AC Infinity AIRCOM S9, Quiet Cooling Fan System 17" Top-Exhaust for Receivers, Amps, DVR, AV Cabinet Components

I heard about this from a Skylabs Audio (West Des Moines, IA) video on You Tube: "9 Vintage Stereo Upgrades You Didn't Know About". The unit is exactly what Kevin described in his video, works perfectly, and it does an amazing job. I have a 1977 Technics Receiver which was reconditioned and rebuilt by Skylabs. The receiver produces a bit of normal internal heat as it operates, but nothing excessive. Per Kevin, heat can shorten the life of vintage units such as this, so purchasing the basic AC Infinity fan made sense. It is VERY easy to set up, and I am using the auto setting with the orange and white panel lights showing - this means the unit monitors the temperature of the receiver, and adjusts the fan speed accordingly. The AC instructions explain how to select the various settings. Sure enough when the receiver is on during the day or if I turn up the volume, the protective fan activates when needed and does it's job. The fan is silent and removes the excess heat perfectly. The top of the receiver and the internal components stay cooler thanks to the fan. As an extra bonus, the receiver sits on top of a credenza, and the fan helps to keep dust out of the inside of the receiver which has an open ventilation grid on its top.

Modern home receivers are still using a terrible method of amplification. Each channel is amplified, regardless of whether or not you are using it. So, if you've purchased that "11.2" AVR with all the watts, they are hot, and amped, even if you only actually have 2 speakers plugged in. What does this mean? LOADS of wasted power, which also means HEAT Yet, for whatever reason, AVR manufacturers also don't bother to (generally) actively cool. I had chosen to solve this by buying a cheap $20 desk fan and just pointing it at my AVR, but that fan died. So I took to amazon to see if anyone else had a more elegant solution. This is what I found, and it is exactly what I was looking for. The concept is simple, it's just some PC cooling fans in a plastic box with a fan controller and a simple LED. But it's priced fairly, it's quiet, and the features you don't need that are included with this are very nice. (I turned off the ambient LED lights, for example, using a simple button press) I had briefly considered buying PC fans and putting them in a box or something, but when I saw this, and saw the price, I did not hesitate to pull the trigger. My *ONLY* note that isn't 100% positive is that the images were a bit misleading about the size. If I had read the details, it wouldn't have been a shock, but I bought it at first sight, and was expecting it to roughly match the dimensions of my receiver. This unit is basically just two PC fans in size, so it doesn't cover the entire (or even most) of the top of my unit. However I set this to 50% fan speed, and could not hear it over ambient room noise, and when I put my hands on my AVR after about 30 seconds, it was already cool to the touch. PERFECT

