Amp Started Crackling - What to Check For?

[Josh]

Just noticed that one of the channels on my two-channel amp (which drives my surround channels) is crackling, even when no sound is being fed to it by my receiver. Just the fact that its on makes it crackle. The sound from the TV and Blu-ray player still comes through, but the crackling is very audible.

I've already tried swapping cables and wires and even trying another channel from the amp with no solution. I definitely narrowed it down to the amp.

I openned it up this weekend, and nothing is looks amiss on the circuit board. The transformer looks fine, the capacitors are dry, and none of the resisters appear to be burnt out. What else should I look for as a possible cause?

Its an Acurus A80.

[VinnAY]

Is it under warranty? Well, it isn't anymore if it was since you opened it up. Looks like your either paying to replace it or paying to repair it.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by VinnAY

Is it under warranty? Well, it isn't anymore if it was since you opened it up. Looks like your either paying to replace it or paying to repair it.

Acurus amps have been out of production for quite some time so it would not be under warranty.

Josh,

I am not sure what to suggest as to the problem. It may have to go in for a servicing. But, I have no idea as to the cost of repair. Try to turn on the amp without it getting any inputs to the amp or better still turn on the amp after you have pulled all of the input cables and the speaker cables to see if you are still hearing any crackling.

Rich

[solarrdadd]

I recommend not spending any money having it repaired since it's out of production for a number of years and you might spend a small fortune getting it repaired. I also recommend the Emotiva 2 channel amp for your surrounds. Best of luck whatever you decide to do!

http://emotiva.com/upa2.shtm

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

I recommend not spending any money having it repaired since it's out of production for a number of years and you might spend a small fortune getting it repaired. I also recommend the Emotiva 2 channel amp for your surrounds. Best of luck whatever you decide to do!

http://emotiva.com/upa2.shtm

It can not hurt to bring the amp in for an estimate. Sometimes repairs can be under $100 or so. Find out the problem and cost and decide what to do at that time, not before.

Rich

[solarrdadd]

I agree with you Rich, but, he would be out of whatever money it cost to have it looked at and you did state that the unit was not in production for a while. I don't know how long he has had it but unless it was some incredible piece of tech for it's time wouldn't you think it's better to get a new one that will come with a new warrenty and he's covered? Again, this might have been a special amp made back when, I don't know, given that, it might be worth the money to fix it. If it's old and if it wasn't that popular when it came out I think that money spent on the estimate to look at it and perhaps to have it fixed might be well spent on a new one for just a couple of hundred bucks. If he didn't want to spend a lot of money the one I suggested is $325 delivered. Perhaps i'm just not familiar with the make of the amp and potentially how much more life it might have left in it if repaired.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

I agree with you Rich, but, he would be out of whatever money it cost to have it looked at and you did state that the unit was not in production for a while. I don't know how long he has had it but unless it was some incredible piece of tech for it's time wouldn't you think it's better to get a new one that will come with a new warrenty and he's covered? Again, this might have been a special amp made back when, I don't know, given that, it might be worth the money to fix it. If it's old and if it wasn't that popular when it came out I think that money spent on the estimate to look at it and perhaps to have it fixed might be well spent on a new one for just a couple of hundred bucks. If he didn't want to spend a lot of money the one I suggested is $325 delivered. Perhaps i'm just not familiar with the make of the amp and potentially how much more life it might have left in it if repaired.

A lot of very reputable repair shops do not charge for an estimate and to check out the unit. If the shop is going to charge for the repair, then that is another question. And if they charge, what is the cost. If as an example, the shop charges $25 to check the equipment and that comes out of the cost of repair, it may well still be worth bringing the unit in to be checked. Josh would have to decide at that point whether it is worth repairing the unit. Acurus amps were very dependable. They were the lower cost and simpler components made by Mondial Designs the makers of Aragon high end equipment. Mondial was purchased by Klipsch. Klipsch retired the Acurus line early on and continued the Aragon line until about 2006 when they retired the Aragon line.

It would be nice if Klipsch brought back Aragon. Regardless though Klipsh/Mondial still has all of the schematics for any repair on file.

Also, to give you an idea on Acurus, I purchased my Acurus A-250 power amp in 1994 and used it without incident first as the main power amp and later as my rear channel amp until early in 2008. I took the amp out of service when I purchased the first 2 of my upgraded Aragon Palladium 1K monoblock amps (the top of the Aragon line). I have my Acurus A-250 in storage if I need a back-up in the event of a failure or to possibly upgrade later.

Rich

[solarrdadd]

I agree, if you can get a free estimate or one for less than $35, it's worth it. If it turns out that it's going to cost over $100 and the estimate is not included in that price then I recommend buying new especially if you've put a lot of "miles" on it. Only because that is what I would do. Good looking out Rich!

[Josh]

I picked it up used on the cheap to compliment my Acurus A100x3. Its was only like $100 or so. If I could get it repaired for $50 or so, I think I would rather keep it alive rather than replace it with an Emotiva (which is too deep for my rack). I just need to find a place around me to take it for them to look at.

Thanks for the help guys! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking somethin obvious before I turned it into the professionals.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Josh

Just noticed that one of the channels on my two-channel amp (which drives my surround channels) is crackling, even when no sound is being fed to it by my receiver. Just the fact that its on makes it crackle. The sound from the TV and Blu-ray player still comes through, but the crackling is very audible.

I've already tried swapping cables and wires and even trying another channel from the amp with no solution. I definitely narrowed it down to the amp.

I openned it up this weekend, and nothing is looks amiss on the circuit board. The transformer looks fine, the capacitors are dry, and none of the resisters appear to be burnt out. What else should I look for as a possible cause?

Its an Acurus A80.

It is possible that your amplifier has become subject to the Barkhausen Effect. That is all we need, another crazy German scientist.

Most of the reports of crackling sound from amplifiers are from people in car audio and tube amplifiers.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...?postid=800382
http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=938.0
http://www.zinky.com/current.html

[rded]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

It is possible that your amplifier has become subject to the Barkhausen Effect. That is all we need, another crazy German scientist.

Most of the reports of crackling sound from amplifiers are from people in car audio and tube amplifiers.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...?postid=800382
http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=938.0
http://www.zinky.com/current.html

That's a first for me! What's your prescription for it Doctor BD?

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by rded

That's a first for me! What's your prescription for it Doctor BD?

Dr. BD recommends a new used two channel amp or a very experienced repair person that has reasonable prices.

[rded]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Dr. BD recommends a new used two channel amp or a very experienced repair person that has reasonable prices.

That's what I though!