View Full Version : Death of My amp
Photoguy1510
29-09-2017, 12:53
12 days old and tonight while listening to a nit of Nina Simone severe crackle bang and now severe buzz sound in the background. Buzz does not get louder with output volume it's the same and even present when sound is all the way down. I'm dumbstruck have no idea what would have caused it but I assume its power supply related. Anybody Els ever had this happen. I'm a pain on my gear I turn volume to 0 before switch off warm amp for a min before I start to slowly increase volume never crank it past 3/4 (75) this one has never seen anything past 50% it's still running in. Going to be a long weekend without my music time the Marley is charged for some low quality noise creation.:confused::confused:
What is the amp? I'm guessing it is a vacuum tube design?
Did you check the fuses?
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Photoguy1510
29-09-2017, 15:08
No rotel1570 amp.
Photoguy1510
29-09-2017, 15:11
Under warranty so cannot open to check but fuse would normally stop it from working, it still works just the buzz makes it rubbish.
At least you are under warranty. Surprising that a Rotel would let go like that, though, they usually run for decades without any issue.
http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php?42969-Rotel-RA-1570-issue&
If you Google it seems that there have been a lot of problems with this amp.
Photoguy1510
29-09-2017, 19:50
Thanks for that link Puffin it seems that the amp will be returned and they can keep it. Might have to change that into one of the Yamaha stereo amps. Problem is these B&W 683 are hungry they sounded pretty average with only 80W Yamaha pushing them.
Thanks for that link Puffin it seems that the amp will be returned and they can keep it. Might have to change that into one of the Yamaha stereo amps. Problem is these B&W 683 are hungry they sounded pretty average with only 80W Yamaha pushing them.
Good speakers, the Subaru Imprezza of speakers in fact.
You want current over watts unless you have them in a big room in which case they need both. Especially if you wamt to crank it up a bit.
Photoguy1510
29-09-2017, 20:27
Sorry you lost me on that how do I see current ability of an amp W is hard enough to get a honest value. Any amps you can recommend I take for a test drive. Keep in mind though NZ the nice affordable British gear is a dead ripoff on the
Is side of the pond. And plinius is not in my budget though I'd love one of those bulldozers in the lounge.
Ninanina
29-09-2017, 20:29
Sorry to hear about your amp problem Corne
Are you thinking of giving up on the Rotel ?
walpurgis
29-09-2017, 20:32
A beefy vintage Sansui integrated amp? High quality and fine sound. Over thirty years old perhaps, but with a service it'd probably last another thirty.
Bigman80
29-09-2017, 20:39
Phonomac does very good Sansui amps. Services them meticulously. He's usually got the odd one for sale.
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walpurgis
29-09-2017, 21:01
Phonomac does very good Sansui amps. Services them meticulously. He's usually got the odd one for sale
Yeah, but Corne is in NZ. Shipping an amp there would cost a hundred or two. Should be some decent vintage Japanese gear there though.
Bigman80
29-09-2017, 21:01
Oh. Lol
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Photoguy1510
30-09-2017, 07:19
100 more like a few and then if it's over Nz$400 add import tax. Options are bit slim this side getting an old amp can be done but like vintage cars it's not quite what I'm after. I would rather buy new and have something to fall back on like now if it was vintage it be out of pocket.
@Ninanina depends on how they treat this little issue I really like the sound I get from it but if you do the google search this noise issue seems to be a problem with the series of rotel. Great if they fix it now but what happens 3 years from now if it does it again. Yamaha gets good backup but options are limited, Onkyo backup is rather p..poor I was assured Rotel service is great but I won't need it well they were wrong before. The nice British gear is twice the price for a 30W amp so not bang for buck and well known backup issues. I have a small onkyo a9010 at my other house so I can go pick that up and the Dali bookshelves will keep me happy for a bit longer. I'd love if onkyo made a beefy version of the a9010 it is a great amp for the money $460new that's 1/3 of the price of the baby rotel and it sounds nicer to me. Run it on cheap copper as all onkyo amps are a bit bright by nature. This one seems to be the exeption
Sorry you lost me on that how do I see current ability of an amp W is hard enough to get a honest value. Any amps you can recommend I take for a test drive. Keep in mind though NZ the nice affordable British gear is a dead ripoff on the
Is side of the pond. And plinius is not in my budget though I'd love one of those bulldozers in the lounge.
I don't know what is available out there in NZ - my friend uses a huge Onkyo home theatre amp and that works well with his 683 although his room is large and he sometimes plays loud enough to clip it. But that is mainly because he is a nut. Like Geoff says, a big jap integrated from the golden era (late 70s early 80s) would be good; if you are on a budget but want the best sound possible, buying second hand is the way to go.
