Question Stacking units

[ronnierott]

What's the opinion on stacking units on top of each other?

I have the following:-

AV amp
Stereo amp
DVD player
CD player
Network player
Xbox one S

I'm looking for a rack for them to go into but was wondering what units would be ok to sit directly on top of one another.

I'm guessing that the amps should have their own separate shelf, to allow better ventilation, but can the rest of the units sit directly on top of each other??

All of the units are full width (435mm) apart from the Xbox.

Advice much appreciated.

 

[mushii]

Do not do it. Amps can generate a lot of heat and require adequate ventilation. By stacking them one you are not letting heat dissipate effectively and two you are adding additional heat. Again other equipment can also generate heat and needs its own ventilation.

 

[ronnierott]

Do not do it. Amps can generate a lot of heat and require adequate ventilation. By stacking them one you are not letting heat dissipate effectively and two you are adding additional heat. Again other equipment can also generate heat and needs its own ventilation.

Many thanks for reply.

Yes, I can understand that it's not good to stack the amps but wasn't sure about the sources.

 

[dazed&confused]

I took the risk of temporally stacking my equipment when I was waiting to finish the decorating before getting myself a rack. That was in 2004, I still haven't got the rack, and I've been too busy listening to music and watching the telly and movies to get any decorating done. Stacking has not caused me any problems at all. Don't play any music though, after you've forgotten you've left your amp on top of your subwoofer whilst moving stuff around- that, I quickly found out, will almost immediately lead to a repair bill for the amp.

 

[Costello]

If it’s got a vent on the top, don’t stack

 

[dannnielll]

Heat is the killer of electronics. When ever I found it necessary,to stack , I would put a timber 1*1 strip as a spacer between units ... even a 1 inch gap makes a huge difference to heat build up in an amplifier, although 2 inches is of course better. It is better to put the CD player below the amplifier ,if it's case is strong enough, as heat rises.

 

[Don Dadda]

I wouldn’t stack amps or have anything on top. Could getaway with Cd and DVD player stacked . Has your cd/dvd players got vents.? Probably not as they don’t generally produce enough if any heat to require vents.

 

[dazed&confused]

My disk player (Oppo 105D), which has vents, gets hotter than any of my other kit. The Oppo sits on top of my Audiolab FM/DAB radio tuner which has no vents and remains cool, and the Oppo is switched off when the radio is switched on and vice versa. I agree with people's comments though - I should stop stacking things or otherwise, as Dannniellle suggests, I should insert something between the components to get some more substantial space between them. For maximum placebo benefit I could pay Russ Andrews a few hundred quid for some wood cones.

 

[Russ_64]

I was bit worried when I added a stereo amp and needed to stack. Provided that your rack is open and not closed design AND there is an air gap between components, then it should be okay. I have my Oppo 203 on top of my Musical Fidelity m3i. Neither get very hot, I would not recommend putting anything on top of an AVR as they do get hot.

 

[BlueWizard]

If you must stack equipment, stack in order of POWER, lowest Power on the bottom, highest Power on the TOP.

Though admittedly that goes against instinct, as the Amp is usually the heaviest, and the CD is usually the lightest (as an example). But you can not or should not limit the ventilation of the Amps. They do generate a lot of heat. If you have a 60w/ch amp then go touch a 60w incandescent light bulb to get a sense of how much heat 60w is.

Also, and I have done this myself, put some Spacers between the equipment. Perhaps 3/4"x 3/4" or 1"x1" or more if you can. Even that small gap can improve airflow around the equipment. CD and BluRay, and similar, that have motors in them, can also generate some heat, not like a power amp, but they still get warm. An extra inch of air gap will make a difference.

I think I used 1x3 (3/4" x 2.5", 19mm x 64mm) clear oak lumber, sanded it, dark oak stained it, and gave it a coat of varnish. When I needed more space, I simply stacked two them. Of course, to save money, you could do the same with clear pine.

But the simple fact is, you have to give the HEAT some place to go, some way to dissipate.

If you must stack then - Low Power on the Bottom, High Power on the Top.

Steve/bluewizard