Heat!!

nc42acc · Nov 29, 2015

I prefer the sound from equipment with tubes but wow the heat is brutal! Great for winter months of listening with a toasty listening room but look out summer. Has anyone ever switched to all SS just to get away from the heat factor?

treitz3 · Nov 29, 2015

Hello and good evening to you, Marty. To answer your question....Nope. Not ever because of heat, even when the 2 amps were tubed. With that said, I have been in some rooms that were rather....um, uncomfortable due to the heat but that was mostly due to poor ventilation work.

On a personal note completely unrelated to the thread, do you happen to live anywhere near Charlotte, NC?

Tom

nc42acc · Nov 29, 2015

Tom I am south of Winston Salem and know Charlotte well.
I can deal with the heat just for the sound quality of tube equipment.

Steve Williams · Nov 29, 2015

I'm with you as well when it cones to tubes. The heat is indeed an issue. I solved the problem by putting in a dedicated HVAC for only my sound room.

Andre Marc · Nov 29, 2015

nc42acc said:
I prefer the sound from equipment with tubes but wow the heat is brutal! Great for winter months of listening with a toasty listening room but look out summer. Has anyone ever switched to all SS just to get away from the heat factor?

Not an issue for me anymore. In our new house the main system is in the living room with high ceilings.

Also, I would never own a tube amp with more than 4 power tubes.

What I do is rotate two amps, a Simaudio 7600 and an Audio Research VS55 with KT120s.
I also have a Carver EL84 tube amp I throw in sometimes

In my office, which is smaller, it is solid state all the way.

treitz3 · Nov 29, 2015

Hehe, never say "never", Andre. It *could* happen one day. It seems IME, that it becomes one of many folks' journey in this hobby....if even only for a short stint along one's journey.

Marty, if you would like to GTG sometime, I am game. It's always nice to have local folks to learn from and share good tunes with.

Tom

Andre Marc · Nov 29, 2015

treitz3 said:
Hehe, never say "never", Andre. It *could* happen one day. It seems IME, that it becomes one of many folks' journey in this hobby....if even only for a short stint along one's journey.

Marty, if you would like to GTG sometime, I am game. It's always nice to have local folks to learn from and share good tunes with.

Tom

No, in this case, I can really say "never" I don't subscribe to very high powered tube amps... for me personally, they do not make sense.

If I need more than 100 wpc, it is solid state for me.

nc42acc · Nov 29, 2015

Tom I think your offer sounds like a wonderful idea. I have learned so much from listening to others systems and sharing notes on new music.

Andre I am with you on tube power amps, 100 watts is more than enough. My issue is my BAT preamp puts out as much heat as the ST100. I think I am going to start cooking on my audio equipment.

Andre Marc · Nov 29, 2015

nc42acc said:
Tom I think your offer sounds like a wonderful idea. I have learned so much from listening to others systems and sharing notes on new music.

Andre I am with you on tube power amps, 100 watts is more than enough. My issue is my BAT preamp puts out as much heat as the ST100. I think I am going to start cooking on my audio equipment.

LOL. I hear you.

I now see you list the Rogue ST100 in your system, so you are obviously a man of taste. Hard to believe the preamp gets that hot!!!

You probably won't believe this, but I reviewed the Musical Fidelity M6i solid state integrated amp..it got SO hot, that after ONE hour of being
powered down, I need oven mitts to pick it up. I ain't kidding.

nc42acc · Nov 29, 2015

Andre that MF must have been a very high biased class a/b amp or class a. Did you ever figure out why it ran so hot?

Andre Marc · Nov 29, 2015

nc42acc said:
Andre that MF must have been a very high biased class a/b amp or class a. Did you ever figure out why it ran so hot?

You nailed it..high biased class a/b.

The heatsinks were like razors too.
http://www.musicalfidelity.com/support/discontinued-products/m6i/

nc42acc · Nov 29, 2015

Amps usually sound better with the bias cranked. How did this one sound?

Andre Marc · Nov 29, 2015

nc42acc said:
Amps usually sound better with the bias cranked. How did this one sound?

Big, BOLD, and assertive. The amp really got hold of the speakers.

Audiotom · Dec 3, 2015

I have a Doshi Aalap 90 watt pentode set of mono blocks 7 tubes each
4 KT88/EL34 output tubes per side
Subtle, only feel warmth if hovering over the amps

I have Atmaphere MA1s 14o watts. 19 tubes per side
14 6AS7s for the transformerless output stage

http://www.atma-sphere.com/Products/MA-1

These feel like space heaters

c1ferrari · Dec 13, 2015

I thought the heat generated was a function of the wattage and class of operation.
So, wouldn't a tube amp running Class A at X watts produce the same heat as a SS amp
running Class A at X watts

RayDunzl · Dec 14, 2015

c1ferrari said:
I thought the heat generated was a function of the wattage and class of operation.
So, wouldn't a tube amp running Class A at X watts produce the same heat as a SS amp
running Class A at X watts

I want to say 'no', partly because tubes need a heater to boil electrons off the anode.

But then I got stuck thinking about the resistance and voltage drop and current flow from anode to cathode - what's getting hot and burning watts and making BTUs there, since it's a vacuum?

DaveyF · Dec 14, 2015

I think heat from amps is a major factor that a lot of people discount and IMO unwisely so. In my very small room, in the summer months, I actually have been running my tube amp...60watt/ch vs. my large ss amp...250watts/ch. The ss amp ( which is being checked out right now) gives off so much heat, it is like a space heater.
Andre has a great point IMHO. Here in S.Calf the heat can be a real factor, so smaller tube amps are probably a lot wiser.

JackD201 · Dec 14, 2015

I know you have VKs nc, my VK-150s were brutal even with an air conditioner running. Same with my ML1.1s. I guess 6c33s are really run hot. Imagine a Fourier OTL!

c1ferrari · Dec 14, 2015

VK-150SE's run hot...I was running four of them.
Atma-Sphere MA-1's run hot...presently running four of them.
Good thing it's winter in our hemisphere!

YashN · Apr 12, 2016

nc42acc said:
I prefer the sound from equipment with tubes but wow the heat is brutal! Great for winter months of listening with a toasty listening room but look out summer.

What I do is walk over to the tubes and then I gently rub my hands together over them.

Heat!!

Member Sponsor

Super Moderator

Member Sponsor

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator

Member Sponsor

Super Moderator

Member Sponsor

Member Sponsor

Member Sponsor

Member Sponsor

Member Sponsor

Member Sponsor

Member Sponsor

Well-Known Member

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member

New Member

Well-Known Member

WBF Founding Member

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member

New Member

Similar threads