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What’s wrong with these McIntosh Monoblocks?

Evening, got a question about these two McIntosh MC40 amplifiers. I got them from garage type environment, humidity was present as they have some surface rust, but absolutely no damage or dents. Opened them up and did a visual inspection, nothing looks burnt out or bad. However, I replaced the fuses as they were both burnt out with ones that were identical, ensured the voltage setting was correct, plugged the amps in(no speakers connected), and nothing. Removed the fuses to find them both burnt out again. What could be causing this? Would be eternally grateful to anyone who can help.

polak

Showing 1 response by erik_squires

erik_squires
15,779 posts
 

Hi OP:

Variacs are used to gently turn amplifiers on, letting you turn the power off before really major damage/fire has occurred. Technicians use them both for recently repaired gear as well as for amps like the one’s you are describing, which may have been stored for a long time and or improperly.

At the very least, letting a piece of gear like that dry out for a couple of days inside before turning them on is a good idea too.

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