[Dizzyboy]

Am new to the world of headphone amps and while I'm attracted to the idea of a tube amp, I'm wondering if there would be heat issues. I'd prefer not to be running something that's hot to the touch as this would be at my desktop near a lot of other warm gear.

 

[PFKMan23]

Nope, it depends on the tubes used and how they are biased.

 

[Pangaea]

Little Dots def. do at least the older ones. My LD2++ runs pretty hot.

 

[atbglenn]

The Woo Audio WA6 chassis runs luke warm, unlike the Little Dot 2+ and 2 ++ chassis which I owned, run very hot. The tubes themselves run hot, which is normal.

 

[Dizzyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atbglenn /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Woo Audio WA6 chassis runs luke warm, unlike the Little Dot 2+ and 2 ++ chassis which I owned, run very hot. The tubes themselves run hot, which is normal.

Thanks. Are the tubes hot to the touch? If so, would I be best off not getting a unit that has the tubes exposed (like the Woo Audio or the Darkvoice)?

 

[glitch39]

same experience here. my woo 3+ runs warm, but not as warm as my LD IV SE.

I was alarmed at first, but that how the LD was designed.

 

[Namrac]

The tubes run hot, and will probably burn you if you hold your finger on them. It's just how they're designed.

 

[jeffreyj900]

Of the four tube amps I have owned....

Woo Audio 3 and MPX3 Slam SE ++ ran a little warm
Raptor (unit not PSU) and Zana Deux ran HOT

 

[atbglenn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dizzyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks. Are the tubes hot to the touch? If so, would I be best off not getting a unit that has the tubes exposed (like the Woo Audio or the Darkvoice)?

YES very hot. You can burn yourself on most exposed tubes if you touch them for more than a second. Preamp tubes run much cooler than output tubes. Personally I wouldn't worry about exposed tubes, unless you have pets, or young children. Just remember to keep your tube amp at least 6" away from anything that could burn.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Owned a LD MK IV SE and a WA6, and a LD I+ is incoming soon. All tube amps, I found that they either run pretty warm or hot. Just keep a minimum of 6 inches clearance around it, and you should be fine.

 

[David Pritchard]

Yes the Zana Deux is a strong heat emitter. It's location is three feet away and my right arm can feel the radiation from those 6C33(ex MIG fighter) tubes. It is the audio equivilant to a trucker's left arm sunburn. It is not left on and unattended since it does not have a tube cage. Let's see Jeff in Atlanta and I am in New Mexico. Maybe we thought we wouldn't notice any additional heat.

 

[Sovkiller]

The tubes on any tube amp get hot, and need to be hot, there is no way of avoiding that, except with some kind of heatsinks, but definitelly they will run hot...that is one of the disavantages of them...if you touch a tube it will burn you, the chasis may, or not, get hot depending on the thermal isolation of the sockets of the tubes, which barely noobdy pays too much attention to, as whomever gets a tube amp, knows basicaly the ABC of them...

 

[Hrama]

I find the actual tubes on my Little Dot MK III get pretty hot, and the chassis gets pretty warm, but not enough to burn someone. In fact, I keep my headphones sitting on the little block on the back when I have it on so that they are nice and warm when I put them on, heh.

 

[ClieOS]

For most tube, the inside of the tube (mainly the cathode) need to be almost red hot so the electron will have not problem leaving the cathode (higher energy state), fly over the vacuum and to the anode (lower energy state, and cooler too). In fact, if it isn't hot enough, the tube won't function properly and you will get a lot of static at the headphone end.

 

[Blackmore]

So far I had:

Aspen 823 OTL , uses 1x 12au7 and 2x 6BQ5 / Never gets hot, just hand warm. Aspen Audio: Aspen Model #823 Headphone Amplifier.

Zana Deux OTL, uses 2 6D22S rectifier, 1 6SL7 driver, and 2 6C33C-B power triodes / getting pretty HOT Zana Deux

Own:

Yoshino EAR HP4 SET, uses 4x 6SL7 / never gets hot, it like hand warm or even less than that. The cover where the tube are placed are hands warm, but the rest is just not. Welcome to EAR-Yoshino