2. amps-preamps
  3. 1200450675

ICE amps need cooling?

I've been looking for an amp to power my Maggies and was doing some research on these ICE modules from B&O. While reading the data sheet I saw that the model 1000 that puts out 525 watts into 8 Ohms and 1,000 watts into 4 Ohms it gave a specification of Power(FTC) of 80 watts continuous. Now I remember back in the 70's during the receiver wars the FTC mandated that power ratings be standardized to something like "100 wpc continuous into 8 Ohms with no more than X% distortion" This was to stop all the unrealistic power claims of huge power output for a brief time under tremendous distortion. It made the playing field level so consumers could at least get what they were expecting. So I see that the ICE module has a power rating of only 80 watts continuous! Now that is a far cry from the 500 watts they are bragging about. Have all amplifier specs abandoned the FTC ruling, or is the ICE module just blowing smoke? The B&O site also stated that with heat sinks or fan cooling the power rating could go up. Most ICE amps I see on the market don't have any heat sinks or even ventilation for that matter. So are we all buying ICE amps that can deliver their stated output power for only brief times, and actually put out only a fraction of the power for any sustained period of time? I'm no expert and I just saw this today so I am asking the the members with lots of knowledge in this area to respond and please clear this up. Thanks.
koestner
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Magfan, the old JRDG model 9 mono amp used sealed Lead acid batteries. It as a class A/B design. Conversely, the JRDG Criterion linestage uses industrial-grade NiMH and has a built in smart charger.
coffeey's avatar
coffeey
363 posts
 
maab you are more then correct far far away from high end sound we crave.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Muralman1...Nice that Mr Ho's preamp is "Class A". By the way, how do you make a preamp that is anything else? Can you name one?
magfan
1,583 posts
 
How much power in the JRDG#9? How much battery capacity? That'll give me some idea how long between charges.

I was just giving some 'considerations'. If you go with lead/acid or Nicad, you've got shipping weight to factor in, too. No Fair giving the UPS guy a hernia luggin 80lb of class 'a' chassis and another 200lb of batteries!
I work for International Rectifier, which has several class'd' entries, of which I own one. I am attracted to the battery PS simply because I don't have the skillset to design a good, clean PS, though I suspect I could build it if given a kit of parts..........

I can close to guarantee that the above amp had some problems. Perhaps battery storage with the fumes? That stuff is Really corrosive. I suspect that using some Optima sealed gel cells for automotive use may help. I further suspect the WAF is near zero. How you hide a dozen car batteries 'discreetly' is beyond me!

Thanks for the Info, which I'll look up. I have also seen, here on the 'gon, an amp called 'Emitter'.....something, which is a massive battery operated power amp. And, Massively Expensive, to boot. It is in the 25,000$ range, new.

My 'rule' is that there is NO bad topology of whatever ilk. Almost anything can be made, and made good / good sounding...some stuff just takes more development, parts count and is inherently more expensive. Arguing about what sounds better a SET or Triode or whatever tube philosophy is not the correct approach, IMO. How's it sound? Some arguements about this stuff is starting to sound religious.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
The little Sonic Impact "T_Amp" uses 12-14 volts, so a single car battery would be sufficient. Since music requires only a few watts, and the amp is something like 80 percent efficient it would play for a long time before the battery would need recharge.
More to discover