If the lights are dimming when the amp draws heavy current, that means there is probably a little too much (or more than a little too much, in which case you should really have the wiring checked) resistance in the wiring somewhere in the wire’s path prior to both the amp and the lights. The power strip works to help the power remain ‘safe’ for those items that are plugged in to it, but it still lets power through if there is a ‘power hungry’ device plugged in to it. When that surge of current is drawn through resistance in the house wiring, the voltage drops where the resistance exists. In fact, if the voltage is sagging, the amp may draw even more current in an attempt to keep its internal voltages up to where they should be. Many amps actually run hotter if the supply voltage is too low because they are drawing more amps to satisfy the number of watts needed, even if your common sense tells you, “less volts = less watts = cooler.”

I would first check out what the actual voltage is at the wall supply when the amp is playing loud, not after any power regulation that would be ‘hiding’ the variations by trying to compensate for them. Because the voltage may be fluctuating with heavy bass rhythms, a digital voltmeter may not display the voltages fast enough to show you what’s happening, so try an analog meter also. If the voltage is dropping by more than a volt or two, there may be a problem. If the voltage is dropping by five or ten or more volts, brother, you’ve got problems, especially if the voltage is starting out barely within the specified supply range for the amp. If there is a fair amount of resistance in the wiring somewhere, then the amp may not be the only thing heating up. If there is a poor connection at one of the outlets in a series of outlets before your amp, for instance, the point at which the voltage is dropping is also dissipating watts, and that means heat! Depending on the load, sometimes enough heat to melt insulation and risk a fire. How do I know? Both education and I’ve seen it happen.

If your supply voltage is no problem, or has been corrected, then I would next suspect the amp. In my situation, I have used one end of the amp for main left and the other end of the amp for main right, with the center in the middle. That way the most ‘power hungry’ channels are separated in the case and they’re not helping each other keep warm. I’ve checked with Outlaw support, and they said that any amp channel may be used for any playback channel. The outlaw amp channel labeling is for convenience. If after trying these things, you still have the problem, perhaps your amp is still in the warranty period and can be checked out.

I hope it works out for you!