Is it ok to run an amp with no speakers ?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=66557
Printed Date: May 28, 2024 at 11:28 PM
Topic: Is it ok to run an amp with no speakers ?
Posted By: hometech99
Subject: Is it ok to run an amp with no speakers ?
Date Posted: November 18, 2005 at 10:02 PM
is it ok to run say, a 4 channel amp with only 2 of the channels used, and the others with no speaker hooked to them (ie no load) ? does it matter if a tube amp, or a modern solid-state amp? does it matter if there is signal going into the unused channel (s) or not
Replies:
Posted By: menace2sobriety
Date Posted: November 18, 2005 at 10:12 PM
no it will not hurt the amp at all. even a modern tube amp. or class a/b, class d, class t,
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Posted By: youngone
Date Posted: November 18, 2005 at 10:53 PM
now power output no problem.
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Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: November 19, 2005 at 1:22 AM
menace2sobriety wrote:
no it will not hurt the amp at all. even a modern tube amp. or class a/b, class d, class t,
Never, I repeat - NEVER, run a tube amplifier without a load. The tubes require a load to keep them from going into a current run-away, and burning up. The biasing of a tube amplifier is set with a given load attached to the outputs in mind, and without that load, the bias voltage has nothing to reference against, and will drive the plate current sky high, blowing the tubes. Not a good idea. (You are better off dead-shorting them, which a tube amp will do all day long, BTW...)
IF, on the other hand, you are referring to "tube" amplifiers for the car, from manufacturers like, say USAmps, MOST (not all, milbert labs being one of the standouts) of those are tube DRIVER stages, and they are solid state output stages, the tube is always safely loaded by the final transistor stage. ------------- It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: menace2sobriety
Date Posted: November 19, 2005 at 1:32 PM
he was referring to car audio. this is a car audio forum.
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Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: November 19, 2005 at 3:25 PM
menace2sobriety wrote:
he was referring to car audio. this is a car audio forum.
Since he did NOT specify a brand name (and I DID mention Milbert amps - a true tube output amplifier) I answered his question. As a general rule, one would not run any tube amplifier - EVER - without a load. It's just a better idea to always have them (tube amps) connected to a speaker when operating.
He mentioned tube amplifiers, and wanted to know if it was safe to run them without a load. And I know it's a car audio forum, but you'd be SURPRISED how much it is simply electronics, be they home or car... Audio is AUDIO. Amplifiers are AMPLIFIERS. I've been here quite a while, and I have answered (actually ANSWERED, with USEABLE information, BTW) many more questions than you have, so back off me... ------------- It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: tcss
Date Posted: November 19, 2005 at 3:37 PM
Guys, let's all go out together after work, kick back and toss down a cold one. Anyone interested?
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There is no such thing as free installation!
Posted By: menace2sobriety
Date Posted: November 20, 2005 at 12:12 AM
BTW heamphyst i was not Getting on you. and yes you are right audio is audio. and im sorry i dont know alot about tube amps my bad damn (who's getting on who) anyhow i brought that up to my father he grew up in the tube era. he told me he had old factory radios in cars that had tubes. and has had those huge consoles. he said his experience with them was. he never had a bit of problems running them with a speaker out of them for extended amount of time. and BTW i dont care how many questions you answered. wish i could give you a ribbon for answering more than me. but i can't will this do?  and thank you heamphyst for that bit of info. i did'nt know that about tube amplifiers. -------------
Posted By: steezs
Date Posted: December 01, 2005 at 11:39 AM
Isnt it also unsafe to run the amp with crossover and no speakers?
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THE DUCE
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: December 01, 2005 at 12:13 PM
steezs wrote:
Isnt it also unsafe to run the amp with crossover and no speakers?
Who told you that? No this is generally not an issue with solid state amplifiers. Now why you'd want to do that except maybe during tuning or system design is a mystery. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: steezs
Date Posted: December 01, 2005 at 12:22 PM
I just read it somewhere, so some one must have tried it. I am guessing maybe they unplugged the speakers forgot the passive crossover was still connected and screwed their amp. Dunno just confirming.
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THE DUCE
Posted By: geepherder
Date Posted: December 01, 2005 at 5:34 PM
No, typically not a problem. What would cause a problem is if you let the speaker wires touch each other while power is applied to them.
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Posted By: KarTuneMan
Date Posted: December 02, 2005 at 1:33 AM
Heres my thought.......why would you need to turn on an amp......with no speakers......?
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