Power Management for 7500

About to place my order for a 7500 and had a quick question on the power management / conditioner. Do I need to be concerned about the 20 amp circuit requirement? I don't have anything yet so I want to make sure that what I get works.

Looking at both Belkin (PF60 or PF31) or a Panamax (M5100 or M4300). Anything else that I should be looking at?

It can't really use a 20 amp circuit, as far as I know, so I wouldn't worry about that requirement.

Tripplite and APC also make decent power conditioners as well, although a lot of people like the Belkin stuff.

I used to be a much bigger Panamax fan until they cut their warranty on the units from lifetime down to 3 years.

The 7500 has a standard 3-pin 15 amp plug just like most of your other electronic equipment - a NEMA 5-15P. You don't need a 20 amp circuit.

- Jason

Ok, final question here then before I order. I just want to be able to make sure that I don't constrain the amps maximum current draw (1800 watts). Unfortunately, they don't seem to include this spec and Belkin and Panamax CS has been offshored (= don't know if it isn't in the manual)

In order to fit this in to my rack I have to lower a shelf, reducing clearance over my AVR, so I was going to go with the Belkin PF30 or Panamax M4300-PM as they are both 1.75" high. If I went with the PF60 or M5300-PM (both 4" high) my AVR would only have about 3/4" clearance...not sure if this is an issue since I will not be using the amp section anymore. The console is going to sit under my Motorola HD cable box, which seems to get rather warm, so I want to make sure that it has some breathing room.

So anyone know if the PF30 or M4300-PM will handle the max current draw on the 7500.

Thanks (and I hope that my next post reads that I just ordered my amp.)

1800 watts is exactly the maximum that can be drawn from a 120 Volt, 15 Amp circuit. A Watt is a Volt Amp... so 1800 Watts = 120 Volts * 15 Amps.

I'm not familiar with those power conditioners, but pretty much by definition they should be able to do the job. Personally, my 7500 is plugged into a shared 15 amp circuit with a lot of equipment including a Martin Logan Descent subwoofer, 46" LCD, 990, DVD player, CD player, Tivo HD, etc. I often play it quite loud with very dynamic sources, and it's never tripped a breaker or anything like that. A hair dryer or vacuum will always do that though, so at least I know the breakers work.

- Jason

As JasonR says, you need 15A of capacity. The Panamax 4300's manual includes specs that indicate that it is capable of 15A, and indicates that the pair of high-current outlets have on current limiting components in their path. That indicates that it should do fine. The Belkin isn't quite as forthcoming, but it does include a 15A breaker. You should be good.

Oh, and my 7500 is on the same circuit as a pair of Model 200's, a 32" CRT, an LFM-1 subwoofer, a 990, HD-DVR cable box, and about five other sources. The display on my PF60 reports up to around 6A or 7A of current draw if I crank it way up.

gonk,

Do you have your sub plugged into the Belkin PF60 as well? I know the PF60 has two high power outlets specifically designed for amps, but I read a post in a different forum (Axiom) where several folks said it's not a good idea to hook the sub and amp to a surge protector. In fact, most said their amp and sub manufacturers did not recommend it. I have an outlaw 7500 and an LFM-1 EX and I don't recall reading anything in the manuals that suggested not hooking them up to a surge protector. Any comments?

My power conditioner does provide power to both my sub and my amps (a simple power strip from one high-current outlet feeds the three amps that are too far from the power conditioner anyway, and the sub connects to the other high-current outlet).

I've seen a number of amp manufacturers include warnings about plugging into power conditioners and surge protectors, but the underlying reason generally is concerns about limiting current. Personally, I don't feel good about connecting expensive electronics to the grid without some sort of protection in the mix - our electrical distribution here is pretty decent, but we are also in tornado alley and get enough severe weather that our overhead lines inevitably will get some abuse even if nothing else goes wrong (an "if" that is a bit more optimistic than it is realistic when considering the complexities of the electrical grid).

Thanks gonk. After reading your response, I'm going to go home and plug my sub into the other high current outlet. I currently have it plugged into one of the auxillary outlets, but it makes total sense to plug the sub into the other high current outlet as the sub has an amp in it too. I'm getting it...slowly but surely

I'm running a 7500, Integra DTC 9.8 pre/pro that generates quite a bit of heat, and 1 powered sub in each of my front DEF Techs - all on one circuit. But as Jason says, I haven't plugged the toaster in yet...