Onix A-120MKII Gets hot fast.

Thanks for responding. Not real sure about the age of the amp. I picked it up in March from Audiogon. My guess is 10 years. The speakers are about 12 years. It has run very warm since I got it and the problem has been happening the whole time. It's fine at normal levels, just very warm to touch. I have no idea how to check the current.

Current capability isn't something you can check per-say. A good indication of an amp's current capability is how much power it has at 8 ohm's say 200watt and close to 400 watts into 4ohms. This is not an exact way of checking but it is a good indication of the amps power supply. The closer it comes to doubling it's power the better.

If you have another pair of speakers that are smaller and less demanding give them a try. If the only time the amp over-heats and goes into protect mode is when your pushing it. I would guess it's just running out of gas.

There could be many reasons why your amp is over heating. The idea of using a different pair of less demanding speakers is a good one. Without taking it in to have someone check the idling current of the output transistors, it's really just a guessing game at this point as to what the problem is. Make sure the heatsinks are not being covered and there is plenty of room above and below the heatsinks for convection cooling.

Hello,

It sits open with a cable box and cd player on top. I am more attached to the speakers then this unit so I may start shopping for a replacement. Only paid $400 for it so it's not a huge deal. I may look around here for a shop to check it out, depending on the price. It replaced a finally dead 25 yo Rotel RA-870 60w integrated that never clipped and sounded better for a pedestrian amp from the 80's. I'd bet the Onix would sing with the right speakers. THX!

I would suggest you not place anything on top of the amp. Having anything digital placed on top of a piece of analogue equipment or vice verse is a really bad idea from a sonic perspective. Digital noise is pervasive. Put your digital equipment off to the side and try not to stack anything on top of each other.