Audiolab 8000A servicing

[thewinelake.]

Got an old Audiolab 8000A and was wondering about getting it serviced. I found a recommendation for a place called The Audio Cellar, which looks encouraging. Any other places I should consider?

 

[jmjones]

Hi,

Not sure about anywhere else, but I've had my Tag McLaren kit serviced and altered by Kevin at the Audiocellar on several occasions. He can service and upgrade for reasonable money. Recommended.

 

[TrevC]

Amplifiers don't need servicing. You repair them if they develop a fault, that is all.

 

[Infiniteloop]

Amplifiers don't need servicing. You repair them if they develop a fault, that is all.

So, potentiometers don't need cleaning, nor capacitors need replacing as they degrade?

Um, okay.

I guess you think the same about cars too.

 

[TrevC]

Amplifiers don't need servicing. You repair them if they develop a fault, that is all.

So, potentiometers don't need cleaning, nor capacitors need replacing as they degrade?

I guess you think the same about cars too.

How would you know if a capacitor has degraded if there are no fault symptoms? Change all of them just in case? Change all the other components too? You forget, i used to repair them for a living. A noisy pot is a fault, you get it fixed. As for the car analogy, how idiotic. What a twittish comment.

 

[spiny norman]

As for the car analogy, how idiotic. What a twittish comment.

On the charm offensive again, I see...

 

[Infiniteloop]

As for the car analogy, how idiotic. What a twittish comment.

On the charm offensive again, I see...

So easy to wind up. Like a cheap Timex....

 

[thewinelake.]

I'm not an expert - so it's a genuine question - if a cap is on the way out, how would one know? If it's a gradual degradation, you may not be aware.

Noisy pots are obvious (I think!)

I'd be only too pleased if servicing was a waste of time & money, but I suppose I don't want to be in the situation where the amp is underperforming (but not obviously "broken") and then spash the cash on a new "better" one, when the old one was just in need of some component replacement.

 

[TrevC]

As for the car analogy, how idiotic. What a twittish comment.

On the charm offensive again, I see...

So easy to wind up. Like a cheap Timex....

You weren't trying to wind me up. You meant the nonsense you came out with.

 

[TrevC]

I'm not an expert - so it's a genuine question - if a cap is on the way out, how would one know? If it's a gradual degradation, you may not be aware.

Noisy pots are obvious (I think!)

I'd be only too pleased if servicing was a waste of time & money, but I suppose I don't want to be in the situation where the amp is underperforming (but not obviously "broken") and then spash the cash on a new "better" one, when the old one was just in need of some component replacement.

Amplifiers are generally reliable and signal capacitor failure is rare. If there was a subtle fault it's easy enough to tell with a stereo amplifier. Just compare the sound from the left to the sound from the right. If it sounds identical you don't have a problem. Having two identical amplifier circuits also makes fault finding easier!

 

[jmjones]

When Kevin at the Audiocellar serviced my 100x5r, one of the rear channels was 30% down. I had not noticed. Let me know if you run a car until sparks come out of the brakes. It's easy to spot.

Ring him up, ask how much and get it serviced if you like the cost.

 

[eggontoast]

How would you know if a capacitor has degraded if there are no fault symptoms? Change all of them just in case?

You measure them with an ESR meter. While I agree most amps don't need servicing some do. The Audiolab 8000a is one of them as its getting to the age where the caps are drying out, when these amps fail they tend to make a right mess so preventative maintenance is a good idea. Lots of amps have specific problem areas that can be addressed before ultimate failure, if you were a service technician you should know this.

 

[TrevC]

When Kevin at the Audiocellar serviced my 100x5r, one of the rear channels was 30% down. I had not noticed. Let me know if you run a car until sparks come out of the brakes. It's easy to spot.

Ring him up, ask how much and get it serviced if you like the cost.

I should have rubbed my hands with glee if someone like you came in and wanted a fault free amplifier serviced, but unfortunately I was too honest, so I never robbed any of my customers. 30% down indeed. As for the brakes analogy, find me an incident where a faulty component in an amplifier killed someone because it wasn't spotted.

 

[TrevC]

How would you know if a capacitor has degraded if there are no fault symptoms? Change all of them just in case?

You measure them with an ESR meter. While I agree most amps don't need servicing some do. The Audiolab 8000a is one of them as its getting to the age where the caps are drying out, when these amps fail they tend to make a right mess so preventative maintenance is a good idea. Lots of amps have specific problem areas that can be addressed before ultimate failure, if you were a service technician you should know this.

All your repairs would cost the customer an absolute fortune on any amplifier that had no fault. It's not practical to test every electrolytic in an amplifier, you would have to disconnect every one in turn.

 

[spiny norman]

Oh well, there goes another thread: when TrevC starts machine-gun posting without even waiting for replies, it's time to move on, people, and leave him chuntering to himself.

