Tube Amp / Heat Management

[jbjsr]

Have my tube / vinyl system in my home office rack with my turntable on top shelf / then 14" below that I have my tube amp / then tuner / then power conditioner on bottom. Have my tube pre on my desk for easy volume control. The heat from the amp and pre are impacting my table especially after 1-2 hours of listening.

What products / have you found if any to help deal with the heat coming off the tube amp and tube pre? I've tried several air circulators / fans. The latest was advertised as whisper quiet but not quite the case. See pics. Helps with the heat but the noise disturbs the listening session. I've thought about a fan from a computer but not sure it will move enough air. I suppose one option is to reconfigure the room and move the amp and fan further away from the other equipment and me.

 

[Retrovert]

Large fans can be operated at low RPM which is quieter.

Some of the large computer fans have been specifically designed for quiet operation.

 

[peterh]

Have my tube / vinyl system in my home office rack with my turntable on top shelf / then 14" below that I have my tube amp / then tuner / then power conditioner on bottom. Have my tube pre on my desk for easy volume control. The heat from the amp and pre are bugging me especially after 1-2 hours of listening.

What products / have you found if any to help deal with the heat coming off the tube amp and tube pre? I've tried several air circulators / fans. The latest was advertised as whisper quiet but not quite the case. See pics. Helps with the heat but the noise disturbs the listening session. I've thought about a fan from a computer but not sure it will move enough air. I suppose one option is to reconfigure the room and move the amp and fan further away from the other equipment and me.

Heat is one of the downsides with tubes. To have a tubeamp under a vinyl player is probably not optimal.
Fans could be used, but they do sound and is an extra complexity. Better to find a place higher up on
the wall ( on top of speakers ? or behind speakers ?) .

 

[invaderzim]

Just to make sure, you are trying to move the heat just away from you and not so much the amp, right?

How hard does the fan need to blow? My tube amp is on a shelf that sits about 8" over the top of it and I didn't like how hot the shelf was getting so I attached a 120mm computer fan to the back of the amp at an angle to blow the hot air out from under the shelf. I connected the 12v fan to the 6v power that goes to the indicator light on my amp so it runs at a much slower and completely silent speed. I put mine at the back of the amp where it can't be seen since I didn't mind if it was blowing the air straight out but one could be positioned anywhere you want. I just don't know if it would move enough air to move the heat far enough away to cool you too.

maybe something from these guys
https://www.acinfinity.com

 

[jbjsr]

Yes, seems an equipment move / room redo may be in my future. I have quite a bit of empty space between the TT and amp but prob not enough. See pics. Thanks.

 

[jbjsr]

Just to make sure, you are trying to move the heat just away from you and not so much the amp, right?

How hard does the fan need to blow? My tube amp is on a shelf that sits about 8" over the top of it and I didn't like how hot the shelf was getting so I attached a 120mm computer fan to the back of the amp at an angle to blow the hot air out from under the shelf. I connected the 12v fan to the 6v power that goes to the indicator light on my amp so it runs at a much slower and completely silent speed. I put mine at the back of the amp where it can't be seen since I didn't mind if it was blowing the air straight out but one could be positioned anywhere you want. I just don't know if it would move enough air to move the heat far enough away to cool you too.

maybe something from these guys
https://www.acinfinity.com

Good info. I'm really most interested in moving the heat away from my amp and thus my turntable. Thanks.

 

[invaderzim]

This one: https://www.arctic.ac/us_en/f8-silent.html or the bigger F12 have start-up voltages of 4.5v so even something a usb power supply will spin them, although slowly. I can't hear a sound from mine even with no music playing

EDIT: after looking at your picture there probably isn't a classy way to add a fan like that to the setup. On mine I'm able to hide it behind the amp.

 

[jbjsr]

My desk is to the left side of the rack and close so I might be able to mount / clip the fan to my desk and have it blow from the side over the amp. The info is much appreciated.

 

[elnaldo]

I'd think about some kind of deflector too. Perhaps you can "guide" the hot air to the back or to one side.

 

[triode17]

What do you mean by "impacting my table"? Is it actually starting to burn?

 

[jbjsr]

I was getting an intermittent issue with my auto lift on my table. Issue solved. Moved the rack setup and have the tube amp more isolated. Also, reversed my ceiling fan and much better. Still plan to order a small fan and place behind my amp to keep it a bit cooler. Thanks!

 

[dcgillespie]

You may want to consider a new equipment installation anyway -- not only for the heat issue, but having the TT above the amplifier is generally not the best in terms of minimizing hum due to the cartridge being near the field of the amp's power transformer. Just a though in your considerations.......

Dave

 

[saggy]

Just to make sure, you are trying to move the heat just away from you and not so much the amp, right?
maybe something from these guys
https://www.acinfinity.com

Wow - those are some really cool options!!

 

[jbjsr]

I agree and plan to order one this weekend.

 

[saggy]

I agree and plan to order one this weekend.

please post your results and some pics. I'm very interested.