Hi,
I'm contemplating if I can put all my amplifier boards for my subwoofers and speakers into 1 case, for ease of installation and to keep it 'clean'. A 8+2 sub channel. It would fit very nicely into a Modu 4U Dissipante 400mm case. Buying 2 cases would be slightly more expensive but take twice as much space. 2 cases would have a better resale value, few people will want to buy such a huge case and have dual subwoofers, but I'm building it for myself not for resale.
I just wonder if there is a 'maximum' wattage advised to put into 1 case. It will contain 2 hypex SMPS3K (and 2 ucd2k, 8 ucd400 oem) so in theory 6kW, in practice probably only about 4kW, with a 230V net this would be 17 Amp (my fuse is 25A...and I never had a fuse go with my current setup). Are there any technical reasons not to put too many 'watts' into 1 case?
I would use a Neutrik Powercon and 2,5mm2 wires anyway instead of the IEC. I was going to use a standard Led button (rated 5A) but probably better to make it with a relay if I put it all in 1 case.
Thanks!
I'm contemplating if I can put all my amplifier boards for my subwoofers and speakers into 1 case, for ease of installation and to keep it 'clean'. A 8+2 sub channel. It would fit very nicely into a Modu 4U Dissipante 400mm case. Buying 2 cases would be slightly more expensive but take twice as much space. 2 cases would have a better resale value, few people will want to buy such a huge case and have dual subwoofers, but I'm building it for myself not for resale.
I just wonder if there is a 'maximum' wattage advised to put into 1 case. It will contain 2 hypex SMPS3K (and 2 ucd2k, 8 ucd400 oem) so in theory 6kW, in practice probably only about 4kW, with a 230V net this would be 17 Amp (my fuse is 25A...and I never had a fuse go with my current setup). Are there any technical reasons not to put too many 'watts' into 1 case?
I would use a Neutrik Powercon and 2,5mm2 wires anyway instead of the IEC. I was going to use a standard Led button (rated 5A) but probably better to make it with a relay if I put it all in 1 case.
Thanks!
It depends on ventilation, orientation of the components and general layout.
There is no maximum wattage because there are too many variables.
There is no maximum wattage because there are too many variables.
It would be the standard 4U 'dissipante' case, which has heatsinks on the sides. The SMPS and UCD2k (biggest heat producers) would be mounted to the sinks on the sides, the UCD400 boards have their own (small) heatsink and would be in the middle of the case. the case has limited ventilation, only 'holes' on the sides not the middle.
It all looks like efficient kit. Advise getting it all running in a mock up of the enclosure and seeing how toasty it gets. Mocking it up will likely help with decisions about component and cable layout too.
Might also be worth considering a temperature sensative fan. You'll never hear a fan with that much power cranking. And at low output, with sufficient passive ventilation, the fan shouldn't come on.
Sounds fun.
Might also be worth considering a temperature sensative fan. You'll never hear a fan with that much power cranking. And at low output, with sufficient passive ventilation, the fan shouldn't come on.
Sounds fun.
The power industry often quotes 10kW / litre as some kind of maximum power density. I'm quite sure you're nowhere close.
How big and noisy a fan are you willing to put up with? You can get 2U PA amps with 6000W but not something you want in your living room.
Inverters for electric cars can be well over 100 kW per l. Yup, nowhere near that, but they are water cooled.
But that kind of metric isn't helpful. Huge amounts of water cooling and design for efficiency of moving a car rather than sound quality!
But that kind of metric isn't helpful. Huge amounts of water cooling and design for efficiency of moving a car rather than sound quality!
It's not so much the power that the amps can deliver, but more how much they dissipate.
An amp that in theory could deliver 4kW doesn't dissipate that by a long shot.
Especially with class D, the actual dissipation is much lower.
As an example, I am using a Purify 2 x 400W class D with an 800W SMPS (Hypex) in a relatively small enclosure, bolted to the bottom plate, with no heatsinking at all.
It doesn't get more than hand-warm.
Try to find out how much your amps dissipate at idle, it should be in the data sheet, then double that. That's a good ballpark with audio, which has very low average to peak power requirements.
Jan
Yes, it directly depends on the amount of heat you can remove, using your preferred method of cooling. Please see the following article for the regular air-cooled power conversion. As Lightning Phil already mentioned above, water / glycol cooling can remove a lot more heat from a converter.
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._density_limits_for_forced_convection_cooling
The current benchmark for how many watts can be crammed into the smallest space looks something like this. I'm not suggesting you should try to do the same just illustrating what is possible.
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My point was that the 6kW spec of the amp does not determine how much power it dissipates. Talking about water or glycol cooling is nonsense, totally uncalled for.
See the pic in the above post.
Class D is extremely efficient, you can buy 2 x 5kW amps in a 1u or 2U rack case with maybe a small fan in case the amp gets too hot because it is in a hot room during the summer in Arizona.
You guys should get real.
Jan
jan.didden said:
If your 2x5kW class-D amp has a depth of 10" and a height of 1U, its volume would be close to 5 litres ! The power industry would easily fit more than 50kW into that volume. So, that should tell you (once again) that you never get anywhere close to what has already been achieved.
By mentioning that paper, I was answering the OP's original question about a possible maximum that can be achieved (post #1). Besides, your point was understood correctly, but my point was that this maximum depends on the heat you can remove (cooling technique). Also, I was not suggesting the use of water or glycol, I was just agreeing with what another member had said before. So, that doesn't appear to be nonsense either.
Thanks.