i used to be into computer overclocking (HIGH demand for heat transfer), and was wondering is anyone has thought about using alpha heatsinks for their amps? they are the best of the best... on my CPU for computer, it can easily lower temps by 20C (thats A LOT to lower). they are just great.
im not sure if they ahve something applicable, but its worth a shot. they make anything custom.
here is a link to their site: alpha heatsinks
im not sure if they ahve something applicable, but its worth a shot. they make anything custom.
here is a link to their site: alpha heatsinks
The problem with CPU fans is that they rely on high airflow fans and given the small diameter of these fans it equates to high RPM and also high noise... it's not what most of us want in a hifi amp. Now water cooling on the other hand.... well water cooling is an entirely different kettle of fish 
yeah, i understand....
but they DO make lower density (not active cooled) heatsinks.
plus, im way too familiar with watercooling, i have a custom unit i built.... and when i build the aleph, ill probably use it to test, because it will basically eliminate all heat, giving a good test environment. its a beat, uses a heater core from a jeep, over 1 gallon of fluid, and a 500 gallon per hour pump, with a bored out copper block. all 1/2" inner diameter too.
hehe. but watercooling isnt silent... you need fans too (albeit they can be VERY quiet), and pumps make noise.
but they DO make lower density (not active cooled) heatsinks.
plus, im way too familiar with watercooling, i have a custom unit i built.... and when i build the aleph, ill probably use it to test, because it will basically eliminate all heat, giving a good test environment
. its a beat, uses a heater core from a jeep, over 1 gallon of fluid, and a 500 gallon per hour pump, with a bored out copper block. all 1/2" inner diameter too.hehe. but watercooling isnt silent... you need fans too (albeit they can be VERY quiet), and pumps make noise.
Inventive minds
cowanrg
Watercooling audio sinks must be very effective!
New ways of doing things, inventions,
comes from the likes of you. Who thinks in new ways
and have the guts to hang on to that thought,
although noone else does.
It is a way to be true to yourself
to respect your own thoughts.
I try, but fails many a time.
This LINK tips can be found on my little homepage.
It can be read, but preferable listened to
and enjoyed with your watercooled soundsystem.
Trust Your Self
DIG IT!
PS. those "very high quality heatsinks" I mentíoned
refers to Computer coolers of today!!! DS
cowanrg
Watercooling audio sinks must be very effective!
New ways of doing things, inventions,
comes from the likes of you. Who thinks in new ways
and have the guts to hang on to that thought,
although noone else does.
It is a way to be true to yourself
to respect your own thoughts.
I try, but fails many a time.
This LINK tips can be found on my little homepage.
It can be read, but preferable listened to
and enjoyed with your watercooled soundsystem.
Trust Your Self
DIG IT!
PS. those "very high quality heatsinks" I mentíoned
refers to Computer coolers of today!!! DS
haha, someone had their coffee this morning.
this post should probably be moved, sorry.
i will check it out and see just how easy/hard it will be. i have like NO tools really, except for circuit tools, so its hard to make waterblocks and such without a drill press. but if someone else has one, that would be awesome. i know exactly what is needed, and all the theory and design behind watercooling. i researched it for 6 months before i built one for my computer.
but, since amps dont even need active cooling, i dont know of its necessary. sure, it could be done, but it gets complex.
for instance, if you have monos (which i want), do you have a watercooling system in EACH box? if so, those things are HUGE. not a big deal though, the pumps are cheap, and the hoses are dirt cheap. the radiator and blocks are costly, but you gotta have 2 sets of blocks anyway.
plus, leaking IS a factor. its tough to get them perfect, becuse over time nylon and silicone do lose elasticicty, especially in hot environments. so, they hoses wouldnt quite fit as good on the nipples. minor problem, but if you keep the amp for 5 years, its gonna need to be rebuilt (at least just the cooling system).
