Pretty darn hot to the touch?

sirquack · « **on:** 2 Jun 2007, 04:53 pm »

Hey everyone!

I just received my new Khartago Mono Extreme's on steroids that the house of Klaus built.

I'm past the initial stabilizing phase and have begun the breakin process. Some of my engineer buddies that I work with and know online are giving me a bunch of crap about the whole break in/burn in theory and want me to show them documented proof, but I really don't want to go there right now.

This is the first product line that I've owned that claims this exists, so I'll just trust you all.....

To be honest the amps sound pretty awesome right out of the box. They make my Axioms smile from ear to ear.

But, there is always a BUT,

are these things supposed to be so hot to the touch?

I'm leaving them plugged in all the time as Klaus recommends. I can hardly hold my palm of my hand on the top for 3-4 seconds and have to pull it away, this is with no music playing.

Everything is down in our basement that is nice and cool right now. I also plan to increase the space between the two of the mono's, but I'm just concerned about the heat.

Should I not be concerned unless they start to glowwwwww red?

bunky · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Jun 2007, 05:04 pm »

Quote from: sirquack on 2 Jun 2007, 04:53 pm

Hey everyone!

I just received my new Khartago Mono Extreme's on steroids that the house of Klaus built.

I'm past the initial stabilizing phase and have begun the breakin process. Some of my engineer buddies that I work with and know online are giving me a bunch of crap about the whole break in/burn in theory and want me to show them documented proof, but I really don't want to go there right now. This is the first product line that I've owned that claims this exists, so I'll just trust you all.....

To be honest the amps sound pretty awesome right out of the box. They make my Axioms smile from ear to ear.

But, there is always a BUT, are these things supposed to be so hot to the touch? I'm leaving them plugged in all the time as Klaus recommends. I can hardly hold my palm of my hand on the top for 3-4 seconds and have to pull it away, this is with no music playing.

Everything is down in our basement that is nice and cool right now. I also plan to increase the space between the two of the mono's, but I'm just concerned about the heat.

Should I not be concerned unless they start to glowwwwww red?

Khartago monos use internal heatsinks and are subject to getting warm on the top of the case. relax and enjoy them

many Electrical engineers do not believe in burn in because it is not discussed during thier formal education. they were not taught it therefore it cannot exist

Haoleb · « **Reply #2 on:** 2 Jun 2007, 10:51 pm »

Too hot to touch just idling? Even mine dont get nearly that hot.

Besides that, How are you liking them so far? will they push the 80's louder than the emotiva did?

sirquack · « **Reply #3 on:** 2 Jun 2007, 11:53 pm »

Hey Brandon,

I haven't really pushed them to hard yet, but did run them fairly loud during a few songs. All I can say is I was smiling from ear to ear.

They sounded killer and the bass was great and tight. I can only imagine if they improve over time like everyone says.

Right now I have one sitting right on top of the other, with the only seperation being the isolation rubber feet of the top one. For the regular Khartago's I believe Klaus said this is fine, however, I'm thinking for the upgrades I received to make them basically Stratos Mono+'s I think your supposed to have 3-4" of breathing room?

I plan to make some DIY spacers of some kind that will look nice. Yep, just plugged in with nothing playing they are very warmmmmm.

bunky · « **Reply #4 on:** 3 Jun 2007, 10:36 am »

Quote from: sirquack on 2 Jun 2007, 11:53 pm

Hey Brandon,

I haven't really pushed them to hard yet, but did run them fairly loud during a few songs. All I can say is I was smiling from ear to ear. They sounded killer and the bass was great and tight. I can only imagine if they improve over time like everyone says.

Right now I have one sitting right on top of the other, with the only seperation being the isolation rubber feet of the top one. For the regular Khartago's I believe Klaus said this is fine, however, I'm thinking for the upgrades I received to make them basically Stratos Mono+'s I think your supposed to have 3-4" of breathing room?

I plan to make some DIY spacers of some kind that will look nice. Yep, just plugged in with nothing playing they are very warmmmmm.

, Hmm,that explains why they are running very hot.when i first got my Khartago monos i tried stacking them, it was a novice mistake on my part. they got very hot so i gave them there own shelves. the heatsinks are in the top of the Khartago's and i can tell you from personal experience DO NOT STACK KHARTAGO MONO'S

avahifi · « **Reply #5 on:** 3 Jun 2007, 11:03 am »

You guys need this $10 item, a sensing thermometer that will tell you actually how hot things are. You just point it and read the temp. We use it all the time to make sure internal parts are running in a safe range.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93983

Regards,

Frank Van Alstine

spacedghost · « **Reply #6 on:** 3 Jun 2007, 01:33 pm »

I keep my Khartago SE's on separate shelves. They seem to run warm, but not hot to the touch.

