Do amps lose steam over time?

Usually the owner loses steam first!

"10-25-14: Jgerish
Thanks for the tips. Zd542, I don't know that it's the amp, but I don't know what else it could be, or how to find out."

After reading your posts, I'm not convinced that you have a problem. You may, but it looks like you're relying on memory as your main source of info. Nothing wrong with that, but its hard to be exact.

A couple of things you may want to consider. First, is there any changes in the environment from when you got your system up until now? (I'm assuming you made no equipment changes). New carpet, new furniture, that type of thing. Second, you mention that you have a Rotel Pro. Was that a typo that should have read pre instead? If not, and you are using a HT processor, you may want to check the settings on it. It could be something as simple as having an individual gain setting on one of your sources too low, and you just don't realize it.

After about a decade most are on a downhill path, but the change is so gradual you don't notice it.

Thanks for the tips. Zd542, I don't know that it's the amp, but I don't know what else it could be, or how to find out.

How do you know the amp is the problem, and not another component in the system?

Everything deteriorates or flat out breaks eventually. Or it could be changes in your hearing or reaction to what you hear. Or all of the above. Can't hurt to pull everything apart and put it back together again once in a while if done with care. Clean ears can only help.

The reference to the Grateful Dead notwithstanding, Onhwy 61's advice is good. I don't know how old your Rotel amp is, but after some years, capacitors can go bad and leak or fail.

This can usually be detected by just checking for leaks or swelling of the caps, being careful to let your amp set for a few hours unplugged. (high voltage is present in amps, that will dissapate in a few hours).

High operating temperatures contribute to early electronics failures, so keep your equipment clean and well ventilated.

Best of luck,
Dan

Turn off all your equipment and disconnect all interconnects and cables. Clean all the contact points and then reconnect all the cabling. It also might help to have your ear canals cleaned.

As to the amp losing steam, be sure to only use distilled water in the boiler, if not, there could be trouble ahead and trouble behind.