Amp and Power Conditioner

[bodan]

Is is safe/okay to use a power conditioner or strip that is rated at 15amp or 2000w with a power amp that is 2400w?

[JimmyM]

you will find from all the amp makers that they recommend not using a power conditioner at all. they recommend plugging straight into the wall. all the power conditioning needed is built into your amp.

[bongomania]

On the one hand, the power amp will not be putting out 2400 W for more than a fraction of a second at a time, typically, and probably won't even reach that amount at all under normal use. So it will be under 2000 W most of the time. OTOH if you really push it to the max for any extended period, then you would be risking a fire, or at least a circuit breaker shutting you down.

[bodan]

If it's necessary (as in not enough outlets to plug gear into otherwise), is it safe?

[bodan]

Bongomania, what about a QSC RMX2450 turned up about halfway? Would that be dangerous territory?

(I don't really know much about current, watts, amps, volts, etc. I just want to make sure I'm not going to catch anything on fire or damage any equipment.)

[bongomania]

Important to know: turning an amp up "halfway" does not result in half the watts. An amp is capable of putting out its full maximum rated amount of wattage, or even much higher if driven into clipping, even when the gain knob is turned down some. The gain knob on a power amp just changes the percentage the incoming signal is amplified, it does not actually control watts.

The safest thing in this case is just to plug the power amp straight into a wall outlet. If the cord isn't long enough, use a heavy-duty extension cord rated for that kind of power, and a 20 amp rating just to be on the safe side.

[BruceWane]

The only way it would be dangerous is if there were a defect in the power strip or building's electrical system.

If overloaded, the power strip or the building's electrical circuit should trip a breaker or blow a fuse.

But as was already said, your power amp already has all the protection it needs built in. Using a power conditioner or strip is not only unnecessary, it can actually act as an electrical bottleneck, limiting the performance of your power amp.

If at all possible, plug your power amp in directly to the wall socket. Then if needed, use a power strip/conditioner for other items with lower electrical demand - preamp, effects, etc. Those items don't have the built in protection that a power amp does.

[KeithAlanK]

bodan--it's perfectly safe to do what you're asking.
Nothing is going to blow up.
At worst, if you have too many devices in the power strip and are running it hard, it'll pop it's weeny internal breaker.
This is why I always run power amps straight to the outlet--at minimum a wall socket will be on a 20 amp circuit, so there's a bit more headroom compared to a 15 amp strip or Furman.
I've been running sound for a looooong time, and have found that what the previous posters have said is true.
Amps don't need more protection, but for convenience I see plenty of guys get away with using conditioners and strips without any problems, year-in and year-out.
Everyone does it.

When the Baylor basketball arena got struck by lightning during a gig, my $500 TrippLite went up in smoke but all the FOH rack gear it powered lived to finish the show.
My current band uses Crown MacroTech 2400 and 3600 amps--they go straight to the wall and if we need extension cords they are my own handmade jobs using 10 gauge cable and heavy duty connectors.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by bodan

If it's necessary (as in not enough outlets to plug gear into otherwise), is it safe?

No, based not only on the strip having inadequate current capacity for the amp but also that whatever else you're plugging into the strip will also be drawing current. Your power strip should be rated for the total current draw of everything that's plugged into it.