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can you test a power amp without speakers?


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I have a Samson 1000 watt per side power amp that I got on e-bay...the first and only time I ever used it, I blew 2 18" speakers...The speakers may have been too light for this amp, but now I worry about hooking up new ones..is there a test I can use without speakers to see if the amp works ok or if there is a problem...thanks for any help.

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115V light bulbs work pretty good to "play" with amps. 115V space heaters are actually pretty close to 8 ohms - but make sure it is one WITHOUT a fan and WITHOUT an electronic thermostat. The oil filled ones with mechanical thermostats are a good choice. I have a radiant one I got for free that works good also. You can parallel the heater with a light bulb so you can "see" if anything is being output :cool: . Use a crappy lamp with the plug cut off and the wires stripped so's you can attach it to the binding posts. Same treatment for the heater. The light alone is usually enough to see if the amp is "behaving" itself.

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115V light bulbs work pretty good to "play" with amps. 115V space heaters are actually pretty close to 8 ohms - but make sure it is one WITHOUT a fan and WITHOUT an electronic thermostat. The oil filled ones with mechanical thermostats are a good choice. I have a radiant one I got for free that works good also. You can parallel the heater with a light bulb so you can "see" if anything is being output
:cool:
. Use a crappy lamp with the plug cut off and the wires stripped so's you can attach it to the binding posts. Same treatment for the heater. The light alone is usually enough to see if the amp is "behaving" itself.

 

Yeah I posted something like this, but thought better of it. Based on the O.P.'s questions he just doesn't seem to have the knowledge to start with "shadetree" troubleshooting without the possibility of really damaging something.

 

What if the amp is outputting DC? What if it is oscillating?

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