Is my amp worth fixing?

[darien87]

Well, I just got back from being in San Diego for a week for X-mas, and guess what? My Acurus 200x3 amp seems to be busted. I was watching a movie today and noticed that there was almost no sound coming from the center channel, (I had the amp running my center and front mains). After a little while, there was no sound coming from my center at all. I checked my connections and everything seemed to be fine. I connected my center speaker to one of the surround outputs on the receiver and got sound, so it's not my speaker. So I connected the center directly to the receiver. So now the amp is only running my mains, and the receiver is running the center and surrounds.

It seems like just one channel of my amp is fried. Does anyone know a ballpark figure on what it would run to fix a 10 year old amp? Is it even worth it? It just bums me out, because I bought this amp used about 6 months ago, and now it's crapped out.

 

[markw]

That depends on what's wrong.

You need to take it to a good tech and pay them for an estimate.

At that point, you need to compare what he quotes you with what it would cost to replace it with another piece of equal preformance.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Well, I just got back from being in San Diego for a week for X-mas, and guess what? My Acurus 200x3 amp seems to be busted. I was watching a movie today and noticed that there was almost no sound coming from the center channel, (I had the amp running my center and front mains). After a little while, there was no sound coming from my center at all. I checked my connections and everything seemed to be fine. I connected my center speaker to one of the surround outputs on the receiver and got sound, so it's not my speaker. So I connected the center directly to the receiver. So now the amp is only running my mains, and the receiver is running the center and surrounds.

It seems like just one channel of my amp is fried. Does anyone know a ballpark figure on what it would run to fix a 10 year old amp? Is it even worth it? It just bums me out, because I bought this amp used about 6 months ago, and now it's crapped out.

I think its worth it. I actually had the same problem with one of my 200x3. It cost me $100 Total (parts and labor). It took them one day to fix it. They said it was really simple stuff. I believe the parts only cost $10. The Labor cost $90.

I love my Acurus 200x3 amps.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You need to take it to a good tech and pay them for an estimate.

At that point, you need to compare what he quotes you with what it would cost to replace it with another piece of equal preformance.

Exactly. To have them look at my Amp and give an estimate, it only cost $10.
Then they said the total cost was $100. Since I already paid $10, I only owed $90.

 

[TLS Guy]

Well, I just got back from being in San Diego for a week for X-mas, and guess what? My Acurus 200x3 amp seems to be busted. I was watching a movie today and noticed that there was almost no sound coming from the center channel, (I had the amp running my center and front mains). After a little while, there was no sound coming from my center at all. I checked my connections and everything seemed to be fine. I connected my center speaker to one of the surround outputs on the receiver and got sound, so it's not my speaker. So I connected the center directly to the receiver. So now the amp is only running my mains, and the receiver is running the center and surrounds.

It seems like just one channel of my amp is fried. Does anyone know a ballpark figure on what it would run to fix a 10 year old amp? Is it even worth it? It just bums me out, because I bought this amp used about 6 months ago, and now it's crapped out.

Generally power amps are fairly straightforward to service. However you need to have a circuit. I have been unable to locate a circuit or service manual on line for your amp. That is not a good sign. A service tech may well have the same trouble. See if you can get one from Klipisch. The user manual is POOR.

Usually with power amps it is the output stage that blows sometimes the drivers as well. Often the protection circuit fries also, from the DC off set of the power transistors failing. A shop usually charges around $75 per hour. The parts will likely be cheap. However if the tech is unfamiliar with the amp, which is likely, he could have three to four hours in it.

However those amps seem to have a good reputation, and sell for $600 to $675. If the you or the tech can't at least get a circuit, I would use it two channel or dump it.

 

[majorloser]

It's worth getting an estimate. Can you still sent it to Acurus?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It's worth getting an estimate. Can you still sent it to Acurus?

Acurus no longer exists!

The company Mondial Designs is dead!

 

[TLS Guy]

It's worth getting an estimate. Can you still sent it to Acurus?

It was bought by Klipsch and they have let it fade. It is still on their site as a discontinued line, but there is no useful information concerning service. It does not look good. It could be fixed without a circuit, but you likely would have to pay too much labor. It's the sort of thing that would be worth it as a DIY project.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Exactly. To have them look at my Amp and give an estimate, it only cost $10.
.

You are lucky that it was so cheap. I doubt San Diego will be that cheap to look in an amp.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I see several options.
Use the other two channels as you are now doing and let the receiver do the center, or let the receiver do one of the front sides and let The Acurus do the center and the other side; Buy a Behringer A500 for the center and bridge it, $200 or so.
Or, gamble and have it fixed, cost unknown.

 

[TLS Guy]

You are lucky that it was so cheap. I doubt San Diego will be that cheap to look in an amp.

It can't have been much of a look for $10. Usually most of the work is figuring out what parts have to be replaced.

 

[mtrycrafts]

It can't have been much of a look for $10. .

Better you than me saying this.

 

[TLS Guy]

Better you than me saying this.

Probably true!

