Audio performance and dog hair (1 Viewer)

[Antonio_D]

This may sound a bit strange but i'm wondering if dog hair could have an impact on audio performance.

I have a big hairy dog that constantly drops a lot of hair in the house.Everytime i look at my receiver i notice a lot of dust and hair on the air vents.

Now recently i've noticed my receiver doesn't play as loud and clear as before,could this be due to the hair and the dust stuck inside?

 

[DougR]

Think you have a Problem with your Woofer

 

[Jesse Sharrow]

Wouldnt hurt to clean it out. Use a vaccum or canned air. I have cats and havnt noticed any problems, except on the carpet on my SVS sub.

 

[DavidSGT]

Hiya Antonio_D,

Suggestion here, remove the top lid of the avr and vacuum gently(try not to knock any of the transistors and caps in there) out all the gunk, thats what I did on my pre-owned(read 10 year old) just acquired, very dusty Rotel 985 Power amp., and when the unit is not in use a Dust cover will work wonders in keeping unwanted material out of our amps, well at least when its not in use that is.

Regards.
David SGT

 

[Antonio_D]

Hey DavidSGT,thanks for that reply.

That's exactly what i was thinking of doing today but i wasn't sure if it was safe.

First, i don't wanna break any part inside,even if i still have a 2 year guaranty on it i'm not sure if they would cover such a case.

Second,would you give me any tips so that i don't get electrocuted?

So again,from what you're saying it doesn't look like dust or dog hair could affect the sound of the receiver.

But how would you explain that before my movies were louder at let's say -30 compared to how loud they sound now at the same level?Any explanation for this?

Thanks,

 

[Alan M]

I have 2 long haired dogs.A Gordon setter and an English setter.While I'm not to concerned with dog hair getting into my electronics,the amount of dust and dirt they bring in the house on their coats is staggering.

Tapping their coats when the sunlight hits it from a window,I can see the dust fly.Dust covers are a quick easy solution or an audio rack with a glass door.

 

[Steve_Blazer]

2 words of warning when using a vacuum near electronic components -

---------------- Static Disharge! ---------------------

Make sure you dont let static build up on the vacuum nozzle and have it ground through the device your cleaning.

Sure way to fry sensitive chips.

Pro vaccuums have grounded ESD tips etc but you can just make sure you wear a ground strap around your wrist or bond the vaccuum tool to ground while your working.
Any electrical ground such as a ground pin on a socket or a domestic gas pipe works fine.

If you live in a damp area it probably wont matter but here where I live its insanely dry (~15% humidity) and static is a huge problem.

 

[RickRO]

Antonio D,

QUOTE]and when the unit is not in use a Dust cover will work wonders in keeping unwanted material out of our amps, well at least when its not in use that is.[/quote]

Good idea however I suggest that you use a trick that pilots use when they cover a critical piece of equipment.....put on a remove before flight er ah listening streamer!!! Might save a fried piece of A/V equipment due to heat, not to mention that burning plastic smell.:frowning:

 

[Chu Gai]

After you've sucked all the dust and whatnot out, you can keep most of it from getting in again by placing something like a 3M air conditioner filter over the slots does a pretty good job at keeping things out without any signficant impeding of air flow. You can get them online or at your local home improvement store.

 

[Antonio_D]

OH i see,alright thanks a lot guys for the advice.

I'm gonna open the cover right now but i'm wondering if i sould disconnect all the video/audio cables from the receiver?

 

[DavidSGT]

Hiya Antonio D,
Just pull out the power cable first, thats all and when I did mine it just came in, so it wasn't connected to anything yet. I would like to add that if it was connected, won't it be difficult to remove the top, (sorry, mine is in a rack and I can't vision doing this without taking everything out..)
About why the sound seems to be different than when you first fixed it up, provided there really is nothing wrong with the unit, it could be psychological as we tend to go ever louder especially if our gear sounds clear and warm, of course we are talking the exact same dvd here and not a different movie altogether as different sound engineers may do it in different ways.

Regards.
David SGT