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Parasound A21 help?

I just received a used Parasound A21 amp and I am having a problem. I am not getting sound from the amp. I have gone through a quick check and have determined that the amp is not getting even slightly warm when powered on. I have the switch on the back set for manual turn on and when I turn on (push) the front switch it lights up blue and the parasound light in the top center changes from bright red to dim. The owners manual says the power switch should go red then change to blue when turned on. It doesn't. I have let it sit for about 20 minutes and no warmth. Would the lights come on at all if the fuse on the rear panel was bad? Should the amp get warm without any connection except the power cord? Any ideas?
tide
8 responses Add your response
jjrenman
279 posts
 
The "on" button should light up red and then after a few seconds you should hear a click and the power switch will glow blue. Check your speaker hook ups for any shorts or try disconnecting the speaker leads.

If the rear panel fuse is blown you will not get any lights whatsoever.

The amp will get midly warm when turned on (blue light), even warmer when playing music at loud levels.
tide OP
12 posts
 
That is what I thought about the fuse/light situation. Turns out the lights will still come on around the power button and the "P" at the top if the rear panel fuse is blown. The channel lights in the middle will not. Replaced the rear fuse and its good to go. Parasound says the A21 is the only amp that has this situation. Maybe this will help someone else in the future.
jjrenman
279 posts
 
Very unusual. thanks for the correction. Glad it was only the fuse.
therixonator
3 posts
 
Hi Tide,

Your thread did indeed help someone else in the future! You just helped me not post my A21 on a 500 mile repair trip thus saving me a lot of stress packaging up a heavy delicate piece of equipment, and a lot of money! Thank you!

One question, where did you source your fuse? I took the one out of the back and its about 5mm longer than a standard UK fuse (I’m in the UK). As there is no writing on it, I’m trying to work out whether it is a standard US fuse or whether it is a specialist Hi-Fi fuse. Clearly I am not an expert in these matters so apologies if my question is very retarded!!

James
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

Hey James, this is a standard US fuse.  The UK standard fuses are 6.4mm x 24mm. 

USA has 2 standard fuse sizes.  Small 5mm x 20mm.  Large 6mm x 32mm.

As far as replacement, you can get any cheap fuse of the same amperage value (check the amp rating on the fuse).  Of course, you can get better audiophile fuses, but they definitely cost a lot of money.

georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Of course, you can get better audiophile fuses, but they definitely cost a lot of money.
>$100 for no gain in sound quality over a good quality normal fuse, just get a good industry standard $2 fuse of the same amp/size rating, as almarg has given a link to.
http://www.digikey.com/products/en/circuit-protection/fuses/139

Fuses do deteriorate over time with switch on surges as these pics show.
https://i.stack.imgur.com/0uqWX.jpg


Cheers George
therixonator
3 posts
 
Brilliant, thanks Aux and George for your help! I've ordered some US fuses on the internet. Will hopefully have this beast working again by the end of the week.
therixonator
3 posts
 
Ordered 8 amps by the way. I noticed the little engraving on the metal cap after I posted.
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