Weather-induced amp performance variation


There is an excellent article on HiFi News current issue about how temperature affect an amp performance. It actually measures how the bias changes with different room temperature.

It may have something to do with people who notices there is a change in their hifi system in different weather.
andy2
Sean, that's easy to achieve. No controlled room -- just an airconditioner at constant temp blowing on the amps 24/7. And another room for the amps. And someone to foot the electricity bill, of course... :)
At my former work at a big Aerospace outfit (I'm retired now) air conditioning with exceptionally tight specs was always provided in labs where there were big computers and other electronic equipment. When the weather got really hot, and the office AC couldn't hack it, many people migrated from their desks to the labs. I guess management thinks that their hardware is more important than their people!
Hopefully the amp manufacturers produce their products to be reasonably stable at a "range" of temperatures. The few degree swings in a normal day should not amount to much once the electronics heat up, and then settle in.

Going from a very cold room (heat turned off) to amp turn on might produce the biggest swing in thermal shock on connections, solder, caps etc. In the grand scheme of things it really should not mean too much.

The biggest effects will be on those devices that change mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice-versa, things like speakers, mics, cartridges, where very precise tolerances are required.

We did a study on microphones many years ago and found several actually sounded better "cold". It is just going to depend on all the ins and outs of your system....

Uniform temps should be better, but most homes should be 68-72 degrees. That range shouldn't mean too much.