onkyo overheating ?

[wire]

The heat from the power supply has no where to go but OUT no matter what, it will heat up more if the power amp is in use, it is just a question of how much more heat it will produce but not less. This is just plain physics, no myth. The power supply, preamp, and other video circuits will all dissipate energy whether the power amp section is on or not. The fact remains, if the power amp is on but not outputting power, the unit in total will dissipates less energy than if the power amp section is in full use. However, the difference in overall heat produced in the reciever with or wihout the amp is use, is not as much as people think.

I think the real issue is, a receiver has so many things in it that produces heat, the power amp section is only a part of of it and probably a smaller part (say <10Watts r.m.s. on average) compared to the preamp and video sections etc. For the average home users, the music and movies they play typically don't demand a constant load, resulting in a low average power demand from the amp section. This is especially true for systems that crossover at 80Hz or above to the subwoofer.

Ive ran my Bryston in the early years , very hard and i swear you could cook eggs on it , it go so hot . No problems with the Amp to this day . The design and quality of parts in Bryston VS a Yammy and Onyko is very different though .
I do own other Amps that dont get hot and run cool under heavy loads , you would think that they would have longer longevity , but again it comes down to design and quality of parts . I do have a Pre that gets a little heated ( Carver CT-17 , its does have a small venting on top of unit ) , the rest not at all .
Overall , i wouldn't worry about it to much . Enjoy your equiment and give it proper room to breath and it will do you just fine , until your ready for an upgrade ( in 4 or 5 years ) . This electronic equiment should last many years , don't worry just enjoy .
My 2 cents