SPCR

Hi All and Happy New Year

Not sure if this is the best place to write, but I figured some of the people here would know a lot about cooling electronic stuff!

I just got a new amplifier (which I love) and I need to get some additional cooling for it (it gets hot sometimes). The amp sits on a shelf; open at the sides front and back (see image). There is a gap between top of amp and the shelf above of 35mm; and a gap below of just 20mm. I was thinking about putting either 2 x 180mm fans or 1 x 250mm fan on top of it to draw more air through.

The questions I have are (please note that cost is an issue!) :
1. Would I be better with 2 x 180mm or 1 x 250mm? And is this likely to be enough?
2. What is the best way to power the fans, i.e. easiest, quietest? There is a PC nearby.
3. Do I need to box the fan(s) in at all (close in sides/back) and perhaps use extra smaller fans to vent the hot air backwards from the shelf?
4. Can the fans be controlled in any way, e.g. manually or with a temp sensor on the case?
5. Is using a laptop cooler a good way to go? Thought they might be too noisy, push the air the wrong way, i.e. down and not up, or just plain not suitable...

I know that's a lot of questions, but I'm not sure what the best thing to do is. Hopefully I will get some replies to point me in the right direction.

Thanks

Welcome to spcr!

I wouldn't sweat it. amps get hot, its part of their design. looks like plenty of airflow around the amp. seen many many amps like that in much more confined entertainment center, and they all do fine.

id be more worried about the PlayStation getting dust sucked up off floor and into its cooling system and optical drive than the heat from that amp.

Welcome to SPCR!

Honestly, you really don't need to do anything. Your amp is in an open shelf - it should be fine. I can't tell the model number from the image, but any receiver made in the last few years uses Class D amplifiers which are very efficient. So, not much waste heat. Finally, a standard 25mm case fan will leave <10mm of clearance after mounting on top...you'd get a lot of turbulence noise from that.

I concur with the first two replies. It sure looks like you have plenty of free space and ventilation with your current setup. I'd spend your money on software (the music) instead of hardware right now.

Hello

Wow! Thanks for the quick replies. To clarify the amp is a Yamaha RX-V671, and so a recent and current model.

Thanks for the tip about the PS2. Good advice re: dust getting in and I'll be moving it.

I appreciate what you're saying about the amp generating some heat. However I was worried because this amp gets a lot hotter than my previous Onkyo TX-SR606 (and also hotter than my other Musical Fidelity Typhoon pre- and power-amp setup). After playing an album of music at reasonable volume, i.e. around 45 minutes worth, the top of the amp is almost too hot to touch - well probably more like a hot radiator to be fair. Is this hot enough to worry about or probably okay? It caused me not to play the second disc of the album! Movies are totally okay heat wise at similar volume levels - I guess because the sound levels are much more upand down and varied?

Would this amplifier have a recommended operating temperature range?

Thanks again for the info already provided.

Too hot to touch...is odd.

isdfe5 wrote:Would this amplifier have a recommended operating temperature range

Should be in the manual. If no manual in the box, Yamaha has them online.

For grins, you could test drive another one in a Best Buy or something and see if it exhibits the same issue.

agreed. too hot to touch sounds weird. Yamaha's are usually cooler running than onkyos....

Thanks for the comments. I have decided to buy a couple of 120mm fans to draw more air through the heat sink fins (luckily these run vertically so I can sit the fans on top above the vents).

Not sure how I'll secure them yet (if they need securing which I think they will) - considering small velcro tabs on the corners? Looking at Xilence 120mm x 2 running at 12v (considered 7v or 9v, but will try 12v initially and see how loud they are!). Will set them to come on and off with the amp, i.e. out of standby. I did consider a case temperature sensor, but these alone are more money than I'm spending on the fans, a molex Y-splitter and the PSU combined so I'll see how it goes without.

Saw this in the US which looks very nice, but will try my "budget" solution first...

Chris

I would check with the dealer or with Yamaha to see if it's supposed to get that hot. If not you might have a faulty product. Best to check the soonest while on warranty.

Deucal wrote:I would check with the dealer or with Yamaha to see if it's supposed to get that hot. If not you might have a faulty product. Best to check the soonest while on warranty.

+1