i have my mx132 on standby. the red light is on. i have my mc602 on remote with it's red light on. can i cover the vents and heatsink when i don't use my system?
heat
i only use my stereo on sundays for 6 hours. i recently started to put paper towels above the air vents on my pre amp tuner and power amp to keep the dust out. i have a mcintosh mx132 and mc602. is this a bad idea? i know heat is the worst enemy for electronics but i don't play it loud anyway!
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You should leave amps on all the time. What stresses them is turning on and turning off - the surges in the system which reduces their life (I am talking solid state here - I know nothing about tubes). Many preamps and most phono stages have no on/off switch because of this. If you have an exceptionally dusty environment, maybe get some type of air purifier, although will create noise in the background, which we all hate. |
Even if you don't listen loud, the pre-driver and driver transistors are biased high enough to produce significant heat. This heat will continue to build over time during your listening period without sufficient ventilation. The heat sink design for these transistors, most likely NOT mounted on the output transistor heat sinks, will cause ALL components to get quite hot thus lowering their life expectancy. |
YES it is bad, ABSOLUTELY, NEVER DO IT!!! Am I making myself clear? Better yet, contact the manufacturer of your components and ask them. There is a reason they built slots for ventilation in the component(s). Covering them up, whether that be on the top, side, or bottom, is going against the grain of the engineering built into each of those units. I promise you, that is what you will hear from them. |
I use covers for each component when not in use. Easily removed for playing time and easily put back into place after playing time (but only do so after the equipment has completely cooled down). In order to have a nice look of fit & finish, I went to a local yardage shop and picked out a light weight and nice color of soft velvet. I gave them the specifications for size that I wanted for each individual component (components vary in size). They cut the pieces and sewed a box stitch around all edges. These look as nice as the purpose and function they provide. And low cost, too. I hope this and other comments above help you in your quest. Number one most important comment in the above posts, that you absolutely must pay attention to, is NEVER to play your equipment with a cover on it. Ventilation during playing time is essential to product life, if not survival, including fire hazard, which could mean your own survival. |
Our system is within a few feet of our wood burner. The audio system has cooling (Infinity) fans where needed. But we went through two TV's. Big screens. A Panasonic and a LG. Finally quit using the wood burner for anything other than coziness. No more heating that room with the wood burner. It's nice in these Ohio winters, but electronics and heat don't mix. At work, we had fans in all our electronic cabinets to try and keep the heat to under 100..And this is industrial equipment... |
Dating myself here. I bought my JBL Dorian S12 new at Allied Electronics on south Western Avenue in Chicago. Our cat liked the grills. Remember grandma and her furniture covers? I found a company that made that stuff and had them make 2 clear vinyl flat bottom lunch bag style covers. Slid them down over the speakers. I was happy because I could see my speakers and the cat was happy because he could ‘scratch’ all he wanted. Off course I took the covers off when playing music. |
Heat can be an issue with electronics for manufacturers that cut corners on the quality of their components. The bigger issue is the heating cooling cycle. This will cause expansion and contraction that will damage components. I leave my gear on 24 / 7. Example my old sansui 7070 running in my wife's business has not been turned off for 24 years except for a couple power outages. |
Agree with @oldhvymec's recommendation of silk. I keep my tube integrated covered with a vintage scarf I found among the things in my father's house. It takes seconds to put on or take off, can't create any wear on the amp finish and looks far better than any equipment cover I've seen. There are more than 26,000 vintage silk scarfs listed on ebay, most for less than $20. |
Silks in the summer and leave them on or fold them back. The winter is the same way. 50 years next month with Mcintosh. Nothing better.. If I have the cages in place I’ll leave the silks in place in the winter and just flip an end for a little air.. Change the colors for the seasons.. I have silks over 75 years old I’ve had for 45 years.. Woolite and a 5 gallon bucket once a year. Won’t scratch or hold abrasive material, it’s SILK... Regards |
https://radiodustcovers.com/Hi-FiAudio.html Use these for all my equipment when not in use. Will last a lifetime. there are other companies, not sure the ones I have, but they work great! |
I own several of these and they are very effective. https://www.ebay.com/sch/s-covers/m.html?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEFSXS%3AMESOI&_trksid=p2053788.m1543... To be used only when your electronics have cooled completely. In other words...when not in use and powered off. As stated above, never a good idea to cover vents during use. With anything... |