TFm55 shutdown

[2-tall]

I was playing my AL111's last night using my TFM55. I was playing at a high volume when the amp shut down. Checked it and found it was so hot I could not keep my hand on it. I put a computer fan on it to cool it down then waited til the morning to try it again. Everything is fine. Anyone have an idea as to why this happened? I will definitely keep the fan on from now on.


Thanks

[treitz3]

Yeah, the protection circuit kicked in and saved you from making your amp into nothing more than a pretty doorstop. Thank Mr. Carver for that one. Say ten hell Mary's everyday and no pud-wackin' for a week. Then the audio God's may let this one go.

Seriously, it sounds like you overran or over heated the unit. Provide either better ventilation or just plain turn it down. The fan should not be "needed". A good rule of thumb is if you hear any distortion...any at all? Turn it down a notch and just enjoy what the system is capable of. This may change from song to song or album to album. The rule of thumb aforementioned doesn't sway.

In the meantime, enjoy the music.

[thuffman03]

I did the same thing when I had a 55 running my ALIII's. It is a good amp for that speaker but those speakers are hard to drive.

[jjptkd]

The AL-IIIs are a hard load to drive, especially at high volumes. The TFM-55 is getting up there in age, has it been serviced or re-calibrated lately?

[mbskeam]

also, how long has it been since it had all the dust blown out of it?

[2-tall]

Had it apart to solder the binding post about a month ago. I blew out the dust at that time.

[TNRabbit]

I disagree that the fan isn't needed. If you intend to continue driving the AL-IIIs hard with that amp, I'd keep a fan on it whenever it's playing. Heat contributes to part degradation.

I DO agree however, that the Amazings are just too much speaker to drive hard for extended periods with a TFM-55. I tried a souped-up M-500 on mine once (@500 wpc) & it shut down at anything over a modestly loud level. The first amp I used on AL-IIIs was a cheap Onkyo; it would hardly go above 9 o'clock on the volume knob before shutting down. The second amp I used was an M1.5t (pretty ballsy), but even it ran out of steam at enthusiastic levels.

If you intend to continue beating those speakers like a red-headed stepchild, you need something with some ASS to it, and by ass, I mean at least 80 amperes & stable into a HARD 4 ohm-load, which those speakers are. IMO, a Sunfire would meet those requirements at a bargain price, but there are other options. They won't be cheap, however.....

That or you need to back off the pedal a little. The fan certainly won't hurt~

[austinstephens]

Yep..Sounds familiar..This has happened to me twice with my Amazing originals and TFM-55....I put a muffin fan over the louvers ..
It does help some. Things are fine until I "stand on it"..I now run two Carver PM 1.5 Monoblocks, and they're capable of 1200 watts into 4 ohms..No problems..With only one main board for the fan to cool, they run pretty cool...

[MRHP]

Austinstephens how do you like the PM1.5's I see them on ebay alot and they look like a good candidate to drive some big subwoofers.

[austinstephens]

The ones from Claiir Brothers are quite used, but they work...They need some cleaning, scratches, etc..They are true road dogs.. You get what you get..Some have been run without filters and are quite dirty inside, but again, they work.I have a couple of good ones that perform great..No hums, etc..They have no problems driving my originals, hardly even get warm to the touch, and those speakers will dip to 2 ohms..I don't see any problems driving subs with them....For the money, they are worth it....

[2-tall]

I will hook up the fan. I have a question. I also have a tfm35. Would it help if I one power the ribbons and the other the low end. If so which one to the ribbons? Looks like and old Triumph in the photo.Used to have those before my Harley's

[austinstephens]

Yes it would..It's known as biamping..Power the ribbons with the 35, and the mains with the 55.....Maybe swap them around and see what works the best.

It's a 1972 TR6R 650 Triumph with a 750 kit in it..Bought it in 1983, restored it,m and on the road in 1984..Been riding it ever since..

[jjptkd]

The second amp would definitely help. I'd try both combinations but those ribbons are the biggest suckers of power, my guess would be 55 on top, 35 on bottom.

[TNRabbit]

The second amp would definitely help. I'd try both combinations but those ribbons are the biggest suckers of power, my guess would be 55 on top, 35 on bottom.

The ribbons are actually pretty efficient. They were tamed WAAAAY down to match with the woofers. The crossovers eat up at least 40% of the power going into the speakers....