Got my A51!! I love Halo toys!!!

[SpOoNmAn]

good grief, I am inlove all over again! Thing is a beast!!! It takes more control over the mids in my deftechs, thats for sure! Oh man, why am I posting here, I need to go watch more movies!!!

The A52 is still on ebay for those interested, 4 days left.

[mikepinkerton]

Hope by Monday you can will yourself to leave the house. I have an A51 as well, love it love it love it. Welcome to the club!

-Mike

[SpOoNmAn]

Hope by Monday you can will yourself to leave the house. I have an A51 as well, love it love it love it. Welcome to the club!

-Mike

Ive been in the Halo club for a while, but if you mean the A51 club, thanks!!

I love HALO toys!!!!

[NMyTree]

Congratulations!

Crank that bad boy!!! :B

[avpower]

Congrats Spoonman on your A51 and thank for sharing the enthusiasm. It reminds me of when I got my A51/C2 combo and how I watched all my dvd's all over again. Tons of fun!

I kept discovering this whole world of acoustical elegance that I never knew was present before in music cd's. I recently went down the SACD path and listening to Steely Dan and Joe Satriani is just plain awesome. With the A51 I can go to concert levels (neighbor absence permitting) and feel the music just like you do at a show. Total party! ;b>

Anyway thanks for reminding me about that whole discovery experience. One damn good memory that still goes on and on... :T

[SpOoNmAn]

Congrats Spoonman on your A51 and thank for sharing the enthusiasm. It reminds me of when I got my A51/C2 combo and how I watched all my dvd's all over again. Tons of fun!

I kept discovering this whole world of acoustical elegance that I never knew was present before in music cd's. I recently went down the SACD path and listening to Steely Dan and Joe Satriani is just plain awesome. With the A51 I can go to concert levels (neighbor absence permitting) and feel the music just like you do at a show. Total party! ;b>

Anyway thanks for reminding me about that whole discovery experience. One damn good memory that still goes on and on... :T

anytime :T

[nicholtl]

Congratulations Spoonman! Great to see another awesome member get some even more awesome toys!

Know what's funny, though? I have my A51 and A21 (and C2) all plugged into a power regenerator, and even when I play it at ridiculous wall-shaking levels (and I'm fairly young so I can handle LOUD), the readout only shows I'm pulling about 450 watts. 460-470 on the peaks. That's A LOT less wattage than I thought these amps would be demanding on crazy heavy passages.

Anyway, I digress. Your A51 is a beast, as I'm sure you've discovered when moving it, and it'll knash it's fangs and chew you up silly once you unleash it to the wild.

[avpower]

Oh yeah, did you do the balanced XLR input with the A51 yet? Your db sensitivity will definitely increase - i think thats why some people post hissing problems until they ground their system properly (or eliminate existing ground loops) but for me and my Kef's I haven't had any problem. The clarity of quiet passages (Dire Straits Love Over Gold for example) is just stunning. Listening to the glass bottles rolling down the street and the various percussion nuances coupled with Knopflers guitar slide will just make ya smile!

[avpower]

Congratulations Spoonman! Great to see another awesome member get some even more awesome toys!

Know what's funny, though? I have my A51 and A21 (and C2) all plugged into a power regenerator, and even when I play it at ridiculous wall-shaking levels (and I'm fairly young so I can handle LOUD), the readout only shows I'm pulling about 450 watts. 460-470 on the peaks. That's A LOT less wattage than I thought these amps would be demanding on crazy heavy passages.

Hey Nicholtl, which power regenerator are you using for the A51? I went down the path of running 240V for a RGPC Substation but went through months of testing with RGPC and Parasound to try and diagnose an annoying hum. We all finally gave up and I settled for two RGPC 600S units. While these protect my system (and reduce noise etc), I don't have power stabilization. So I am interested in your power solution... BTW, that power consumption doesn't surprise me - especially if your speakers are set to "small" so most of the heavy bass is routed to your no doubt kick ass sub!

[SpOoNmAn]

Congratulations Spoonman! Great to see another awesome member get some even more awesome toys!

Know what's funny, though? I have my A51 and A21 (and C2) all plugged into a power regenerator, and even when I play it at ridiculous wall-shaking levels (and I'm fairly young so I can handle LOUD), the readout only shows I'm pulling about 450 watts. 460-470 on the peaks. That's A LOT less wattage than I thought these amps would be demanding on crazy heavy passages.

hmm, you sure those readings are right my friend? thats awfully low. The a21 alone should be pulling way more than that at extreme levels.

Im not saying I dont believe what you see, but somethings amiss. Ive seen others post how many amps they are pulling, and with a pre/pro, a single amp, dvd player, they are pulling 5 or 6 amps, thats a heck of a lot more than 400 watts.

