Zappa Freak Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Now that the Chicago heating cycle is required what is the best setting or range to keep my humidity at to protect my gear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 As long as the humidity is not very high i would not worry about it, high humidity encourages rust and mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa Freak Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 so say 20 -25% seems to dry in my HT room but if that is a good thing okay.................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 IMHO, 30-35%. However, my wine cellar likes it a bit more "damp".... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Great question. My listening room is a garage office with nothing more than a little space heater - do i need to worry about firing up my gear if its 40-50 degrees in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 do i need to worry about firing up my gear if its 40-50 degrees in there? No. But if it is -40 or below, I'd worry a bit - for the integrated circuits only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 50 degrees, no problem. At 40, I think you're starting to teeter on the edge of issues, particularly if you are running any tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 50 degrees, no problem. At 40, I think you're starting to teeter on the edge of issues, particularly if you are running any tubes. All solid state. I read a comment somewhere about a guy needing to bring his freshly delivered DAC inside and up to room temperature before firing it up the first time and it had me spooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 A consistent 42% is recommended for pianos. Stay within 10% either way and you will be fine. high humidity encourages rust and mold Good point. Error on the dry side. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 (edited) 50 degrees, no problem. At 40, I think you're starting to teeter on the edge of issues, particularly if you are running any tubes. All solid state. I read a comment somewhere about a guy needing to bring his freshly delivered DAC inside and up to room temperature before firing it up the first time and it had me spooked. That's right - some of today's consumer-grade integrated circuits (digital circuits, that is) will begin to bomb at about freezing point of water (32F/0C) but what happens is the chips just stop because of the valence electrons stop jumping the gap and the transistor gates become insulators. We saw this beginning to become really significant for military-grade environments about 20 years ago when the chip industry stopped paying attention to MIL-STD needs and went hard over to supporting personal computers and later hand-held devices. Before that time, most chips were available at -40 (C or F) and some at -60. We had to install heaters inside electronics assemblies for some applications where we couldn't do with older parts made from dies that supported very low startup temps. Edited November 18, 2014 by Chris A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 A consistent 42% is recommended for pianos. Stay within 10% either way and you will be fine. high humidity encourages rust and mold Good point. Error on the dry side. Same for guitars, especially acoustic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 When electronics are delivered in this cold weather it is a good idea to let them warm up to room temperature still in the box before opening so you don't get any condensation. I run some tube equipment in a 50F + room sometimes and haven't heard any issues. I don't ever let anything get down to freezing. Humidity and temperature matters for the sound... if low I will increase the temp and humidity to at least 35% for better sound in my experience. It is better for the cabinets to not be allowed to dry out so much anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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