Amp showing its age?


Before getting into details, just the bottom line: can an SS amp, well into its second decade, begin raising its output impedance and/or dropping its peak current capability? Because mine certainly seemed to be doing one or both, so I have just replaced it, and now the speakers are again obedient.

 

hickamore

Showing 3 responses by chenry

Aging electrolytic capacitors. Have you had any replaced in the time of your ownership?

 

If you kept it as long as you did, it can’t have been bad. It might be worthwhile having the unit serviced and bad caps replaced along with anything else needing replacing, As a second system amplifier it might be a familiar and welcome value, it seems as if it was very well made to have lasted so long.

The speaker caps are probably OK if the new amp is working fine with them.Speaker crossover caps will go bad, but not as quickly as amplifier caps, 30-40 years. If you were using  vintage speakers made from 1950s to 1970s, then replacing the crossover caps would make sense.