advertisement


My Rega Elicit R keeps cutting out!

R

Ronaudio

Ronaudio
My amp keeps cutting out, even when not being played too loudly (with the leds just passed the 12 o’clock position) It feels very hot when it does so (on the top left of the case) but the amp runs hot at the best of times. I have it quite well ventilated, with nothing else too close to hamper the heat dissipation.
If I switch the amp off, then on again, after about thirty seconds it returns to normal, but has cut out after a few minutes again, and i’ve Had to repeat the procedure three times during an afternoon listening session.
I know that this feature is designed as a protection for the amp and/or speakers, but I’m wondering if it is faulty/over sensitive.
Anyone else encountered this?
 
Hi Ron .Best bet would be return it to the dealer.If not, rega .Contact them direct.They are a very good company.Without a doubt its got a problem.my worry would be that it could get worse ,maybe a fire etc and damage your speakers etc .What speakers do you use with it ?
 
Hi Ron,

Mine did the same thing. Took me a while to work it out but it followed the same pattern as you are encountering whereby one side gets very hot

I returned it to my dealer who passed it to REGA and a week or so later I collected it all fixed for free. Been right as rain since. I was told the amps bias needed altering.
 
Hi Ron,

The Elicit amp has protection circuitry that protects the amplifier against damage due to certain operating conditions, if you could get the amp back to Rega via a franchised dealer we will look at the amplifier and effect a repair / adjustment and return to you asap with obviously no cost to yourself. Very best regards, PD.
 
Thanks Paul,
Will do as you suggest, and take it back to my dealer, who I’d planned to visit next week.
Regards,
Ron
 
The first time I heard the Elicit-R was at an Audio-T Preston vinyl evening trying to drive a large pair of KEF's in a big room - I say trying because it kept cutting out which was very embarrassing for the Rega rep. They had to keep waiting for it to cool down but they had been too ambitious as it simply was not powerful enough for the job in hand. It did not stop me buying one a few months later which has had no problems but even driven at an average level it gets very hot & even in winter we need no heating in that room. I have an Elex-R in another system & that stays quite cool - not quite as powerful - 72 wpc v 106 wpc - using same casing. The Elex-R is in a room 4 times as big as the room with the Elicit-R so you would expect it to get hotter as it is working harder. No doubt someone at Rega could explain it but it is quite odd.
 
Ron,
I had a similar issue you did; I was driving a pair of Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand SE's, 4ohm, and I think they were a bit too much of a match for my Elicit-R. The amp is in storage right now - I went with some separates with more power, but the Elicit is a great amp. Trying to figure out how to get it back in rotation given the space I have and my setup.

It's been a couple years - I can't remember if the volume knob LED's ever got past noon in my setup. I seem to remember my cdp's doing fine around the 10-11 position.

Good luck with your amp - it's a nice piece of gear. It's also nice to post on this forum and get a prompt response from Rega and Paul Darwin.
Jeff
 
Cjyosemite,

I was the Rega Rep at the Preston music evening, and I can tell you it was not embarrassing at all. If you recall the room was at least 60 feet by 40 feet, way bigger than most if not all listening rooms, the amp had been running loud for several hours (pre event) into large and relatively inefficient Kef reference loudspeakers.

As we approached the last track of the evening (London Grammer) I actually laughed and said to the Kef Rep that the amp would go into protection mode as there is a sub bass line on that track, which coupled with the above circumstances would present a problem for the Elicit (or any amp come to that) Sure enough it cut out once, and only once and we did not therefore have to keep waiting for it to cool down. We had not been too ambitious at all as in normal operating conditions it is very very unusual for the amp to go into protection mode. In fact the guys from the store told me that on another evening at that venue an amplifier from another company had done the same thing several times.

The Elex does not have the same protection mode of the Elicit.

Hope that clarifies the events of that night and explains the differences between the two amplifiers,

PD
 
Any volume beyond 11 or thereabouts is getting towards maximum level for many amplifiers using conventional volume pots.

If you continuously require high volume you need to buy a more powerful amp. Likely not just twice the power but three or more times ... or more sensitive/easy to drive speakers.
 
Thanks to all contributors above. I was using Rega RX3 speakers when the amp began cutting out. I don’t think that they are a particularly difficult load, being reasonably efficient, and should work synergistically with the Rega amp.
Nevertheless, as Mr. Darwin recommends, will get the amp back to the factory for a once over.
 
cjyosemite said:
The first time I heard the Elicit-R was at an Audio-T Preston vinyl evening trying to drive a large pair of KEF's in a big room - I say trying because it kept cutting out which was very embarrassing for the Rega rep. They had to keep waiting for it to cool down but they had been too ambitious as it simply was not powerful enough for the job in hand. It did not stop me buying one a few months later which has had no problems but even driven at an average level it gets very hot & even in winter we need no heating in that room. I have an Elex-R in another system & that stays quite cool - not quite as powerful - 72 wpc v 106 wpc - using same casing. The Elex-R is in a room 4 times as big as the room with the Elicit-R so you would expect it to get hotter as it is working harder. No doubt someone at Rega could explain it but it is quite odd.
Click to expand...

Funny as my Elex/R went quite hot using it on RX1

I did put some drinkplates below feets raising the amp some mm to cool better, never had any issues though and a wonderfull amp imo.

Preferred it to a second generation Elicit I had, that became warm too and definately needed to raise as cooling fins were below underneath.

