clearance for P7

jayman_1975

Standard Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
141
Reaction score
2
Points
42
Hi. I have sold my P1000 that was powering my center and 2 surround channels. I have also sold my center so i will only be needing to power my 2 surround channels as my P1's are doing front duty.

At the moment i only really need a 2 channel amp to do the surrounds but i may someday in the future go back to a center channel so then i would need at least 3 channels. The possibility of a full 7 channel rig could be in the cards someday as well so then i would need a 5 channel amp to do the job.

I was thinking about going with a P7. Granted i would only be using 2 channels for now it would suit me for whatever my needs may be in the future. The problem is... my rack would only allow for about 2 inches of clearance above the P7 but the sides are open. If the p7 is only doing surround duties and possibly center (in the future), would this be enough breathing room? Or should i maybe just buy a p38 or p35 to do the surround duties instead as it would have plenty of breathing room. I have been on the lookout for a p35/3 but they do not show up very often here in Canada.

What do you guys think?
 
Think the required clearance is in the manual, which you can get off Arcam website, but 2 inches should be absolutely fine. Mine has about 1 inch plus open sided rack and has never overheated in 5 years. I use mine for bi-amping fronts and centre (PMC's) so more load than surround effects too.
 
Hi Jayman,

If tis can help...
I used to have a P7 for about 3 days for a home demo. I ran it almost all of those 3 days in my setup listening to music (2channels on) and to movie (5 channels on). On both, I have been listening pretty loud.
I must say that, if I was not impressed by the sound, I have been rather impressed by how cool the power amp remained, even after a 3 hours listening session.
So I guess 2 inches will do...
When looking into the manual, take note that the manufacturer always takes a great security margin. So if they recommend 3 inches, 1,5 inches are still good enough :)
Regards.

PenguinHiFi
 
OTOH, I have seen a number of comments about P7s running a bit hot. The one I have is one such example, to the extent that I use small twin flat fans to extract the hot air from the top. At one time I used another fan to move this extracted hot air out the back of my equipment rack (which, btw, is not an enclosed rack).

So, as they say, YMMV. Other than that, it works fine in my HT setup, driving the center, surrounds, and rear surrounds.
 
Last edited:

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom