I have a 37U rack in a ventilated closet. The P5 is at the center of the rack, with 3-1/2" separating it and a class A/B mono amp (below the P5), and another 3-1/2" separating the first mono amp and a second A/B mono amp.
When listening to 2-channel music, I put my amps in Class A, and they get hot, as Class A amps do.
At what maximum temperature is the P5 designed to safely continuously operate?
I’m not too concerned about temperatures in the rack during a 2 hour movie, or 2 hour music listening session, but more concerned with the continual temperature of the P5, as my preference is to keep my amps on 24/7, in idle. But even at idle, in A/B mode, the amps produce enough heat to cause my fans to power on, and I want to make sure I’m not exposing the P5 to excessive temperatures.
The parts inside the P5 start degrading rapidly near 80°C and I’d certainly not want to get even close to that. I don’t have a ready temperature limit I can hand out but my rule of thumb has always been pretty accurate. If the unit is too hot to keep your hand on, it’s likely too hot.
ntjones said
Yeah, we're good, then. Thanks, Paul.
I just had a similar dilemma. I put my P10 in my rack at the bottom below my McIntosh MC205 and noticed things were getting a little toasty in there. I could put my hand on it but I wouldn't want to keep it there long. I would guess ~120 degrees F. So I purchased an 18 x 14 x 2" maple slab platform from Mapleshades and took the P10 out of the rack and placed it on the platform. Immediately, the P10 ran much cooler, now barely warm. Also the Mac runs cooler as well. Not only that, but I noticed the THD out now is consistently better, almost always running at 0.1% whereas previously it would consistently run between 0.2-0.3%! Fantastic. I must admit I haven't noticed any significant difference in the sound, but I've only just installed the platform and haven't had too much time to listen critically. So I'd recommend taking your P5 out of the rack!