Open Letter To Amplifier Manufacturers

Dear aforementioned,

I really only have one topic I would like to cover today and one thing to say about the topic. The topic is heatsinks, and OUCH!

Last night amongst a room full of eager guests I reached behind an amp to power it on. After fumbling for the switch for a moment - it's not an amp I have a complete tactile memory of yet - my hand felt wet. For a brief moment I thought someone had spilled their libations on our audio rack and it was dripping down onto my hand. Pulling back expecting to see the lovely Amber tone of and ale, I find instead the deep crimson of my own blood and plenty of it. Take a moment to note that absent from my remarks are mentions of feeling my hand getting cut bone deep.

Though your amplifiers are marvels of modern engineering and on the bleeding edge (ha ha) of industrial artistry, there are better places to showcase your remarkably precise machining capabilities than the sharp edges of a heat sink. Upon inspection of my wound this morning, I can safely say that it was not a rough edge that inspired me to write, but a sharp and true edge.

To those amplifier designers who have already heard cries and yelps from earlier victims and responded in kind, please know that I know who you are. The unwritten inverse of this blog is gleeful thanks for your compassion. To the rest of you, I say

OUCH!!

Sincerely,

Gary "nine-fingers" Dayton