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I have just had the opportunity to join the elite rotel club. I have purchased a Rotel 1095. It is to be used to drive 2 ML Vantage, a Matrix 805 as center channel, and 2 B&W matrix 804 as surrounds. I use an ONKYO 705 as a preamp. The receiver also has a velodyne subwoofer attached. A panamax 5300 is used to filter the current. A Panasonic HD DVD is also attached via HDMI, as well as a Directv DVR, and a Samsung ln52a860. When I drive the front 3 speakers, everthing is fine. When I try to drive all 5 speakers, the panamax shows a spike to over 15 amps, voltage drops to less than 115 volts and then the circuit breaker on the panamax kicks in. High quality speaker wire is used. (Audioquest x2 for the surrounds, plus center channel, the ML vantage are attached via rockefeller speaker cables. being a newbie I wanted to request some assistance from the experts in this forum as to why the amperage spikes so high, when all five channels are driven, and what can be done to alleviate this. All insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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It sounds like you have a 15 amp circuit. A 15 amp circuit can only carry a total of 1440 watts,which is 80% of the 1800 watts in a 15 amp circuit. The RMB-1095 consumes 1200 watts and the Onkyo 705 consumes about 700 watts. Thats 1900 watts not counting anything else you have on this circuit. Of course you will rarely hit 1900, but you could easily be exceeding the 1440 max wattage(80% rule) of a 15 amp circuit.
It sounds like you need to have a 20 amp circuit installed to run the 1095 and 705 and your other gear all on the same circuit. A 20 amp circuit gives 1920 watts(80% rule) vs.the 1440 watts of the 15 amp circuit. You'll still trip the panamax breaker though because it sounds like it has a 15 amp breaker.
I use one dedicated 20 amp circuit for my RMB-1095(1200 watts) and two RB-1050(250 watts each) for a total of 1700 watts with no problems. I also have another 20 amp circuit for my pre-amp/receiver blu-ray player, CD plyer etc...
BTW your Onkyo should be pull less than it's 700 watts because you aren't using it's amplifiers.
The other thing that could cause your problems is a short somewhere."What do you mean it's too loud? My ears aren't even bleeding yet!"
Radden Home Theater -
This amp was purchased used on ebay. When hooking up the speaker cable, I noticed that only 3 speaker connections were loose. Without the 2 surround channels, It shows on the panamax a 120 volts and 3.6 amps with everything powered through the panamax. The ML Vantage even have a powered subwoofer. I really can't be drawing 18 amps of power....
Only when the 2 back channels are added does it spike to 18 + amps triggering the circuit breaker. I have very good screw on spades for the surrounds, and rhodium screw on banana plus for the amp side. Could this be a defect in the amp? Should I return it? I have redone the spades/banana plugs on the speaker. Am trying to watch a movie, rotel cut out 4 channels, ran extremely hot. Now that it has cooled down, I have disconnected the 2 surround channels, and the panamax is at 120 volts and 3.6 amps. I hooked up the 804's as main speakers, they performed well. Just asking these questions as if there is an issue with the amp, and I don't return it, I am stuck with it, not mentioned the cost of installing a 20 amp circuit. I will attempt a thinner speaker wire in the morning to see if it helps. Are there any special RCA cables needed for connecting the preamp of the Onkyo 705 to the rotel 1095 rca jacks? Again thanks for your assistance.Comment
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3.6 amps is about 396 watts. 18 amps would be 1980 watts. Adding the back channels should not cause an increase from 3.6 to 18 amp. The 1095 has one power transformer for the two front channels and another one for the center and surrounds. The front transformer is larger than the center and surround transformer so if anything you should pull more amps with the front channels. Before returning the amp can you replace the surround speaker wires with new ones. You could have a short in a wire."What do you mean it's too loud? My ears aren't even bleeding yet!"
Radden Home TheaterComment
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I changed the speaker wire out on the surrounds, that had no effect. I then took an extension cord and plugged in a strip, plugged in everything except for the amp. The extension cord was from another circuit breaker. This worked, voltage was 120, with about an amp being drawn. I have tried to get the back 2 channels to work. All I get is a hum, no sound even though surround sound has been chosen. I then tore everything down, hooked up my onkyo 705, surround sound came from all 5 speakers, plus the sub with no issues. I then chose different RCA cables, as well as different speaker wire and hooked the rotel back up. I attempted to configure the surround sound speakers again, nothing worked. There is an odyssey system on the 705. When I was connected, I was able to send the odyssey noise thorugh the surrounds. However no surround music or tv is possible when plugged into the rotel. I have come to my ends, do you happen to have any last ideas before I send this back? ThanksComment
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Mike I hate to say it but it sounds like it's time to send it back. You've done everything you can and shouldn't have this kind of trouble with an amp. The surround channls are bad in this amp and it should be returned for a full refund to the seller. You'll probably have to send it back at your expense and I hope you don't have any trouble getting the seller to refund your money."What do you mean it's too loud? My ears aren't even bleeding yet!"
Radden Home TheaterComment
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Thanks for all your assistance.Comment
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You're welcome, I hope things turn out well for you.
Legairre"What do you mean it's too loud? My ears aren't even bleeding yet!"
Radden Home TheaterComment
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Accourding to Rotel the maximum power consumption of this unit is 800 Watts.
Which obviously is no where near what you are actually pulling.
I am very inclined to say that there is something odd with this amplifier. Especially that it works fine except for when you are running the surround drivers.-JoeComment
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The 1095 actually draws 1200 watts.Originally posted by joetama
I contacted Rotel service about this a few years ago and they said the 800 figure is a mis-print and that it's actually 1200 watts."What do you mean it's too loud? My ears aren't even bleeding yet!"
Radden Home TheaterComment
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Did you try to hook up the front speakers to the rear channels on the amp (as front speakers)? I would just start with the two left and right speakers and see how it goes. If the RMB-1095 is still drawing a ton of current, then there is something wrong with the amp. If not then it's somewhere else and then add the center channel and so on.
EricComment
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The 1095 might draw 1200 watts, but not a continuously, and not at low volume levels. I'm also inclined to think something is wrong with the rear channels, but you might have a power issue. You could try hooking up only the two rear channels as left/right and see if it still hums. If not, add channels until the problem returns (circuit trips).- Mike
Main System:
B&W 802D, HTM2D, SCMS
Classé SSP-800, CA-2200, CA-5100Comment
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Agreed the 1200 watts is it's max consumption rating. It should only draw that much current at it's limits when pushed really hard.Originally posted by mjb"What do you mean it's too loud? My ears aren't even bleeding yet!"
Radden Home TheaterComment
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Interesting, you think Rotel would have fixed that by now. Makes me wonder what else is misprinted...Originally posted by Legairre
But, 1200 Watts is still less than 15 Amps. It also doesn't really explain the normal power consumption when not operating the surround speakers. I still think something is fishy with the amplifier. From what I understand it is surging current considerably more than it sould.-JoeComment
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Actually, it's not a misprint, not sure who would have said that at Rotel. The labels on the back of the products are average consumption usage under typical operating conditions.
Kevin D.Comment
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Don't have a name for you, but that's what I was told in an email response from Rotel a few years."What do you mean it's too loud? My ears aren't even bleeding yet!"
Radden Home TheaterComment
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