The Rack Thread

The LXII is a great sounding power amp but I seriously question whether the 1u is actually practical considering how deep it is compared with most devices. It means you need a full depth case that is almost twice the depth of Axe3 .Then it gets hot and the fan is noisy. They should have made an option in 2u. They could use the 2/50/2 case and put the presence and depth on the front panel. Independent volumes and a silent fan. Your rack case would actually be smaller because it would be a third less depth and would not need space above it.
 
I had the AxeFx and LXII racked up in a 4u for a good while with no issues. Originally I had the LXII on top but I found that the flow works better with the LXII on the bottom. The depth of the AxeFX is much shorter than the LXII and the LX’s top vents are entirely open beneath it.

But another added benefit of going shelf over drawer will be to also open up that airflow beneath the LX too.
The LXII fans are like having a leaf blower constantly running. I'd be pretty surprised if it needed any kind of special consideration for heat as long as the front and back are both open.
 
The LXII fans are like having a leaf blower constantly running. I'd be pretty surprised if it needed any kind of special consideration for heat as long as the front and back are both open.
Windy GIF
 
The LXII fans are like having a leaf blower constantly running. I'd be pretty surprised if it needed any kind of special consideration for heat as long as the front and back are both open.

Yeah it coexisted with the Axe for a long time with no additional space, and…

If you can hear the fan, it’s the universe telling you to turn up your amp.

Jim Carrey Alrighty Then GIF by Ace Ventura
 
I’ve owned most of the main power amps over the years and the worst fan was the Marshall 9200. Sounds like a helicopter.
 
The LXII fans are like having a leaf blower constantly running. I'd be pretty surprised if it needed any kind of special consideration for heat as long as the front and back are both open.

Fryette LXII:

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VHT 2/90/2 from 2003:

1736845879941.png


Fryette PS-100:

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Pics snagged from various sources found via Google. I'm basing the following just on pics so correct me if I'm wrong.

2/90/2 needs to be 2U due to the big transformers and the staggered big bottle tubes, but there's plenty of space left so some vents and a single fan is good enough. Looks like it has a 80 or 120 mm fan, and a pretty thick one at that so it can run at lower speed for less noise.

Looks like the LXII actually has two fans on the sides of the power tubes. Impossible to say from pics but it looks like both are just pulling whatever air is circulating inside the chassis and blowing it towards the power tubes.

The LXII looks like it can be 1U because of the toroidal power transformer, and the less tall but wider output transformers. A more modern design but with the caveat that it's packed to the brim. So cooling is more of a concern, and you can't fit those bigger, less noisy fans either. Without a complete redesign you probably can't do any better for cooling. I don't know if anyone has experimented with replacing the fans with e.g Noctua or reducing their speed with a resistor to make it less noisy.

PS-100 is mostly concerned about cooling some of the load components under the fan, with some minor airflow to the tubes.

I'm guessing that for all of these the fans are more of a safeguard, so that the amp will keep going doing a full set on stage, stuffed in a rack with minimal space for air, in summer heat etc.

Quote from TOP from Fryette support guy regarding the LXII fans:

Some people don’t like fans. Some don’t like heat. We strive for balance.

Fan noise is almost never a “quality” issue. It’s a speed issue. In order to maintain a safe operating temperature, you need sufficient airflow. “Safe” doesn’t necessarily mean safe for the internal parts. It usually means consumer safety. The tighter the environment, the smaller the fan, and the higher the speed needed to maintain the rated temp.

We spent a lot of time on the LXII fan with 3 different fan suppliers and their engineering depts to obtain the best speed:noise. We ended up using a part with much higher speed than necessary and used voltage control to keep it at 80% of max to help minimize noise.

Arbitrarily changing it with “something better” will most likely result in more noise, more heat, or both.


The design of the fan has a big influence on its noise profile so I don't agree "quality" does not matter. This is why e.g Noctua is regarded as the best for computer fans. But it will always depend on usecase, where and how it's mounted too. Fryette also needs to concern themselves with the supply and cost of those fans.
 
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Ok guys well…mixed bag here.

The 2:90 made it, and it works, but boy did Fed Ex mangle the living shit out of one of the ears. Trying to get this straightened out so I can rack it is not gonna be a good time, and Mesa already informed me if that ear breaks there’s nothing that can be done about it.
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I have to say that the Helix’s Mesa Mark IV preamp model into this thing is otherworldly. I was just plugging in to test that it worked after the shot it took, and it totally caught me off guard.

I honestly doubt anyone would believe able to tell they weren’t playing a fully tube rig. I may end up eating my foot and try gigging this in a 2U being fed by digital preamp models. It would be mighty convenient for my 2 guitar band.
 
Goddammit! See if you can get a partial refund?
Yeah I’m working on getting a claim set up. This wasn’t the sellers fault - I paid FedEx to pack this thing and they used really good packing on the top and bottom, and then used crumpled paper around the sides.

Total dipshit move. We’re getting dumber by the minute - literally impossible to find a competent human on the planet at this point.

Giant asteroid 2025. Its time.
 
Ok guys well…mixed bag here.

The 2:90 made it, and it works, but boy did Fed Ex mangle the living shit out of one of the ears. Trying to get this straightened out so I can rack it is not gonna be a good time, and Mesa already informed me if that ear breaks there’s nothing that can be done about it.
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I have to say that the Helix’s Mesa Mark IV preamp model into this thing is otherworldly. I was just plugging in to test that it worked after the shot it took, and it totally caught me off guard.

I honestly doubt anyone would believe able to tell they weren’t playing a fully tube rig. I may end up eating my foot and try gigging this in a 2U being fed by digital preamp models. It would be mighty convenient for my 2 guitar band.

Damn dude. Hope you can vice grip it enough to be rackable and/or get some $$$ knocked off. It’s amazing anything lands partially intact the way these things are packed and handled in shipping.

Glad it rips though.
 
Damn dude. Hope you can vice grip it enough to be rackable and/or get some $$$ knocked off. It’s amazing anything lands partially intact the way these things are packed and handled in shipping.

Glad it rips though.
Yeah I’m thinking applying pressure using a clamp that spans the height of the ear should hopefully at least restore uniformity and get the curve out, probably with a rubber barrier to prevent scratching.

Dog I Have No Idea What Im Doing GIF
 
Yeah I’m thinking applying pressure using a clamp that spans the height of the ear should hopefully at least restore uniformity and get the curve out, probably with a rubber barrier to prevent scratching.

Dog I Have No Idea What Im Doing GIF

Maybe a wood block cut to size and then clamp to that to apply uniform pressure and not directly on the rack ear itself?

I’d wait to see if you can get some relief from FedEx first though before trying to work with it.
 
Threw a patchbay into my rack.

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Gonna try to wire that under the careful eye of my gear-coach @MirrorProfiles If anyone wants to buy some stock in Monoprice before I order the rest of the cables for the back, now is the time. :ROFLMAO:

Took out the rack drawer housing pedals and got one of those D’Addario Xpand pedal boards to go out front. Currently just holding the drives I use into the preamps, but I’m going to wire up a handful of modulation pedals into this board and then leave all the time based stuff to the AxeFx on the backend. (Business in front, party in the back style)

Amp and cab switcher will be next on the list. The rack approach has proven to be awesome in terms of having an easily accessible command hub, so I’m going to go the last mile and wire everything into the rack.
 
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