Stereo Cooling

[Techy Geek]

I am building a custo stereo case and i intend for it to be complete, ie all four sides, no hole in the back. This brings around the problem of cooling, as all the stero equipment gets hot and without proper ventilation could get damaged, and it is worth rather a lot so I'm trying to prevent any damage. I can't think of a way to cool it, initially i though of using a fan, but this is loud and can alter the sound quality. Then i thought of water cooling, but this is too expensive for me (its already costing a lot and I dont have much money). Can anyone think of any cheap ways to cool it, i dont really mind what lengths I have to go to.
thanks

 

[setishock]

Well...

If you want to be a bit of a show off you could make the top from lexan or plexi and drill vent holes evenly over the outer edges of the top plate.
other than that my system uses micro fans that are designed for equipment cooling and are very quiet.
EDIT: My minds out running around somewhere today. I meant to add you could with the clear or tinted top add some small CCFL lights and power them off the amps power supply.

 

[David Lindon]

I've seen people with normal computer case fans mounted in their equipment

 

[Techy Geek]

whats a good decibel number (ie 21 DB) that is very quite and couldn't be heard over music, played at low volumes, also if i use a computer fan, won't I have to plug it into a computer power supply

 

[setishock]

Ok...

You won't have to use a computer psu but just cut the plug off the fan and wire it to a 12v DC power source inside the stereo system. Startech makes a good low noise fan for around $6.00USD. You want a 2 lead not a 3 lead. The 3rd lead is a tach lead for computers to read how fast the fan is spinning and not needed in this case. I'm a bit showy with my stuff so I think a deep blue or dark red led fan would make a good display against the wall or the back of the stereo stand.

EDIT: To answer the noise part of your last question this is the way that works. The rating is -21db as your exsample showed. The higher the number the louder it is. Put the amp behind you and the speakers in front of you and you're not going to hear the fan. The fan noise will be behind you and moving away from you.

 

[root]

passive heatsinks should be fine on their own...

There is an equation for working out the size of the heatsink with the material used and the surface area needed for effective dissapation, but I forget what it is, and ample guess work will be more than adequate.

in all of the PA amps I have got (both home made and professional made) I never felt the dire need for cooling fans, and I never suffered breakages due to any kind of thermal runaway or other overheating.

(I would also envisage that the equipment you are using will not get that hot if you are thinking that you'll run it on a low enough power that a P fan might disturb the sound, so really don't worry too much.)

 

[Osak]

Wow this sounds pretty cool, anyone got a link to makign a stereo like the one he is talking about?

 

[Techy Geek]

oh, its not from a website, I just got fed up with my stuff having to be in shelves and stuff because only the amp was stackable. So i designed a stereo cabinet, im thinking CD player (normally horizontal ---) being mounted (vertical |) and being level with the front. I also want to put in lights and stuff. I may post a design later, but i'm doing work now (obviously not much). I also want to have that patterned metal as a cladding on wood the one that goes ///\\\
\\\///
type thing. I'l post some plans.
Also, It tends to get hot even though it is not currently ina metal box, probably because I leave the amp on 24/7, but the CD gets hot, even if left on for about an hour or two (that is always turned off unless being used

 

[Techy Geek]

sorry to double post, but I wanted to post a picture to clarify things



As you can see the equipement is fully surrounded, and contains lights, it gets hot in a room, no enclosures, so I figured cooling may be needed. Also the heat from the sun (also shown in diagram( will heat it up further, so definately needed
Edit:
Obviously, no need to point it out, there will be mountings for the CD and tape player, I dont just expect it to float. There will be layers of MDF between each device (repesented by the dotted line), so there is less airflow than one would expect
(diagram)

_________|
|CD player
|----------|
|tape
|----------|
|amp
|----------|
now that is a damn good drawing