1068 runs too hot - worried!

[bluesfan]

Why does the 1068 gets so hot? After 1 hour music and 3 hours movie at around 40db the top is so hot you can't keep your hand on it.

It must be cooking the components in there and heading for a limited life.

Is this normal? If so it's not good and bad design. Not pleased!

I have an open back cabinet and 15 cms of room above.

I had hoped that I wouldn't have the annoying sound of a fan but now I'm starting to think I should of bought an av with a fan.

[bluesfan]

Sorry just to add zone 2 is off.

[H.Donald]

Bluesfan....you started another thread,whereyou simply knocked the Rotel line.You stated that you demo'ed the line and all it did was hum,hum....
And then you knocked people who gave you advice.So,now I take it you did buy the units?...

If you are truly seeking advice....from what I understand,all processors,amps generate some heat.My 1068 gets warm to the touch....never so hot "you can't keep your hand on it".....good luck.

[csuzor]

Let it get hot, that's when it sounds best. Forget the fan, you don't want the noise. Just let it breathe, and get warm. And enjoy.

[PewterTA]

My 1098 only has about 7cm of room about it with a half opened back (top half) and it sits on the top shelve in the cabinet. Mine would get really hot like that as well, I got worried about it getting THAT hot so I put a single 80mm computer case fan on it running at low speed (thermally controlled, so it only runs at like 1300 rpm) and is near silent. I'd say you can't hear it past about .5 meters away with no sound in the room...which I can handle. I hooked up a PSU to the 1098 via the 12v trigger so it turns on and off with the 1098.

So far my 1098 hasn't even gotten warm. It's amazing the little amount of air flow and what it will do. Plus the fan (two on my 1098 and 1080 as well) all glow a blue which matches the power lights on the units...looks nice to me.

I have pictures in the rotel thread somewhere...

[bluesfan]

My 1098 only has about 7cm of room about it with a half opened back (top half) and it sits on the top shelve in the cabinet. Mine would get really hot like that as well, I got worried about it getting THAT hot so I put a single 80mm computer case fan on it running at low speed (thermally controlled, so it only runs at like 1300 rpm) and is near silent. I'd say you can't hear it past about .5 meters away with no sound in the room...which I can handle. I hooked up a PSU to the 1098 via the 12v trigger so it turns on and off with the 1098.

So far my 1098 hasn't even gotten warm. It's amazing the little amount of air flow and what it will do. Plus the fan (two on my 1098 and 1080 as well) all glow a blue which matches the power lights on the units...looks nice to me.

I have pictures in the rotel thread somewhere...

Can you tell me where you got the fan? What is the output of the 12v trigger (e.g. milliamps). Someone else I remember said it wasn't enough to run a fan. Although zone 2 is off I've turned down the vol level to 0 for that sound to see if that makes any difference. Also, still checking if I run in bypass will it still get hot after 3 hours at 45db.

I'm still not convinced it's good for it to get that hot whatever anyone else says.

Pewter, Yes, I now have the 1075/1098. I took the risk on the buzz because the amps sound so good. I demoed Denon 3806, Pioneer, Arcam AVR300, Marantz 8500 but nothing beats Rotel for clarity (as someone said a vice-like grip) plus even without HDMI connections, etc. I still went for the Rotel. I guess it's a stereo amp first and a surround system second, which is exactly what I wanted.

I'm going to experiment with the settings, I really don't want a fan but if it stays this hot it can't be good.

[PewterTA]

I used these fans, http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/80120mmfans.html (the 80mm Thermaltake Smart fans with blue LEDs) but I have the 12v trigger going to an external 250watt PSU (from an old computer that is an anatec silent powersupply (fan runs at 1200rpm so it is virtually silent). I choose these fans for the simple fact of having a thermal and manual speed control. I've found the thermal works perfectly fine...as the amp heats up or I listen to a lot of loud stuff for a while, you mute it and you can hear the fans spinning faster than their normal 1300rpms.

However, I'm switching these fans over to the 92/120mm fans to help move a lot more air and be just as silent (I want to use the couple of 80mms in a PC I'm building for the HTPC so it's basically silent as well).

But all you do is hook up a 12v trigger to the power supply from a computer, hook the fans in, and make little rubber/foam feet of them to sit on the amps/processor and that's all I did. Makes a nice (matching) blue glow coming from the units, which is fine in my book as it's not too bright and distracting.

If you don't want the glow I would highly recommend the Panaflow Ultra Quiet ones (which are cheaper and will just run at the slower speed) that would work wonderful for cooling.

[bluesfan]

Thanks I've gone with Silenx range. They boast the lowest dba. I'm still amazed the processor can get so hot (I guess it's in the name!). My mistake I thought Rotel would have put a fan in if it was needed. Perhaps the huge heatsinks on the 1075/1095 should have been in the processor!!!!

[PewterTA]

It will do a fine job if you have plenty of room around the unit. I had the amp sitting out in the open and it barely got warm, just warm to the touch, then about a minute or so after it was done, it was cold again, so it does pull the heat away from the circuits. Just in an "enclosed" area it doesn't move the air as easily, building up heat. Which is why I did the fans.

Cool that you went with the Silenx, they are definitely quiet and I would have gone with them, but I really can't tell much of a difference of 14db over 17db anyways... as well as I wanted the smart thermal feature to increase the fan speed as as the amps got hotter under loud passages (which I figured I won't hear the fans anyways)!

But that's definitely a great choice, Silenx are great fans!

[bluesfan]

Just to let you know I got the Silenx 80mm. This thing is whisper quiet. Very impressed.

[bluesfan]

BTW it also runs off the 12v trigger.

[wjfranke]

Check out www.mpja.com

http://www.mpja.com/listitems.asp?dept=48&main=46

You should be able to find several to choose from to run off of 12V DC power.