Anyone ever have an amp die?

I haven't been in touch w/ the manufactuer yet but my Cary Integrated amp just died last night. It was doing fine when I left the room. Came back a little later and the tubes wern't glowing. Turned it off and on, still nothing. Checked all connections, changed fuses, still nothing. No power light, nothing. Any idea w/ may of caused this?? I plan on calling the good people at Cary in the AM but would like some feedback so I can sleep tonight.

Thanks,

Chris

 

Amp that's died?

No such thing.

Something is wrong, and you can't figure it out yet. It's possibly a bad capacitor or diode. Seems like it's in the power supply, because you're not getting anything.

I'm refurbishing an old Sherwood 8000-III as we speak. Very old, a few bad caps and something's wrong with the power supply (as I found it) but the goose is NEVER cooked!

Good luck. Sleep well.

 

Thanks for the advice. One more question for the board. Last week I cranked Live at Leeds pretty good and noticed that the 6550's were sort of glowing brighter during loud passages. I immediately turned it down and didn't notice anything different with the sound quality. What was happening? Is it bad for the tubes and amp? While it was pretty loud it's an 80W per channel amp and I don't think it was THAT loud.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

 

Your output tubes are going to work harder the harder you push them. If your Carey is properly vented, put your hand over the output tubes as you let it idle for 3-4 minutes. It's going to be a BIT hot, but not very. Go crank a Twisted Sister CD into it at a good clip, and the tubes get hot!! My EL34's start to really warm the place up! I know your unit isn't working, but that's an example...

80wpc for a tube amp is pretty hefty. Ever soldered anything in your life? Do you know a bad cap when you see it? Good with a volt meter? Heck, got the schematic?

Which unit is this?

 

It's the SLI-80 modified by Upscale Audio. Awsome amp! 50W Tirode and 80W UL. When I crank it I put it on UL. Never soldered anything and never will! I'm a bit of a newbie. I don't think the unit came w/ the schematic. Do you think it's bad for the tubes and/or amp when the output tubes start to 'blink'?? They never stopped glowing when i cranked it, they just glowed a little brighter when Moon went crazy during Amazing Journey. Is this bad?

Chris

 

Blink? Yes, something's been wrong. I'd need to see it to REALLY know, but me thinks its either a cap that's bad or a recti-diode that's SOL. No filliments? No glow? No nothing? Power supply. If it were me, I would find what when ker-screwy and rebuild it here and there with better caps.

Yes the unit is awesome, but I have a feeling this was a long time come.

I don't want to tease, but the Dynaco I built from scratch with GOOD caps is not only the strongest in my suite, but also the best performer...

This shoulnd't be a very big deal. Something did break down. Did you smell anything funny? If it was smelly after it blew, it's CAPS.

Just a question for curiosity.

A picture for the rest of the forum:



Most of the time, with diodes, if it goes, it shorts & fuses, and kills your fuse, feeding the power right back to the rear of the circut. I hope it is a cap, and that's what it sounds like. Poor performing cap.

 

I was just curious, Chris,
how long have you had the amp, without any problems?

 

Well, maybe 'blink' was a bad chice of words. It just glowed brighter for a split second and back to normal repeatedly when I cranked it. I turned it down immedately so I didn't get a chance to observe it more. This was weeks before it 'died' so I don't know if there is any relation. No funny smell or anything. It was doing fine and then no power. I've had it for 5 or 5 months without any problems.

Chris

P.S.Thanks Sckott for your help

 

Let us all know what becomes of this poor pup. I'm still waiting for a schematic for my Sherwood, and I'm polyurethaning the cover, which is pure wood, absolutely in mint condition. Dig the copper chassis underneath and all RCA/GE tubes!

You're welcome, and good luck. Hopefully it's dumb-simple!

 

Caps - I had to replace about $10 worth of caps to get my Dynaco MKIV's running properly this summer. My problem was lotsa hum in one unit and a little hum in another. I'm not an electronics tech, but tube circuits are nice and simple - betcha it's nothing too serious.

 

Chris, is it still under warranty? If it is, I suggest sending it out for repair. If not then find a good local place or send it to Upscale Audio. I would normally suggest trying to do the work yourself but it sounds like that's not your thing. Even if the amp "magically" starts working again, I would have it checked...

Todd

P.S. I'm sorry your having problems with it...

 

Will do. Cary and Upscale are always helpful.

Chris

 

call Kirk at Cary and have him help you troublshoot it....if you cant do it they are very nice and will fix it for you asap I'm sure. Kevin at Upscale should be able to help also.

 

Hey Sckott,

My compliments on the way you always step up on threads like this to help your fellow Forum members. That's really

-Jeffrey