Parasound 1500A amp extremely hot even at idle?



Hello Parasound owners - I'd really appreciate your feedback. I own a Parasound 1500A two channel amp that I use with a Parasound PLD-2000 pre-amp. I love the combination, but the 1500A amp becomes extremely hot on the top and sides - so hot that you can't keep your hand on it. The heat occurs even if the amp is powered up without driving music. I have the 1500A is an open space so it's getting plenty of ventilation.

I've owned other Parasound two-channel amps (1200 II, 1000A) in the past and they all got warm, but never hot or extremely hot, even when pushing them hard. I wanted to ask if any of you have experienced this same extreme heat with your Parasound 1500A?

Thanks in advance for your feedback - as usual your expertise is invaluable.

Matt
mminor
I haven't had my Parasound 1500A for a few years, but I don't recall it ever getting more than warm to the touch.
Is this a recent change or has it always run this hot?
I drove Magnepan 3.6 with my 1500A years ago, a somewhat difficult load, to high volume in a large room. Never got more than mildly warm.
I'd contact Tony Pointes (sp?) at Parasound -- the bias may have drifted, so it might need to be re-biased; I had a similar problem with a Parasound amp, which was cured by re-biasing. If you're tech savvy and get the schematic for the 1500A from Tony, you could probably do it yourself pretty easily.
I'm not familiar with that model, but if it's running in Class A mode, it'll be hot all the time regardless of load.
That amp only runs in class A mode for maybe a few watts maximum, so it should not run as hot as Mminor is describing.
John Curl recommends adding a cooling fan to his amps. My 22-5A has a computer fan about 1 foot away to circulate air around the amp. It works great and is quiet