Can I run my Amp from a Line Conditioner?


HELLO GROUP, I HAVE A SUNFIRE CINEMA GRAND AMP AND A MONSTER HTS-5000 LINE CONDITIONER, DOES THIS LIMIT MY AMP? I ALREADY HAVE A 65" PROJECTION UNIT AND VCR,DVD,SAT,HARMAN RECEIVER AND HARMAN AMP,A COOLING FAN AND 2 40 WATT LITES FOR THE STEREO CABINETS PLUGGED INTO THIS.ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED. ALSO I HAVE A SEPERATE 100 AMP ALL COPPER SERVICE ENTRANCE DEDICATED TO THIS AUDIO ROOM. THANKS,RICK
monroe2
To put things into perspective, your amp alone can EASILY pull 20+ amps by itself if you are throttling the volume control. You have to remember that this amp is FIVE x 200 wpc @ 8 ohms or FIVE x 400 wpc @ 4 ohms.

A review i have of the standard ( non-Signature version ) of the 2 channel Sunfire ( 300 wpc x 2 @ 8 ohms ) had them easily tripping 15 amp circuits when trying to measure this amp on the bench. Now consider that this amp is "only" 600 watts @ 8 ohms( both channels combined ) and your amp is rated at 1000 watts @ 8 ohms ( all channels combined ) and you might begin to get the picture. I'm not saying that you'll ever push your system to drawing that much power or have all of the channels "pumping" at once, but this might give you a better idea of what you'll need in terms of the amount of current that a "filter" or "surge suppressor" would need to pass without restriction.

Personally, I found out about this the hard way. I was running my Sunfire Signature that powers the mains in my HT system ( 3 - 4 ohm 86 dB speakers ) and sent the amp into thermal shutdown on two different occasions. Bare in mind that this amp is rated at 1200 wpc @ 4 ohms and actually maxes out ( goes into clipping ) at about 1450 - 1480 wpc at that impedance. That is, IF you can feed it enough voltage and current from the wall to maintain that level. While i sent the amp back into Sunfire for a check-up and some upgrade modifications, i came to find out that the amp WAS being choked with a 20 amp circuit feeding it. Needless to say, i was kind of shocked but not in disbelief. Obviously, it takes BIG power if you want to make BIG power.

Since you have a dedicated breaker box, your best bet might be to check into surge suppression at the box itself rather than limit what the amp can draw. This would protect EVERYTHING in your system at the same time and it would do this without introducing momentary voltage sag into the rest of the system. You have to remember that as the amp tries to pull current for momentary surges, it would be doing so at the expense of all of the other components that were connected to the PLC. Take that a step further and realize that ALL of your components in the system are now fed by the ONE power cord that feeds the PLC and you can see where a power restriction could easily take place.

To put things into perspective real quick, an amp of this size should have its' own power feed and NOT be tied into a common PLC that feeds the rest of the system. Sean
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I was checking to see what the capacity of the HTS 5000 is on the Monster website and I ran across this statement.

"Will the Monster Power Center restrict current to my power amplifiers?
No. On the models that contain High Current Filters, we have passed over 21,000 watts of power through to demonstrate its capabilities. For Monster Power Centers that do not have High Current Filters, the fillter becomes saturated for a few Milliseconds but does not impede current flow."

Im not sure if I should feel any better about running my
amp thru it? But i hate to leave my (pride and joy) amp unprotected...
Voodoochile: There are ways to manipulate figures to portray whatever one wants to say IF one is "crafty". That does not mean that the tests used or figures conveyed were realistic or performed in a "tell all" method.

To put things in perspective, i'd like to see them try and pass 21,000 watts through one of their PLC's. That is equivalent to 175 amps at 120 volts. Needless to say, there would be a big explosion and a lot of smoke and fire.

I would suggest running the amp direct and running it through the PLC. If you don't notice any difference, leave it plugged into the PLC. Peace of mind and safety may make your listening all that more enjoyable. Sean
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Sean,

I totally agree with you... The thing that bothers me the most is all components are being fed by one cord like you said. Where i live there is not alot of lightning or outages (just earthquakes and high energy bills)so im atleast going to try a direct shot for the amp. The other
thing is a recently bought a new PC its an Eichmann PWR
express and they strongly recommend a direct shot into the
wall so i will try... plug and prey!

Thanks for advice...