Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Would the upgrade be worth it?

I went through a couple Onkyo's. With the 4ohm load a fan is highly recommended. Even Integra gets really warm with 4ohm. Haven't seen anything about any circuit melts or other problems they had with older models in recent units.

The AVR is more likely to take some clipping and go back to normal.
The speakers are in danger without a lot of power. Though not playing reference probably not a worry just keep an eye on the unit. They can get hot really fast.

The amp is what i would be concerned about and its ability to provide the necessary current required by the 4ohm load. This is relative to room size and volume level. Heat is your enemy, whether its an automatic transmission or you AVR you must expel the heat since the receiver is passively cooled adding a fan will help immensely. Think of heat like a slow death by a thousand paper cuts, it can be a slow death of your equipment by running the components at the high temp end of their specs.

These are popular https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01LW1Q4X9?tag=vs-avsforum-convert-cdn-20

Awesome, thanks GWN, I may just get one of these!

In preparation for receiving my new VP180OW and it's increased power demands at 4-ohm, I did get one of these T9 Cooling Fans and rearranged my media cabinet to make room for it.

I was skeptical it would make much of a difference but glad I made the purchase. Prior to adding the fan, I took a reading using an infrared thermometer at 3 points in a movie. My AVR started at 73F, was at 90F about 30 minutes in and was peaking at about 100F by the end. That's HOT!

Next I let everything cool down and rearranged my media cabinet to how it would be before I put on the T9 to see if the added breathing room would make a big difference. Not so much, even with the addition of 6" of space above it, the AVR peaked at around 100F.

Next I placed the T9 on top of my AVR and started the process again... AVR started at 73F, climbed to 85F (where I set the T9 to trigger), and bingo, fans kicked in and the T9 kept the AVR at between 80F-85F for the full 2 hours of the movie.

Thanks again Gr8 for the suggestion, hopefully I'll be able to run the VP180OW without issues next month

The important thing to realize imho is that even though the components in the AVR are rated to be safe for a certain temperature it best to keep the temp as low as possible since heat can cause damage that may not rear its head for years. Do you notice any noise from the T9 ,is it objectionable.

In one of my "experiments", I had the T9 always-on and max speed (setting 5). With the cabinet doors open, yes, the noise was "objectionable" during quiet scenes. At 21dBA it sounds like any other laptop fan. However, as soon as volume picked up in music/movies, it was lost. When I used to run a projector, the fans in that were actually louder.

That said, with the cabinet doors closed (but the cabinet is still open at the back), I could barely hear the fans at all.

Finally, under normal operating conditions, I have the T9 set to "smart" which usually means the fans only turn on after the AVR reaches 85F and it starts at fan speed 1. Even with the doors open, the T9 is silent at speed 1. I can only hear it at speed 3+.

Very happy with the product.

100F is actually very reasonable for any amp/avr. I think you'll find on average given a few variables, most will run 125-135F when you push them a bit. The Aircom units look like a worthwhile investment, I may pick up a couple myself.

100F is very reasonable driving 8ohm speakers. I was more concerned with what would happen driving a 4ohm speaker on a receiver that technically does not list it as a specification. The Aircom unit just buys me a little bit of peace of mind...

Finally! After 3 months of building excitement, I leave for Toronto cottage country tomorrow which includes a side trip to Dwight, ON, to visit Axiom World Headquarters and exchange my EP175 and VP150 for an EP500 and VP180!

I'll be sure to post my impressions of this upgrade/trade-up and what I thought of my visit to Axiom.

Thanks again everyone for the advice and encouragement in pulling this trigger. Everything is boxed up and ready for the trip tomorrow morning. Weather is 27C day/13C night all week. Simply perfect lake/golf/fishing weather!