Heat in class A equipment


Heat is one of the biggest enemies of electronic equipment. Does anyone know if this Heat is only at the output transistors and their heatsinks o8is it also present in other components within the unit. 

 

I was planning to remove the top cover and with a IR thermometer going to check temps..

 

Has anyone done this? 

vanson1

I know everybody stacks their Schiit.  The Aegir was warm to the touch, guessing 120F.  Stacking traps heat.  I would not do it.  

I did start measuring with a IR thermometer and with the equipment on at low volume for about an hour I was getting these readings. 

Mc452 was about 94 at the heatsink and 89 at the center. 

JC5 was 102 at the heatsink and 92 at the center. 

Assuming the components are a bit hotter then the actual heatsink,  this is not an issue at low volume. 

However there is a thing called thermal runaway and if you don't provide enough space around your equipment that could happen. 

I have a JC5 that I keep inside a cabinet.  When I first got it, it ran really hot.  I think there was not enough space around the unit to circulate any air.   Then I bought one of these and put it on top, and it really helps.  It's also very quiet.  Great company to deal with. 

Heat is a real problem. It takes a long time to fully warm up and sound good. 

Does it help to wave your thermal runaway gun at things? Have you tried voice coils? What is the hottest chip inside your DAC? Have you tried a cooling fan? How hot does the motor on the cooling fan get? Did you buy the thermal gun thingy just for this? Or did you already have it for some useful purpose?