Running a receiver VERTICALLY? Will it work/damage anything?

[jw31]

I know, this is a really stupid and embarassing question, but I'm out of options. I got the ok to audition a nice pair of kg3's for the living room, BUT the only place I'm allowed to have a receiver is in the upright cabinet where the old crappy shelf system "receiver" currently lives (and it's about 10" wide!). I was looking at a nice used Marantz sr5000, but there is NO WAY it will fit there UNLESS I place it on it's side. Frankly I've never heard of/seen a receiver that is less than 10" wide, they're all designed for normal entertainment centers/stacks. Has anyone tried this? I mean theoretically there is no reason it shouldn't work just as well right? I mean the wires and such can't tell the difference, it's not like there are directional moving parts. I would probably figure out a way to make sure it's secure and not a threat to tip over.

Alternatively, would it be worth trying the kg3's on a circa 95 pioneer shelf system head unit, maybe 50W/channel? I really have the choice of worse and worser if you will. Help me out or else no kg3's! Thanks!

[colterphoto1]

the heat sinks will be designed for air flow in the normal orientation. There may be excessive heat buildup with the cabinet veritcally.

Try the KG3/Pioneer setup.

[BLSamuel]

I've done that before with a really old junk receiver between a wall and a dresser with space on either side and didn't notice any ill effects but never used for more than background music, but I'd have to agree that it's not a good idea as receivers are designed to sit flat.

You could check the owners manual if available but I'm sure it would say to sit flat on the shelf with good ventilation.

You might check for executive desktop systems that might be less than 10" wide but not sure if any micro components are currently available. I have a TEAC tuner and CD recorder that are both less than standard rack width and I think they did make a matching amplifier and maybe even a receiver a few years back so that may be an option if you could find one of those.

Good luck

[jw31]

Thanks for the info. This would be for a living room stereo system that would get used maybe an hour or 3 a WEEK, so I guess I'm not as worried about heat dissipation!

A new twist on the same question, does anyone know of a receiver that is not very deep? I could have it sideways if there is enough room front to back (maybe 11-12"), including speaker connections. I only intend on running my Ipod thru this, so not seeing the front panel is fine as long as I can turn it on and adjust the volume.

Would need to be an older model I could find used in the <$100 range, just need a stereo receiver but more is fine too. Anything more than $100 and I'll just keep using the nasty pioneer shelf unit! Thanks!

[LarryC]

Boy, you're sure right about widths heading up to 17" -- I bought an NAD receiver for my bro a few Xmas's ago, and am sure it was smaller. Their smallest one today is still over 13" deep. Maybe Audiogon has an older ones that will fit.

Larry

[DrWho]

the heat sinks will be designed for air flow in the normal orientation. There may be excessive heat buildup with the cabinet veritcally.

Are you thinking only about the concept that heat rises? I really don't see how that will be a concern unless the convection flow of the design sucks (there is more to convection flow than just the heat rising). But worst case scenario, it would be trivial and inexpensive to add a small fan to ensure proper heat dissipation.

[BLSamuel]

If you're only going to use this with your IPOD, you could get one of those single chip amplifiers. I think the Trends Micro are around $120 and may have went up and there's a Sonic Impact model for 29.99 at Parts Express ( http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-952 ) but the 19.95 ac adaptor is no longer available though they and others probably have other suitable adaptors as using 8 AA batteries could get expensive. Of course I think this model and maybe others have 1 input and no tuner. I've not used one though a lot of people claim they do better than expected. Someone had the Sonic Impact at the Pilgrimage but I forgot to ask him about it and not sure he tried it out there. I think there's a thread here on the Trends Micro.

Worst case you can always start with the mini stereo front end you have. You might be surprised how well the Klipsch speakers sound in such a setup and then you'd have time to find a suitable receiver or amplifier. Depth may be a problem even if you can find a unit that's narrow enough. Good luck.

[MatrixDweller]

I think the design of the heatsinks in receivers are geared towards normal horizontal orientation. Placing the unit vertically will cause the heat normally dissapated upwards (as heat rises) to possible dissipate onto other components. There could also be side vents on the "new bottom" of the receiver that would become blocked. This could lead to premature component failure. A fan would be a good idea. I'd still not want to do it with an expensive receiver. My Denon 3805 user manual says to have a good 4 inches of space around the receiver or more.

Also you would want to attach some sort of feet to the new bottom of the receiver to dissipate vibrations.

[rcarlton]

My McIntosh MA-6100 owners manual says it can be run in any position with adequate ventilation.

[HatTrick66]

You'll enjoy the KG3's. I have been enjoying mine since 1991. I love my Corns, but they only cemented my love for the KG's which are now pulling surround duty for the Corns.

[sivadselim]

I've been running my ROTEL RB-1080 vertically for several years. I put some adhesive furniture bumpers on the end it sits upon and it's been fine.

[colterphoto1]

If you're only going to use this with your IPOD, you could get one of those single chip amplifiers. I think the Trends Micro are around $120 and may have went up and there's a Sonic Impact model for 29.99 at Parts Express ( http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-952 ) but the 19.95 ac adaptor is no longer available though they and others probably have other suitable adaptors as using 8 AA batteries could get expensive. Of course I think this model and maybe others have 1 input and no tuner. I've not used one though a lot of people claim they do better than expected. Someone had the Sonic Impact at the Pilgrimage but I forgot to ask him about it and not sure he tried it out there. I think there's a thread here on the Trends Micro.

