Will Denon avr-e300 overheat in an open cabinet, advice on speakers to use plz

[Stallion]

I am a little tight on space. It will only have 2 inches on either side and a little less than an inch on top to breathe but there is no door to the cabinet. I was going to hook it up to a new Harman Kardon HKTS 200 BQ Home Theater system (front and bass) and use 2 older 2.1 samsungs for the surround speakers and a Bose Acoustimass Horizontal Cube for the center. I was using all 2.1's because all 5 speakers will be on the tv stand because I cant run proper wire to the back of the room. The TV is a Panasconic plasma 720p and I have an either-net hub nearby I am far from an audiophile and wanted some input from pros. Is it a sound plan(no pun intended)? Does it sound like a good speaker set up? Will the Denon have enough room without overheating? Standby pass-through was a must for me so is the Denon a good choice? Any and all feedback is most appreciated. Thanks

Stallion

 

[Actran]

Denon typically recommends 12 inches of clearance on the three primary vented faces, but your specific manual will tell you what it is for your unit. Overheating is somewhat vague in that your receiver will likely function, though it will have to work harder and may fail earlier than designed.

Regardless of the clearance provided, Denon's recommendations assume you have either an open cabinet or some type of ventilation. Natural convection doesn't work if there is nowhere for the air to go. So the open face doesn't buy you clearance.

From my own experience, I have my Denon 2312 in an open face, built-in wall cabinet and it has between 10-12 inches on the heat transfer faces (including bottom - slotted shelf) in the cabinet, but it still gets very warm and I plan to add a forced air solution to my cabinet for that reason.

1-2 inches would worry me. I love my poor, abused Denon.

 

[Pyrrho]

No one is going to be able to tell you if the Denon will overheat from the information given. First, the temperature of the room is a factor in this. Another factor is how much power you require (which is related to how loud you will play it and the sensitivity of the speakers). The impedance of the speakers matters as well. And since they are all different from each other in your specific case, the channel balance you select may also be a factor in whether the Denon overheats. And the frequency you select for bass management is a factor (as the receiver will not ąmplify the deep bass that you send to the subwoofer, which will be dealt with by the subwoofer instead.

Now, going from the necessarily incomplete information available to me, I recommend that you get a different cabinet for your receiver, or if you will not do that, I recommend that you never try to play the system at rock concert levels. If the receiver ever shuts down while you are playing it, it is an indication that you are likely abusing it and need to keep the volume lower.

As for the speakers, I would go with different ones than what you are thinking of using. In order to advise you on that, we would need to know what you already own, and how much money you can spend to complete your system.

 

[Stallion]

Thank you for the responses guys. I don't have room for a bigger cabinet. The slot for the receiver is about 16" deep 20" wide and 6 1/2 tall. I already have the samsung 2.1's and the harmon Kardon sub with two fronts. I have not purchased the receiver or the center channel yet.
Amazon.com: Harman Kardon HKTS 200BQ 2.1 Home Theater Speaker System (Black): Electronics
I plan on using the system for movies and some music nothing crazy loud for long periods. Do you think a fan like this
AC Infinity AI-CFS120BA Single 120 Quiet Cabinet Fan Kit, for Home Theater AV Amplifier Media Cooling, Black - Amazon.com
behind the receiver would help? I could always set it up, see how it goes and add the fan later if its running too hot. I was trying to stay in the 300-500 range for the receiver but standby passthrough is a must. I like the idea of a small center because I am so limited on space. Thank you all for lending a noobie a hand.

Stallion

 

[Actran]

You're not going to have room behind the receiver for that (or likely any) fan. Your cabinet is 16 inches deep and your receiver is just over 13 without connections (think banana plugs and power plugs). Unfortunately, I think you're going to have to get clever with some form of ducting or faceplate that will direct the air from below the receiver to exhaust above it. While any agitation of the air will dramatically improve passively cooled devices, forcing air from bottom to top is far more efficient.

Additionally, your receiver it 5.95 inches tall (Nominally!!). This means it could be a little more or a little less. So you actually have less than a half an inch above the primary thermal transfer face of your receiver (the top).

Pyrrho may be right that we don't have the details to tell you HOW bad this will be for your receiver, but I think we have enough information to say it will be bad. You really need a forced air solution if you're set on the cabinet. Depending on how handy you are that may not be a big deal. The only trick will be trying to keep the fan and air noise down.

 

[Stallion]

Thanks Guys I got ya I'm going to have to install fans in the back would the Marantz NR1403 be a better option? it would allow for a few more inches

 

[Actran]

From the height perspective, yes it's a little better, but it's deeper which will make placing your fan behind it even harder. You have some pretty restrictive limitations that are going to make negatively impacting the life of your receiver difficult to avoid. It's not that it can't be done, but you're definately in the custom solution territory.

 

[Stallion]

Actran thanks for the info I'm going to wing it and see. I will let you know how it goes and hopefully someone will learn from this cluster screw lol. Here's hoping for the best

Stallion

 

[afterlife2]

Hi and welcome! Mine has ten inches of space with a Laptop fan(5-10 bucks on amazon) on top. You could always put your receiver on top of your sub with a soft cloth underneath. Maybe you can post a pic as well for further help. Also If you want to keep the heat down on the receiver set your ohm to 4.