In fairness it is possible an amp was brought in known for a particular problem. I have had enough devices through my hands, that I just know what is the matter with some of them. The probability is high without opening the case that a certain problem exists.
However if you are asked to look at something you are unfamiliar with, I stand by my statement, that you can't have much of a look for $10 unless you are a very generous service tech.
I have no idea how this amp destructs when the power stage blows. Even that is an assumption, but the odds are always good that if a power amp is not functioning one or both of the power transistors are out. The question then becomes, how much collateral damage. If a tech has seen a few before there are good odds he already knows the answer to that.

 

[darien87]

A local home theater shop gave me the name of a local guy. He's gonna charge me $30 to take a look. Hopefully, it's nothing major. But last night, the other 2 channels also went out for a few minutes. Bummer.

 

[TLS Guy]

A local home theater shop gave me the name of a local guy. He's gonna charge me $30 to take a look. Hopefully, it's nothing major. But last night, the other 2 channels also went out for a few minutes. Bummer.

It seems to me there are two possibilities.

1). The amps do not like the load presented by your speakers.

2). The amps power supply is current regulated in place of amp board fuses and the defective amp board is still drawing a lot of current, and there is thermal protection going on in the power supply. This latter is the most likely, as blown power transistors present a short circuit to the power supply.

My advice is to unplug and remove that amp from service immediately, before there is further damage done.

 

[markw]

True.

My advice is to unplug and remove that amp from service immediately, before there is further damage done.

either that, or play it until the other channels die.

Why?

Intermittents are a biitch to troubleshoot. It's easier to find the dead components than have to sit around waiting for the problem to surface, which can take time, which can cost $$ for bench time.

Either that, or he has to guess at the problem.

 

[TLS Guy]

either that, or play it until the other channels die.

Why?

Intermittents are a biitch to troubleshoot. It's easier to find the dead components than have to sit around waiting for the problem to surface, which can take time, which can cost $$ for bench time.

Either that, or he has to guess at the problem.

I'm sorry but I disagree completely. First of all this is not an intermittent fault. The center channel is dead. I suspect that his other two channels cutting out are somehow related to his dead center channel.
The most likely explanation of this is through the power supply. Now a dead short through a transistor or two is pretty much a given. That is the way power amps usually fail. If the protection for this is in the power supply and there are no line fuses to the amp boards, then using this amp will do a lot more damage.

This seems to be a pretty good amp, and the owner likes it. In my opinion there is a high probability that replacing a power transistor or two will set this amp up again.

I have done my share of service work on my equipment and those of friends, and done some extreme restorations, so I think I have a reasonable perspective on this problem. With this equipment to look after I have to.

http://mdcarter.smugmug.com/gallery/2424008#127134554-A-LB

Repair bay.

http://mdcarter.smugmug.com/gallery/2424008#127077844

 

[darien87]

It seems to me there are two possibilities.

1). The amps do not like the load presented by your speakers.

2). The amps power supply is current regulated in place of amp board fuses and the defective amp board is still drawing a lot of current, and there is thermal protection going on in the power supply. This latter is the most likely, as blown power transistors present a short circuit to the power supply.

My advice is to unplug and remove that amp from service immediately, before there is further damage done.

Cool pics. That's quite the set-up you've got there. You don't happen to live in the SF Bay Area do you?

But anyway, I dropped the amp off yesterday. Unfortunately, the guy said it'll probably take him a couple of weeks just to take a look at it.

I don't think that the load of my speakers would be the problem, but who knows. I've had the amp for about 6 months and it worked great until the other day. Hopefully, it's just a simple fix. But knowing my luck, it probably isn't.

If it ends up being $100 or $200 to fix, I'll happily fix the amp. That would be way cheaper than buying a comprable amp.

 

[TLS Guy]

Cool pics. That's quite the set-up you've got there. You don't happen to live in the SF Bay Area do you?

But anyway, I dropped the amp off yesterday. Unfortunately, the guy said it'll probably take him a couple of weeks just to take a look at it.

I don't think that the load of my speakers would be the problem, but who knows. I've had the amp for about 6 months and it worked great until the other day. Hopefully, it's just a simple fix. But knowing my luck, it probably isn't.

If it ends up being $100 or $200 to fix, I'll happily fix the amp. That would be way cheaper than buying a comprable amp.

I live on a lake in the middle of a forest in North central Minnesota.
Don't get despondent. I have a feeling this will turn out better than you think.
Happy New Year.

 

[darien87]

I live on a lake in the middle of a forest in North central Minnesota.
Don't get despondent. I have a feeling this will turn out better than you think.Happy New Year.

Well, I just called the service guy and he said that the amp basically looks great, but that the channel 3 fuse had blown. He thinks that my center channel speaker may be the culprit, which makes sense, because when I connected the center channel speaker to my receiver, the receiver kept going into protection mode and shutting off. So it looks like my speaker has a short and that's what blew the fuse on my amp. I have a multi-meter and the guy told me to check the impedance on the speaker by touching the probes to the speaker wires. I'll try that tonight.

He wants to take a look at the speaker. Hopefully that will also be an easy fix. So right now, I only owe the guy another $40 for cleaning up the amp and replacing the fuse.