Just Curious - Aluminum or Steel

[Jag]

Which do you think is better for a chassis and why?

[Don Symes]

Steel is a stronger, heavier for a given thickness, and a bit better at magnetic shielding.

Aluminum is a TON easier to make holes in and a bit more thermally conductive. Thicker aluminum is strong enough (for most applications) and still lighter than steel.

[clyde]

Aluminum or Steel

Didn't Marshall use aluminum chassis in their amps?

Read somewhere that this is one of the keys to their tone? Any truth to this?

[mooreamps]

I don't see how. There are other factors in the mechanical layout and the electrical layout which I believe has a more direct impact on the tone, and the noise content from the amplifier. Therefore, I choose the steel chassis for all my scatch builds for exactly the correct reasons stated above.

-g

[tubeboy]

I don't see how. There are other factors in the mechanical layout and the electrical layout which I believe has a more direct impact on the tone, and the noise content from the amplifier. Therefore, I choose the steel chassis for all my scatch builds for exactly the correct reasons stated above.

-g

The steel chassis is stronger but there are trade offs. Some of us live in high humidity climates and deal with oxidation. Steel is ferromagnetic and couples magnetic fields generated in the power supply to the entire chassis. This can make wire dress and chassis isolated I/O jacks even more important.

[tbryanh]

Would the best build have an aluminum chassis to prevent magnetic conduction to the components and a steel outer casing to shield the chassis from external magnetic fields?

Builds like this seem common in a lot of the vintage test equipment, mixers, and PA amps that I have.

[mooreamps]

No. -sigh

[steve]

No. -sigh

Gary,

Tbryanh asked a legitimate question. Why not provide him with an answer? Why act like a condescending jackass?

steve

[tbryanh]

Gary,

Tbryanh asked a legitimate question. Why not provide him with an answer? Why act like a condescending jackass?

steve

I think I am getting a payback from Mooreamps for recently telling him he was a fool for wanting to patent his power scaling circuit.

Anyway, disagreeing without explanation or basis for your conclusion does not convince anybody of anything. Also, it does not contribute to the benefit of others, which is something patent-happy Mooreamps intends not to do.

Mooreamps is a junior member, and there is still time for him to mature and get over his greedy money-driven patent-happy isolation and become a real member of this website. We can only hope he has the ability to realize that it can be as good to give as it is to receive, but we probably should not waste much of our time trying to reform rogue members like him that want to leach and not contribute in return.

To add a little more to my earlier analysis. The vintage equipment I own comes from the golden age of audio, which tends to indicate that the steel-outer-shell--aluminum-inner-chassis method is the best.

Another point I noticed is with studio-quality rack-mount equipment. A lot of the equipment and DIY stuff shows aluminum chassis racks with steel front panels that mount into steel enclosed rack cabinets. Same same, and this is studio quality.

Tends to blow Mooreamps out of the water doesn't it.

Well Mr. Mooreamps might try to run off and patent this common public knowledge in an attempt to fatten his wallet and deprive the public, but he is only spinning his wheels and depriving himself by wasting his precious time.

[mooreamps]

I think I am getting a payback from Mooreamps for recently telling him he was a fool for wanting to patent his power scaling circuit.

Anyway, disagreeing without explanation or basis for your conclusion does not convince anybody of anything. Also, it does not contribute to the benefit of others, which is something patent-happy Mooreamps intends not to do.

Mooreamps is a junior member, and there is still time for him to mature and get over his greedy money-driven patent-happy isolation and become a real member of this website. We can only hope he has the ability to realize that it can be as good to give as it is to receive, but we probably should not waste much of our time trying to reform rogue members like him that want to leach and not contribute in return.

To add a little more to my earlier analysis. The vintage equipment I own comes from the golden age of audio, which tends to indicate that the steel-outer-shell--aluminum-inner-chassis method is the best.

Another point I noticed is with studio-quality rack-mount equipment. A lot of the equipment and DIY stuff shows aluminum chassis racks with steel front panels that mount into steel enclosed rack cabinets. Same same, and this is studio quality.

Tends to blow Mooreamps out of the water doesn't it.

Well Mr. Mooreamps might try to run off and patent this common public knowledge in an attempt to fatten his wallet and deprive the public, but he is only spinning his wheels and depriving himself by wasting his precious time.

I make just under 100 grand a year in my day job. You think I'm here on public forums to get rich ?? You'd better start getting a clue, @sshole....

-g

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

I don't really understand what the bad blood is between you two guys but, please, we try to be civil here as much as possible so why not take it somewhere else?

[bob p]

indeed.

back on topic, the ideal chassis is made of copper, not aluminum or steel. as has already been mentioned, steel is ferromagnetic and that is BAD. aluminum is not ferromagnetic, but it doesn't have the conductivity of copper. because its too expensive to make chassis out of copper, manufacturers in the Golden Era cheated. if you look at old HiFi gear, Motorola tried to have the best of both worlds -- their chassis were aluminum with copper plating.

[Jag]

I though the best chassis were made of gold!

Actually, I know there are options other than Aluminum or Steel, those just seem to be the most common so I thought I'd see what you guys thought. I was talking to one of the guys at Mercury Magnetics last time I placed an order and he swore that aluminum wins hands down.

[bob p]

Nah -- gold makes the chassis too soft. It slumps under the weight of the transformers.

Now if we could only get gold plated aluminum...

[tbryanh]

My apologies to everyone, especially to Gary Moore of Mooreamps. As far as I know, everyone is welcome here, and new members are very important.