Are there any maintenance needed for a 22 year old Solid-State Power Amplifier and Pre-Amp?

C

ct221933

Enthusiast
I have a Hafler 9303 power amp and 915 pre-amp. Both have been working fine since 1995. Both equipment have never been cleaned or maintained in the inside since I bought them way back. Is there a need to "maintain" the stereo equipment after so long? I am thinking like dusting, cleaning the contacts, checking conductors are working etc. The "By-pass" switch on the pre-amp pops each time I flick it, and perhaps the contact inside needed some cleaning. There is a hi-fi shop in town that fixes equipment and I am thinking of sending the equipment for "maintenance". What do you think?
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
If they have been working fine, they shouldn't be touched. The only exception is that you could perhaps get the bypass switch checked by a reliable technician if the popping noise annoys you.

The advice with electronic equipment is: If it works well as it always did, don't touch it. Otherwise, with a dishonest or incompetent technician, he could try to find all sorts of problems which do not exist. Then the bill can be costly.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
If they have been working fine, they shouldn't be touched. The only exception is that you could perhaps get the bypass switch checked by a reliable technician if the popping noise annoys you.

The advice with electronic equipment is: If it works well as it always did, don't touch it. Otherwise, with a dishonest or incompetent technician, he could try to find all sorts of problems which do not exist. Then the bill can be costly.
Agreed!

For equipment that old, it is probably a good idea to blow out the dust every couple of years, especially if it has a fan for active cooling. Otherwise, don't sweat it.

But, yeah, I would definitely check out the bypass switch, may just need some DeOxit.
 
A

Ampdog

Audioholic
Also agree - I was going to say, with equipment that new!! As an EE who worked in a research lab, in 1995 components were already quite reliable. But also agree that, depending on your environment, carefully wiping off and blowing out dust will do no harm.

And again agreeing, some switches, particularly sliding ones, could be quite unreliable depending on the make. So ....
 
C

ct221933

Enthusiast
Thank you for your replies. A followup question, you think $150 is a fair price to clean up the amp and pre-amp?
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Just cleaning....I thought since it is working fine.
Wowza! You need to ask, what are they gonna do for this $150 cleaning?

Blow out the dust?

Clean all the pots with DeOxit?

To me, $150 for a cleaning an amp and pre-amp is about $50 to $70 too much! If it was me, I would pass.

https://www.parts-express.com/caig-sk-av35-deoxit-audio-video-survival-kit--341-275
https://www.parts-express.com/blow-off-duster-can-of-air-removes-dust-and-debris-canned-air-10-oz--340-500
https://www.amazon.com/XPOWER-Airrow-Multi-Use-Electric-Computer/dp/B01BI4UQK0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495198524&sr=8-1&keywords=duster+blower
 
A

auronihilist99

Enthusiast
The electrolytic capacitors should be checked and possibly replaced after 22 years of service. Especially the power supply caps.
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
The electrolytic capacitors should be checked and possibly replaced after 22 years of service. Especially the power supply caps.
If there is no hum coming out of the unit, it is not recommended that the power caps be replaced. Some experts have already written posts on this thread explaining what is recommended.
 
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slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
If thee is no hum coming out of the unit, it is not recommended that the power caps be replaced. Some experts have already written posts on this thread explaining what is recommended.
I have a Parasound 1206 circa 1995, still running great. And, I'm in the camp of "ain't broke, don't fix it (don't break it trying to fix it)". Maybe blow some dust out periodically, then I'm good for another year or 2.
 
A

auronihilist99

Enthusiast
If thee is no hum coming out of the unit, it is not recommended that the power caps be replaced. Some experts have already written posts on this thread explaining what is recommended.
I'm grateful for those experts and their contributions to the thread. However, other 'experts' can recommend that they be tested.
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
I'm grateful for those experts and their contributions to the thread. However, other 'experts' can recommend that they be tested.
You might ask those other 'experts' not to charge you to test it, only if it needs some work. You can buy a 22YO amp for 150$. It does seem steep to pay that kind of money just to clean it.
 
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