Worst case you can always start with the mini stereo front end you have. You might be surprised how well the Klipsch speakers sound in such a setup and then you'd have time to find a suitable receiver or amplifier. Depth may be a problem even if you can find a unit that's narrow enough. Good luck.

yes Ben, I was looking at those the other day and dismayed that the power supply is N/A at Parts Express. Does anyone know if this amp is being totally discontinued or if there is another source for power supply?

[colterphoto1]

If you're only going to use this with your IPOD, you could get one of those single chip amplifiers. I think the Trends Micro are around $120 and may have went up and there's a Sonic Impact model for 29.99 at Parts Express ( http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-952 ) but the 19.95 ac adaptor is no longer available though they and others probably have other suitable adaptors as using 8 AA batteries could get expensive. Of course I think this model and maybe others have 1 input and no tuner. I've not used one though a lot of people claim they do better than expected. Someone had the Sonic Impact at the Pilgrimage but I forgot to ask him about it and not sure he tried it out there. I think there's a thread here on the Trends Micro.

Worst case you can always start with the mini stereo front end you have. You might be surprised how well the Klipsch speakers sound in such a setup and then you'd have time to find a suitable receiver or amplifier. Depth may be a problem even if you can find a unit that's narrow enough. Good luck.

yes Ben, I was looking at those the other day and dismayed that the power supply is N/A at Parts Express. Does anyone know if this amp is being totally discontinued or if there is another source for power supply?

[DrWho]

The Super-T comes with power supply:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-956

I've not heard the Super-T, but the T-Amp is in no way going to be

suitable to drive any speaker to any suitable output. Keep in mind that

the distortion curve is a brick wall at the peak power output which

means all of your dynamic transients in music need to be kept below

that point. With 10W into 8ohms, a sensitivity around 95dB and

accounting for 20dB of transients in music (this is conservative) and

6dB losses from distance, you're talking at best a continuous output

level of 75dB to 80dB at the listening position. These are levels for

very casual music listening - you will never be able to crank it up.

And we're talking a theoretical max...take into account load impedance

variations with frequency and time and now you're looking at 65dB to

70dB of realistic max output. Now that's probably exagerating a bit,

but it's just like when CD's came out and studios kept running

everything too hot until they learned that digital doesn't clip nicely.

These digital amps simply can't be run to their full potential without

introducing all sorts of distortion. Below the distortion point they

run extremely well, but I can't help but wonder if the majority of

people that don't care for these amps are simply clipping them (and of

course that will sound bad).

All that said, if you consider digital amps I might consider looking

into some of the units that have a bit more power capabilities. Also,

be aware that digital amps absolutely require a clean power supply. Any

ripple in the rail voltage gets transfered directly to the output. DC

adaptors are probably one of the worst possible power supplies (since

they're more concerned about a small package than quality of output). Of course more power is more expensive so you'll have to determine how much power output you really think you'll need.

[ByteWrangler]

Good heavens, man! What are you thinking??? Turning an amp on its side creates a 90° phase rotation and, worse, will make the sonics vertically polarized. This will cause the soundstage to become jumbled (all the instruments will seem to be piled on top of each other) and destroy all openness to the sound as the lows are crushed by the highs that are now sitting directly on top of them (or vice-versa depending on which way you turn it), making the ones on the bottom flat and the ones at the top unstable. You might be able to avoid some of these problems by laying one of the speakers sideways on the floor with the other hung sideways from the ceiling above and listening while lying on your side, but I'm not sure if that will help or not. There is a reason that all good amplifiers are wider than they are tall. If an amp were meant to be used this way it would have little feet on the end.

j/k, of course! [] The only thing I'd be concerned about at all is cooling.

[theplummer]

I've had my Sunfire Signature Cinima Grand (5X425watts) standing vertically for several years now with no ill effects.

[Guest " "]

it depends on the heat sinks for the output transistors.

sometimes there will be boards on one side or the other....and sitting the unit vertically will transfer the heat from the heatsinks directly onto the boards which ould now be on top of the heatsinks.  The extra heat could shorten the life of the boards capacitors.

[HarryO]

This is one of the receivers I use to test gear. It's in use 24/7 never shuts off. No problems.

Harry

[arfandbark]

Good heavens, man! What are you thinking??? Turning an amp on its side creates a 90° phase rotation and, worse, will make the sonics vertically polarized. This will cause the soundstage to become jumbled (all the instruments will seem to be piled on top of each other) and destroy all openness to the sound as the lows are crushed by the highs that are now sitting directly on top of them (or vice-versa depending on which way you turn it), making the ones on the bottom flat and the ones at the top unstable. You might be able to avoid some of these problems by laying one of the speakers sideways on the floor with the other hung sideways from the ceiling above and listening while lying on your side, but I'm not sure if that will help or not. There is a reason that all good amplifiers are wider than they are tall. If an amp were meant to be used this way it would have little feet on the end.

j/k, of course! [] The only thing I'd be concerned about at all is cooling.

I've heard it all now... As long as you can cool it the amp won't care which way is up.