Heatsink Dampers

BobM · « **on:** 22 Mar 2010, 05:12 pm »

Does anyone know of an inexpensive and easily removable dampener for amp heatsinks. These usually ring like a bell when you strike them with a finger.

I've had good luck in the past putting a dab of black colored silicone on each fin, but this is semi-permanent and I'm looking for a removable solution. I'm thinking something like those transparent report covers that use a plastic "clip-like" thing on the edge to hold it all together(however they are plastic and could melt).

Does anyone know of something that is relatively inexpensive and could be found in a hardware store or someplace similar?

Thanks

Niteshade · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 05:19 pm »

How about soft rubber hose? It can be put across the top of the sink and will press on them when the cover is replaced. Another thought is some of that antistatic foam they push FET's into for shipping.

sts9fan · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 05:26 pm »

magnets

get a bunch of strong little guys. Put one on each fin.

srb · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 05:29 pm »

Quote from: sts9fan on 22 Mar 2010, 05:26 pm

magnets

get a bunch of strong little guys. Put one on each fin.

Most heat sinks are made of aluminum which is non-ferrous and non-magnetic.

I have seen some very small U-shaped rubber weatherstripping (?) at the Ace Hardware sold by the foot which would work like the rubber tubing, except it is thinner, looks better, and you wouldn't have to slit it. I am going there soon and will see what it is actually called.

Steve

sts9fan · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 05:30 pm »

touche'

one on each side of the fin?

BobM · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 05:53 pm »

Well, I think you might want to cut different lengths and stagger them a bit. Resonances are not all bad - uniform resonances are bad - so by using different lengths and staggering them on different parts of the fin you could create some random resonances which should cancel out others (in theory at least).

Thanks Steve. I'll be interested in what you find.

sts9fan · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 06:19 pm »

Audiophile Binderclip

What do you expect this to do?

jtwrace · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 06:24 pm »

Quote from: srb on 22 Mar 2010, 05:29 pm

Most heat sinks are made of aluminum which is non-ferrous and non-magnetic.

I have seen some very small U-shaped rubber weatherstripping (?) at the Ace Hardware sold by the foot which would work like the rubber tubing, except it is thinner, looks better, and you wouldn't have to slit it. I am going there soon and will see what it is actually called.

Steve

I think you are talking about Edge Grip Rubber Seal.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#bulb-seal-weatherstripping/=6bx8vb

BobM · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 06:38 pm »

Looking at this link it seems that Style 5 would probably be the best overall, since it is silicon based and temperature resistant. Althought it is bright orange/red and does have a fin that will stick out and serve no purpose for our intended use.

Style 1 or 2 would look best, probably fit best and come in black, but their temperature rating is only to +150 degrees.

This is the right idea though.

gerald porzio · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 07:07 pm »

Unless microphonics can be introduced thru the spkrs. by tapping/hitting the heatsinks. this fix is on the same plateau as replacing plastic/metal knobs w/ wood ones. Audiophile fetishism thrives on correcting nonaudible, imaginary issues.

BobM · « **Reply #10 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 08:02 pm »

I believe resonance dampening of components has it's place in the universe. Maybe not as important or as obvious as tube rolling, or capacitor upgrades or even power cords, but the cumulative effect of controlling resonances still will make subtle improvements. The most obvious form of this is probably the use of various footers and chassis dampening. Heatsink tapping may or may not be fully audible to those of us with human hearing, but I believe if there's an obvious place where something can ring then, and if there is an inexpensive solution, it should be checked out.

I'm not gonna spend hundreds of $ on this, but if I can do it for under $20 then what the hell. BTW - none of my components have wooden knobs.

That being said, someone on another forum suggested using wine corks. Ohh, I like that idea. I have quite a collection from, urm, my wife's imbibing (not mine you understand). Hmmm, maybe just cutting several grooves halfway through on the side and spacing it so that one cork could fit onto several heatsinks at once. That way you could place them in different locations across the expanse of fins and create varying resonance points.

This could be worth a try. I wonder if white or red wine corks would work best? French vs Californian vs Australian? Not as pretty or refined as a rubber/silicon clamp/gasket of some kind but definitely removeable and th materials are readily available to me.

gerald porzio · « **Reply #11 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 08:21 pm »

Please post your findings, particularly any audible difference between real cork corks & plastic corks. Which is more analog?

gerald porzio · « **Reply #12 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 08:23 pm »

Will cork breakin be required? How many hrs.?

srb · « **Reply #13 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 08:29 pm »

Quote from: srb on 22 Mar 2010, 05:29 pm

I have seen some very small U-shaped rubber weatherstripping (?) at the Ace Hardware sold by the foot which would work like the rubber tubing, except it is thinner, looks better, and you wouldn't have to slit it. I am going there soon and will see what it is actually called.

It is called Rubber Edge Trim from Trim-Lok, Inc. It is made of neoprene rubber, so it's not high temp like silicone, but maybe OK for an application other than Class A? It has a rectangular channel cutout made to fit 1/32", 1/16", 1/8", 3/16", etc.

The X1002 was $1.59/ft. at Ace Hardware.

http://www.trimlok.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=23

Steve

BobM · « **Reply #14 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 08:45 pm »

I like the look of that Steve. I may be taking a run to Ace tonight to pick up a few lengths. I need to count the heatsinks (figure about 1/2 - 1" for each one) and use a caliper to see how wide they are - probably between 1/16" and 1/8" I would guess, so a smaller groove would grab tighter.

Thanks for doing the homework.

srb · « **Reply #15 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 08:55 pm »

Quote from: BobM on 22 Mar 2010, 08:45 pm

Thanks for doing the homework.

No problem. I try to be helpful when I can. There are 3 posts by an AC member in this thread that say "You are ignoring this user. Show me the post." I didn't click on the links, as I am 99.9% sure they would be non-constructive.

I live very close to a "super" Ace, but I don't know if other Ace stores carry this. Mine only has 3 or 4 sizes. There are probably online vendors that sell this by the foot, rather than the 500 ft. rolls! If you can't find it, I could always pickup some from my store (if they have the size you need) and ship it to you in a small mailer envelope for a buck or two postage.

Steve

NagysAudio · « **Reply #16 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 09:06 pm »

If you put those rubber strips on each heatsink fin, you'll significantly reduce the effectiveness of the heatsink. I would not recommend it. Here's how to do it the proper way:

gerald porzio · « **Reply #17 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 09:19 pm »

Why worry about something like the effectiveness of the heat sink? That's much too pedestrian a concern.

sts9fan · « **Reply #18 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 09:56 pm »

Right. Ringing bad but greatly reducing the effeciency of the sinks is fine.
Which do you thiink is worse for the amp? Ringing when you tap it or your devises running at a higher temp then planned?

srb · « **Reply #19 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 10:01 pm »

Using a 1/2" to 1" strip on each fin (as Bob had thought about doing) while covering 1/4" of depth on the fin, would most likely result in an efficiency or temperature difference barely measurable and not worth mentioning.

Steve