and, you cant passively cool water (or at least efficiently.) it MUST be actively cooled to work, so, thjat will create a bit of noise. and, you dont want any of this running off of the amp's power, so it would need its OWN power source, adding another plug to the amp, now you need a powerstrip just for the monos 4 plugs. wife's everywhere will love that im sure.
if you were to build an external unit, that just looked like a preamp or something, that actually contained the pumps, filters, and cooling, that could work VERY well. but, cost goes up with another case. and, you have 2 hoses running to EACH amp, for a total of 4. this COULD work, and wouldnt be a huge deal, and could look very cool.
there are options, and im checking into them. most likely, for tests, i will use the watercooling, because its reliable. but in the beginning, i will use passive heatsinks. but a plan for watercooling is in the works.
if you got some air hose accessories (like for air compressor hose) that could be NICE. ie - the quick disconnects and stuff... you could make the water supply and return lines look like big interconnects, put some weave on the outside, and finish them with the brass quick-disconnects... could like just like interconnects. but, they would cost around $100 a pair... that stuff aint cheap.
so, with enough $$, it can be done. but, the benefit? it would turn out the SAME result as heatsinks (just a little cooler, but no difference in sound), more $$, more room taken up, and more worries if something clogs your pump, it doesnt start, you get a leak, etc, etc, etc. sure you can make systems to stop that (ie - special non-conductive fluids, kills switches, thermal protection, etc... BUT, i know i would still lose a little bit of sleep each night.
really, watercooling is meant for EXTREME cooling. and like i said above (way above now), amps dont even need active cooling, and until they do, watercooling is prolly just a waste.
this post should probably be moved, sorry.
i will check it out and see just how easy/hard it will be. i have like NO tools really, except for circuit tools, so its hard to make waterblocks and such without a drill press. but if someone else has one, that would be awesome. i know exactly what is needed, and all the theory and design behind watercooling. i researched it for 6 months before i built one for my computer.
but, since amps dont even need active cooling, i dont know of its necessary. sure, it could be done, but it gets complex.
for instance, if you have monos (which i want), do you have a watercooling system in EACH box? if so, those things are HUGE. not a big deal though, the pumps are cheap, and the hoses are dirt cheap. the radiator and blocks are costly, but you gotta have 2 sets of blocks anyway.
plus, leaking IS a factor. its tough to get them perfect, becuse over time nylon and silicone do lose elasticicty, especially in hot environments. so, they hoses wouldnt quite fit as good on the nipples. minor problem, but if you keep the amp for 5 years, its gonna need to be rebuilt (at least just the cooling system).
and, you cant passively cool water (or at least efficiently.) it MUST be actively cooled to work, so, thjat will create a bit of noise. and, you dont want any of this running off of the amp's power, so it would need its OWN power source, adding another plug to the amp, now you need a powerstrip just for the monos
4 plugs. wife's everywhere will love that im sure.if you were to build an external unit, that just looked like a preamp or something, that actually contained the pumps, filters, and cooling, that could work VERY well. but, cost goes up with another case. and, you have 2 hoses running to EACH amp, for a total of 4. this COULD work, and wouldnt be a huge deal, and could look very cool.
there are options, and im checking into them. most likely, for tests, i will use the watercooling, because its reliable. but in the beginning, i will use passive heatsinks. but a plan for watercooling is in the works.
if you got some air hose accessories (like for air compressor hose) that could be NICE. ie - the quick disconnects and stuff... you could make the water supply and return lines look like big interconnects, put some weave on the outside, and finish them with the brass quick-disconnects... could like just like interconnects. but, they would cost around $100 a pair... that stuff aint cheap.
so, with enough $$, it can be done. but, the benefit? it would turn out the SAME result as heatsinks (just a little cooler, but no difference in sound), more $$, more room taken up, and more worries if something clogs your pump, it doesnt start, you get a leak, etc, etc, etc. sure you can make systems to stop that (ie - special non-conductive fluids, kills switches, thermal protection, etc... BUT, i know i would still lose a little bit of sleep each night.
really, watercooling is meant for EXTREME cooling. and like i said above (way above now), amps dont even need active cooling, and until they do, watercooling is prolly just a waste.
