[Fullvolume]

Just trying to wrap my head around the 15 amp and 20 amp thing. A 15 amp circuit(14 guage wire) with 15 amp receptacles can only be loaded to 80%, or 12 amps total capacity supplying 1440 watts. A 20 amp circuit(12 guage wire) with 20 amp receptacles can only be loaded to 80%,or 16 amps total capacity supplying 1920 watts. If you used 20 amp receptacles on a 15 amp cirucit, the circuit's capacity does not increased, and you can still load the circuit to only 12 amps.

So what kind of math do you have to do to figure out if 20 amps circuit is needed. TV, amps, players, a/v receivers etc... The 14B SST comes in 15 amp or 20 amp versions. So will the 20 amp version have more headroom?

[James Tanner]

Just trying to wrap my head around the 15 amp and 20 amp thing. A 15 amp circuit(14 guage wire) with 15 amp receptacles can only be loaded to 80%, or 12 amps total capacity supplying 1440 watts. A 20 amp circuit(12 guage wire) with 20 amp receptacles can only be loaded to 80%,or 16 amps total capacity supplying 1920 watts. If you used 20 amp receptacles on a 15 amp cirucit, the circuit's capacity does not increased, and you can still load the circuit to only 12 amps.

So what kind of math do you have to do to figure out if 20 amps circuit is needed. TV, amps, players, a/v receivers etc... The 14B SST comes in 15 amp or 20 amp versions. So will the 20 amp version have more headroom?

Hi fullvolume,

We no longer offer 20 amp/120 volt versions of the amplifiers.

james

[Fullvolume]

Hi James,
What would be the reason for having both versions then dropping the 20 amp version? Do to sales or no need to have the higher amperage?

[jethro]

Fullvolume,

You just need to add up the wattage of all of your gear to determine the worst case power usage. You can divide the total wattage by 120 (depending where you live) to get the amps. This determines how many circuits you will need.  If you need additional help, you could post your equipment list and we could try to give you an estimate.

[James Tanner]

Hi James,
What would be the reason for having both versions then dropping the 20 amp version? Do to sales or no need to have the higher amperage?

Correct we rarely sold the 20 amp version. I will try and get an engineering response for you as well as I know there were some issues with CSA requirements on 20 amp versions.

james
 

[Fullvolume]

I know little about electricity....I currently have a 4B SST running a 4ohm load, looking at the specs it states 2 channels @ 500W @ 4 ohms 2100W. Is this peak watts?? I have all my gear running off a 15 amp circuit. If I added up all my gear (not home so I can't do it now) I'm sure it would be in the thousands of watts.... what am I missing here?

[werd]

I know little about electricity....I currently have a 4B SST running a 4ohm load, looking at the specs it states 2 channels @ 500W @ 4 ohms 2100W. Is this peak watts?? I have all my gear running off a 15 amp circuit. If I added up all my gear (not home so I can't do it now) I'm sure it would be in the thousands of watts.... what am I missing here?

Your 4B only runs at about 3 or 4 amps tops continuous.

[95Dyna]

I know little about electricity....I currently have a 4B SST running a 4ohm load, looking at the specs it states 2 channels @ 500W @ 4 ohms 2100W. Is this peak watts?? I have all my gear running off a 15 amp circuit. If I added up all my gear (not home so I can't do it now) I'm sure it would be in the thousands of watts.... what am I missing here?

You only need to be concerned with the components that are being used at the same time.  If you are listening to your CD player you only need to count the player, preamp and amp(s).  I have a pair of 7B's, BP 26, SACD, TT, Tuner, TV, DVD all plugged into a Torus CS 15 with outstanding results.  Remember that that a pair of 7Bs will require 2000 watts (measured, not published) into 4 ohms only if run at full power which is not anywhere near a real world scenario.  Replace the 7's (or a 14B) with 28B's in this scenario then your looking needing a 20 amp circuit.  Also, without the Torus you will get less the ideal 1800 watts and 15 amps from the 15 amp circuit and will encounter an output impedence several times greater than that of the Torus.

[ricko01]

dont guess... if you really want to know, get one of these:

https://www.wattsupmeters.com/secure/products.php?pn=0

if needed buy a cheap multibox  and run the complete system off it (via the meter of course!!!)

play a range of your usual music at regular volumes and at higher volumes. check the meter and all will be revealed.

[KeithA]

Correct we rarely sold the 20 amp version. I will try and get an engineering response for you as well as I know there were some issues with CSA requirements on 20 amp versions.

james
 

I have the 20 amp version of the 14B..running on a 15 amp circuit

The 20 amp thing is overrateted IMHO

Keith

[Mad Mr H]

Hi,

Just a quick note for Fullvolume

Power consumtion in Watts is what you want to look at when considering mains power required.

Output power of an amplifier is still measured in Watts but is a different to power consumption.

The power amp is hungry for power.....could draw 1000's w

A cd player might draw 20w same with dvd,blu ray.

A tv might draw 75w

Just rough examples to get you started.



The OFFICIAL bryston specs for a 4B SST are here
http://bryston.com/4bsstspec.html

If your speakers are 8 ohm (usually the norm) then about 10 amps draw at MAXIMUM VOLUME !!! I seriously doubt you run things that loud........


The rest of your system might require 1-3 amps

So dont panic about the power draw required.

ALSO if you are not sure the breaker in your power distribution board will trip if you overload it as a saftey feature, so again no worry - It is designed to do this.

I have put this in basic rough terms as you mention this is an area you are learning  about, People should be concerned about mains thats a sensible consideration, the good news is there is protection to look after you.

ONE last thing, it is the cable in the mains circuit that is the limiting factor to what can be drawn, so if the cable can take (say) 15A you could put 15,20,"x" amp socket on the end but 15A is the limit due to cable size. The Breaker size is to protect the cable.

In some situations (in UK) we might have a 5A socket on the end of 15A cable - THEN the breaker will be 6A to protect the socket - Because it is the lowest rated item on the mains wire circuit - that is rare and may not be a USA item.

Hope thats of help to you,

Andy.