2. misc-audio
  3. 1118331994

Tubes and heat...

I currently live in Northern California which has a fairly moderate climate. It is not too hot or too cold; however it does get hot enough in the summer where the heat of tubes will make you want to run outside. The other day I sat in my listening room relaxing to some tunes and fell asleep. I woke up about an hour later soaking wet from sweat. To make things worse, I may be moving to an area like Arizona which makes me squirm at the thought of having my tube amp on in the summer.

I have a Decware TORII that I really love. My setup currently has around 12 tubes heating up a small listening room. I could turn up the AC, but get this, it is noisey. Yes, it makes enough noise that it is a bother during quiet passages. Is there a way that I could direct the tube heat out the door without having to physically changing the structure of the room?

What to do?
matchstikman
jafox
1,447 posts
 
Fatparrot: It's great to get a Tucson report as I lived there during the 80s and loved it. Now up here in MN the tube gear is even more beneficial as space heaters. But it does not take long to heat the basement to the point that I need to leave my basement to cool off; usually people leave their basement to warm up. 8-)

Newbee has a great idea for finding a "summer" amp. With all the tubes in my system, I might have to switch over to a different amp than the CATs during the hottest days. I have found the Counterpoint NPS400 with just 4 input-stage tubes to work very well for this application.

I have every intent to return to Tucson but already I am thinking about the heat issue. Maybe a separate smaller AC unit for the dedicated listening room might be the ticket down there.
123henry97
17 posts
 
I have been shopping for a SS amp to use durning summer and use it as a backup for winter. Tube preamp does not generate much heat therefore I can live with it for all season.
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
Jafox, basements are actually pretty well insulated by the surrounding earth; maybe that's why you're listening area heats up so quickly.

Forget about Tucson! You wouldn't recognize it now. It's now filled with W.M.D.'s...Wanton Mass Developments! When the real estate bubble bursts [1-2 years], it will be another Western "boomtown" story for Pima county!
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
I live in sunny California---in the worst part of the SF Valley.(Chatsworth) I do have my summer-amp.--That be the Belles 150a---Barely warm after many hrs.of use. My #1 amp-s- the CJ 8xses.--(These are also suitable for indoor BBQ-ing,or just making toast.)
More to discover