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Fan on Amp Unbeatable

So, I have an older amp from the 70s. It's a solid state amp and the fan is so loud it's distracting. It's my first largest solid-state amp. I've been using tube amps for the last 15 plus years. I can't imagine fans are supposed to be overwhelming Lee loud. Has anybody else ran into this kind of issue and if so, how did you fix it?
pawlowski6132

Showing 2 responses by sleepwalker65

sleepwalker65's avatar
sleepwalker65
832 posts
 
If the junction temperature exceeds 90 degrees C, your output transistors will have very short lives. You could monitor their case temperature with an inexpensive (read somewhat inaccurate but close enough for this purpose) IR non-contact thermometer. Refit with better heat sinks and use computer grade thermal compound. 
sleepwalker65's avatar
sleepwalker65
832 posts
 
Another idea to consider: take two of the largest diameter DC fans you can find, the larger the better. Wire them in series to a large enough DC wall-wart of the same voltage as just one of the fans and go for 50~100% over the current draw of just one.  Pad the bottom (intake) sides of the fans with soft weatherstripping foam to isolate vibration from the fans, and lay them over the top of your amplifier above the heat sinks. 

I did the above with an old receiver many years ago, and it kept the amplifier section from overheating, even when driving hard loads at high volume levels. 
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