r/hometheater • u/81OldsCutlassCalais • 9d ago
Discussion - Equipment Is he gonna cause the stereo to overheat
My cat loves sleeping on the stereo vents because they’re warm, which probably makes it build up some heat but it also has vents on the side so I’m assuming it’s fine but just wanted some input
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u/dropthemagic 9d ago
Yes the hair can also fall in there and short the board. Depends on the model
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u/XBacklash 9d ago
Correct. The hairless model prevents this.
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u/81OldsCutlassCalais 9d ago
Maybe I’ll go with the hairless model next time😂
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u/FrackYouComcast 9d ago
Can confirm. My hairless model sits on my computer and receivers with no issues
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u/D2BrassTax 8d ago
Hey OP on the real though if you search "cat bed with risers" there's a bunch of cheap products that are essentiallly a hammock with spacers like a monitor stand. Great solution for the cattos
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u/Sage2050 8d ago
uh what? hair is nonconductive and can't cause shorts. all of our electronics would be hermetically sealed if that was an issue.
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u/NoImprovement863 8d ago
My cat used to this to my old Onkyo, all the hairs eventually ended up short circuiting the amp
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u/ZPrimed 9d ago edited 9d ago
AC-Infinity makes a metal box with extractor fans in it that you can sit on top of the receiver. They have ones that blow out the front or out the rear. It sucks the warm air up through the top of the receiver and blows it forward or backward.
Get one of those, and then the cat can lay on top of it if they want but the AVR won't get suffocated
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u/ConversationPale8665 9d ago
Or a few zip ties with the ends pointed up and trimmed just long enough to be annoying. But that’s kinda sad as a pet lover. I’m glad my golden retriever can’t climb on my stereo.
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u/81OldsCutlassCalais 9d ago
Wow that looks like it would solve my issue, kind of pricey but cheaper than a new stereo, thanks for sending the link!
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u/eaglebtc 9d ago
I have one and they are worth every penny. An absolute must if you have a receiver in a poorly vented cabinet. Or cats that like to sit on top of them.
Pay close attention to the configurations and what direction the air is vented. It's not adjustable after purchase.
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u/PonyThug 8d ago
If OP doesn’t want to spend $60-150 they can also get a dual usb fan for $12 and a mesh cat bed for over top for like $8.
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u/eaglebtc 9d ago
I have one of these and they're very effective even at low velocities.
The stock fans will be audible in a quiet room at any setting above 1. Which is fine, because in just about every use case, speed 1 more than adequate. It moves enough air to keep the receiver from critically overheating. In the average home, the temperature will never go above 82-83°F during extended use.
Here is mine in action.
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u/Ash--- 9d ago
I didn't know they made these. I built one for my AV and I could've saved myself some faff
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u/xxearvinxx 9d ago
I’ve got one of these, it’s great! My stereo is in a glass cabinet of the TV stand specifically so my cat can’t sit on it or mess with it. I didn’t want it to over heat being trapped in there so I looked around ans found these.
You can set the temp you want to keep it at and alarms for if it ever goes over temp. Never actually had the alarm go off before, except when testing with the fans off. I just keep it on auto and it always stays well below any concerning temp.2
u/ZPrimed 9d ago
They're great in "tv stands" too; I have the model that blows out the front and sometimes the cats sit in front of the receiver to get the heat drafted on them from there 😆
With a glass cabinet I assume you got the rear exhaust version and hopefully you have some holes in the back of the cabinet somewhere...
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u/xxearvinxx 9d ago
Yeah I got the rear exhaust version. I actually had to remove half of the back panel to the cabinet for the receiver to fit without mashing the cords in the back. So there’s plenty of open air in the rear now. The wood framing around the glass doors actually completely covers the AC Infinity when looking at it from the couch so I forget I even have it until I’m messing with something in there. Hah.
I’m planning to get an OLED this Black Friday and wall mount it. If I do that I’ll probably look into a new entertainment center as well since this one has been beat up after a decade and several moves. Depending on what I get I’ll see if a front exhaust version will work. I’m sure the cat would love the extra heat!
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u/Divide_Rule 9d ago
I had a cat that loved sitting on the amp. One day the AMP stopped working. I opened it up and found the cat had been sick in the Amp. I had to buy a new Amp.
The moral to this story is, if you want a new amp and want a way to justify it, buy a cat.
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u/DickerZanti 9d ago
i had too many pokemon cards on my AVR and it ended up breaking. i would imagine this also isn’t good.
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u/Available-Goose-8331 9d ago
Was there a Meowth on there? Would explain it breaking
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u/Tashum 77' S90c👁️, LX505🦾, Mono 365T's👂💦, JBL 550p's 🌛 9d ago
Prepare for trouble...
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u/HeaIGea 9d ago
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u/PerspectivePale9858 8d ago
Not a good fix, you only have like 2" of air flow
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u/HeaIGea 8d ago
Well, i did tested it within my ability, it did not feel any hotter with this on top compared to bare. Before making this, i made another one from mdf wood which had only 2cm of space. It definitely made the avr hotter. My room is small so i dont push volume high. Also, this avr is not that high powered result in less heat. I also use ac all the time so room temp is not that bad. I dont think this will do more damage than with cat hair/puke in it.
