Man! I'm sure got one hot stereo system!

SET Man · « **on:** 18 Jun 2007, 02:46 am »

Hey!

Literally!

Well, it is that time of year again in NYC. Summer that is.

With a pair of monoblocs SET amp, tubed pre and PS Audio P600 my room get pretty hot after a few minutes after everything is on.

I have to turn on window AC unit when I'm listening to the music. And to night is the first night this year. Even when the temp outside is about mid 70* but if there is a high humidity I still have to turn on my AC unit. And when it hit upper 90*s I usually won't listen to music on my main system at all. I just move to my smaller second system.

Anyway, the price I paid for having tubes system

But of course in Winter it is nice an cozy in my room with my system on

Take care,
Buddy

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 02:50 am »

you ought to have a Trends or something for those hot days - probably sound better than tubes plus air conditioner roar!

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 03:04 am »

That is why we call it "Audio Hell." What I say is that there was no hell as musical as a room with SETs and single fullrange driver based speakers. More than the AC, what it really cools it for me is a large cup of coffee with ice. In fact any drink with lots of ice

PS: Buddy crank that Ac on and crank the music up!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 03:10 am »

If you can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen......

Gordy · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 03:16 am »

Quote from: Russell Dawkins on 18 Jun 2007, 02:50 am

you ought to have a Trends or something for those hot days - probably sound better than tubes plus air conditioner roar!

An excellent suggestion! Of course if you really want to make a fashion statemant, Buddy, you would go with one of the Red Wine Audio amps to match that new wine rack of yours

PaulFolbrecht · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 03:29 am »

It's a problem.

IIRC, you're running 2A3s? Try 845s pulling 150W per monoblock... and the fact that they're relatively close to the thermostat, making the AC run like crazy b/c it think the house is 90d. But, having the system in the family room of an open-concept house helps a lot.

As a minor point - it's not the fact that you're running tubes, or SET, that accounts for the heat, but just the fact that your amps are class A (as are all SETs by definition). If you had class A solid-state amps your room would be just as hot.

I don't think it would sound quite as sweet, though.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 03:56 am »

Quote

With a pair of monoblocs SET amp, tubed pre and PS Audio P600 my room get pretty hot after a few minutes after everything is on.

Buddy.....why not unplug that PS Audio P600 and build yourself a "Felix"....it would cut down on some of the heat.
When I was at your mini-rave, I noticed the heat it throws off.....hot stuff.

SET Man · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 05:59 pm »

Quote from: Bemopti123 on 18 Jun 2007, 03:04 am

PS: Buddy crank that Ac on and crank the music up!

Hey!

Paul, it is actually not that bad. My Ac unit is not that very loud. So, don't have to listen to the music much louder.

Quote from: Gordy on 18 Jun 2007, 03:16 am

Quote from: Russell Dawkins on 18 Jun 2007, 02:50 am
you ought to have a Trends or something for those hot days - probably sound better than tubes plus air conditioner roar!

An excellent suggestion! Of course if you really want to make a fashion statemant, Buddy, you would go with one of the Red Wine Audio amps to match that new wine rack of yours

Thanks Gordy and Russell.

Honestly I've never tried one in my own system. But from what I've head I haven't found one of those chip-amp, d-amp and etc that I could live with long term

Than again I really like the amps I have right now... they've been with me 7.5 years now

Quote from: PaulFolbrecht on 18 Jun 2007, 03:29 am

It's a problem.

IIRC, you're running 2A3s?....

Actually I'm running KR Audio 842VHD tubes right now.

Quote from: lonewolfny42 on 18 Jun 2007, 03:56 am

Quote
With a pair of monoblocs SET amp, tubed pre and PS Audio P600 my room get pretty hot after a few minutes after everything is on.

Buddy.....why not unplug that PS Audio P600 and build yourself a "Felix"....it would cut down on some of the heat.
When I was at your mini-rave, I noticed the heat it throws off.....hot stuff.

Chris, that is true, I think that the P600 put out more heat than my SET monoblocs

Yes, I'm very curious about the Felix and might build one in the future...I will wait a bit to see how far Occam and Gordy can take it design to.

But for now I don't think I can listen to my system without the P600. I once at my old place tried listening to the system without it and the sound overall just collapsed.

Still even without the P600 the room still get pretty hot after a while.

Thanks guys. I'm sure some of you go through the same thing as me.

Well, it is Summer time.... I should get out more anyway, maybe take my bike out more

Anyway, can't wait to see the electric bills for Summer months!

Take care,
Buddy

Levi · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 06:27 pm »

I think this would help.

woodsyi · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 07:12 pm »

I feel your heat! I only have 43 tubes on when I turn my mains on.

It's a good thing it's in the basement where it's cooler. I can do about 8 hours before it gets too hot for me to bear.

zacster · « **Reply #10 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 07:31 pm »

At least you have AC in your room. I just give up on my tubes in the summer.

Bill Baker · « **Reply #11 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 07:35 pm »

I know how you feel. I have anywhere from 8 to 36 tubes running at any given time in my shop. Even worse, they have not yet come in to replace my air conditioner unit that was under water in last years flood.
We have been in the high 80's to low 90's for several days now

doug s. · « **Reply #12 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 07:44 pm »

before i moved last fall, the owner of the house whose basement i rented rarely liked to turn on the a/c. which is why i used a sharp digital amp during the summer months. but, it was no long-term replacement for tubed amplification.

presently, i am running a mesa baron, which throws off a lot of heat, with four massive transformers, twelve 6L6gc & four 12ax7 tubes. then, there's a pair of class-a electrocompaniet stereo sub amps, a tubed preamp w/separate dual-mono transformer power supply, four isolation transformers, a furman balanced power conditioner, along w/the felix i am borrowing from gordy. plus the x-over, fono stage, tuners, cd-related gear (including a tubed buffer stage). yes, the heat can build up! but the present situation max's out at about 80f in the daytime, w/the rig on, & the temps close to 100, like it was yesterday. not too bad, considering the indoor humidity is about 30% lower than it is outdoors.

in the winter, the rig helps lower the heating bills, right rim?

doug s.

DARTH AUDIO · « **Reply #13 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 07:53 pm »

I feel your pain(HEAT)!!! I've decided to buy a David Berning ZH270 as my summer amp!! I will keep my big Monoblocs for the winter. Unless of course I can't live without the ZH270

Summertime in the City of Chicago means I'm very rarely inside. Great out door bars and weekend festivals!!

Housteau · « **Reply #14 on:** 18 Jun 2007, 09:24 pm »

A friend of mine built what looked like to me, a small fume hood large enough for two largish amps underneath. The hood collects the heat and a small muffin fan sucks the heat out through a hole in the wall. His amps are against the side wall close to the front wall. The vent hole is in the front wall. The system works well in the summer.