2. amps-preamps
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I think I just smoked my Amp

Ummm… yeah… what the title says…

Just received a new pair of speakers, Thiel MCS1. I got them hooked up, powered up my pre and my amp, started playing a test track (a progressive house song), I immediately noticed a slight crackle in the right channel, and as soon as the song got to the part where the bass beat dropped, the amp went into protect mode. It stayed in protect for about five seconds, then the “operate” light came back on, but the audio did not return. I powered the amp down, tried powering back up, but the protect light immediately returned, but it was extremely dim. Now, the power switch does nothing; nothing lights up. I smelled the vents in the top, and nothing smelled burnt or out of the ordinary.

My uneducated guess is that the lower impedance (4ohm nominal, 3ohm minimum), strained an aging cap which then gave up the ghost, but really I have no idea. My previous speakers were a much easier load (10ohm) and the amp handled them just fine.

 

I really don’t know what to do now, but I’m bloody devastated.

My system: 

ARC LS25 MKII

ARC D400

SMSL M400

Auralic Aries

rfnoise

Showing 1 response by rhg3

rhg3
162 posts
 

If the fuse is blown, don’t replace it with an expensive "audiophile" fuse as the fuse might blow again as soon as you turn the amp on.

If the fuse does blow again, obviously the amp needs to go in for service.

And if the amp doesn’t turn on, then it still needs to go in for service.

If replacing the fuse works, then you’re one lucky guy.

 

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