materials for amplifier enclosures: why not wood?

[scottjoplin]

Picked up one of these cheap on eBay and ripped the guts out of it, lovely side heatsinks included INTER-M R150 PLUS POWER AMPLIFIER 2x 75W/4, 50W/8, bridge facility, rackmount, 2U

 

[CharlieLaub]

I found a great deal on 2U rackmount computer cases on Craigslist, but they are too small for anything but some class-D amplifiers.

Maybe I will just build up the amplifier on a piece of plywood or mdf until I have it fully tested and working, at which point I will break down and buy some proper DIYaudio amp chassis.

 

[scottjoplin]

It's a good idea prototyping on a piece of wood, you just need to be extra careful with safety, I'd suggest making a cover and earthing things like pots and rca sockets, or mount them on an earthed bracket

 

[DPH]

I found a great deal on 2U rackmount computer cases on Craigslist, but they are too small for anything but some class-D amplifiers.

Maybe I will just build up the amplifier on a piece of plywood or mdf until I have it fully tested and working, at which point I will break down and buy some proper DIYaudio amp chassis.

Why not use fans? The chassis was designed for it. Super slow fans have way better heat transfer while still being essentially silent.

 

[CharlieLaub]

Why not use fans? The chassis was designed for it. Super slow fans have way better heat transfer while still being essentially silent.

Because I will be using a few huge can-style computer grade capacitors, and they take up way too much room unless they are standing upright. I really need a 4U or 5U size chassis if I want to "do it right".

A couple of years back I built a pair of fan-assisted 3-channel IRS2092 class-D amps and SMPS inside a wooden case, and it worked out nicely. Unfortunately, this build can't quite be as compact as that one was...

 

[DPH]

Gotcha. Well, you'se gotta do what you've got to do. Good luck with the construction!

 

[lisoformio]

I know that metal provide some degree of shielding from EM radiation, etc. but could one just as well build an amplifier enclosure using wood, e.g. some nice hardwood? By "could" I mean without suffering terrible consequences in performance of the amplifier compared to an all metal enclosure.

The reason I ask is that I will be putting together a few amplifiers in the near future and while I have heatsinks a plenty I am really hesitant to drop several hundred dollars (at a minimum) on chassis!

There are several examples of audio manufacturers that do not use metals for chassis:
Mains Independent Power Amplifier - MIPA 30 w
DNM Design Principles, Page 3 of 5 - Materials Technology
6moons industryfeatures: Bernard Salabert of PHY-HP (Mr Salabert made a wood chassis for his mag-amp)
NVA Index Frame

The listed use wood or acrylic.