Questions about Audio (Music) setup

[RahulP]

gobble

some coincidence indeed !!! (Are you a genius too ? )
or 'Angoor' movie style : i guess you also don't have a mole on right shoulder. right ?

btw, i am experiencing that the amp is heating up after approx 45 mins of use.. I haven't measured it.. just by placing my palm on the top surface... its not unbearably hot (such that i have to immediately take back my hand)..

what is your experience ? How long one can use the amp continuously (e.g. for a movie say approx 2.5 hours : is it OK to use it without a break ?)

i didn't plan for a CDP in this shopping round.. currently using philips dvd 3166 as a player.


Thanx Rajiv.


cheers

 

[marsilians]

make sure there is sufficient ventilation. Also its OK for the amp to get warm to the touch. However if it switches off during playback then its going into protection mode. You may want to install 1 or 2 of those PC fans with low noise behind your cabinet to push the air out. this will provide excellent circulation.

gobble

some coincidence indeed !!! (Are you a genius too ? )
or 'Angoor' movie style : i guess you also don't have a mole on right shoulder. right ?

btw, i am experiencing that the amp is heating up after approx 45 mins of use.. I haven't measured it.. just by placing my palm on the top surface... its not unbearably hot (such that i have to immediately take back my hand)..

what is your experience ? How long one can use the amp continuously (e.g. for a movie say approx 2.5 hours : is it OK to use it without a break ?)

i didn't plan for a CDP in this shopping round.. currently using philips dvd 3166 as a player.


Thanx Rajiv.


cheers

 

[RahulP]

Thanks marsilians.

In India, one has to balance between 'good ventilation' and 'protection from dust' .. am making a small entertainment unit which will also accomodate the new amp. The solution of a fan is suggested by the designer also..
lets see ..

 

[Asit]

Hi Rahul,

I own your amp (although at the moment it is kept away, and I am using my older amp in my set up).

All amps do heat up. Actually in my evaluation, they perform at their optimum after getting warmed up. In the case of the c325bee, I would say this time is about 30 minutes and it starts performing its best.

Are you listening at very high volume levels? I never had to put the volume knob past the 12 O'clock mark, mostly below 11 O'clock or 10 O'clock. I have kept the amp powered on for continuous music sometimes for the whole day. When we watch movies (rarely) using this 2 channel setup (do not have HT), that was fine too. Movies do have deep bass, and a recent Bond movie with all the noise can get the amp warmed up. However, I never felt any problem.

As marsilians said, you have to keep it well ventilated.

Have you placed it in a closed cabinet? That's a bad idea. In India some people tend to do it because of dust. However, just ignore the dusts, keep your audio electronics covered by soft pieces of cloth after use. Let them cool down after a listening session, and then cover them. Some times after a listening session late at night, I do not wait around for them to cool down. In the night, anyway, you do have less dust situation, and some of the windows are closed. I cover them in the morning.

 

[dinyaar]

Hi Rahul,
The Nad amp should play for hours and hours without a thermal shutdown. Dont go over board with dust issues. Overheating will damage the amp dust will not. U HAVE TO HAVE PROPER VENTILATION. About 3 inches on the sides and 5/6 inches on the top is a minimum for proper circulation. A fan is an option but if its audible its a No No. Since u are making a unit u can surely keep adequate space for an amplifier so that it does not shut off due to over heating.
Warm is absolutely fine but a Nad integrated does not get 'HOT'. Ur speakers @ 6 ohms and 86 db should not pose a problem for the amplifier.
Rgds

 

[RahulP]

Thanx Asit & Dinyaar,

i am planning
* either NOT to keep it in cabinet/unit so there no enclosure on the top = lot of ventilation OR
* keep it in the unit but have enough space on top and sides (thanks dinyaar for suggesting exact measurements .. otherwise i would have thought 3-4 inches was enough for the top )

I will also test with fan - mainly for the noise i.e.

Asit, No, i don't listen at very high volumes.. so far, typically at 9 and depending on the music, sometimes at 10 (or 10.30 !).

 

[Asit]

Hi Rahul,

It's okay to keep these units in audio racks. There will be shelves with sides open, you have to ensure that there would be enough headroom above the power/integrated amp. By cabinet, I mean units where the sides are also closed with a door in front which also closes. This is bad! But I have seen people put their electronics in such cabinets. Some years later, their electronics look as immaculate as new, however they start failing!!!

In any case, you need the back to be completely open for cable connections.

My suggestion is to keep them in a completely open place (or in a audio rack with enough headroom). Do NOT worry about the dust. Unless it's too much of dust being sprinkled into your electronics, I do not see how it can harm the amp and the like. Overheating will certainly harm it.

Actually, without offending anybody, I at times wonder how the used units (used for more than 5 years in India) on sale look absolutely in mint-condition. My old amp and speakers are almost 20 years old, and they do not look in mint condition, although they look very well for their age. However, they are still performing in great conditions. I just keep them in the open and cover them up with soft pieces of cloth when they cool down.

For speakers you cannot and should NOT do anything, other than placing them on an isolated, stable and heavy base.