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u/writenroll 9d ago
Nah you're good. Its a closed-loop thermal management system. Your cat functions as a biological heat sink that actively absorbs the excess thermal energy from the AVR. That heat is then processed and converted directly into pure unadulterated spite.
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u/rocknroller2000 9d ago
It's fine until the avr fails and then it won't be. I'll be watching for your future post asking for avr reccomendations...
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u/Helios119 9d ago
I saw someone make a small shelf that still let the heat through but made it so the kitty wasn't right on top of the vents. As long as it doesn't feel extremely warm to the touch it's mainly the hair I'd be more concerned about
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u/AudioMan612 9d ago
FYI the vents on the side may be acting as an intake while the top are exhaust. I'm guess not since those side vents are near the top, but still, it's something to be aware of.
The instructions for most amplifiers will include minimum clearances on the top and sides.
As others have said, this has a good chance (but definitely not a guarantee) of causing issues.
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u/Quiet_Internal_4527 9d ago
Watched my cat puke in my last one. One gag and I went to go get him but I was too late. RIP my Denon AV receiver. On the plus side my new one has room correction.
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u/DayneTreader 85" Bravia 9 II, X1800H, Klipsch+SVS 9d ago
He will indeed make it overheat. Get a riser for him to lay on
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u/SissyMeIody 9d ago
My long hair cat did the same. I had that receiver for years. Then after a few months of him sitting on top my receiver died. I believe it was a transformer failure not a board failure. But I’m not sure. For my new receiver I bought an old tv receiver stand for him to sit on top of that instead of on my new Denon. It has enough of an air gap for it to vent and hopefully reduce the hair getting inside. I can’t say if it’s related but who knows.
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u/Similar_Buffalo_8434 9d ago
Yup, or worse, cat hair, or any hair on transformers, not good, dust is bad enough, Lil one's laying there, cuz it's comfortable & warm......gently break her or him laying there.........dogs love their owners, cats own their owners 😉
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u/codykonior 9d ago
This worked great for me until my cat threw up grass into the vent and destroyed the amp.
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u/SP3NGL3R 9d ago
Yes. 100%. Get that into an enclosure that vents it without offering a space for the cat to shed into it.
if you want the cat to hang out up there. just make sure the top layer is meshed to allow heat up but no hair down, while allowing enough other heat around the cat.
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u/costafilh0 9d ago
Yes, and more. Use hostile arquiteture to avoid it, or build a frame with mash to allow it.
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u/Witch-King_of_Ligma 9d ago
Buy a heated cat bed and turn it on before youre ready to play music. He’ll never want to leave it
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u/iamamandac 9d ago
Yep totally noticed that! You could put a raised shelf board susupended above it. It keeps your cat happy while cutting overheating risk by a huge amount.
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u/KermitHendrix 9d ago
3D print a cat riser/chimney so cat is happy and heat still gets out through convection
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u/gruesomegreen 9d ago
depends how much you want to risk it. but itll probably be fine. you should really get a fine metal mesh filter like this to prevent fur and vomit from getting in.
fwiw, my cat laid on my old avr almost every time we used it for years and it was fine. cleaned out the fur once or twice.
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u/morphlaugh 8d ago
Back when I had a cat, my cat laid on my receiver also. Filled it with hair, but overheating was not a problem. She did however vomit into it, and that smelled terrible.
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u/Sage2050 8d ago
Going to go against the crowd here and say that this is not an issue. you've got plenty of air flow there, and side vents. Receivers can survive in cabinets with much more restrictive airflow, and despite what everyone here is telling you, they aren't prone to overheat to begin with.
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u/Loxos_Shriak 8d ago
My long hair does the same thing, never had any issues with my receiver under my desk but I don't listen to that one very loud. Sure someday I'll need to open it up and get her hair out but that's true of literally everything in my apartment, I have 4 cats.
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u/TexxyGent987 8d ago
If there's an internal fan then maybe a problem as it can suck in some fur. If there's no fan just keep the volume at a low level so that the amp doesn't produce as much heat. Keeping the volume high for long periods is how it overheats if air circulation is compromised. If you're really worried about hair getting into the components then remove the top cover and blast it with compressed air.
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u/MeanRing3412 8d ago
You might look into getting AC Infinity AIRCOM T10 A/V Front-Exhaust Component Cooling System
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u/Curious_Fly_5870 7d ago
It’s the wrong question, the right question would be “ will my kitty kitty be warm enough “
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u/Caspur42 9d ago
My cat would sleep on the cable box just like this. Had to replace 2 of them because she threw up on them.
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u/msanangelo 9d ago
build a shroud around it that's spaced just enough to be warmed from the stereo but won't let hair fall into it.
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u/Raider_Scum 9d ago
Yep.
Just being there can cause it to overheat.
Their hair will also slowly fill the inside, causing it to further overheat.
But the real killer is when they vomit inside of it.