I would send it in to McIntosh or Audioclassics.com, you'd be out a shipping cost and a diagnosis fee. But at 700.00 you will be hard pressed to find a better pre-amp, in my opinion. Call McIntosh first as they may diag it for free. I have had many dealings with Mc and they have been awesome to deal with. I used to own an MX132 and the issue you describe could be a grounding issue, but, I really think it might be a bad cap or similar. Take the cover off and look for any bloated caps, as old as this unit is, time move taken it's toll. Therefore again start with Mc as they may have reduced charges. I have sent used equipment to them and they still took care of it and covered return shipping. But that may have changed with the new Fine Sounds ownership.