 

[dinyaar]

Thanx Asit & Dinyaar,

i am planning
* either NOT to keep it in cabinet/unit so there no enclosure on the top = lot of ventilation OR
* keep it in the unit but have enough space on top and sides (thanks dinyaar for suggesting exact measurements .. otherwise i would have thought 3-4 inches was enough for the top )

I will also test with fan - mainly for the noise i.e.

Asit, No, i don't listen at very high volumes.. so far, typically at 9 and depending on the music, sometimes at 10 (or 10.30 !).

Its almost impossible to keep it dirt free. Little weekly housekeeping is required. I use a rack, as a cabinet (closed from all sides) apart from poor ventilation is a head ache to keep tweaking/swapping cables etc. My current rack was made by me from solid teak wood a few yrs ago. Not great finishing so finally i have spray painted it matt black. Spacing between shelves is 12 inches as it can accomodate components of various sizes. Open front and back and semi open sides. At the base have screwed in metal spikes for isolation. I use rubber discs below all the feet of the electronics for whatever it adds to isolation.

Even when making a cabinet( if thats what u opt for) u can make proper provision for air flow( making horizontal slats ) and keeping more space than the Nad demands is for any future upgrades or additions. Obviously u will keep the front shutter open while u play the set up and if your room has an AC i doubt u will have a problem.

 

[anm]

In my audio rack (not sure if term rack could rake up audiophile wars - let's call it a cabinet instead JIC), everything is behind a glass door. On the back there is a large hole to let the cables in. It has a plastic round cap as found on office tables. And besides that I have got some 20-30 small drilled holes towards the lower back - so that mice/ lizards/ cockroaches can not enter, while air can flow out. Ideally one hole should have been higher than the other one, to let the hot air move out, while the lower one would have been better for letting air in. I will fit a fan in front of it to make the air flow better.

When not in use, the glass door is shut so that dust doesn't come in. When watching for longer duration, I open the glass door.

See the image attached. I got it custom made in teak board/ teak veneer for ~11k.

regards

 

[Asit]

Hi anm,

Let me just say it's not the most ideal arrangement. especially because there is not much scope of letting the air through with back side basically closed. I understand you also feared the insects like roaches. But I thought they like enclosed places better because they can hide. I would let dinyaar comment on this. Let's see what he or anybody else says.

PS: I myself once had a set up like this long back. I have described in the above that now for long I keep my equipments in the open and cover them up with pieces of soft cloth when not in use and cold.

 

[anm]

Thanks Asit for your feedback. There is certain degree of WAF involved too

Actually, it is not as bad as it comes out in the pic. There is about 5 inches of gap between the curtain/ screen and the unit. Behind the curtain there is a window - so there is another 4 inches before the wood/ glass.
And during the show time, I open up the glass door.

My turntable (whenver I get one) would occupy the top of the cabinet.

regards

Hi anm,

Let me just say it's not the most ideal arrangement. especially because there is not much scope of letting the air through with back side basically closed. I understand you also feared the insects like roaches. But I thought they like enclosed places better because they can hide. I would let dinyaar comment on this. Let's see what he or anybody else says.

PS: I myself once had a set up like this long back. I have described in the above that now for long I keep my equipments in the open and cover them up with pieces of soft cloth when not in use and cold.

 

[gobble]

what is your experience ? How long one can use the amp continuously (e.g. for a movie say approx 2.5 hours : is it OK to use it without a break ?)

i didn't plan for a CDP in this shopping round.. currently using philips dvd 3166 as a player.

cheers

I've used my amp for 8 hrs non-stop, never checked the heating but I do not expect problems. I will check next time.

Do try the Marantz CD6002 when your make the budget for a CDP. Its the best budget player you can pick!!

Cheers

 

[persiflage]

No fears as long as you have proper ventilation; in fact I wouldn't even start listening critically before the first hour is up, it needs to be warm before it starts sounding its best.

I have run a NAD pre-power non-stop for 12-13 hours. And at good SPLs. No problems at all.

 

[gobble]

No fears as long as you have proper ventilation; in fact I wouldn't even start listening critically before the first hour is up, it needs to be warm before it starts sounding its best.

I have run a NAD pre-power non-stop for 12-13 hours. And at good SPLs. No problems at all.

I never heard an obvious diff whether it was the 1st few minutes or an hour later. I do enjoy things more sometime into the listening session but thats purely the mind being primed further- somewhat like the 1st few minutes of study vs 30 mins later when ones concentration and focus is optimal with flow.
I would say just go by your listening moods and don't let the mind rule with such logic

Cheers

 

[persiflage]

@gobble: All I can say is.. lucky you

My rig definitely used to sound more fluid and less grainy once warmed up, won't be surprised if there's a technical explanation for this, most likely to do with caps taking time to charge up..

 

[gobble]

@gobble: All I can say is.. lucky you

My rig definitely used to sound more fluid and less grainy once warmed up, won't be surprised if there's a technical explanation for this, most likely to do with caps taking time to charge up..

and I was about to say "Damn you ..!" for playing tricks on my mind.

Actually since your last post, I too began noticing a certain hardness in sound quality in the first hour of listening.
Over the last many days, I've been warming up my amp playing "background" non-intrusive music I didn't really want to listen to.

Now I swear there is a difference after roughly an hours playing!! It sounds more fluid and easy flowing and liquid when warmed up.

Once again, Damn you for playing tricks with my mind !!

Regards