since a percentage od the amp is biased into Full Class A, very sensitive speakers may still run with the amp on Class A mode)

I think in Tube amps, the Big Transformers usually use up a lot of power and hence on a apples to apples, for the same poser rating their heat generation could be much lower