Photoguy1510
30-09-2017, 07:55
Going second hand here is a huge risk you guys might not understand it let me put it like this England and Nz is about the same size. NZ national population 4.2milion what is the population of London alone? We do not have the skilled labour to rebuild amps our smarty pants guys work for plinius or the orphans ( something like that) the rest leave to go work in the uk.
Now not only don't we have the skill how many old amps do you think is out there up for grabs. New is the way to go if I want it this year. Also why a problem series is of such concern to me.
montesquieu
30-09-2017, 09:13
Are you sure about that Corne? There's quite a specialist scene come out of the diy community (focused around Auckland I believe) in the vinyl space particularly. Now selling things like tonearms globally. Don't know about amps though.
Though if I were you when it comes to amps I'd be looking at Nuprime or the last of the nuforce reference series before Jason Lin split the company and sold off the lower end stuff, keeping the hifi stuff. And definitely available in Godsown (you can get a trial too - from totallywired I believe. )
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Photoguy1510
02-10-2017, 08:53
Thank you for all the replies amp is now dead quiet, if the audio gods are listening please send rotel nz oodles of good carma.
Took the amp to the dealer who pretty much did not want to hear a word of it so through a bit of good old google managed to get hold of the importers. 5 min on the phone sorry for the inconvenience can you take the amp to this store and quote this order number they will get it sorted. Thinking it's going back for repairs I already had my onkyo and Dali's in the car. Much to my surprise Rotel swapped my amp for a new one so I now have a RA1572. Again audio gods lots of good carma needed at rotel camp.
I want to say this is why you pay a bit more I even got some power filter plug with the new one. Rushed home lit the fire and hooked it all up and in went some fine tunes of relaxing cello tunes. Then as Mother Nature built me I decided to bi wire again QED ruby and wire works total of two 12guage connections to each slight over kill but dang it sings like a canary on steroids. Made me wonder why I even listen to Leonard Cohan, i never get goosebumps listening to him but the cello had me looking like a army marched over my grave.
Snob at the shop tried to tell my the b&w rotel mix would be too forward and top heavy, guess he has never hooked up a set as it's all but forward, very relaxed I'm going back there now thanks again for the help.
walpurgis
02-10-2017, 08:57
Good result there Corne. :thumbsup:
Yes, a good result, Rotel have always had a good rep for after-sales service, shame you can't say the same thing about the dealership. Bloke who told you that Rotel and B&W would be 'top heavy' either doesn't have a clue or was making it up to try to sell you something else. Avoid!
Photoguy1510
14-10-2017, 21:33
Well its pooped again this time taking a tweeter with it. MFer. Im insisting they refund me this time. This has had only 20 odd hours and now my tweeter sounds like its filled with sand.
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Photoguy1510
14-10-2017, 21:42
Any of you gus tried the old McLaren 402 preamplifier and 902 power amps. There is a cheap set and since the yba have been so much fun thought it might just be worth a play. Reviews are a bit scarce.
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They are an NZ brand aren't they? Not to be confused with Tag McLaren.
Photoguy1510
15-10-2017, 09:24
yes old nz crowd now gone but from the owner on par with entry level Plinius (also nz based) the power amps are mono block 250W @8Ohm and the pre amp sounds like it was not bad for the time you just need to watch for the first few series as they were not reliable but from the same people who make that claim also that the 702 on is a safe bet on reliability. The amps are in showroom condition but id say will need new caps but 2 power amps and a pre amp for a touch over $500 is kind of small change if they are ok lets say a new set of caps set nme back $500 thats still less than my $2700 Rotel wich has not been exactly reliable and it has a fairly high ground noise for the money. Ill go argue with them tomorrow but Im not draging another one home for a week to have the same again. Not sure what I will do now plus im out of the big speakers till they have been repaired. So the dali's will be it on the old onkyo system.
Photoguy1510
16-10-2017, 10:56
Well bit of an argument later the B & Ws will be repaired and the rotel has been returned. A new perreaux power amp (100p) and pre amp (dp32) will be replacing them in a few days.
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Well bit of an argument later the B & Ws will be repaired and the rotel has been returned. A new perreaux power amp (100p) and pre amp (dp32) will be replacing them in a few days.
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Snap
I was reading this thread and saw the ups and downs and was gonna suggest Perreaux as an alternative, just to see you getting exactly that. :lol:
I've a Perraux DP32 and it is a fantastic pre/dac. Not got the 100p mind you so would love to know your thoughts.
Seems like a friendly company as well. When I got my Perreaux I sent the company an email with some questions and got a friendly response from Martin van Rooyen - the founder/owner.
