Summer Heat/Impact on System-Listening


At least in the 'States, we are experiencing a heatwave. The power grid is being taxed by enormous demands, and this must have an impact on the quality of listening. I know we have experienced voltage dips- on my home theatre, one of the power controls shows this, when in normal operation, i never see these indicator lights. ON the hi-fi, I have noticed that the Audiopax amps- which have that unique biasing feature- are less stable in settings. In other words, once the controls are set on the biasing feature, the amps are normally very stable and the settings don't drift. This week, i found that the settings were 'off' several times over a day-long listening session.
What impact does this have on your systems?
Also, we are centrally air-conditioned, but obviously, that contributes some ambient noise to the listening room. I prefer to listen in absolute quiet. How do all of you deal with these issues? No listening during the heavy heat months- listening at night, when power consumption is often lower, and temps are usually cooler- is not an answer when the temps stay hot well through the nite.
Sorry if this seems like an idiotic query. Just curious about the behavior of other listeners given what I've experienced in this heat.
128x128whart
AC beats heat & humidity with SS gear. I couldn`t fathom owning tube amps anytime, particularly in summer.
I rarely listen during the day, winter or summer. The central air does add to the ambient noise, but so does the heater. The best time of year for listening is the spring and fall, no heater or AC. Ambient noise levels are a real distraction for me as well, masks so much low level detail. I wish I had a system set up below ground in some sort of sound proof bunker! The best listening time is between 2am and 6am, the world is nearly at a standstill, and the temps finally cool down somewhat.
I know what you're saying, Whart. I also experince voltage fluctuations when we get the couple of weeks of heat up here in New England. These past few weeks have been hotter than usual to be sure. As Aball said, I just listen through all of this because it isn't like that all the time. I leave the AC on. If I'm doing one of those all day listening sessions during a heat spell, and the add heat from tubes gets too much I also crank up a small window unit in my listening room. Yes, it does raise the noise level but I can't enjoy if I'm not comfortable.

My real worries came when the heat wave broke. We had huge thunderstorm with hail and a great deal of lightening. Fortunately, I've showed my wife how to unplug everything and she was quick to respond when the weather moved in. I did have to replace a couple of fuses on the central AC units, but the audio gear was saved!
I visited a friend with new speakers and amps. It was a hot day, and his voltage varied between 104 and 114 volts. The sound was very disappointing.

Texas is not on either national grid. My voltage sticks with at most .5 volt differences at 124 volts both in the winter and summer. I have two central air conditioners and both run probably 80% of the time in the afternoon with temperatures of 97-100 degrees F. Summer causes me no problems other than feeling stuck in the house, especially as I am just back from the Colorado mountains.