More air circulation will most likey be needed. However, you can be the judge by checking that the heat build up is not too much. Too much would be significantly more than its normal operating temp when it is in an open space. I was running a rather warm amp in a similar arrangement and ended up removing the amp from the rack. In my opion its not worth shortening the life of your amp or possibly burning your house down. John
audio racks and power amps
I have a Plinius SA-100 that can run class A bias and be quite warm to hot when played louldly. I want to know if it will be a prolbem with the heat if I place this on the bottom shelf of a rack with 10.5" between the bottom shelf and the next shelf up. The amp is 9" tall and there are no side or back walls to the rack. Thanks bobm