Hi, im about to hang a turntable shelf once it gets delivered today, and i will be hanging it directly above my amp which sits on a small 3 shelf hi-fi rack, now in my nad instruction booklet it says there should be a minimum of 50cm of space?! Is this really neccisary as i see alot of people cramming amps into small spaces with like 10-20cm of space from the top.
does my amp really need 50cm space on the top??
- Thread starter simon3102000
- Start date
The recommendation is to ensure that the amp gets sufficient ventilation and doesn't run hot. You don't want to get it wrong and overheat any of your kit. Maybe the 50cm is on the generous side (I don't know the kit), but I would certainly keep their advice in mind. It's all very well for people to stack hifi/AV boxes on top of one another, but it is not advised.
yeah 50cm does seem very generous but guess i should stick to what the manufacturer recomends, it just meens the turntable will be high up. The amp im on about is a nad c326bee.
scene
Well-known member
- Sep 25, 2008
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As ESP009 says, some amps get very hot - you can fry eggs on the top of most Onkyos
I'd keep the manufacturer's advice in mind, but if your amp is on top of your rack, with all four sides open, then a turntable shelf above the amp shouldn't cause too many problems, as long as you give it some reasonable clearance, i.e. in the 10-20cm range.
I'd keep the manufacturer's advice in mind, but if your amp is on top of your rack, with all four sides open, then a turntable shelf above the amp shouldn't cause too many problems, as long as you give it some reasonable clearance, i.e. in the 10-20cm range.
simon3102000:yeah 50cm does seem very generous but guess i should stick to what the manufacturer recomends, it just meens the turntable will be high up. The amp im on about is a nad c326bee.
Well, let's see if any NAD C326BEE users respond. I have been guilty myself of stacking kit in the past and the amount of heat from the stack was surprising. Give each item room to breathe, but 50cm is a very generous allowance (NAD probably being conservative and covering themselves). If there is plenty of space around the kit otherwise, it will allow the heat to dissipate more easily and you may get away with less than 50cm. I think mine is now more like 10-12cm apart and quite happy. I suppose it depends how warm/hot your amp actually runs.
I see that Scene got in there with comparable advice (which is reassuring!)
Well, let's see if any NAD C326BEE users respond. I have been guilty myself of stacking kit in the past and the amount of heat from the stack was surprising. Give each item room to breathe, but 50cm is a very generous allowance (NAD probably being conservative and covering themselves). If there is plenty of space around the kit otherwise, it will allow the heat to dissipate more easily and you may get away with less than 50cm. I think mine is now more like 10-12cm apart and quite happy. I suppose it depends how warm/hot your amp actually runs.
I see that Scene got in there with comparable advice (which is reassuring!)
I take all the suggestions about ventilation with a pinch of salt. 50cm is completely excessive and in my opinion bordering on ridiculous.
I had a dvd player sat directly on top of my old sony 5.1 amp (1cm "ventilation") , in an enclosed space for 10 years without any problems.
Probably depends more on the kit in question, and how cautious you are as an individual.
Warm is fine - hot is not...
I had a dvd player sat directly on top of my old sony 5.1 amp (1cm "ventilation") , in an enclosed space for 10 years without any problems.
Probably depends more on the kit in question, and how cautious you are as an individual.
Warm is fine - hot is not...
markyd:
I take all the suggestions about ventilation with a pinch of salt. 50cm is completely excessive and in my opinion bordering on ridiculous.
I had a dvd player sat directly on top of my old sony 5.1 amp (1cm "ventilation") , in an enclosed space for 10 years without any problems.
Probably depends more on the kit in question, and how cautious you are as an individual.
Warm is fine - hot is not...
Yep, a common sense approach is usually best. I suppose that if you are going to have to make a decision on a permanent installation, it becomes important to get it right, but if you can 'suck it and see' first, then some experimentation is useful. I agree that 50cm seems excessive, but you know what manufacturers are like.
I take all the suggestions about ventilation with a pinch of salt. 50cm is completely excessive and in my opinion bordering on ridiculous.
I had a dvd player sat directly on top of my old sony 5.1 amp (1cm "ventilation") , in an enclosed space for 10 years without any problems.
Probably depends more on the kit in question, and how cautious you are as an individual.
Warm is fine - hot is not...
Yep, a common sense approach is usually best. I suppose that if you are going to have to make a decision on a permanent installation, it becomes important to get it right, but if you can 'suck it and see' first, then some experimentation is useful. I agree that 50cm seems excessive, but you know what manufacturers are like.
Some interesting replys, my amp does get hot but the heat seems to disperse after a few inches for the top as you move your hand away. Wondering if anyone has this kind of amp actually in a hi-fi rack and not on the top shelf?? I will be upgrading my rack to a soundstyle one in the near future which has 5 shelfs and the bottom shelf has a slightly larger gap to house an amp but still nowhere near 50cm!!
simon3102000:
Some interesting replys, my amp does get hot but the heat seems to disperse after a few inches for the top as you move your hand away. Wondering if anyone has this kind of amp actually in a hi-fi rack and not on the top shelf?? I will be upgrading my rack to a soundstyle one in the near future which has 5 shelfs and the bottom shelf has a slightly larger gap to house an amp but still nowhere near 50cm!!
What you have to bear in mind is that if your amp runs warm, it doesn't matter if the heat seems to disperse a few inches away from the top; if there is something in close proximity to the top, especially if generating its own heat, there will be less potential for the heat to dissipate away and more tendency for it to build up. So be careful.
Some interesting replys, my amp does get hot but the heat seems to disperse after a few inches for the top as you move your hand away. Wondering if anyone has this kind of amp actually in a hi-fi rack and not on the top shelf?? I will be upgrading my rack to a soundstyle one in the near future which has 5 shelfs and the bottom shelf has a slightly larger gap to house an amp but still nowhere near 50cm!!
What you have to bear in mind is that if your amp runs warm, it doesn't matter if the heat seems to disperse a few inches away from the top; if there is something in close proximity to the top, especially if generating its own heat, there will be less potential for the heat to dissipate away and more tendency for it to build up. So be careful.
I emailed NAD customer service about that a couple years ago because I also thought that was ridiculous. They responded with the quoted manual recommendation. However, I ignored that anyway because it truly is ridiculous and common sense can overrule here. I defy you to even feel the heat coming off a NAD integrated amp from 50cm away. Not a chance. My own rules:
1. Always provide at least 10cm above the amp.
2. Don't house the amp in a closed box. The rack should have open sides and back.
3. Never stack any equipment. This is not just for heat dissapation, but also to avoid electrical noise transference and possibly vibration in the case of a CDP.
Follow these rules and you won't have a problem unless the product is poorly designed or defective.
1. Always provide at least 10cm above the amp.
2. Don't house the amp in a closed box. The rack should have open sides and back.
3. Never stack any equipment. This is not just for heat dissapation, but also to avoid electrical noise transference and possibly vibration in the case of a CDP.
Follow these rules and you won't have a problem unless the product is poorly designed or defective.
Yeah fair play, if i do the recomended 50 the turntable will be halfway up the wall! i might meet them halfway and do a 25 cm gap.
the sides are well ventilated with nothing even close to them apart from a lil pre-amp sitting next to it, then there will be a 25cm gap between the top of the amp and the turntable shelf, plus the shelf will sit back to the wall leaving only 2 3rds of the amp under the shelf, should be more than fine... i hope 😛
the air gap is probably based upon a closed gap. If the air can MOVE, then normal convection will happen in less than 5 cms assuming the air can move horizontally in all directions.
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