Amp - Internal Damage from Shipping?

Took delivery of a Yamaha A-S2100 solid state amplifier. Amp was double boxed however no protection was inserted in between boxes. Upon opening the main box, all four Styrofoam inserts had cracks. Obviously the Amp has been jolted around. Physically it looked fine, plugged it in and all seems fine, did a quick check for any abnormal noise, hiss, etc and all seems good. What I am wondering is can any damage occur to the caps, resistors, any internals that wouldn't be obvious if looking inside. But could possibly effect the amps sound signature, quality?

Thanks

 

Anything's possible but there's no universal answer. Depends on too many factors.

You have a warranty period anyway so you'll be fine should there be any issues.

 

Was the double boxing from the factory or from your retail source?

 

These Yamaha units come double boxed, a plain cardboard outer and printed cardboard inner. If you only received a single Yamaha branded box, that alone is suspect, never mind cracked styrofoam. If ALL the styrofoam cracked inside manufacturer double boxing, it means your package was badly mishandled and/or subjected to quite an extreme impact(s). Personally I'd exchange it, and make sure you get one that's factory sealed in Yamaha's double boxing.

 

I had the same issue with my Denon SACD player, the Styrofoam was cracked and disintegrating in places, box looked fine on the outside. Player was fine!

If anything was dislodged I doubt the amp would work, Japanese amps are built like tanks.

 

When gear is double boxed, there is no inserts between the two boxes--the double boxing primarily prevents the whole package from breaking open. The fitted styrofoam blocks around gear form the best protection possible--they absorb the energy from an impact and prevent the gear from moving around in the box. If the foam is cracked, but otherwise still intact, the gear is probably fine. It does suggest a pretty hard knock somewhere, although you did not report any obvious damage to the outside of the box.

If the gear plays fine it is probably undamaged. As long as it doesn't void the warranty, you could remove the cover and look for loose parts or cracks in boards or other signs of damage, but, I don't think that is necessary.

 

My A-S1100 came single-boxed and was drop-shipped direct from Yamaha’s warehouse. Maybe they don’t bother double-boxing the lowly 1100?

 

Modern SMD boards usually survive drop from 2-3 feet. Unless you experience obvious problem, you should be good. Though knocks increase probability of failure after several years of service.

 

if there are no damages on the boxes they should be fine. the unit may have been removed and re-boxed which could have caused the cracks- often the amp is put in the foam incorrectly which stresses it and often put in the box incorrectly as well.
electronics are a lot studier to shock than we give them credit for. think of all the circuits in off road truck and heavy duty vehicles as well as in your car. they suffer vibration and shock cycles on a daily basis.

 

I’ve opened four Yamaha amp boxes in my time (R-S500, A-S500, two A-S1100s) All were single-boxed and all had cracked styrofoam inserts. It’s a 50lb amp, even a bump is likely to cause the inserts to crack.

 

My A-S2200 was double boxed and also had cracked styrofoam inserts. No problems with the amp.

 

My A-S3000 was single boxed, despite the online retailer repeatedly assuring me it would be double boxed. There was no obvious damage to the exterior of the box but one corner of the the styrofoam inserts was quite cracked. Amp was/is fine.

 

As per lonelysea my A-S3000 was single boxed as well. No obvious damage to box but Styrofoam looked like it had taken a hammering. Amp pristine and no problems to date.

 

My a-s1100 came with the foam inserts cracked and works fine. These amps are pretty durable, so long as nothing is damaged and the amp works good I wouldn't worry about it.

 

It either works correctly or it doesn't.

 

Bear in mind that Styrofoam inserts are intended to be a sacrificial first line of defense. That is, in the event the box is mishandled, the Styrofoam cracks to save the amp from cracking. Obviously, a big enough hit can go beyond what the Styrofoam can absorb, but I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you have a problem with the amp's operation.

 

The Styrofoam cracked because it was doing it's job, taking the impact instead of the actual box/amp