Drill holes in rack shelf to keep amp cool?

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

The amp is an early 90's Sony TA-N80ES. It is open underneath the heat sink. If you want to see a picture of it's insides go to:

http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sonyes/TAN80ES/TAN80ES-MK1.html

I have a picture of my setup on my system page if you want to see it. It is a simple rack that is open on all sides and the back.

I like the idea of a fan but I am not sure where I would put it. There isn't much room on top of the amp or under it. How deep are these fans?

Mark

John-

You make a good point. I haven't really cranked the amp yet so I don't know how hot it could get, but for average listening volumes it is only slightly warmer than my surround reciever.

I am probably being a little paranoid. Its just that I have read that these amps do sometimes overheat and I want it to last a long time.

Mark

Thanks for the responses.

I originally had it set up as suggested with the bookshelves behind the speakers and I think it did sound better but for domestic reasons I had to change it to the current configuration.

It's going to have to stay the way it is thru the holidays but when the tree comes down I will see about putting it back to the way it was.

Mark

Thought I would post an update if anyone is interested- I decided not to do any drilling. Instead I changed the shelf spacing to give about 3 1/2 inches more space above the amp.

The rack I use isn't really designed to allow for changing shelf spacing but it wasn't too hard to do. The shelf spacing is controlled by the aluminum tubes at the corners. I ordered an aluminum tube from McMaster and cut it as needed. As long as you keep the total length the same you can change spacing however you want by replacing the stock tubes.

Anyway now it runs much cooler. The stand seems a little less rigid, probably due to the taller shelf spacing, but I am willing to live with that.

Mark