Receiver Keeps Overheating So I Bought a Cooling Fan

[Randy]

Receiver went into thermal protection mode again the other night after a spirited listening session watching Live From Darryl's House.

So I pulled the trigger on onw of these.

Amazon.com: AC Infinity AIRCOM T10, Quiet Cooling Blower Fan System 17" Front-Exhaust, for Receivers, Amps, DVR, AV Cabinet Components: Computers & Accessories

I have complained a few times that the newer Marantz Receiver I have upstairs, has nowhere near the power, headroom, or balls that my beloved old Marantz SR870 had, and it gets hot and shuts down after spirited sessions which my old 870 never did.

So, I had to do something. I was planning on buying another 5 channel amp and adding it but the wife keeps reminding me that buying something like that before we get into our "forever" home is silly. I can take a hint. LOL.

I have a bit over 3" from the top of the receiver to the shelf above it so the 1.5" cooling fan should fit well. It exhausts to the front which is what I need due to cabinet design.

We shall see.

 

[Botch]

My old Yamaha amp was used for several spirited dorm parties, and I noticed it got too hot to touch one time. Bought a 3" "muffin" fan at an electronics surplus store, installed it in the cabinet, and wired in a toggle switch. I only ran the fan when necessary, and had to remember to turn it on first, or mute the amp, as it sent quite a "thump" through my system.
My good ol' Yamaha never shut down, and still works fine 42 years later, but heat is the enemy of electronics so its good to keep them cool.

 

[jomari]

Receiver went into thermal protection mode again the other night after a spirited listening session watching Live From Darryl's House.

So I pulled the trigger on onw of these.

Amazon.com: AC Infinity AIRCOM T10, Quiet Cooling Blower Fan System 17" Front-Exhaust, for Receivers, Amps, DVR, AV Cabinet Components: Computers & Accessories

I have complained a few times that the newer Marantz Receiver I have upstairs, has nowhere near the power, headroom, or balls that my beloved old Marantz SR870 had, and it gets hot and shuts down after spirited sessions which my old 870 never did.

So, I had to do something. I was planning on buying another 5 channel amp and adding it but the wife keeps reminding me that buying something like that before we get into our "forever" home is silly. I can take a hint. LOL.

I have a bit over 3" from the top of the receiver to the shelf above it so the 1.5" cooling fan should fit well. It exhausts to the front which is what I need due to cabinet design.

We shall see.

bought the cheaper version.

super worth it, given the dimensions i had to work with.

it couldnt save my tv tho. ugh.

 

[Randy]

Fan came in- initial review.

It is often purported that weight equals quality with audio components. If this is true then it should be a quality piece. Good heft, and first impression is definitely a well built product. It was also packaged well and looked to have plenty of Styrofoam padding.

The cord is weird, really big AC convertor type cord and this thing is big. I had to really work to find a place to plug it into my Monster 3600 power center, but after some plug moving I got it.

It immediately turns on in the ON mode which is fans on full speed all the time and it is definitely louder than I expected. Eh, not sure right now if that is ok. This thing is made for audio products and advertised as being very quiet. It is louder than the fan on my old Legacy (re-badged Proton) 5 channel power amp.

Instructions were good and setup seemed simple enough. I placed it in smart mode and programmed it to come on at 85 deg and alarm at 110. In smart mode it incrementally (every 4 degrees) increases the fan speed to provide more cooling. This mode keeps the fan running as low and therefore as quiet as possible all the time. You can program it to increase in 2 deg intervals in smart mode.

We shall see how well it works, but so far so good.

It is also a very nice looking piece for those of us that consider that sort of thing. For $119 I am thus far very happy with it.

If you don't hear more from me on this consider it an absolute endorsement. If I don't like it I will be back to bitch.

 

[Randy]

Ok, so my initial listening session with the fan in place was a positive one, for sure.

When I initially turned it on I was sitting right in front of it and it was on high, so naturally it was loud. And still louder than the fan on my old amp, but I was sitting right in front of it.

However after switching it over to smart mode and setting the programming where I thought should work, it quieted down substantially. I could not hear the fan from my primary listening position and it held steady at 80-81 degrees with the fans running very low and very quietly for a 2 hour action movie at reference levels (volume set to 0).

Then, since everything was already warmed up and I didn't feel the least bit tired I decided to indulge myself in a spirited listening session like the ones that had caused my receiver to go into thermal protection mode before. Pulled up Youtube on the old smart TV and went straight to Live from Darryl's House and after an hour of really loud rock n roll with the temps on the fan getting up to 84-85 and holding steady there I decided it was time for bed. So, after a little wind down period I slowly dozed off with the peace of mind that I may have solved my overheating issues.

 

[Randy]

I complained about the fan noise but didn't really include a reference other than a previous amp I owned that none of you have probably heard.

Well, the other day I found a useful comparison when I realized that even though I found it noisy, even on high it is quieter than my PS3.

Still diggin it and definitely something I can live with. Most of the time it cruises right along at low speed and 81-82 degrees so I definitely recommend the product.