The critical temperature of the listening room and why it should be controlled

[STHLS5]

..we shouldn't care about our stereo systems more than we do about our own bodies, more than we do about ourselves.. But maybe we consider them a part, an important part of ourselves!. And this is wrong.
Ciao

Well said. I maintain my room temperature at 24, just nice for my comfort. I did experiment with the recommended 20 degree C but can't really tell the difference with the bass.

ST

[miniwatt]

Nothing is more important than our lives. I just feel shocked when I heard that my next door neighbor was broken in today, lots of valuable things were stolen. But thank God nobody was at home. I couldn't imagine if they broke into my house...

[A.S.]

As you know, I've been moving into our new R&D centre, a 16th century beautifully converted barn (built around 1580 we believe).

The UK weather these past few days has been remarkably variable, and out of curiosity I've been monitoring the inside temperature in the barn to appreciate how effective the insulation is.

I'd appreciate to gather some reliable feedback from you please about the inside temperature of your listening room. Please don't guess! Use a thermometer, out of direct sunlight, away from air conditioners.

Could you cut and paste this section into your reply perhaps? Thanks in advance.

My country is:
The month is:
My season is:
The time of day is:
My inside temperature in my listening room is: ........ deg. C and the air conditioning is on/off
This is/is not a typical indoor temperature in my listening room, in this season

Thank you.

Many responses have arrived - all very clear. I won't show them yet to prevent influencing the results. Many thanks.

[delgesu]

My country is: germany
The month is: august
My season is: summer
The time of day is: 11:40 morning
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 21 deg. C and the air conditioning is off (as appropriate)
This is a typical temperature in this season (as appropriate)

best,
delgesu

[Drdennis]

My country is:USA
The month is:August
My season is:Summer
The time of day is:8:30 am
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 40 (72 F) deg. C and the air conditioning is on
This is/ a typical temperature in this season

[coredump]

My country is: Singapore
The month is: August
My season is: Summer (BTW, our country don't have a no true distinct seasons)
The time of day is: 9.00pm
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 28 deg. C (82 °F) and the air conditioning is off (as appropriate)
This is a typical temperature in this season (as appropriate)

[Hwveldhuis]

My country is: the Netherlands
The month is: August
My season is: Summer
The time of day is: 16:00
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 20.8 deg. C and the air conditioning is off.
This is a typical temperature in this season

Humidity: 66%

Good luck!

[Hesson11]

Hi Alan, Here you go:

My country is: USA (Florida)
The month is: August
My season is: Summer
The time of day is: 10:30 a.m.
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 24.5˚C (Air conditioned 8 mos. of the year)

Thanks for the great Compact 7ES-3s!
-Bob Hesson

[Euler]

My country is: USA
The month is: August
My season is: Summer
The time of day is: Noon
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 24 deg. C and the air conditioning is OFF
This IS a typical temperature in this season

Since we have no air conditioning, the temperature can vary quite a bit during the summer in the room with the speakers: during the day from say 21 to 31 degrees C.

Bruce

[kittykat]

My country is: Australia
The month is: August
My season is: Winter
The time of day is: 8PM
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 18-19 deg. C and the air conditioning is off
This is a typical indoor temperature in my listening room, in this season

[Gan CK]

My Country is : Singapore
The Month is : August
The Season is : No 4 seasons in tropical Singapore
The time of day is : 9.00pm
My inside temperature in my listening room is : 22 deg celsius and the air conditioning is on
This is a typical indoor temperature in my listening room when air con is on.

{mod: released to here]

[JariRåback]

My country is: Finland
The month is: August
My season is: Summer-turning-to-autumn
The time of day is: 19:50
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 23.8 deg. C and the air conditioning is off
This is a typical indoor temperature in my listening room, in this season

[keithwwk]

I finally managed to get two thermometers. I noted down 2 reading in two countries during weekend.

Location 1:
My country is: Malaysia
The month is: August
My season is: No 4 seasons
The time of day is: 16:30 (Sat, 13 Aug)
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 28 deg. C and the air conditioning is on.
This is a typical indoor temperature in my listening room in Malaysia.

Location 2:
My country is: Singapore
The month is: August
My season is: No 4 seasons
The time of day is: 21:00 (Sun, 14 Aug)
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 31 deg.C and the air conditioning is off (Ceiling fan is "on" right above my listening seat with lowest speed).
This is a typical indoor temperature in my listening room in Singapore.

[BAS-H]

My country is: UK
The month is: August
My season is: Summer
The time of day is: 12:00
My inside temperature in my listening room is: ....21.... deg. C and the air conditioning is off
This is a typical indoor temperature in my listening room, in this season

My country is: UK
The month is: January
My season is: Winter
The time of day is: 12:00
My inside temperature in my listening room is: ....17.... deg. C and the heating is on
This is a typical indoor temperature in my listening room, in this season

[holden]

My Country is: Japan
The Month is: September
The season is: Summer (late)
The time of day is: 8pm
The temperature inside my listening room is: 26 degrees C
This is slightly cooler than of recent. I have been listening in temps of around 30, but it is probably average for September. Yet to install air conditioning! A great big Luxman amp adds to the heat!

{Moderator's comment: many thanks. Wow that is really hot!}

[engjoo]

My country is: Singapore
The month is: September
My season is: Summer all year round
The time of day is: 3pm
My inside temperature in my listening room is: ..28.... deg. C and the air conditioning is off
This is a typical indoor temperature in my listening room, in this season

{moderator's comment: Many thanks}

[jplaurel]

My country is: USA (Seattle, Washington)
The month is: Early September
My season is: Late Summer
The time of day is: 2200
My inside temperature in my listening room is: 20 deg. C and the air conditioning is off (we do not have air conditioning)
This is a typical indoor temperature in my listening room, in this season.

{Moderator's comment: many thanks.}

[thaimusic]

Pardon the resurrection. So glad Alan's offered this information. Been pondering this thread for awhile now. I'm living in a climate where, with the exception of the wee hours of a few days annually, it's unlikely that Harbeths or most high quality loudspeakers here would have seen optimal operating temperatures since departing their factories.

My guess is dealers' showrooms are in the neighborhood of 25 degrees and raising as green practices and increasing energy costs take hold. From a dealers' perspective everyone's in the same boat so I guess that's why the Harbeths still sung the best for us.

Nonetheless, Alan's opening post continues to speak from the background. Our operating realities would be 26-31 degrees. Speakers would also be exposed to both quasi-open-air environments with doors and windows open while rain pours down to sealed-up air conditioning dryness. So one ponders. With Harbeths or anything else, what are the practical realities of consistently operating a high quality loudspeaker over the long term well above their designed temperature (climate) range? Are we asking a high quality saloon to spend its life on unimproved roads? The title of the thread kind of suggests this? The anecdotes posted here by users offer encouragement, but I wonder how many consumers or even dealers here are aware of this. Maybe we should ask them for demos without the air conditioning on since they won't let you take them home to test.

It's kind of scary thinking about some audiophiles here, with such information in hand, taking this to heart and running both high-wattage class A amplification with sufficient air conditioning to bring their listening room temperatures down to optimal levels. That's a lot of CO2. If they're locally born and raised, they would most certainly be bundled up in winter garb and/or position those amps right next to/under their chairs.

Not to get in a debate about cloning, but it would be interesting to have a twin of Alan pop over here for a spell and begin experimenting on a global warming line of Harbeths.