Tubes and heat...

I live in sunny California---in the worst part of the SF Valley.(Chatsworth) I do have my summer-amp.--That be the Belles 150a---Barely warm after many hrs.of use. My #1 amp-s- the CJ 8xses.--(These are also suitable for indoor BBQ-ing,or just making toast.)

Jafox, basements are actually pretty well insulated by the surrounding earth; maybe that's why you're listening area heats up so quickly.

Forget about Tucson! You wouldn't recognize it now. It's now filled with W.M.D.'s...Wanton Mass Developments! When the real estate bubble bursts [1-2 years], it will be another Western "boomtown" story for Pima county!

I have been shopping for a SS amp to use durning summer and use it as a backup for winter. Tube preamp does not generate much heat therefore I can live with it for all season.

Fatparrot: It's great to get a Tucson report as I lived there during the 80s and loved it. Now up here in MN the tube gear is even more beneficial as space heaters. But it does not take long to heat the basement to the point that I need to leave my basement to cool off; usually people leave their basement to warm up. 8-)

Newbee has a great idea for finding a "summer" amp. With all the tubes in my system, I might have to switch over to a different amp than the CATs during the hottest days. I have found the Counterpoint NPS400 with just 4 input-stage tubes to work very well for this application.

I have every intent to return to Tucson but already I am thinking about the heat issue. Maybe a separate smaller AC unit for the dedicated listening room might be the ticket down there.

I live in Tucson, AZ, so I know what you mean about heat! I'm using monoblock Atma-sphere M-60 Mk 2.2's, with 16- 6AS7 triodes running in class A bias! And I also listen nearfield, which means that the amps are about 10 feet away from me.

Daytimes, I run my A/C. But for serious listening at night, I shut off the A/C. I can listen for about 1 to 2 hours at a time, and then I have to run the A/C for about 15 minutes to cool things off. Then, back to the music.

One of the nice things about the desert is that the ultra low humidity makes it feel cooler than it really is; the heat index is LOWER than the actual temp. [Right now, 11:30 AM, the temp is 88, but the heat index is 82.] And the amps make dandy space heaters in the winter, as outlying areas of Tucson can drop into the mid 20's at night [we're at 2500 to 3000+ feet of elevation].

Temps in Arizona can vary wildly depending upon elevation. Flagstaff [6000 feet] has snow and cold temps in the winter. Northern AZ is pretty much high elevation with REALLY low population. Phoenix regularly hits 112 to 117 in the summer, Lake Havasu, Bullhead City, and Yuma can top 120 in the summer, but Tucson ranges from 102 to 108 in the summer, and rarely tops 110. Hey, I can handle this heat much better than the mid 90's in Miami [used to live there] with it's 90+ humidity and stronger subtropical sun [lower latitude than Tucson].

Sure, put it all in a closet and the vent the closet to the outside. Done all the time with upscale home theater systems, why not 2 channel audio.

Get a small "summer amp". I have a 4 EL34 tube amp, and a Muse SS amp as well, that I will use.

Another way to manage the problem might be to over-cool your room before critical listing, while wearing your artic clothing of course, then turn off the AC, and, as things warm up gradually, strip off your clothes layer by layer until you are thru listening. Please be sure to keep you window blinds closed for your neighbors sake. :-)