I think Rega might put some slightly higher feets below their amplication, a few mm certainly would be good, but as said, I handled it with some drinkplates from Ikea.
 
paul darwin said:
Cjyosemite,
I was the Rega Rep at the Preston music evening, and I can tell you it was not embarrassing at all..............The Elex does not have the same protection mode of the Elicit..........Hope that clarifies the events of that night and explains the differences between the two amplifiers, PD
Click to expand...

Wasn't in any way attributing blame & it certainly did not put a damper on the evening which as ever was very enjoyable even though I have yet to persuade Ian H to play some decent (i.e. classical) music. You & I have in fact met a few times, not only at the vinyl evening but also at the shop & at other shows.

I haven't quite got my mind around the volume control on the Elex-R as when I bought it I sought advice from your offices on using it with an AV system & was advised that 2/3rds of half way was the highest he (Rob in service I think) would recommend for the "fix" on the front channels. I found that left a lot of "balancing" to do on the AV receiver so settled on half way which is also easier to set visually. In normal use the volume is between 10 & 11 o'clock depending on the recording level of the music but the amp always runs quite cool in a big room driving ProAc Tablette Anniversary speakers & a Castle Classic (ATC design) sub-woofer through the pre-out - I realise it is the Castle's internal amp which has the workload on that. The Elicit-R is generally at the 10/11 led's on (occasionally 9 or 12) in a room a quarter of the size - speakers are Spendor A5R - but always runs hot, although never had a problem of it cutting out. I much prefer the Elicit-R volume control as it is so precise whereas at times that on the Elex-R can be difficult to set precisely as it keeps going when you take your finger off the volume button on the remote & I sometimes have to fine-tune it manually. It would also be so much better with a direct input for AV like the Elicit-R but as far as performance is concerned, both are very good & the Elex-R is astonishing value for money - sounds great, runs cool even when the music goes loud.
 
Just my 2p or cents and experience- I’ve had the Elex-r and now the Elicit-r and have run it for the entire day (at least 16hrs) as high as 1-2 o’clock and was amazed that it never got hot to the touch but just warm. The longer I run it the better it sounds, so much that I turn everything on an hour before I start listening. Great amp!
To the original post-Ron, I’m sure everything will get sorted by Rega above and beyond your satisfaction!
 
cjyosemite,

Looking forward to meeting again, next time let me know you are cjyosemite !!

Obviously there are budgetary constraints and considerations between the two amplifiers and a better volume pot and the availability of direct mode are just two of those.

Thanks for your kind words and really pleased that you are enjoying your amps.

Very best regards,

PD
 
paul darwin said:
Obviously there are budgetary constraints and considerations between the two amplifiers and a better volume pot and the availability of direct mode are just two of those. PD
Click to expand...

Being an accountant (retired) I fully understand the cost issues but the Elex-R is (almost) impossible to use with an Arcam AV receiver as they both use the same remote control codes & if you change the Arcam volume using the remote then the front channels fed through the Elex-R also change putting them out of balance - at present the only way around this problem is to change the Arcam volume manually with the button on front of the receiver. I was able to overcome the problem by swopping out my Arcam AV400 for a 10 year old Pioneer VSX-LX70, a very early model with hi-res audio which I had previously retired but which was still in full working order. The only other option was to install another Elicit-R instead of the Elex-R but felt the cost difference was too much for what is my system no.4, mainly used for watching/listening to opera on blu-ray. I had already upgraded the speakers from Kef R100 (which were an interim purchase having blown my Castle Richmonds) to ProAc Tablette Anniversary & have subsequently retired an Arcam BDP300 blu-ray for an Oppo 205, so it has become a rather more expensive system than it was 15 months ago - but also a very good system now. I think the price differential between the Elex-R & Elicit-R would stand the additional cost of a direct input for AV without narrowing the price gap too much - perhaps something to consider for the next version. On the other hand I can put up with the peculiarities of the motorised volume control on the Elex-R because of its £700 lower price.
 
Yep my Elicit -R has started to cut out again.

I presume the thermal protection is operating as the left hand side of the amp is getting v.v hot. I have total confidence in my dealer and Rega to fix it but it is an inconvenience, especially as it was bought new only 2 and 1/2 years ago.
 
Update:

My Elicit-R is nicely ensconed back on my rack having been fixed by Rega with just a couple of days turnaround and at zero cost to me. It looks like they changed a couple of transistors this time and its now running cool. I loaned a Supernait2 whilst it was away which could be very exciting with some music but a bit fatiguing at other times so it's nice to have my Rega back.

Ray
 
Hi Ray
Me too. Mine also returned from Rega and so far so good. In fact, very good.
Driving my ATC’s beautifully.
 
Bonjour, j'ai exactement le même problème et ceci presque depuis le début. Je l'ai acheté en novembre 2014. Je lai ramené à plusieurs reprise là où je l'avais acheté pour des test il n'on rien trouvé. Il m'on dit qu'il fait chaud c'est normal car j'habite dans le sud de la France. Il se coupe au bout d'une heure 20. Hors je vois que ce là n'est pas normal la garanti est passé comment rentré en contact avec Rega? Et d'où vient le problème?
Vos Elicit R fonctionne t'il toujours aussi bien depuis leur retour de l'usine?
P.S.: je suis Français désolé pour la traduction
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top