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Class D amplifiers without fans


thebassist

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1 hour ago, thebassist said:

Leading on from the loud fans thread, I’m looking for class D amplifiers that don’t have fans at all?

I know the Trickfish Bullhead 1K doesn’t have a fan and I’m pretty sure the Phil Jones BP-800 doesn’t too?

Any more?

Acoustic Image

 

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Higher power class D modules do, although they are more efficient than traditional designs, generate fair amounts of heat when driven hard. Heat sinks are often not viable because of their small size. A heat sink needs to be large enough to have plenty of surface area to work properly. Components are packed tightly together on the modules, meaning that those which generate heat have little or no space around them - so you can't mount the power transistors directly to a large enough heat sink, the way it's done on traditional designs. So the only practical solution is usually a fan, or even multiple fans, as is the case on my AG700. For practice/studio work, the best answer is probably a smaller, lower powered model - TE Elf or similar.

Edited by Dan Dare
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3 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

Higher power class D modules do, although they are more efficient than traditional designs, generate fair amounts of heat when driven hard. Heat sinks are often not viable because of their small size. A heat sink needs to be large enough to have plenty of surface area to work properly. Components are packed tightly together on the modules, meaning that those which generate heat have little or no space around them - so you can't mount the power transistors directly to a large enough heat sink, the way it's done on traditional designs. So the only practical solution is usually a fan, or even multiple fans, as is the case on my AG700. For practice/studio work, the best answer is probably a smaller, lower powered model - TE Elf or similar.

 

You can mate the heats sinks on the module used in your amp to a bigger one and it'll work fine without a fan, at least in my experience. But I defintely don't run my amps as hard as many people do, and having the absolute smallest and lightest form factor doesn't matter at all to me. ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think it's pretty weird that fans are used/needed nowadays.

I acknowledge that not everyone cares about fan noise but I know plenty of other folks do care about it - I use the same amplifier for practice as I do for performing live so at lower volumes, a fan kicking in really irritates me.

If Phil Jones, Acoustic Image and others can build a small, lightweight, class D amplifier without a fan, I wonder why Aguilar, Darkglass, etc. can't or won't do it ...I really fancy a Darkglass Microtubes 900 but the fan means I won't get one.

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On 24/09/2020 at 09:39, Dan Dare said:

 For practice/studio work, the best answer is probably a smaller, lower powered model - TE Elf or similar.

Except the Elf's fan is a bit noisy.  I'm guessing that due to its form factor, the fan is more important.  It is certainly louder than the fan on my MarkBass Marcus Miller 500W head

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13 hours ago, fretmeister said:

I remember when the V1 was announced. The early pics had a larger chassis and were without a fan. They clearly wanted a smaller unit so needed a fan.

Darkglass, Aguilar, etc. must be capable of building their amplifiers without a fan but I suppose that the market/expense just doesn't justify the hassle.

With a fan:

  • Darkglass Microtubes 900V2 (900w): 255 x 267 x 70 mm
  • Aguilar TH700 (700w): 305 x 229 x 76 mm

Without a fan:

  • Phil Jones BP-800 (800w): 317 x 190 x 63 mm
  • Acoustic Image Clarus SL (600w): 188 x 183 x 53 mm
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  • 7 months later...
1 hour ago, Reggaebass said:

Yeah, the fan in the RM500 is so quiet you don’t even know it’s on 

I agree .. probably one of the quietest amps with a fan I’ve heard

Definitely use it in the studio it’s that whisper quiet 

Edited by BassAdder27
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