Replace or repair?

[admin_exported]

Hi folks - thanks for reading my very first post! It's been a long time since I entered the glittering world of hi-fi, but my old system is showing its age and I wanted to ask your collective advice.

I have an Arcam Alpha 7 cd player, a Marantz PM66SE amp and a pair of Mordaunt Short MS20i Pearl speakers (remember them?!).

My problem is that one channel of the amp has stopped working, and music played through the other channel is occasionally interrupted by a loud static 'pop' which stops all sound from the speakers for several seconds....

I've been quoted about £40 for an investigation by a generic electrical repair company, but am I flogging a dead horse? Would I be better to replace the amp, or even trade in the whole system?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Anonymous]

Better to spend 100 quids on a 2nd hand amp off eBay than spend 40 on repairing the old horse. Its come of ages. Let go now.

 

[JoelSim]

Yup, get a new one or a late 2nd hand one

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="VegHead"]
My problem is that one channel of the amp has stopped working, and music played through the other channel is occasionally interrupted by a loud static 'pop' which stops all sound from the speakers for several seconds....

I've been quoted about £40 for an investigation by a generic electrical repair company, but am I flogging a dead horse? Would I be better to replace the amp, or even trade in the whole system?

[/quote]

The 66 is a very good amp and only slightly better in KI form though I have to say what you get these days in KI (Ken Ishiwata) form is not worth the extra cash. A toroid, slightly larger supply caps and fancy copper plating is about twenty quid extra in parts costs not the £200 they charge above the 'base' model. Still, he (KI) is a good marketing man.

Back to your problem. It looks like you have DC appearing one one channel with the protection circuit switching in. It also seems likely something has blown from the pre-amp stage upwards. There are a number of possible causes for that. As mentioned before, its not worth to have it repaired for that sort of money in few of its age and second hand value.

However, if you fancy learning a bit about fault diagnosis and repair its well worth keeping it. If you're handy with a multi meter and solder iron if can be a lot of fun. The usual safety precautions apply. Let me know if you need help.

Here's a slightly modified 66

 

[Anonymous]

That's sound advice guys, thanks for your help. Drummerman in particular - I'd love to have a go at repairing it.

Have just won a complete system on ebay - including a PM66SE and a nice pair of Missions! Cost me £180ish, which was more than I'd have spent on the amp alone, but it's nice to have some new toys hey?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="VegHead"]
That's sound advice guys, thanks for your help. Drummerman in particular - I'd love to have a go at repairing it.

Have just won a complete system on ebay - including a PM66SE and a nice pair of Missions! Cost me £180ish, which was more than I'd have spent on the amp alone, but it's nice to have some new toys hey?

[/quote]

It sure is! Now you can open them both up and see where the difference lie to diagnose the problem on the old amp. I opened up my JVC A-X400 last week and nearly had a heart attack! There was black soot around the transformer, a 2cm layer of dust over everything (that's why my bedroom smelt when I turned it on!) and all the capacitors and resistors were bent beyond belief! Still can't work out why one channel keeps on cutting out, and then when I tap the side of the amp it comes back on again! - only at low-volume too! My latest toy is arriving tonight - a JVC A-X5 from 1979! Should be fuN!