Whilst damping/dampening/deadening/

[Stryder]

Whilst I was in me Arcams...

I hoovered out the thyristor output heatsinks (these are screwed and thermal pasted to the rear of the amplifier). This is why Arcams (and other manufacturers amps whom do this) get very hot. There was loads of dust in them... I know from tweaking my PC that I get a 10degC drop in CPU temperature just by hoovering out 3 months worth of dust from it's heatsink..

the truth is out there. Result? Amp less stressed.

PS: There is a stupid myth that you shouldn't hoover electronics; like compressed air cans don't carry static huh? As long as you frequently stop to touch the sides of the casework with the hoover hose you will not have a problem with static. To ensure good earth for static - turn unit OFF but keep unit plugged in and turned ON at wall socket. I dabbed the heatsinks first with cotton buds in order to dislodge dust. I also dabbed the pcb with an alcohol moistened cloth (paying attention to static sensitive devices such as IC's).