[Zeruel the 14th]

Can amps get too hot?

I'm asking this because I've been (and still am) a PC geek, so I've come to view 'HEAT' as the enemy (as weird as that may sound).

Long story short. I bought my first setup a few of months ago. Reasonably satisfied overall, plan to add DAC down the road for greater earcandy. But my immediate concern is the HEAT. I knew it was Class A when i bought it. I was even told it would get 'quite warm'. The documention available online even says to expect a 'slight increase in case temperature'. (No exact information on what exactly is 'acceptable')

Well, it bothers me.

So i ask, is this sort of temperature normal if not totally acceptable? I suspect it is but I need reassurance. I've already put a great big heatsink on the top (similiar in size and makeup seen on heatsinks in amp kits). Without any thermal paste or anything, it keeps the top considerably cooler than it was. But the underside is still very hot. I've gone so far as to contemplate getting video card RAMsinks and sticking them underneath, they're small enough and they come in packs of 8 (might need more)

My computer runs almost all the time, whether I'm at it or not. And often its producing sound (pre amp out --> Modest, but near immortal PC speakers. They benefit noticeably btw). Am i right to be concerned about heat? To that end is there any harm in attempting to keep it cooler? Nothing extreme or warranty voiding such as water blocks, bar fridges or coolant immersion as seen in PC land. (though I'd love to see a water-cooled valve based amp / tropical fish tank combo though.)

Any help / comments is appreciated.

 

[Jazper]

well most amp chips are rated to about 80-100C so there is no real problem with heat.. Regulators for amps go up to about 150C ..

 

[Kurt]

Are you talking about your Talisman?
I have the T-3H. On a wooden table it gets barely warm. Only if stacked with something else, which probably is producing heat too, the heat will dam up and it gets quite warm. But nothing near uncomfortable for the hand to rest on it.

 

[zChan]

hmm, my T35-hp also gets quite warm now. It didnt heat up the initial several months, so the heat was bothering me too.
Maybe I should of email/call the the Japanese reseller about it.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Class A amps and heat is perfectly normal don't worry about it.

 

[oldears]

Class A amps run hot, no question about it. In an well engineered product, the designer will have taken that into consideration and provided adequate heatsinking. The question here is whether the unit is running hot--but within specifications--or whether it is defective. The suggestion to email the manufacturer seems reasonable, if only for peace of mind. Having said all that, providing adequate ventilation is always a good idea. And the sort of non-permanent modifications Zeruel is talking about can't hurt and may well help extend the life of the amp. "Excessive" heat shortens the life of all electronics, whether tube or solid state. Cooling them usually makes them more reliable. In the end, it's your equipment. So, if it bothers you, do something about it.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Not only is it acceptable, in Class A, it's expected. Let's put it this way, if it wasn't hot, there's probably something wrong.

If you're a (PC) tweaker -- there's also nothing wrong with tweaking it. Amps come with heat dissipation fins for a reason -- it's expected to try to get rid of all that heat. So if you have some better ideas on how to do so, there's nothing wrong with doing them. Hint-hint. But of course, you may ruin the resellability of the amp.

 

[Zeruel the 14th]

Thanks for the replies everybody.

My amp while warm / hot is probably within spec, despite my gripes with heat it hasn't given me any trouble to date and has done all that i ask of it (Under load it has always peaked in temperature and leveled off varying on room temp.

Though the amp lacks any obvious fins etc, the main casing has quite a textured feel (that could be it). I'll try something a little extra (on the underside), give some of these ago, more tweakage (sans permanent adhesive).

My mind is more at ease. I'll likely still shoot off some emails and pursue non-permanent means of cooling (gonna get hotter later in the year). I guess my worries were probably due to inexperience.

Out of interest what kind of behaviour might an amp in the process of cooking itself exhibit? Noise / smell? Some kinda of instability or do they just keep ticking along until utter failure?

Anyway, thanks again. Its good to get a better idea on what to expect from a class A amp.