Amp Ventilation

Earthy

I am trying to decide the best way to arrange my equipment with a 50" DLP tv on top. My new amp is super deep, so I am building a stand that will be two components wide and about 20" tall. I want two shelves high, and need 7" for my center channel.
My manual says give 6" clearance over the amp. There should be at least 8" of clear air on one side and open on the front back and other side. How much space can I realistically get away with. I was thinking about 2.5" would fit the aesthetic aspect, but want to make sure it can breath properly.

EndersShadow

Earthy wrote: »

I am trying to decide the best way to arrange my equipment with a 50" DLP tv on top. My new amp is super deep, so I am building a stand that will be two components wide and about 20" tall. I want two shelves high, and need 7" for my center channel.
My manual says give 6" clearance over the amp. There should be at least 8" of clear air on one side and open on the front back and other side. How much space can I realistically get away with. I was thinking about 2.5" would fit the aesthetic aspect, but want to make sure it can breath properly.

Since your building it yourself you could add some cooling fans to the rear from these guys to pull the hot air out and you should be fine:

http://www.coolerguys.com/ho.html

TG Meat

Yeah, I use Parsound's zbreeze on my B&K amp. It keeps it pretty cool. My B&K in contained in an enclosed shelf on the sides, open back, behind a closed glass door. The zBreeze is triggered to turn on when the amp powers up.

steveinaz

Is it an open on all sides rack? If so, just make sure you've got the 8" top clearance. Parasound amps will shut down if not given enough ventilation. I "tried" to get away with 6"---the amp said NO.

Beta

I use Parasound Zbreeze fans with my gear as well. They work excellent.

Earthy

steveinaz wrote: »

Is it an open on all sides rack? If so, just make sure you've got the 8" top clearance. Parasound amps will shut down if not given enough ventilation. I "tried" to get away with 6"---the amp said NO.

The stand will basically be three 4' shelves 22" deep. Open on all sides. Wow... The manual states 6" clearance.

"Leave at least 3” of space around both sides and 6” of space above the top. The bottom clearance can be a little less."

I may opt to add fans. I don't have room to give it 8" above without rethinking everything.

Thanks everyone.

kevhed72

What is amazing is the lack of companys that sell stands that will accomodate a large flat screen, all your gear with proper clearance, and a larger center channel speaker, without spending a small fortune. Post some pics when your done....

steveinaz

Earthy wrote: »

The stand will basically be three 4' shelves 22" deep. Open on all sides. Wow... The manual states 6" clearance.

"Leave at least 3” of space around both sides and 6” of space above the top. The bottom clearance can be a little less."

I may opt to add fans. I don't have room to give it 8" above without rethinking everything.

Thanks everyone.

You've got a Halo series, I have the HCA-1500a. Halo's have external heatsinks--maybe that's why less cleearance is needed?

EndersShadow

Earthy wrote: »

The stand will basically be three 4' shelves 22" deep. Open on all sides. Wow... The manual states 6" clearance.

"Leave at least 3” of space around both sides and 6” of space above the top. The bottom clearance can be a little less."

I may opt to add fans. I don't have room to give it 8" above without rethinking everything.

Thanks everyone.

I would say since your building to add the fans. Then you can get the look you want, with more than enough ventilation.

You might however want to build a test box (consisting of one section of the build) for your gear with the fans in it to ensure your gear doesnt turn off anyway before you spend lots of time making a finished piece.

Just a thought.

Gulfstrings

My components space is very limited and I was concerned about stuff running too hot. I borrowed an infrared thermometer and sampled the temps of both my AVR and amp. With that data, I contacted both makers (Onkyo and NAD) to learns what operating temps they recommended. Surprisingly, both were higher than I thought.

I ended up adding an Antec cooling fan atop the Onkyo. It has run effectively now 24/7 for several months and was priced at (if memory serves) about $80. It looks nice and I believe would fit within your preferred dimensions.

Building in fans sounds like a great approach, but this may work for you - as well as the other top fans mentioned - as well.

I've tried to attach a link to my systems photos, if this doesn't work check it out in the Systems photo section under Gulfstrings. It's the second piece from the top.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=106014

leftwinger57

HELLO,
Just a question about these cooling fans. I used to stack my cdp on top
of my avr and of course the Yamaha got a little warm so I made my own
stands out of pvc and covered w/ black gorilla tape it looked good it worked
well and used it until my rack changed. Now about these fans, do the push cool air in or exhaust out. Also i've found that my ADCOMgfa555 runs very cool all day long at a fairly high volume....lw

Gulfstrings

leftwinger57 wrote: »

HELLO,
Just a question about these cooling fans. I used to stack my cdp on top
of my avr and of course the Yamaha got a little warm so I made my own
stands out of pvc and covered w/ black gorilla tape it looked good it worked
well and used it until my rack changed. Now about these fans, do the push cool air in or exhaust out. Also i've found that my ADCOMgfa555 runs very cool all day long at a fairly high volume....lw

The Ancar I have pulls the hot air in from its bottom and exhausts it out vents in the rear. It has two fan settings, hi and lo, and is barely audible on its lo setting and quiet on the hi setting.

One of the features I like about this unit is its size. Its large enough to nearly cover the top of the AVR with most of that surface area working to remove heat.

I always check the blue light and make sure I can 'hear' it running before turning on the component it cools. Come to think of it, I wouldn't want it completely quiet ...