Banned
Joined 2002
Banned
Joined 2002
Banned
Joined 2002
yeah, same here... i know my stuff too, but once again, this isnt overclockers.com
i plan on building THE aleph 2. overdoing as much as i can, making this thing a MONSTER (and of course the sweetest sounding thing you've ever heard).
so, gonna research design and such for about 2 months, then build.
i plan on building THE aleph 2. overdoing as much as i can, making this thing a MONSTER (and of course the sweetest sounding thing you've ever heard).
so, gonna research design and such for about 2 months, then build.
Banned
Joined 2002
ah. i have my speakers not DIY, but PSB's, they are nice. now i just gotta amp the babies.
gonna buy the PCB's within a week or two, then start finding parts. ill just build them little by little. i have NO idea how to do the case (well i kinda do, but dont have tools, etc...). but, thats a ways away.
not DIY, but PSB's, they are nice. now i just gotta amp the babies.gonna buy the PCB's within a week or two, then start finding parts. ill just build them little by little. i have NO idea how to do the case (well i kinda do, but dont have tools, etc...). but, thats a ways away.
Water cooling?
The problems are overstated. My system is absolutely silent, albeit with the water pump in another room. Passive cooling on the heat exchanger so far...2 pairs of Aleph 2s all channels running on the same cooling system, which is to say over 1200W of heat (I run the bias about 10% over the standard). I won't bother using forced air on the heat exchanger until I have to.
Grey
The problems are overstated. My system is absolutely silent, albeit with the water pump in another room. Passive cooling on the heat exchanger so far...2 pairs of Aleph 2s all channels running on the same cooling system, which is to say over 1200W of heat (I run the bias about 10% over the standard). I won't bother using forced air on the heat exchanger until I have to.
Grey
GRollins said:
as i said before, its not a question as to whether or not the watercooling will be effective, its just a question of necessity and effort. i'm not 100% sure how im going to build my aleph2's yet, but BIG heatsinks look VERY costly. i may build a watercooling setup, as i can build one prefectly sufficient for about $150 for both. if you say active cooling isnt necessary, just a passive radiator method, i'm in! it could turn out to be MUCH cheaper than heatsinks.
im not too good about the design of the amps yet, but ive heard of people pushing more juice into them, if you can cool them. well, in this case, with watercooling, their is really no limit.
i should be ordering my aleph boards in about 2 weeks maybe? i just need money really.
CPU style cooling ?
Actually I thought about this some time ago and I think it would be worth looking at more carefully.
Fans are noisy, but mainly when they are run at full power - the noise level dropping dramatically when you slow them down.
Processors really like to be kept very cool, whereas we could let our FETs get quite a bit warmer with complete safety.
One idea which kept surfacing in my tiny mind was a "single FET" Aleph5 mounting the FETs on the PCB and using 2 CPU sinks and fans at half speed. If all of this were inside the case, then the dB output from the fans may be quite acceptable ......
Would be interested for someone with a dB meter to measure the output from a CPU fan at half speed .... though we need to remember there would be 4x in a stereo amp.
So many projects, so little time
cheers, mark
Actually I thought about this some time ago and I think it would be worth looking at more carefully.
Fans are noisy, but mainly when they are run at full power - the noise level dropping dramatically when you slow them down.
Processors really like to be kept very cool, whereas we could let our FETs get quite a bit warmer with complete safety.
One idea which kept surfacing in my tiny mind was a "single FET" Aleph5 mounting the FETs on the PCB and using 2 CPU sinks and fans at half speed. If all of this were inside the case, then the dB output from the fans may be quite acceptable ......
Would be interested for someone with a dB meter to measure the output from a CPU fan at half speed .... though we need to remember there would be 4x in a stereo amp.
So many projects, so little time
cheers, mark
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