** EDITED REVIEW MAY 7, 2022: After using for 1 year, the Aircom S10 continues to impress. I did make one change, however, to the settings below. The change was to set the device to Mode=Auto/Fan=Low. The reason for the change is that I kept forgetting to turn the fan off manually when set to Mode=On/Fan=Low. I also had the occasion recently to check for dust build-up, and I am happy to say the amount was minimal - the fact of which I attribute to the low fan speed setting. ** MODEL PURCHASED: S10 (w/front exhaust) COOLING SETTINGS USED: "Mode=On/Fan=Low" TRICK TO GET FAN SPEED LIGHT TO TURN OFF: Press and hold Mode/Power button (far left while facing unit) for 3+ seconds, then release and wait a few seconds for fan speed light to turn off. When the fan light is "Off" it is truly invisible behind the faceplate bezel, as you can easily see (or not see!) for yourself in the attached pictures. MODE/POWER LIGHTS REMAIN ON: The mode lights - which double as "Power=On" lights - will remain lit depending on mode selected. However, they are not overly bright. In my case, using the "On" mode, only the very tiny white light remains lit. I did not find it distracting. TRICK TO TURN UNIT OFF: Press and release the Mode/Power button to cycle through the modes to reach power off state. In my case, 4 presses are required to reach power off state. AMP USED: Twenty-plus year old NAD 906 Multi-Channel Amplifier with three separate (and very large) power supplies, and six discrete/bridgeable channels. The NAD 906 amp was advertised as having "high quality, high temperature" components. Inside there is a lot of chunky metal, so to speak, that not only produces its own heat but also holds any heat around it. Most significantly the amp has no fans, which is a tip-off it was designed and built for consistent performance at high levels of heat. However, when considering the massive amounts of chunky metal inside, it is clear that the 906 would shed heat very efficiently with any kind of increased air movement across any of the metal, especially the large heat sinks. AMP DUTIES: 4-channel Atmos/DTS-X amplification of "Dolby-enabled" Height 1 and Height 2 speakers line-out signals from NAD 758 v3i receiver. (Note: On the NAD 906 amp, I employed two channels on far right of chassis and two channels on far left of chassis to widen heat distribution/dispersion.) AMP PLACEMENT: Cabinet shelf, two 2" holes in cabinet back cover, open front, no other electronics in same shelf or above/below. SEE BELOW for AMP TEMPERATURES at VARIOUS AMP STATES (Note: Measurements taken at center/top of amp cover, and room temperature is 75f average): With Fan NOT In-place/NOT In-use (i.e. prior to purchase): 77f - Amp Off (TV, lamps, and exterior wall by cabinet create ambient heat increase 2f higher than room average) 94f - Amp On/Idling, RCA inputs from receiver not active 111f - Amp On/Idling, RCA inputs from receiver active but w/no signal (strong "Class A" bias?) 120f - Amp On, temp after 140min movie w/Atmos content ("Ready Player One") With Fan IN-PLACE/IN-USE but removed for measurements AFTER MOVIE: 77f - After movie, amp immediately turned off, fan immediately removed, amp temp immediately measured after 140min movie w/Atmos content ("Ready Player One") 85f - Amp left off, fan still removed, and temp measured after 20 minutes 86f - Amp left off, fan still removed, and temp measured after 40 minutes PERFORMANCE/TESTING CONCLUSION: The AIRCOM S10 performed beyond expectation, using low and quiet air flow to keep my amp at 77f while in normal use, which is as cool as it is when powered off. To give some credence to the above active cooling effect's astonishing measurement of 77f, you can see from my other measurements that the heat increased (as expected) after the amp was off and the moving air's wicking effect was removed. Still the amp's heat had only increased to 86f after 40 minutes. I am confident leaving the fan on for 5-10 minutes after the amp has been powered off would wick away most if not all the residual heat from the sinks. To be fair, the amp is not cluttered inside, has enough slits in the top and bottom shrouds to easily call them screens, uses very large heat sinks that allow for amazingly quick heat conduction, and the movie was not overly loud. OPERATIONAL TESTING/CONCLUSION: I did not want to wait for the amp to reach the mid- to high-80's before the fan would automatically turn on, so I avoided all of the S10's automatic settings. In my testing, and now ongoing use, I decided to just manually turn it "On" at its lowest setting (which is very quiet) when I started watching a movie, and thus it would always stay many degrees ahead of the amp. Said another way, by turning the fan on at the same time I begin using the amp, the fan would not have to "play catch-up" with the amp if the amp had been allowed to get hot, first. I work with huge servers in datacenters (and have my own computers) and, in my opinion and based on experience there is no real benefit - aside from convenience, which will understandably be the winning feature to others - to waiting for a fan to do its job later rather than sooner. Now, what I will do differently in the future - distinct from my measurement process above - is let the fan run for a little while after the amp is turned off. VALUE CONCLUSION: With over 20+ years under the belt of my NAD 906, the AIRCOM S10's outstanding ability to remove heat from that hot-running amp will only help it remain stable and useful longer than otherwise. And the cost of the AIRCOM S10 is far, far less expensive than buying a new amp of similar quality.