Shaun

sirquack · « **Reply #7 on:** 3 Jun 2007, 01:59 pm »

Thanks guys,

I don't have an extra shelf in my AV opening in my wall, however, I have about 11-12" of clearance for these two amps. I'm going to hit a few home improvement stores today to see if I can find something to keep them spaced apart. Below is a pic of the AV opening...

sirquack · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Jun 2007, 12:36 am »

Well I was able to rearrange some things. I moved the HTPC to the very top, and placed my Denon 2805 on top of my Sony CD player. This gave me an extra shelf to move the top amp up some. I now have 3" on top of each amp.

Currently the bottom amp is just warm. The top amp is still warmer than the bottom, but nowhere near as hot as it was before. Before I could not hold my hand on the top amp for 10 seconds without pulling it away. I suppose some of the heat from the lower amp was filtering up through the top amp, causing it to be very hot prior to me increasing the space.

Thanks for the help...Randy

St_PatGuy · « **Reply #9 on:** 4 Jun 2007, 04:52 am »

That's good news, Randy. Glad you were able to figure something out.

sirquack · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 Jun 2007, 02:11 pm »

I may still give Klaus a call. This morning before work I ran down again to check them. Again, the bottom one is comfortably warm. The top one is much warmer, on the verge of "hot". I noticed this is in the center and on the sides. Is this a result of the capacitors charged up? Anyway, it is not hot enough that I have to pull my hand off, but close.

Haoleb · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 Jun 2007, 05:23 pm »

Quote from: sirquack on 4 Jun 2007, 02:11 pm

Is this a result of the capacitors charged up? Anyway, it is not hot enough that I have to pull my hand off, but close.

Nope, The capacitors themselves dont really generate any heat. I think you're just trying to cram too much amplifier into that little space with too little breathing room.

sirquack · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Jun 2007, 09:22 pm »

I've got 3" on the top of each amp with a shelf seperating each amp. Also, have about an inch on the sides and wide open in the back. The basement is at about 73-4deg this time of year. The manual says they can sit on top of each other.

sirquack · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Jun 2007, 10:51 pm »

Just took some new pics to show you guys/gals...

Right now the bottom amp is just warm, with the top one a little warmer to the touch, but not hot.

sirquack · « **Reply #14 on:** 4 Jun 2007, 11:44 pm »

I've got a little temperature probe/thermometer tool that goes from -58 to +302 F. I set the probe on top near the front of the units. Below is my measurements.

Bottom amp 104deg F
Top amp 114.5deg F

does this sound to hot/warm?

Will · « **Reply #15 on:** 5 Jun 2007, 02:47 pm »

I have Khartago Mono SEs and my stand looks similar to yours, although I have a little less breathing space for the top amp than I have for the bottom amp.

The one on top is always hotter. I've swapped them around, and it's always the one on top that's hotter. You may want to try for yourself to see.

martyo · « **Reply #16 on:** 5 Jun 2007, 03:50 pm »

I would qualify those temps are just in the "warm" area.

Will · « **Reply #17 on:** 5 Jun 2007, 10:48 pm »

Agreed. Warmer is a more apt description. Thank you.

sirquack · « **Reply #18 on:** 5 Jun 2007, 11:28 pm »

The top one is at 120 degrees right now surface temp, I may need to rethink my situation..

DMi · « **Reply #19 on:** 5 Jun 2007, 11:54 pm »

I own Stratos Mono SE's and an HT-3 Stratos. The amps are in a rack open on all sides with about three inches of clearance between the bottoms of the shelves and the amp tops. They are turned on all the time and run above 90 degrees F most of the time. I purchased a set of fans to set on the amplifiers that draw air out of the amp cases and exhaust the air to the rear of the rack. That should extend the life of them. They never run so hot I can't leave my hand on them but then again I have a lot more metal work than you do to dissipate the heat.

These fans are very quiet and help quite a bit in tight racks... Here's a link that might be helpful.

http://www.middleatlantic.com/rackac/cooling/qcool.htm#compcool

I have three amps so I got the COMP-COOL-3. The fans run only when the amps are at or above 90 degrees and shut off if the amp is under 88 degrees. I need to be standing by the rack to notice they are running without any sound coming from the system. I didn't stick them to the amplifiers they are just laying on top of the amps but it comes with a set of spacers, power supply and wire management for around $100 US.

Doug