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Keep your computers cool
#1
A couple of days ago I had quite a long listening session but I wasn't enjoying it at all. I was sitting there just thinking about how ordinary my system sounded and I how couldn't get it to sound right. I hadn't made any changes to the speaker setup and I was sure I was sitting in the right spot. All settings were ok. Still, it sounded harsh and 'digital'. I tried Amarra on/off. USB / AIR. Nothing helped.

We had been having some thunder storms in the previous few days and I was afraid something might have fried inside my Od'A.

One of the changes I had made when I changed from D200 to Od'A was that I made a new (temporary) rack to accomodate the extra D. Previously I had my Mac mini set up behind my TV, which I use as a screen for the Mac. Since I installed the Od'A I have put the Mac on a shelf next to one of the amps. Since I did this, I've heard the fan in the Mac for the first time. Previously I never heard it and wasn't even aware there was a fan in the Mac mini. At the time I thought that would be because it had been behind the TV.

So here I was getting quite annoyed with the sound when the sound suddenly started to stutter. The mouse started to work erratically as well. And I heard the fan again. And it dawned on me that I'd heard the fan a few times before between songs, as if it had been on all the time. So I stood up and felt the temperature of the Mac. Well, I couldn't keep my hand on it, it was that hot. The Od'A was hot too (Class A amp 63 degrees and the power supply and D amp in the high 50's)

My Mac was only 1 inch / 2.5cm away from the amp so I moved it away a bit and let it cool down. low and behold, the sound quality came back to life and all was good again. Since then I haven't heard the fan come on once.

All this gives an interesting insight into the effects of overheating processors. And of course the need to keep 'em cool. It's hard to say that keeping the D cool would make it sound better. After all it sounded great again once the Mac had cooled down. But then I would still believe the processors inside the D would work best at a certain temperature.

Anyway, something to ponder about.  Confused
                                                    Lifetime Roon, Mac mini, int. SSD, ext. HDD, tv as monitor, key board and track pad on bean bag as remote,Devialet 200, Od'A #097, Blue jeans speaker cable,                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            Dynaudio C1 MkII.
                                                                                                                                                                              Jim Smith's GBS.
                                                                                                                                                                        Northern NSW Australia.
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#2
(14-Nov-2016, 04:02)Pim van Vliet Wrote: A couple of days ago I had quite a long listening session but I wasn't enjoying it at all. I was sitting there just thinking about how ordinary my system sounded and I how couldn't get it to sound right. I hadn't made any changes to the speaker setup and I was sure I was sitting in the right spot. All settings were ok. Still, it sounded harsh and 'digital'. I tried Amarra on/off. USB / AIR. Nothing helped.

We had been having some thunder storms in the previous few days and I was afraid something might have fried inside my Od'A.

One of the changes I had made when I changed from D200 to Od'A was that I made a new (temporary) rack to accomodate the extra D. Previously I had my Mac mini set up behind my TV, which I use as a screen for the Mac. Since I installed the Od'A I have put the Mac on a shelf next to one of the amps. Since I did this, I've heard the fan in the Mac for the first time. Previously I never heard it and wasn't even aware there was a fan in the Mac mini. At the time I thought that would be because it had been behind the TV.

So here I was getting quite annoyed with the sound when the sound suddenly started to stutter. The mouse started to work erratically as well. And I heard the fan again. And it dawned on me that I'd heard the fan a few times before between songs, as if it had been on all the time. So I stood up and felt the temperature of the Mac. Well, I couldn't keep my hand on it, it was that hot. The Od'A was hot too (Class A amp 63 degrees and the power supply and D amp in the high 50's)

My Mac was only 1 inch / 2.5cm away from the amp so I moved it away a bit and let it cool down. low and behold, the sound quality came back to life and all was good again. Since then I haven't heard the fan come on once.

All this gives an interesting insight into the effects of overheating processors. And of course the need to keep 'em cool. It's hard to say that keeping the D cool would make it sound better. After all it sounded great again once the Mac had cooled down. But then I would still believe the processors inside the D would work best at a certain temperature.

Anyway, something to ponder about.  Confused

Hi Pim - that is fascinating!

I would assume that the problem is not with the temperature per se but the fact that the Mac starts to throttle the processor performance when it gets too hot, to prevent a meltdown. That then begs the question of whether the processors inside the O d'A are similarly protected (not that mine gets especially warm, but still . . )

I'm glad you are enjoying your amplifier - I am more than thrilled with mine  Big Grin
NUC i5/ROCK/Roon Lifetime =>  Original d'Atelier CoreInfinity #066 => Transparent MusicWave+ =>Wilson Sophia 3
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#3
It might be that the fan is the culprit here.The high revs of the fan produces a large amount of noise on the power inside the Mac Mini. If there were a passive cooling mod (different case?) on the inet I  would go for it.

gui
"Oh, you can buy the other. But then it is a cost intensive learning process"
berlin
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#4
(24-Nov-2016, 19:15)yabaVR Wrote: It might be that the fan is the culprit here.The high revs of the fan produces a large amount of noise on the power inside the Mac Mini. If there were a passive cooling mod (different case?) on the inet I  would go for it.

gui

Hi Gui,

It was definitely more than just a bit of fan noise. There were massive stutters towards the end. I've since found that when the mini isn't near the D, the fan doesn't actually kick in. If i wanted an easy passive cooling mod/tweak, I could always get a cooling block from the freezer and put that on top. And grab a second one to keep my beer cool.  Big Grin
                                                    Lifetime Roon, Mac mini, int. SSD, ext. HDD, tv as monitor, key board and track pad on bean bag as remote,Devialet 200, Od'A #097, Blue jeans speaker cable,                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            Dynaudio C1 MkII.
                                                                                                                                                                              Jim Smith's GBS.
                                                                                                                                                                        Northern NSW Australia.
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