Needs oilin'.
On that Clarion, the fan rotates CCW, yes? So it sucks in ambient air and jams it through the amp?
Are there any amps that suck the hot air out instead?
It can be done either way, I've seen a lot of both... Both have advantages and disadvantages.... depends on how you want to disperse the dirt
Clarion has fins right below that fan
In a design where the cooling was basically designed by someone saying "Hey, I think we need to toss a fan up in this bitch." Sucking the hot air out is better because it more evenly pulls the cool air in as opposed to just blowing a patch of cool air on something.
In all the amps I've seen with a fan pushing air into the heatsink, and that fan is integrated from the start (not implemented later on), there's a tunnel with an exit at the opposite side of the fan. The idea being that you create a current of air going through the amp so it cools constantly. IIRC that's what Gordon Taylor (of Genesis, formerly) suggests for his SIII amps (very few of them have a fan integrated, but all have said tunnel). I think he said that forcing the air inside makes for more efficient cooling. OTOH, those SIII's with a fan have it in the middle of the board pulling air out of the case (same as my Twisters). At least I think it's that way; I should have a look at my DMA again to check. :o
Nick
Audison LRx does it.
Same for Xtant/MTX amps.
Kelvin
And the crown grounded bridge series... Power base, power tech, micro tech, macro tech, com tech and a couple broadcast RF amps.
In that it is a sandwiched fan, they are in the front, thru a filter and out the sides. DO NOT leave a gap in stacking because the airflow will couple and draw better.