Help - my new Classe CAM350s have blown up...

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?

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

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.

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

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