hifonics amp getting warm?

[gadgeteer123 21]

I was just curious, but my 1610d hifonics amp gets warm at idle, its hooked up to a 14 volts 58 amp power supply, and if its not doing anything it gets warm, but if i turn the music up about a 1/3rd the way it stays cool, is it a wasted energy thing or what??

[deernet 6]

The one in your mom's station wagon?

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Is it on a bench power supply or in a car?

[ssh 924]

the lower the power it's running at the lower the efficiency, less efficiency = more heat

I'm not going to say this applies to all amps or situations, but it's common that running a amp at it's full power playing music verse idle will actually run cooler

Read this post:

Anatomy of the Power Amplifier

Dissecting the Modern Audio Power Amplifier and Power Supply

[gadgeteer123 21]

Well it is a commercial grade switching power supply, and the voltage is adjustable. normally i have it set at 13v, for normal use.