McIntosh Ventilation?

[rosiekai]

I am having a custom piece of furniture made to house all of my new Mac gear. Reviewing the instructions, McIntosh requires some HUGE ventilation spacing around their gear. The MC303 requires 6" above the amp! Do you think I can get away with smaller spacing if I add a fan? All of the old Mac stuff came with wood boxes tight around the equipment, how did that ventilate? My current plan will have all of my gear side-by-side in individual boxes with 1" clear, open front and open back.

Thanks.




PS I have a MA7000 for listed for sale on AA...

[hkval]

Check out coolerguys.com for very inexpensive, effective, quiet and thermostatically controlled fans. I have a total of 8 and love them.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by rosiekai

I am having a custom piece of furniture made to house all of my new Mac gear. Reviewing the instructions, McIntosh requires some HUGE ventilation spacing around their gear. The MC303 requires 6" above the amp! Do you think I can get away with smaller spacing if I add a fan? All of the old Mac stuff came with wood boxes tight around the equipment, how did that ventilate? My current plan will have all of my gear side-by-side in individual boxes with 1" clear, open front and open back.

rosiekai.......There are some variables of course, the largest being the ambient temperature of the room in which you plan to operate your gear. My room is 76º year round. I have my entire main system, eight McIntosh pieces and two PS Audio Power Plant Premiers installed in a Salamander Synergy System Twin 40 audio rack with closed sides, and open front and back. The clearences over the MC501 cooling fins is 1 1/2", with the rest of the gear at 1" clearence on top. I use a Cabcool 1201X-2 Dual Fan Kit for cabinet cooling from CoolerGuys.com. I use one of the two 120mm fans behind each amplifier, with each fan's speed controlled by a separate manual DC variable speed controller. This allows me to slow the fans down to a speed that makes them inaudible, yet they still move enough air to ensure the amps never run hot. The MC501 amps don't run hot without the fans, but I like the added air flow.

Fans and temperature display box: Cabcool 1201X-2 Dual Fan Kit for cabinet cooling

Manual speed controller : Manual 12V DC Variable Speed controller with Molex connector

I called my order in because I wanted to speak with a rep to make sure I was getting everything I needed. I requested the fans have 6' cords (4' is the norm), and they put the longer cables on the fans at no extra charge.

Here is the link to my Fan Kit Installation thread: http://audioaficionado.org/general-a...installed.html

This is a photo of my system in the Salamander cabinet with no heat issues what so ever.

[rosiekai]

Thanks Dan, That's exactly the info I needed!!