4 x Upgraded Xarus 5000 Stereo Amplifier Recommendations

Chapamantime

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Hi all,

I am new to AVForums and a bit of a novice when it comes to building a home audio systems but I am hoping I can explain this well enough to get some advice, so please bare with me.

A bit of context surrounding my issue:
I use my stereo setup mainly for DJing and do like to have the music fairly loud when I have friends over or for parties. The music I listen to is very bass driven, a lot of reggae/dub etc however that does not mean I don't appreciate the higher frequencies. As a result I bought 2 x Wharfedale Xarus 5000s a few years ago after reading a few forums on here and researching speakers for my requirements above. I also read on here about someone upgrading the 8 inch subs in the Xarus's which I have also done as the amp I am using does not have the facility for a stand alone sub woofer.

Sub replacement:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/8-Woofer-Wi...1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1324048861&sr=8-2&tag=av0c-21

Im a bit of a bass fiend though (enjoy my reggae soundsystem nights) and I recently bought 2 Xarus's; I am yet to upgrade the subs in these but I will be doing so in the next month or so.

I run all 4 of them off my Technics SU-470 PXS cap and hadnt had any issues for a while but I am now getting a crackle through the right speakers on both A and B channels which intermittently clears up when I touch the volume dial or fiddle with the balance a little. The speakers are 6ohm but when the amp is powering both A and B sets of speakers its impedance (hope ive used that word in the right context) is 8-16ohms. I have done some research and seen that these amps suffer from soldering issues, they also feature a pair of thermistors in the volume control that are apparently very strange/rare for an amplifier? Im not sure if this information will help but I am trying to cover all aspects of the issue, plus I do not think I would be capable of a repair job if either of these suspects were the culprit.

I guess my first enquiry would be, does this seem like an issue caused by the set up I am using? Is the amp powerful enough or too weak to power these speakers?

If so can anyone recommend an adequate amp replacement for around the £200 mark?

Does this sound like it could be a circuitry issue or a problem with the thermistors?

Any light shed on this issue would be a massive help.

Amp Spec:
Power output: 45 watts per channel into 8Ω (stereo)
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz
Total harmonic distortion: 0.005%
Damping factor: 60
Input sensitivity: 0.17mV (MC), 2.5mV (MM), 150mV (line)
Signal to noise ratio: 64dB (MC), 77dB (MM), 97dB (line)
Channel separation: 50dB (line)
Output: 150mV (line)
Speaker load impedance: 4Ω to 16Ω

Speaker Spec:
Crossover Frequency: 250Hz, 4.5kHz
Frequency Range: 30Hz - 24kHz
Midrange: 8" (200mm)
Nominal Impedence: 6 ohm
Recommended Amplifier: 25-250W
Sensitivity 1W@1M: 90dB

Thanks in advance!
 
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Having the speakers running together is basically putting them in parallel which is dropping the impedance the amp is seeing to 3 ohms. The amp appears to be able to handle 4 ohms (2 8 ohm speakers in parallel). This means your system is putting more strain on the amp. Also since you mention that you like to have a loud volume then this will be putting even more strain on the amp. So both these together are not great in terms of longevity of the amp. That said I am not sure your issue is due to this and does sound more like either wear within the volume control or slight connection issue since it appears to clear up when it is moved a bit. Contact cleaner in the right parts could help to clear up the issue if this is the case.
 
Thank you for your reply. Are you able to recommend an alternative amp that could handle having four of these speakers wired up and powered simultaneously?

I automatically assumed that if the amp had the facility to connect four speakers it would be ok having them all running at the same time. I do enjoy loud volume however I rarely ever turn the volume over the 12 o'clock position as I am worried about damaging something. I generally turn the volume up on the DJ mixer that I use rather than the amp.
 
The amp could power 2 sets of speakers happily if they were in the impedance range it states. Your speakers are not within this range which is what could be causing the issue. Most stereo amps that can power 2 sets of speakers will have similar limitations on impedance.
 
I see, so there is no way I can run my current set up without putting adverse strain on the amp?
 
Would wiring in series-parallel like the attached picture increase the impedance going to the amp to 6ohms (the same as one of the speakers) and therefore to be within the correct range or at least close to the impedance of the amp?
 

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Yeah I should have specified really. The input is a 5 decks connected to a DJM750 which is then connected to the amplified by RCA. The speaker connections are standard RED/BLACK speaker cable though. Will this amp be sufficient for that or does it use XLR?

Thanks for your reply
 
You'll need some adaptors but yes it will work. You'll need to put Speakon plugs on the end of your existing cables.
 
Ok thank you for your help. My only concern now is the spec on the Beringher amp only seems to show output for 2 speakers, would I require two to power all four. An amp per pair of speakers and the some form of connection between the two? Apologies for all the questions I just want to get this right first time. Thanks
 
You could just wire two cables to each Speakon plug, or buy two amplifiers.
 
If you're happy having both pairs of speakers connected all the time, I wouldn't worry about the splitter box, but the box will allow you to disconnect one pair as you need to
 
Ok thanks, I was planning on having all four connected all the time so I may go down this route. Am I right in thinkingwith this set up, (amp > 2 x splitter boxes > 2 speakers per splitter) with the speakers being 6ohm each they will be running at around 3ohms? It's pretty much halved if your running 2 speakers per channel isn't it? I hope I'm finally getting my head around wiring methods and their effect on impedance. You've been a big help so thank you.
 
That's correct. If you connect 2 speakers of the same load (4ohm, 6ohm, 8ohm, etc) then the load presented to the amplifier is halved (2, 3, 4ohm, etc).
 
If you are going to run all four speakers then why not switch the output of the djm to mono (as all clubs do this) then you can put 2 speakers on channel A and 2 on channel B, then you have the option of controlling them independently, there is no real need to buy splitter boxes, also the inuke will easily power at 2ohm per channel on the wharfedale. Also make sure to adjust the output on the REAR of the djm to 0db if feeding straight into a power amplifier, or set up your gain structure
 

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