 

[TrevC]

Oh well, there goes another thread: when TrevC starts machine-gun posting without even waiting for replies, it's time to move on, people, and leave him chuntering to himself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9lmCpIzhFo

 

[eggontoast]

All your repairs would cost the customer an absolute fortune on any amplifier that had no fault. It's not practical to test every electrolytic in an amplifier, you would have to disconnect every one in turn.

Actually my servicing & repairs don't cost a fortune. A good engineer can tell which parts of the amplifier are likely to have problems from the general design and layout, you also build up a product knowledge as you do various amplifiers. You don't need to disconnect all the caps either, most can be measured in circuit, it should be possible to determine which will need disconnecting from the schematic.

 

[TrevC]

All your repairs would cost the customer an absolute fortune on any amplifier that had no fault. It's not practical to test every electrolytic in an amplifier, you would have to disconnect every one in turn.

Actually my servicing & repairs don't cost a fortune. A good engineer can tell which parts of the amplifier are likely to have problems from the general design and layout, you also build up a product knowledge as you do various amplifiers. You don't need to disconnect all the caps either, most can be measured in circuit, it should be possible to determine which will need disconnecting from the schematic.

Ah right, so you would only look at the likely dodgy ones. The ones that give the amplifier the fault that you're trying to find? Which is kind of what I said in the first place. Imagine fault finding without a capacitor tester, which is what I used to do. Mind you, I don't envy you for having to work on the almost unserviceable mass produced junk that passes for consumer electronics nowadays.

 

[spiny norman]

Mind you, I don't envy you for having to work on the almost unserviceable mass produced junk that passes for consumer electronics nowadays.

Eee, those were t'days, eh?

 

[Infiniteloop]

All your repairs would cost the customer an absolute fortune on any amplifier that had no fault. It's not practical to test every electrolytic in an amplifier, you would have to disconnect every one in turn.

Actually my servicing & repairs don't cost a fortune. A good engineer can tell which parts of the amplifier are likely to have problems from the general design and layout, you also build up a product knowledge as you do various amplifiers. You don't need to disconnect all the caps either, most can be measured in circuit, it should be possible to determine which will need disconnecting from the schematic.

[font="ProximaNova-Semibold, arial, verdana, sans-serif"]+1.[/font]

My local dealer recently serviced my S8 Valve Amp totally for free and I didn't even buy it from there. TrevC is wrong again. Seems the guy has no faith in humanity. Somebody must've taken his Jammie Dodger off him as a child.

 

[Infiniteloop]

When Kevin at the Audiocellar serviced my 100x5r, one of the rear channels was 30% down. I had not noticed. Let me know if you run a car until sparks come out of the brakes. It's easy to spot.

Ring him up, ask how much and get it serviced if you like the cost.

I should have rubbed my hands with glee if someone like you came in and wanted a fault free amplifier serviced, but unfortunately I was too honest, so I never robbed any of my customers. 30% down indeed. As for the brakes analogy, find me an incident where a faulty component in an amplifier killed someone because it wasn't spotted.

But that's not the point. The point is, if you want something to perform at its best, a service is a good way of ensuring it.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

All your repairs would cost the customer an absolute fortune on any amplifier that had no fault. It's not practical to test every electrolytic in an amplifier, you would have to disconnect every one in turn.

Actually my servicing & repairs don't cost a fortune. A good engineer can tell which parts of the amplifier are likely to have problems from the general design and layout, you also build up a product knowledge as you do various amplifiers. You don't need to disconnect all the caps either, most can be measured in circuit, it should be possible to determine which will need disconnecting from the schematic.

+2

Seems to me if you're an experienced servicer of, say, Audiolab kit, and an Audiolab amp comes in for a service, you're going to have a pretty good idea which parts are likely to be below par, check those out first, replace as necessary, then delve deeper if problems still exist. Not rocket science is it?

Anyway, a blow-out with a decent DRY air line to get the cobwebs out, won't do any harm, volume knobs do have a bit of a tendency to become "scratchy" or to have spots where you get no sound at all out of one or both channels, etc. etc. and if you buy a used older piece of kit it's probably a worthwhile investment, right? I mean, you wouldn't buy a second hand car and not at least pump up the tyres and check the oil, would you?

 

[thewinelake.]

I understand this will cost about £90-£100 to have a spruce-up - including replacement of some bits - which will almost certainly make a clear audible difference. That's not including carriage, which I guess could mount-up. So it's a fair proportion of the £155 (+£25 postage) that I've already paid.

Once I've decided on which speakers to use, I'll get used to it and then go for the service/upgrade. Hopefully I'll be able to get an impression of what difference it has made (let's hope for some expectation bias!).

 

[jmjones]

Quite right Mr. Winelake, and the best expectation bias of all is feeling that you have made a good decision. If you live close enough to take the amp yourself, go, ask Kevin about HiFi, his job, and try and hold the conversation in his house.

His place looks like a cross between Frakenstein's electronics lab and a HiFi showroom. The triamped Monitor Audio speakers were hilarious last time I was there. He loves the job, and he's mad as a box of frogs. *good*