Onkyo receiver gets hot

Anonymous	Posted on Saturday, August 28, 2004 - 22:53 GMT I bought onkyo receiver (Tx-sr601) 5 days ago and after listening to music for 2 hours when I checked the receiver it was hot (close to burning hand). I read somewhere that onkyo receiver get hotter than other receiver brand. I am wondering if this is normal or a defected system. Could the heat damage the components after sometime? I still can return the receiver if this is a defected system. I would appreciate any respond so I know if the receiver is ok or not. Thanks
geekboy Silver Member Username: Geekboy Newport, RI United States Post Number: 356 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Saturday, August 28, 2004 - 22:59 GMT Anonymous: most of the (mid-fi) receivers today are what they call Class A/B. They tend to run really warm (and even hot). This is a tradeoff of the design. So, yes, it's normal. Will it damange your components? It depends. The manufacturers use many techniques to dissipate the heat (heat sinks, convection (air flow), fans) away from the components. They use components which have a high tolerance for high temperatures (over 40C). However, you should follow the instructions for the best ventiliation of the receiver. Many receivers state to leave 6" of clearance for the top of the receiver (where the vents usually are), and several inches for the sides and rear. Running your receiver in an enclosed cabinet could cause your receiver to fail due to poor airflow. You may need to add a fan to help vent the warm air out of the cabinet.
Anonymous	Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 01:45 GMT There is no space on both sides of receiver but there is more than 6" on top and opened the back of the cabin. Also, I leave the door open for airflow when the receiver is on. Is that sufficient? Thanks
geekboy Silver Member Username: Geekboy Newport, RI United States Post Number: 357 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 16:49 GMT Anonymous: it should be. The more airflow it has, the better. What could be contributing, however, are other components in the same cabinet. Do you have other audio/video components in the cabinet? Are they running warm too? If so, then you are probably not moving enough air and the BTUs generated by the equipment is causing them to just heat up. Not enough ventilation in that enclosed space will cause the temperature to just rise (slowly) via convection. I'd check the other components too and see if they're getting really hot. Other items in an A/V cabinet which tend to get really warm are your satellite and/or cable box. You may want to add a fan to help ventilate the heat.
jim motavalli Unregistered guest	Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 21:32 GMT I'm also curious about this, because I just bought a Technics AV receiver SA EX-500 that also runs very warm. I have it in a cabinet, and was worried it might start a fire. I suspected the problem might be the six-ohm speakers I was using, but it's the same with eight-ohm speakers. This post seems to indicate that I shouldn't worry about the heat, and just leave the cabinet door open. I have plenty of clearance above the vents.
geekboy Silver Member Username: Geekboy Newport, RI United States Post Number: 358 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 22:02 GMT jim: opening the door while running the receiver will certainly help. Most of these receivers run very warm when playing movies (multi-channel) or really loud music (or lower with inefficient speakers). Generally, you don't have to worry about fire until about Fahrenheit 451 (aka 451F where paper will burst into flames) -- for many materials. But, you still should be careful about ventiliation, wiring, and power cords. The biggest concern with the high temperatures is not that of fire... but that of component longevity. (The #1 cause of component failure is power conditioning and heat.) I wouldn't worry that much unless you are running really hot. All of these receivers are designed to operate at temperatures that you may think are unreasonable. If your receiver doesn't like the operating temperature... it will shutdown and go into PROTECT mode (or display MUTE on the screen without your pressing mute). So, if your receiver is going into PROTECT mode even ocassionally, this may indicate an airflow (fan) problem, an internal temperature problem due to heavy use at high volumes, an internal temperature problem due to a short, or ambient (outside) temperature.
jim motavalli Unregistered guest	Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 23:12 GMT Thanks for the information, which I will certainly use. A further annoyance is that the receiver apparently has only two modes: on and standby. In standby, it still gets hot, which is annoying. Isn't there some way to turn these things really off without unplugging them?
geekboy Silver Member Username: Geekboy Newport, RI United States Post Number: 361 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 23:25 GMT Jim: best wishes with your new receiver. Some of the receivers do have a power off button. My H/K AVR-525 has 2 power buttons on the front. One for "power" and one for "stand-by". Yes, the receiver will consume some power when in standby mode. It shouldn't be that much and certainly less than 60W. But 60W of energy consumption will generate "some" heat when in standby. I never turn my AVR-525 "off". I always just use the standby button (the remote puts it into standby as well although the button is clearly marked off ).
jim motavalli Unregistered guest	Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 23:37 GMT Thanks again. I still find it odd that an owner would want a unit generating as much as 60 watts of power when doing nothing. What's the advantage of standby, anyway? Comes on faster? Another oddity: the help light glows. When pushed, it reads "System Working Now" or some such. I've just hooked up a pair of Aiwa six-ohm stereo speakers to it, but I gather it can handle a subwoofer and more for a surround sound effect.
geekboy Silver Member Username: Geekboy Newport, RI United States Post Number: 362 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 23:55 GMT Jim: your questions continue to be very good. Standby power is used to provide the minimal functionality to allow your to turn on your receiver via your remote control or other special features (I can't think of any!). The I/R (or RF) receiver in the receiver needs power so that it can receive your remote control commands. It would then require a response and the electronics necessary to handle that must also have power. The problem is, that this requires the power supply to be on as well. Combined with some other things that may be on while you are in standby, like the cool indicator lights indicating that you are in fact saving energy by being in standby mode , the power supply itself is causing some of that wasted energy as well. That's why even a green computer uses some power and to get the green compliancy sticker, it must draw less than a certain amount of power when idle. Kinda reminds me of the Tree Huggers who drive around in their Ford Excursions and GMC Suburbans with their "Earth First" bumper stickers. The receiver is trying to save energy, but consuming it while in standby mode anyhow!
jim motavalli Unregistered guest	Posted on Monday, August 30, 2004 - 01:05 GMT Well, my high-tech solution to all this, geekboy, is simply to unplug the darned thing when I'm not using it. Crude, but effective. I know all about "green" computers, by the way, since I'm the editor of a green magazine (E), which is online at www.emagazine.com.
My Rantz Silver Member Username: Myrantz Post Number: 592 Registered: Aug-04	Posted on Monday, August 30, 2004 - 01:50 GMT I cannot understand a unit using that much power in standby mode also. Something seems very wrong imo. It's only there for the convenience to use the remote to turn on the machine and/or in some cases, to save settings.
geekboy Silver Member Username: Geekboy Newport, RI United States Post Number: 363 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Monday, August 30, 2004 - 02:18 GMT My Rantz: yeah, it would seem so. I did some reading and from what I've learned, that other than the convenience features (remote i/r sensors, standby functions, RS-232 port power, A-Bus control power, courtesy "lights"), inefficiencies in the power supply also tend to make them 0% efficient at low power, so, it increase the wattage when in standby. Now that I think of it... powering the RS-232 port, and A-Bus controller added to the other functions (remote i/r sensor), would mean more power than you'd imagine... but shouldn't be anyhwere near 60W. The Denon 2805 uses 1W in standby, but doesn't have RS-232C port or A-Bus controller, as does the higher-end H/K models. Nevertheless, the receiver shouldn't generate that much heat. My H/K does generate heat when in "standby". I think it may had been set for 2nd zone operation at the time (but 2nd zone was not in use). That would keep the receiver in idle mode.
geekboy Silver Member Username: Geekboy Newport, RI United States Post Number: 364 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Monday, August 30, 2004 - 02:20 GMT jim: nice... I visited the site. I may have to call you Mr. Green.

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