[S Clark]

There doesn't seem to be a natural place for this topic, and I know Danny is pretty lenient so....

I just changed out my Knight KB-85 amp for something cooler for the summer.  The old Knight runs class A  and is one hot sun of a gun, but has a really sweet sound.  My Moscode 300 is in the shop, so I'm making do with a Soundcraftsmen  that usually stays in the closet.  It's a bit noisy, but dang does it have excellent bass- and it runs cool.
Do any of the rest of us have summer amps/winter amps?

[HAL]

Scott,
I use the Pass Labs Aleph 2 SE Class A monoblocks in the winter.  They dissipate about 600 watts at idle for the pair.   Nice sounding room heaters!

I am going to give some Sure Tripath style 100wpc stereo amp modules from Parts-Express a try this year for summer.  Have the modules and need to get the power supply running.  It has a volume control board option to make it an integrated if needed. 

 

[TONEPUB]

I use the Pass Xs300s and am thinking about the Nagra 300i for the summer.  Only four tubes vs. 1000 watts each for the Pass amps.  Good concept, and fun to switch amps out!

[medium jim]

I used to do the amp switch from tubes to ss in the summer, but not this year...I will just deal with the heat, unless it gets stupid hot.

Jim

[PDR]

Being from central Alberta Canada...I can say no, I dont switch.
It gets hot up here....80s F...in the summer, but most nights you need a sweater,
at least in the country side where I live.
My tubes stay running all year up here in the north.

[mjosef]

I switch out my tube amp for SS during the hotter summer months, so far I haven't quite 'found' my perfect SS summer amp(in my modest budget) but I get by with either Exposure 2010 or Sumo Polaris 3.

[Danny Richie]

I go with the smaller battery powered tube amps when I don't want to heat the room up too much.

[Brad]

Good thing you live in a cool climate Danny   

[Blackmore]

Normally SET all year round, but I'm going to use the TBI Millenia amp this summer to save my tubes and keep the heat to a minimum in the listening room.  It's sounding pretty good right now driving a pair of Dynaco A-35. 

[bdp24]

One of the unusual capabilities of the Atma-Sphere M60's is that it will operate on any number of output tubes you put in, from the stock eight per channel down to only two. You just use as many tubes as necessary to put out the power you need to drive your speakers.

[S Clark]

Good thing you live in a cool climate Danny   

I could never figure out why the Witchita Falls area gets so dang hot in the summers... even though it's a couple hours north of my area (Abilene), they just seem to get 5 degrees hotter that the rest of Texas in July and August.
Plug in those big blues during peak usage hours and I bet they'd cause a brownout for the whole area.

I'm also curious to see what Rich comes up with using those little Parts Express modules... they are certainly cheap enough.

[HAL]

Scott,
I bought the kit of parts to put one Sure board and volume control in a chassis.  When it arrived, the board did not fit the chassis.     It will just be the board and switch mode power supply in a wood box. 

Question will be if it needs a metal chassis to suppress the RFI, then will have to rethink it.   I do have one steel chassis that might work.  Other projects need completion before that one.   

[S Clark]

Question will be if it needs a metal chassis to suppress the RFI, then will have to rethik it.   I do have one steel chassis that might work.  Other projects need completion before that one.

I've often wondered whether a wooden box/cigar box could be lined with Al foil to act as a shield?

[HAL]

Aluminum or copper foil or even wire mesh work depending on the frequency range of the RFI.   

[Oscillate]

HAL

I a complete novice to electronics (and hopefully this question will be worded
correctly)... Is it necessary to adjust the bias and DC offset when building an
amplifier using these tripath (or even Hypex class D) modules? Or is it closer
to assemble, solder and then plug and play? If calibration / adjustments need
to be made, would a multimeter be sufficient or are we talking oscilliscope?

Thanks

[HAL]

Oscillate,
There are no adjustments on the SURE boards I have.  It is wire up and play music.  They do not have this exact model anymore at Parts-Express. 

Here is the latest version:  http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=320-334

You can check output DC offset with a digital voltmeter with a DC millivolt scale once built.  Always a good idea after building an amp.   

No volume control module for this version like the older one.  It is a straight stereo power amp and needs a power supply to run it. 

The older kit came with wire to connect it to the external power supply.

Hope this helps.