Good luck with the B&W repair.
Photoguy1510
18-10-2017, 11:37
Snap
I was reading this thread and saw the ups and downs and was gonna suggest Perreaux as an alternative, just to see you getting exactly that. [emoji38]
I've a Perraux DP32 and it is a fantastic pre/dac. Not got the 100p mind you so would love to know your thoughts.
Seems like a friendly company as well. When I got my Perreaux I sent the company an email with some questions and got a friendly response from Martin van Rooyen - the founder/owner.
Good luck with the B&W repair.Well i must be the most miss fortunate bastard under the sun. Got the Perreaux gear today, had to work late finaly got home unpack setup ( on 16 year old eltax speakers believe they make onkyo speakers thus came when i got my first onkyo) switch on my normal routine cd working to the power amp. Vol set to 0 all on give it a few seconds then go to 1/4 power.
Holy cow poor eltax speakers just about vel over. Clearly these speakers can not handle 100W. Never knew they could go this loud.
Well now i have this tick in the left tweeter ( every 10-15s) like a cap discharging hope its a crosover and not the amp. Apart from this i never expected the eltax ( el cheapo) to sound this good. Can not wait to hear the 683s only a week to go. Tried them on the yba before the prre and that also rocked them and so did the cambridge. But this also wanted to tip them over but far up the controll.
In between the ticks it is very nice and dead spots are dead quiet did not know an amp could be this quiet. I was told to use xlr conections dont know if this made any improvement.
Bass was over the top but its a problem with the eltax speakers and why they sleep in the ceiling. The old silk dome was also singing like a song bird clean but not piercing. Lots more detail than the rotel cannot wait till tomorrow to listen some more but also hook up the cambridge to see if the tic goes away. Ill also swat tbe speakers left to right if the tick remains. Both amp and pre amp came with test charts and i could not see anything suggesting a loud ( high hz sound)
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could be a lot of things. maybe emi, or switching contacts in amp. amp change and see if it goes away. move some gear around and see etc
RothwellAudio
18-10-2017, 12:29
Yes, a ticking sound is unlikely to be caused by anything in the crossover or anything else in the speakers.
I very occasionally get a ticking noise - once every 20 seconds or so - but only when I'm using a TosLink connection. Not figured that out yet. Rock steady on USB and other inputs.
Photoguy1510
18-10-2017, 18:53
Thank you ill give the toslink a swap out first i have a cheap on just waiting to be tried. I did have a 3year old engineer steal the toslink. Did not see her kink it but who knows just maybe it is a glass one. Did not think it would work if it was kinked.
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Oh I was not suggesting that toslink would be your problem, only that it was mine. I rather suspect it will not cure things but no harm in trying. You could also try using the alternative toslink input on the DP32.
What is your audio path anyway that uses Toslink? For me it is only for occasional use - from my TV. The other Toslink connection is from my satellite box and no issues there. Music connection is via USB and that is rock steady.
Photoguy1510
18-10-2017, 19:33
Thank you ill give the toslink a swap out first i have a cheap on just waiting to be tried. I did have a 3year old engineer steal the toslink. Did not see her kink it but who knows just maybe it is a glass one. Did not think it would work if it was kinked.
Sent from my SM-G935F using TapatalkIll be damn swap the toslink to a cheap ( i mean cheap (nz$3) no more ticking.
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Photoguy1510
18-10-2017, 19:39
Ill be damn swap the toslink to a cheap ( i mean cheap (nz$3) no more ticking.
Sent from my SM-G935F using TapatalkClean the glass one with microfiber cloth try it again all stiil 100%. Thanks chaps
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Ill be damn swap the toslink to a cheap ( i mean cheap (nz$3) no more ticking.
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:cool:
Photoguy1510
19-10-2017, 02:45
I prefer my cd through the optical connection there is a small sacrifice in bass but so much more detail.
I'm listening to Eric Clapton now on lp and for the first time I can hear a faint ting ting ring in the background on an lp that I can only say is a wonder it does not have craters worn in it. I listen to is every second third day for a few years now. This amp and preamp/dac combo is by far worth the extra money over the rotel. Kind of glad the rotel ended as a dud. Don't think the wife is, I cannot please everyone.
Photoguy1510
24-10-2017, 06:30
Made a very fast deal today ciao ciao B&W 685 hello and welcome Sonus Faber Venere2. Score as they came with stands and it was a strait swap. No don't care that they were made in China guess James will learn soon about B&W and China Not Europe haha. PS James if your on here they were made in China just like the Venere's and thanks for playing these in they sound great.
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