[Lifer1970]

Does anyone know if there is an accepted "ideal" temperature for audio equipment? Assuming that I've got a separate HVAC "zone" for my listening room, and can I improve the sound quality of my gear with a magic thermostat setting?
 
I'm fairly comfortable being "warm", and I'd be happy to wear a jumper indoors if necessary. The room's temperature is fairly stable, so I would kill any noisy fans when I sat down to listen, so the noise of maintaining the temperature can largely be ignored.

 

[Speedskater]

A room temperature of 68ºF (20ºC) plus or minus a lot should be just fine. If the temperature falls to near freezing many turntables will be unhappy. If the room temperature rises above a really hot summer day temperature 104ºF (40ºC), equipment in a small cabinet could be stresses.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Does anyone know if there is an accepted "ideal" temperature for audio equipment? Assuming that I've got a separate HVAC "zone" for my listening room, and can I improve the sound quality of my gear with a magic thermostat setting?

 

 

Apart from if it's too hot it will damage the amp or it's just plain too cold (to the point that fake camera batteries fail for example), the ideal temperature for audio playback systems is whatever the listener likes. If you're uncomfortable because your toes are falling off or your clothes are sticking to your skin as you turn into a wet petri dish, you will not enjoy whatever you are listening to no matter how expensive the equipment is (sweating in da club and enjoying EDM with cocktails and a few possibly illegal pills is another matter altogether).

 

In other words, it's mostly psychological. The only time this can be a problem is if whatever temperature control system you have at exceeds the noise floor as it tries to deliver your desired temp, so in some cases, so your clothes should adjust to that temp. Too cold, wear socks; too hot, wear light cotton or linen.

 

[willowbrook]

You'd have to be delusional to think that temperature makes a difference in sound. Other than freezing cold or burning hot, a comfortable temp for YOU is the best temperature. Although cool temperature is much for favorable hardware wise to prevent overheating for enclosed dac and amps.

 

[cjl]

Within reason, a bit on the cool side is better than too warm, simply for the reliability/lifetime of the electronics. There won't be any audible difference though.

 

[dprimary]

I would like to point out  temperature does affect sound waves. It is a known and measured phenomenon. Humidity also affects sound waves. In a large space it can be a problem, outdoors it is a big problem. So you can't say outright temperature doesn't affect sound, it does.
 
Will it cause a noticeable effect in the average living room unlikely. I think the extreme heat or cold in the room would distract you in the AB test. However the effect would be far greater then an interconnect cable can ever possibly affect the audio. 
 
Linked is an old paper by Harris.
 
https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/HarrisJASA66.pdf

 

[BiggerHead]

You'd have to be delusional to think that temperature makes a difference in sound. Other than freezing cold or burning hot, a comfortable temp for YOU is the best temperature. Although cool temperature is much for favorable hardware wise to prevent overheating for enclosed dac and amps.

 
Folks are convinced they can make their sound warmer or crisper with AC fuses.  At least with temperature there are very real measurable changes in electronics and even materials (cones/surrounds).  I don't know if any of that is enough to matter. Resistors probably are not. 
 
There is also though the fact that the speed of sound changes which means your room resonances will shift by about 70 cents from room temperature to freezing, so somewhere not quite a half step.  The locations of nodes in the room shouldn't change though, so it probably wouldn't impact ideal speaker placement or such.  It's not completely unreasonable that someone could hear the shift in sound signature of the room though, even at a more modest temperature change.  People can obviously hear tone differences much less than 70 cents.  If you would drastically notice a room resonance shift of that much, I don't know.

 

[Ruben123]

In winter I change my cables to thicker ones to oppose the colder temperatures, thicker cables often give warmer sound. In summer when temp rises I get the small cables again because they sound somewhat cold. I also change my cd player and interconnects according to the temp. Even the power cable gets changed.
 
/sarcasm off Unless the temps are extreme dont expect a lot of differences. And as we are talking about indoor sound systems the temps will never be that extreme, will they?

 

[Toom]

Eskimos hate Phil Collins. That might not be science, but it is cool.

 

[Ruben123]

Eskimos hate Phil Collins. That might not be science, but it is cool.

They can feel it (the snow storm) coming in the air tonight. Oh oh!