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less than one inch clearance for ventilation above an AV receiver too little?

vert

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As per the title, is a clearance of about 2 cm, or less than one inch, for an AV receiver's ventilation, too little? Space on the sides would be plenty.
I suspect the answer will be yes and won't take any chance if so; a previous AVR would sometimes cause the TV to switch off with a worrying electrical pop; a big black box, that one enjoyed only a 2 mm clearance. In retrospect it's well within the realm of possibility that the tiny clearance was the cause.
 

mansr

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As per the title, is a clearance of about 2 cm, or less than one inch, for an AV receiver's ventilation, too little? Space on the sides would be plenty.
My Marantz seems happy with about that much space above it, also open on the sides.
 

GoMrPickles

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https://marantz.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/353/~/amplifier-ventilation-recommendation

"Although there's no definitive specification, we recommend a minimum of 5 inches of ventilation space on top and 2 inches on either side of the receiver/amplifier to greatly reduce the risk of the amplifier overheating and tripping the Protection Circuit when playing at moderate to high volume output levels. For added protection, you may also incorporate the use of an external cooling fan to exhaust heat away from the top of the unit."

I have much less space in my rack, and much worse cooling, because the shelves are 1/4" thick tempered glass. My AV8802A runs warm and I plan on giving it more breathing room in the future, but haven't done so yet. My Anthem MCA20 and MCA50 run pretty cool; I don't drive them particularly hard.

It seems like most home theater furniture is NOT designed with 5" of ventilation space in mind; one can fit a shelf and a device in that space.
 

Blumlein 88

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In similar situations I've used a small fan like in a PC. Hung out from the shelf above. This blew the air horizontally out the rear of the shelf. While likely not fully sufficient it reduces temps usefully and was quiet enough. I adapted whatever junk wall wart was the right voltage for power.
 

amirm

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Definitely not enough for most AVRs. But if you get one with class D amplifier, you should be OK. That is what I did/do (switched from class AB amp that was cooking in there to cool running class D AVR from Pioneer).
 

bigx5murf

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I have barely more than an inch above my Yamaha rx-z7, a very hot running class AB. I have plenty of space to the sides. I put a thin laptop cooler in that gap, powered by the AVR's outlet so it comes in with it.
 
OP
V

vert

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Definitely not enough for most AVRs. But if you get one with class D amplifier, you should be OK. That is what I did/do (switched from class AB amp that was cooking in there to cool running class D AVR from Pioneer).
Could you say which model? I've been looking at their "slim" model, the VSX-S520 D, which is class D but reviews are a bit mixed (not because of SQ).
 

DonH56

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My old Pioneer (SC-27) ran pretty hot despite the ICE (class D) power amps... I'm just not as cool as @amirm ! :)

1" seems pretty sporty. I would feel in there after a session and if it seems uncomfortably hot then stick in one of the numerous little coolers or at least a fan or to to get some airflow. They make a lot of nice slimline coolers but 1" (excuse, 2 cm, 0.8") is likely pretty tight even for one of them -- you'll need one that vents from the front and back instead of the top.
 

amirm

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My old Pioneer (SC-27) ran pretty hot despite the ICE (class D) power amps... I'm just not as cool as @amirm ! :)
I should have qualified that ours runs in 2-channel mode powering bookshelf speakers. No real home theater usage.
 

DonH56

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I should have qualified that ours runs in 2-channel mode powering bookshelf speakers. No real home theater usage.

That explains it... Mine did full-up HT duty powering my old Infinites and then my Maggies, bit more of a load. Although I noticed that most of the time the hottest part was over the DSP, not the power amps.
 

restorer-john

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Too little clearance in my opinion. You can always get a few pancake style laptop fans with a housing that exits on the side, they are only 6-8mm thick and virtually silent.
 

JohnKay

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I should have qualified that ours runs in 2-channel mode powering bookshelf speakers. No real home theater usage.

Amir, out of curiosity, do you use the pioneer AVR as your main / living room system? Do you use any power amps with it or just the avr to power your speakers? Thanks
 

Webninja

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The only downside to having a few inches on top of the AVR, for those of us with cats, the receiver becomes a desirable resting place.

IMG_20190214_181218_01.jpg
 

DonH56

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Oh good, blocked vents and cat hairs in the AVR. And the usual "touch me and die a horrible death by scratching" look in the eye. Glad I'm a dog guy! :)
 

Dogen

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Cat urine is very corrosive - found out the hard way many years back. Everything literally melted, and the smell...
 
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