Thank you for the input.Fans are good in prolonging the life of the equipment, bad in generating noise, adding to cost and consuming power. Properly designed, most home gear has no need for a fan, though it requires some attention to air flow. (Units with fans are less critical but have some vulnerability as well.)
I called Yamaha and according to them, the fan is a feature found on their high end amplifiers (so ignore the online product reviews), which makes me wonder, are fans:
a) ok (meaning my amp is a lemon), or b) bad, or c) ok on some models?
Mike -- mrichter@xxxxxxx http://www.mrichter.com/