5 years ago I built a home theater, the wife's one requirement was concealed electronics. She didn't want boxes and wires everywhere. I built a home made equipment rack, and rigged up a ventilation system with a AC adapter and a bunch of computer fans. It was ugly but worked- kind of, until my Reciever died. Turned out it was a systemic problem with Onkyo AVRs, but it just emphasized the need for good ventilation. At the time there really wasn't much out there, and what was there was way overpriced for well packaged computer case fans. Fast forward, new theater setup. Components in a dedicated equipment room, lots of passive ventilation but I've always wondered if I shouldn't get a USB fan or two for my AMP and AVR. Then I found those fans. They look great. Seem solidly built, and are no-fuss in the setup. I peek in on them to time to time and they fire up after the equipment has been on for a few minutes. The tops of the components are nice and cool. They never got hot before but I would always check with my hand after a movie and they would be warm. Do I need them? Not sure, according to the manuals I have adequate ventilation space around each component, but cooler is better. These certainly don't hurt and they give me some piece of mind I'm doing what I can to preserve my investment. They are quiet, but you could probably hear them on high if you're in the same room as your equipment- but then again at that point you should be listening to a movie/TV show and I doubt you'd hear them over content. They move enough air I haven't seen them running full speed yet on the smart/auto setting where it dials up speed based on temp. I wish I had access to some of their other cabinet based products 5 years ago. Two features I'd like to see: 12volt trigger. If the fan could run while the AVR is on all the time on low, and then ramp up as temp dictates that would be even better. 2 daisy chain. I'm sure the one wall wart provides plenty of power for more than one unit. I have one on my amp and one on my AVR, it'd be nice to run off one wall wart.

This is a good product, but I knocked one star due to the fan noise. I've actually purchased two of these. The first one was a few years back & it performs great. Very quiet. however, the one I purchased a few months ago is noticeably louder than the first one I purchased. It's not crazy loud, but it's too bad it's not as quiet as my first one, which is whisper-quiet when on its lowest level. So, just be aware that there may be significant unit-to-unit variance when it comes to the noise level. I use this for some headphone amps that I have (e.g. Schiit Mjolnir 3), and it works quite well in keeping things cool. I like that this model has the rear exhaust, so I can still stack some things on top of the Aircom if needed. I like the different modes that it has; I use Smart mode most of the time: - On mode: this run the fan at a consistent speed of your choosing. there are 4 different speeds - Auto mode: the fan only turns on when it senses a temp of 88F & it turns off the fans when the temp is 84F or lower - Smart mode: the fans change speed based on the temperature. for every 2F increment that the temp is below 88F, the fan speed will decrease by one level. You can choose to run it consistently at one of the 4 different fan speeds, but there's also fancier settings that automatically adjust the fan speed based on the temperature.

Exactly what I needed. My amp has huge heat syncs and gets pretty hot when I crank it loud for long sessions. Mcintosh stuff has built-in power guard that will shut it down if it doesn't get rid of the heat. This thing removes it well and keeps it from overheating. I tried using the smart function, but it's just easier to start it up along with the amp when I have a session. I set it up to auto start on at fan level 2 which is super quiet and programmed all the display lighting off because I don't really like looking at it. So all I can see is the fan level light for a sec when it first goes on, then just the tiny little dot light shows it's active. When I'm done, I let it run 20 minutes after amp shutdown and then manually shut it off for the night. Its so much better and more effective than what I had before. It fits perfectly, is unobtrusive and sleek, very quiet too. Sometimes I have to turn it up to 3 which is audible, but can't be heard over the volume levels being used to warrant the higher fan speed. Yeah, I'm old, but I still like it loud. Everything else in the pro audio world is ridiculously priced, so I was very happy to pay the reasonable price for this piece of quality pro gear. Happy listening

