Amp and speaker behind closed cabinet doors?

[Tweaker]

Hi guys,

I recently needed to free up some floor space, so I managed to get my Tweaker 15 amp and cab (and pedalboard too actually) all inside a big armoire we have. I actually really like the setup because I can turn the amp up louder without getting blown away by the speaker sitting so close to me. The armoire doors block the sound a bit and makes it more manageable, probably for the whole house.

My question is if I'll damage anything keeping it inside the space. There's plenty of air space so I don't think anything will overheat (especially since I don't really play for more than 20-30 minutes at a time). I'm mostly wondering about the speaker. I know moving air is critical to speaker operation, and I have the speaker cab set back from the door a good 6" or so, but I wanted to ask if there's any risk in keeping the speaker closed up like that.

Anyone else running their setup in a similar way?

 

[ARandall]

Put it this way, a closed back combo is an amp setup in a cupboard

 

[Tweaker]

Huh. Hadn’t thought about it like that...good point!

 

[hbucker]

Ever see a closed recording cab? A sealed box with a speaker and a mic feed... If this isn't harmful I doubt your situation would be.

 

[jkes01]

^ Isolation cabinets.

 

[cybermgk]

Only possible downside is more vibration, both from the armoire and the reverberatting sound waves. Vibration can reduce tube life.

 

[Tweaker]

I haven’t heard of isolation cabinets...that’s good to know! And regarding vibration and tube life, I can probably move the amp head to the dresser nearby depending on how long the speaker cable is. Easy enough to get the amp out of the armoire though if necessary!

 

[cybermgk]

I haven’t heard of isolation cabinets...that’s good to know! And regarding vibration and tube life, I can probably move the amp head to the dresser nearby depending on how long the speaker cable is. Easy enough to get the amp out of the armoire though if necessary!

THen the Ar moire will be an ersatz isolation cab

 

[tzd]

My concern would be the amp head overheating in the cabinet. The speaker is fine inside.

 

[CB91710]

+1
As long as it's not overheating, there's not a problem.
Tweaker 15 is a tube amp and rated draw is 150w, it's no different than putting a 150w light bulb in the cabinet.
You don't want to leave it on overnight when you're not using it, but it'll be fine for a few hours for practice.