RMB-1075 Help.

[Opus007]

Ok, so I am listening to cd's going through my RC-1070 and RMB-1075.After 2 cd's the protection lights on the amp come on .It was only the front right and front rear lights that came on.I was listening to stereo only so it was only the fronts being used.I thought maybe it was my cd player so I hooked up another one after turning everything off .Took about 10 minuets.played the same cd and after 3 songs the right side went into protection mode.This time I turned down the volume and after about 30 seconds the protection lights went out.I was not overdriving the amp.I usually do listen at a high volume and have driven it hard sometimes and it has never gone into protection mode.When the right side goes into protection mode, the left side still play's.It is only 62 degrees in my house right now.Any idea's?I have checked all wiring and cables and all looks ok.

[Kevin D]

Flip the left/right speaker cables and see if the same side goes out. This will rule out speakers/speaker cables.

Kevin D.

[TommyV]

I know you said you you triple checked the wires but check one more time that there are no fray wires that may be jumping across to the other side.

I just ordered this amp and can not wait!! After spending a long time with my new Rotel dealer, I just could not go the class D route at this point.

[Opus007]

Spent a good deal of the day with Mike at Rotel Support and also on the phone with my dealer.Mike had me switch speaker wires and still the same side would go into protection.It now goes into full protect on all channels.He then had me wire my rears B&W 685's to the fronts on the amp.When I did this the amp never went into protection mode.About this time Mike at Rotel was off work so will be speaking to him tomorrow.
For awhile we where thinking it was the recording of the cd as it appeared to only do it on a certain cd.But after further testing it does it on other cd's.
Not sure this makes a difference but I got out my spl meter to see what db the music was playing at when it would go into protection mode.It goes into protection around 105db.If I am under 100db it never goes into protection mode.My dealer tried to explain to me about speaker sensitivity and watts and lost me completely.But what he was suggesting is that at 105db the speakers are demanding 125 watts (give or take) and the amp can only give 120watts so it goes into protection.Anyone with knowledge of this could you please chime in here.Is my dealer correct?Am I overdriving the amp at 105db?Thanks

[Opus007]

I know you said you you triple checked the wires but check one more time that there are no fray wires that may be jumping across to the other side.

I just ordered this amp and can not wait!! After spending a long time with my new Rotel dealer, I just could not go the class D route at this point.

What speakers do you have Tommy?I do love this amp as it sound is very nice.

[Kevin D]

Hmm.. Interesting twist. Some more things to try before ruling the amp as the problem..

Have you tried running the front speakers on the rear terminals?
Moved the rear speakers to the front speaker wires?

So no subs? The nominal ohm load should be fine, but 105db sustained out of a 120w amp is a lot to ask.

If the amp came back on with no power cycle, that should be the thermal shutdown. It make sense that the more you pushed it, the more channels went down. How's the amp setup? any room around it? Got a small fan you can place in front of it?

Kevin D.

[Opus007]

Hmm.. Interesting twist. Some more things to try before ruling the amp as the problem..

Have you tried running the front speakers on the rear terminals?
Moved the rear speakers to the front speaker wires?

So no subs? The nominal ohm load should be fine, but 105db sustained out of a 120w amp is a lot to ask.

If the amp came back on with no power cycle, that should be the thermal shutdown. It make sense that the more you pushed it, the more channels went down. How's the amp setup? any room around it? Got a small fan you can place in front of it?

Kevin D.

Thanks Kevin for the quick response.
I did run the rears (685's) on the front terminals and had no shutdowns.No problems there.I have not run the fronts on the rear terminals but will do that next.
I did remove the cover plate on the amp to check for dirt or lose wires.The inside is clean as a whistle.The unit was purchased in December 2008.And everything looked fine inside.No lose wires and no bleeding or swollen caps.
I did redo all my banana plugs and re-terminated all connections.
When it shuts down if I leave the unit alone it will come back up after a minuet or so.If I touch the top of the unit it is warm but not hot.Will try the rear terminals and post my findings.Thanks

[Opus007]

Oh almost forgot.The amp is on top of my rack...which is completely open on all sides.I have my system wired as follows.A/V Receiver pre-outs front right and left to Rotel RB-1070 Stereo pre inputs.Front right & left outputs on the pre to the front right & left inputs on the RMB 1075.Center and rear right and left from A/V reciever pre-outs to matching inputs on RMB-1075.Also 2 subs running from sub output on A/V receiver.

[Opus007]

Ok, I removed the rear speakers from the amp and ran the fronts off of the rear channels.I played at pretty high volume for about 40 minuets.It did not miss a beat.I was read to say it was the front channels so I turned the gain down to very low and then it went into protection mode.Right channels only.I turned the amp off almost immediately as usually the other channel will follow and go into protection mode.So looks like I am just driving it to hard?I checked with my db meter and it was around 105 with spikes up to 110.Hmmmmmm

[TommyV]

What speakers do you have Tommy?I do love this amp as it sound is very nice.

Some B&W 601 S3s and whatever was the biggest 6 series center at the time I think LCR 600 S3. I was looking at upgrading to some new 684s but that may be a while after all the cash I am about to spend. I got talked into getting a 1069 with my 1075 8O

[Opus007]

Some B&W 601 S3s and whatever was the biggest 6 series center at the time I think LCR 600 S3. I was looking at upgrading to some new 684s but that may be a while after all the cash I am about to spend. I got talked into getting a 1069 with my 1075 8O

Tommy, you will love the 1075 and it is sufficient to power your 600 series speakers.I am starting to think my problem is not with the amp but with me as I tend to turn the volume up way to high at times.While doing testing last night I had to put ear plugs in my ears as it was to loud... but I wanted to see just how loud I could push it before it shutdown.When I watch movies also at loud volumes the amp just kicks butt and never misses a beat.I have never had a problem with it for movies.Enjoy the amp and am sure you will be very happy with it.As for the 1069 you can not go wrong there either.I am also thinking about getting a 1069 as the new pre/pro's are out of my price range for time being .I have been interested in what Emotive has coming out but am worried about sound quality and plus it may be a long time before it comes to market.I think you will be happy with the combo.Please post your thoughts when you get them.

[TommyV]

Yea I am really excited about the combo, I will definitely be posting once all the conponents arrive.

Sounds like you like to drive your speakers hard! On the Emotiva, they make some great products so I wouldn't be scared to give them a shot but who knows when that pre/pro will actually come out.

I have one of their 2 ch amps down in the bedroom and and ordering a pair of ERD-1 surround speakers once they get back in stock. I need to switch to a dipole/bipole style speaker in my new room (I just moved). I would love some B&W DS3s but I can not drop another $850 right now and I need my 5.1 sound. I am only running 3.1 at the moment. Oh I also have the B&W ASW600 sub.

[BassThatHz]

I use to drive 8ohm/92db speakers to over 100db for hours with the RMB-1075. Even when it was 100 outside it never shutdown, but it did get very hot.

If you keep doing that though... something is going to blow up.

You should think about an RB-1092; that's what I bought, and I haven't had to worry about heat/shutdowns since then. (It sounds better too.)