I've used this company's cabinet fans for a few years now. You can actually see one of them, and the controller, in one of the pictures. They do well, however my receiver, a Marantz SR6011, still got extremely hot. It's in a front open TV stand, with 3" of clearance to the glass shelf above it. There is also a 2" gap between the glass shelf and the rear panel, allowing for some airflow upwards. But perhaps not enough for the single fan at the top to pull out. I only recently learned of this product and thought this would be more efficient than just adding more cabinet fans. I was torn between this and the T10, which has a digital screen (like my cabinet fans have) and has USB ports to expand additional cabinet fans. Ultimately I did not think I needed the screen, and the ability to add additional fans was not a feature I needed. Set up was easy. It was a single power adapter, placed the unit on top, and turned it on. My receiver went up to around 125F after about 20 minutes of a Bluray movie, as shown in my picture. Installing the S10, and setting it to "Smart" it ran at full speed for maybe 30 minutes, and was very audible. But not super annoying, especially with a loud movie. After that it went down to about half speed and was barely audible over the movie. Temperatures at this time were about 85F at the exhaust of the unit, and lifting the S10 to measure the receiver directly, indicated about 88F on the receiver itself. Thats a huge improvement. By the end of the movie, fan speed dropped down to 1/4. Now, with Smart mode enabled, the S10 only turns on to 1/4 fan speed and the fan noise is not heard over even the quietest of dialogs. When watching a movie with loud volume, it did speed up to 1/2 fan speed. Overall, great product, well worth it. Make sure you get the correct version, front exhaust, rear, or top.

Loving this, as a way to cool our oven. The microwave we've owned for 15 years have out and we bought a replacement, and the replacement has a convection-oven feature. Thing is, the old microwave was installed in a cabinet, and while the cabinet had air flow, I didn't feel comfortable using the 400-degree convection oven feature if we didn't have a way to provide extra cooling. The Aircom is awesome for this. It sits quietly most of the time, and on the rare occasion we use the convection-oven feature, it wakes up, lights up its little white circle, and forces the air to flow around the microwave to keep the heat to manageable levels. Even when it's blowing, it actually makes a lot less noise than the microwave does!

Fantastic appliance. I was previously using a USB desk top fan positioned behind my AV equipment to blow air across the top of my pioneer SCLX901 atmos receiver. It was fine for a while. Kept the receiver cooler than without a fan. But the fan wasn’t silent and was distracting. The receiver still got warm if run for a while. So I looked for something purpose built. This cooler is damn good. Sits seemlessly on top of my receiver and blends right in. I run it on auto mode and on the lowest fan-speed setting and the receiver stays cold, even after watching a couple of movies at an enthusiastic volume level, running all 11 channels and 3 subs. The cooler is silent. You don’t even notice when it comes on and off when it needs to. Even if run at higher fan speeds, I don’t think you even notice any noise. To answer an audiophile’s question, yes, the indicator light can be switched off by holding the mode button for 3 seconds, which is a great feature. There is an indicator light to tell you the unit is on, but it’s tiny and not a distraction. This unit has a rear exhaust, so consider this for your application. Definitely a must buy to protect your equipment, especially if you spend a high dollar amount on your stuff.

My Denon AVC-X4700H runs hot, almost disturbingly hot. My 4 ohm speakers only deliver 87db per watt so are a tough drive, and whilst my front speakers are driven by another amp, the AV amp still drives another 4 speakers and the subwoofer. The S9 has proved to be fantastic at reducing the running temperatures significantly and the auto temperature control function means you can leave it to its own devices which is a real plus. It turns on/off as required so no hassle there. It generally runs on setting one which is only just audible, but ramps up to setting 2 out of 3 under load. Overall I'm very pleased with it, its built well, looks good, and is well priced for what it offers. If you own a Denon/Marantz AV amp then these things are a great addition and the temperature reduction will likely significantly increase the product life from excessive heat wear & tear.

Tem um bom tamanho, silencioso e funciona muito bem!

produit de qualité et instalation facile

Works like a charm. I'm using it for almost 6 months and my amplifier is enjoying a cool and steady airflow.