Parasound A51 - Different Temp Heatsinks?


Hello All,

I wanted to post this as I'm unfamiliar with what I'm experiencing and unsure if it'll be a problem down the road. I picked up a Parasound A51 amp and using the RCA connections with a Pioneer Elite as a preamp. The amp is running KEF XQ5's for front, KEF XQ2C for center, and KEF KHT9000ACE for rears. The amp is placed on my hardwood floor and not in my entertainment center as the space needed for airflow is not optimal for this piece of gear.

I've noticed that at normal listening volume, the back heat sink gets warm and can get hot to the touch after hours of playback. The heat sinks on the left get hot as well, while the heat sinks on the right remain warm. The unit itself is hot on the top-back and is cool moving towards the top-front. I've swapped speaker connections to see if the heat sinks change in temp but they do not.

Should I be concerned about the heat? I've had sessions of 6-8 hours + with no clipping or any affect to playback (sounds good actually). I'm wondering if this is typical of amps of this caliber.

Thanks
papagura

Showing 3 responses by papagura

I guess my main concern with the heat would be the eventual breakdown of the components inside. Is that a probability?
Hi Stanwal

All speakers are rated at 8ohm and should be easy to drive. I'm wondering if the speakers are so efficient that the amp is putting out only class A watts since it's at normal listening volume (first 10-15 watts at class A then it goes into Class A/B)? If it is a bias issue, what would I need to do to correct it?
Hello All!

Thanks for all of your input; just spoke to Tony at Parasound and he stated it was within normal operating procedure. Parasound has outstanding customer service and I am very happy to own one of their pieces in my system.

Also, Al, thank you for your incredible detail in your response. This site has become an exceptional resource for me while I delve into this new hobby. Thanks again!

Richard