Tube Cage for a Cary Rocket 88

On my 300B amps the cages are designed to be about 1 inch higher than the 300B tubes. There are only two other tubes in the amp...a 5AR4 and 12FQ7. What I'm saying is that it is not exactly an amp that runs hot in the first place. I can comfortably place my hand atop the cage and hold it there after many hours of play, The cages are made of blackened perforated steel all around so have very thorough ventilation. YMMV with the hotter Rocket 88 amp, but I have no doubt whatsoever it will be a bit improvement over having the raw tubes exposed to touch. You could also use aluminum mesh which would likely disapate the heat better. Again, even with steel, I'd bet you would not burn yourself on it as long as it was perforated (or mesh basket weave) all around.

Marco

Thanks for the recomendations. I did not realize that you could buy metal mesh so easily. As far as the plexi covers, I was actually thinking that may be another way to do it as well.

And not to answer Jax's question, but I would imagine they get really hot.

Not to go too far off topic but I can recall seeing some clear plexi covers for tube amps to keep the tubes free of dust & dirt, does anyone know where these came from?

Jax, do the metal cages get hot/warm as well during playback?

I had a local metal fabricator friend build cages for my mono amps (see my system pics) using a mesh steel plate that is commonly available. These folks are high-end fabricators, and personal friends, so I could not reccommend them to do the same for others (they'd turn down the job), but you should be able to find a local metal fabricator who can whip up a set for you if you give them some very careful measurements. There are all kinds of metal mesh and perforated sheets that could be used. Price for a custom set would likely run around $100 each or so I'd guess.

Marco