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 yoyoyaya

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
623 posts
 

Fuses can fail randomly from thermal/mechanical stress, but also, alternatively, from component failure.

If the amp has failed transistors, it's not necessarily the end, depending on whether replacement transistors are available.

However, on an older amp, you're probably looking at a full refurb including the power supply caps at least.

Ultimately, the cost benefit ratio may be negative depending on how much you like the amp and how much work needs to be done.

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