The items you listed should be pulling much much more then what I just listed.

Oh well, its interesting nonetheless. :T

[nicholtl]

avpower, I'm using the PS Audio P1000 Power Plant. This unit is stricly reserved for my Halo gear. All my source components are run through a Monster HTPS 7000 and AVS 2000, which then further go into a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet. My analog TT gear has it's own personal Ultimate Outlet as well.

SpOoNmAn, perhaps the reason the wattage reading is fairly low, is because most music I listen to is done in 2-channel, but with the bypass setting on the C2. Meaning the mains are run as "large," but only the A21 is really in action. When I listen to multichannel music, or DVD soundtracks, then all speakers are "small" and the sub (and SVS PB2+) does all the LFE track. And the sub isn't routed through the P1000 Power Plant, so maybe that's why. Whatever the case, I thought with the A51 and A21 theoretically requiring 1750 watts (7 channels), I might need TWO P1000's. But it seems that wasn't the case.

Oh, and as for ground loops, I did in fact get one once I hooked everything up. And it puzzled me, because when I didn't have all my new gear (I did a massive upgrade recently), there was no buzz or hum. Only a slight hiss when my ear was pressed up to the speaker, but that's because they're Klipsch's and they've a high sensitivity rating. Anyhow, there was a ground loop, but I soon figured out it was simply solved by unscrewing the ground pin on the aftermarket powercord (a PS Audio xStream) that was attaching the C2 to the P1000. A mighty cool feature indeed!

Another option would've been to use the cheater plug. I tried using the ground lift switches on the amps, and while it nearly defeated all hum, it was still somewhat audible. Whatever the case, it's been eliminated.

And so I can proudly state that I've successfully exorcised all the electrical demons in my system.

[SpOoNmAn]

avpower, I'm using the PS Audio P1000 Power Plant. This unit is stricly reserved for my Halo gear. All my source components are run through a Monster HTPS 7000 and AVS 2000, which then further go into a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet. My analog TT gear has it's own personal Ultimate Outlet as well.

SpOoNmAn, perhaps the reason the wattage reading is fairly low, is because most music I listen to is done in 2-channel, but with the bypass setting on the C2. Meaning the mains are run as "large," but only the A21 is really in action. When I listen to multichannel music, or DVD soundtracks, then all speakers are "small" and the sub (and SVS PB2+) does all the LFE track. And the sub isn't routed through the P1000 Power Plant, so maybe that's why. Whatever the case, I thought with the A51 and A21 theoretically requiring 1750 watts (7 channels), I might need TWO P1000's. But it seems that wasn't the case.

Oh, and as for ground loops, I did in fact get one once I hooked everything up. And it puzzled me, because when I didn't have all my new gear (I did a massive upgrade recently), there was no buzz or hum. Only a slight hiss when my ear was pressed up to the speaker, but that's because they're Klipsch's and they've a high sensitivity rating. Anyhow, there was a ground loop, but I soon figured out it was simply solved by unscrewing the ground pin on the aftermarket powercord (a PS Audio xStream) that was attaching the C2 to the P1000. A mighty cool feature indeed!

Another option would've been to use the cheater plug. I tried using the ground lift switches on the amps, and while it nearly defeated all hum, it was still somewhat audible. Whatever the case, it's been eliminated.

And so I can proudly state that I've successfully exorcised all the electrical demons in my system.

:T

makes for a good night sleep knowing everything is working properly

[nicholtl]

I just realized, the reason for my relatively low power consumption may be because I live in an apartment, and so for me to achieve rock-concert levels is exponentially easier than for you guys, who live in big ol' mansions with wide halls and looming ceilings.

[Peter Nielsen]

I just realized, the reason for my relatively low power consumption may be because I live in an apartment, and so for me to achieve rock-concert levels is exponentially easier than for you guys, who live in big ol' mansions with wide halls and looming ceilings.

I think it's your efficient Klipsch speakers that keeps the power consumption low. I easily have a 500W power draw on my A51 with 4 ohm Magnepans that rate at 85dB/W...

Amazing fact:

A pair of 85dB/W speakers will need 500W to achieve 105 dB at 10' distance.
A pair of 96dB/W speakers will only need 40W to achieve the same SPL at 10' distance :E

SPL Calculator

Of course the room DOES makes a difference too and if the distance from the speaker gets greater, more power will need to be applied. Still, the importance of speaker efficiency is remarkable, which is what I wanted to bring forward.

Peter

[SpOoNmAn]

Peter is dead on with his reply.

[nicholtl]

Wow! 40 watts vs. 500 watts?! Jesus. Not to mention the fact that 4ohm and 8ohm speakers makes a world of difference in power draw too. Thanks for the info Peter. Enlightening indeed.