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Line Magnetic 518ia - How Much Heat Does It Produce?

Hello, and thanks for any help with this. I'm helping a very dear friend, who loves music, and good audio equipment, put together a system. He has suffered some very serious personal setbacks of late, and one of the key things he has turned to, is putting together an audio system as a means to attempt to move forward. He is trying to put together a nice audio system in what he has available, a small room.

He travels a fair bit for work, and has had two recent experiences listening to the exceptional Line Magnetic 518ia, and was blown away by it. I can guarantee you that he has heard some very good audio components, but has been captivated by the 518ia. If you have heard it, or read the reviews, you understand, as I do. That's a truly amazing piece of gear, especially for the price.

Here is my concern, Because of serious budget deficits related to his other problems,  he can only afford one of these wonderful integrated amps, used. Okay, they are available  in his price range. I have him set up with speakers and everything else to maximize the quality of his system. But, this is a Class A amp, even if relatively low wattage. He would be using this in a 10x10 room, with the integrated amp only 2.5 feet away from where he sits. There is no other available placement. Is this going to overheat him, and/or the room? 

Any input would be appreciated. If he cannot make use of this amp he loves so much, it could get very difficult to find anything else, given it's price performance capabilities. 
nightfall
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
Nightfall,
Even el 34s will generate noticeable heat if they’re operating in class A. Just goes with the territory if the amplifier is rated at say 20 watts and higher. I had a borrowed First Watt S.I.T push pull amplifier (35 watts class A) for several weeks and if ran hotter than my 8 watt  300b SET mono blocks.

Class D amplifiers would be an obvious solution if your fiend can find one with sound he could live with. Not sure if he’ll find one that mimics the LM 518a. Well executed class A is hard to match let alone beat.
Charles
nightfall OP
133 posts
 
Al, and Charles, thanks to both of you for the input. I agree with everything you both had to say. The Unison is an intriguing option, but I suspect may still be too hot to be placed so close to my friends seating area, etc. 

He needs 25-35wpc, ideally. An amp that puts out a bit less but plays above its level, in terms of delivering power might also work. 

Charles, I find it very interesting that the First Watt S.I.T.  ran that hot. Was it the fabled S.I.T. 1, or the S.I.T. 2? Granted, some of Nelson's designs, despite being solid state, can get seriously, seriously hot. I was auditioning several sets of speakers for about 90 minutes last year with a friend. The dealer had us in a huge showroom (literally 100x50. He was using  a pair of Pass X600.8's, which aren't even pure class A, except for the first 100 watts or so (or something like that). Even in a room that large, by the end of the audition, we were sitting there with our shirts completely stuck to us,and sweating liberally from our heads! My friend actually had to go home to shower before meeting a group of us for dinner! 
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
633 posts
 
A I sit here listening to my LM 518 driving a pair of klipschorns in all their musical glory, I feel sorry for your friend that he has to pass up such a great amp.

Oz
mboldda1's avatar
mboldda1
386 posts
 
take a look at the new Mastersound Box el34 set integrated at 35 watts.
http://www.mastersoundsas.it/1/integrated_amplifiers_4432640.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm1hUDsgnuU&t=234s

facten
931 posts
 
Respect Al's and Charles' views and maybe the amp is too much for a smaller room. That said, I can assure you that this amp isn't going to heat and entire upper floor , nor in a room such as mine 28x20 going to cause sweat to be dripping nor the ac not to normal shutoff ala some other "apparent experiences" with other amps. Unless I get within a foot of the amp I don't feel any heat. Best of luck to your friend finding an amp that won't cause these exaggerated experiences.
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