Luxman M-120A Temp Question


Hi,
I just picked up the above amp and would like to ask other owners is it normal for the top grill to get warm /hot. Its hot to the touch but not burning hot.

I did open the unit and all the boards look like new (no signs of excess heat any where) also the amp plays great.

Is this normal for amps with the heat pipe?

I do have a digital thermometer and could take a reading if that would help?

If it was running too hot the thermal protection should kick in so my thoughts are that its normal? Would it be wise to pick up a pancake cooling fan?

Would like to hear some feedback before I take it in for a checkup.

TIA
escorial
I google searched and found the following comments from other people regarding the Luxman M-120A getting hot (in quotes):

"The Luxman M-120A uses a heat-pipe arrangement for output device cooling. In order for it to function, it has to get warm.

Luxman had some heat design issues that seem to show up years after the units were built. It might be some components are running near their limits or other components going out of spec causing resistors to drop more voltage than design.

In any case, if you are confident in opening the unit and looking around I would recommend it. Just look for charred, darkened boards and such to see if your unit might need some TLC or repair. If all is good then make sure the unit has the right amount of air circulation to allow proper designed cooling to avoid any issues.

Some gear gets warm/hot by design. Knowing what is too hot is hard to tell for each unit but if you think it is too hot, have it looked at and voltages checked.

Another consideration is what speakers are you driving with it? A lot of amps tend to run hot when driving "difficult" loads (low impedence speakers or multiple pairs of speakers)".
[end of research].

It is my opinion that maybe you should have your amplifier checked. This seems reasonable to prevent further damage due to continued usage. This is specially true if the unit is more than 10 (?) years old.

I also suggest you call a Luxman dealer, or distributor, and ask them for their opinion.

I own the Luxman L-590ax class A integrated amplifier. It gets hot because it is a class A amplifier. I keep it well ventilated and it works fine.
Years ago I had a Luxman M-4000 with heat pipes and it never
even got warm ! I think it was the same design as the one you
have!