Where to place an amplifier

An amplifier, as has been stated on the site's homepage, increases the power/voltage to a weak signal produced by a source unit such as a tuner or a tape deck. The process of adding electrical current to this signal produces a fair amount of heat, therefore, as the picture above shows, most amplifiers have a series of vents on the top of their casing. This, of course, is to allow heat to dissipate, and cool the amplifier down. One mistake that is often made, is to place a source unit on top of the amplifier, thereby covering the ventilation slots up. This is a bad idea, you should ideally place an amplifier in a location where the vents are uncovered.