Aleph 3 safe to operate?

Take a look inside the amp, and check out the condition of the caps. If they look good (not swollen or leaking), and everything looks fine, hook up a cheap pair of speakers to it and turn it on. It should be fine if it appears to be a new amp. 

From the owners manual of the Aleph 3, easily found on line:  “the turn-on AC draw will peak (half-cycle) at roughly 50 amps on a 120 volt system”.

Also: “The amp will draw 250 watts from the wall at all times”

And:  “In fifteen years the electrolytic capacitors will get old.”

In view of this advice from the owners manual, I would definitely recommend you take the amp to a good technician who has the proper tools to bring that amp to life safely upon its first power on.  Since the amp is NOS, you have a good chance that it is OK. But don’t chance a big electrolytic capacitors blowing in your home.

Isn’t it funny how a simple question can generate a number of diverse yet incorrect answers?

Bring those Alephs up gently on a variac. Usually I start at 50V for five or six hours, then up in 20V steps at 1 or 2 hours per. This will reform the caps, which are 30 years old even if the amps have ever been used. In fact, the less they’ve been used the more they’ll appreciate this treatment.

Meanwhile... What a great find! You should have bought a lottery ticket that day 🙂

I’m wondering how the capacitors age when they have been unused, new in the box, without having been fed electricity since leaving the factory. Is there an explanation I might read as a reference article or book?

I have been enjoying an A5 for about three years, both as a musical piece and as a room heater in colder weather.