So what does one do with malfunctioning amps?

kuntasensei

I don't need to rehash my tale of woe, since I'm sure most here are familiar with it. The end of the story is that I have in my closet three very nice amplifiers (Adcom GFA-5503, Parasound HCA-2003 and HCA-1206) that have issues... and with no one nearby who can actually repair them, they're just sitting there taunting me. I'm not silly enough to think I'll ever recoup the $1,300 or so that I blew trying to buy used amps, but... what now? I'm pretty happy with the Emotiva XPA-3 I ultimately ended up with, so I don't know that I want to invest more money into shipping these things off to be fixed... but what do I do?

Any suggestions? Is there any place that buys 'em for parts or something? 'Cause I'd hate to think the end of their journey is gonna' be in a landfill somewhere, but I really don't know that I want them living in my closet forever, whispering to me about how good they would have sounded had they actually worked right.

badchad

Sounds like you don't want to trash them, so it sounds like you want to sell them.

If that's the case, I think you'll have to sell them "as-is", or bite the bullet to get them fixed for an eventual sale.

nwohlford

They are usually pretty easy to sell on eBay as non-working / for parts. Just be honest about the condition and what you have tried. I have gotten a decent price and everybody has been happy. (Usually I am just happy to get rid of them.)

Glen B

Agree on selling on eBay "as is for parts not working".

Dawgfish

I may be interested in either of the Parasound amps. PM me what you would take for them if interested. There is another option. I work in Picayune MS, and live in North GA. I often go through Mobile on my way back and forth from home to the job site. I could pick your amps up and take them to my repair tech I have back home. He does a great job and is very reasonably priced. He may be able to fix the problem, he may not. I've had nothing but great experiences with him though and highly recommend him.

pitdogg2

Dawgfish wrote: »

I may be interested in either of the Parasound amps. PM me what you would take for them if interested. There is another option. I work in Picayune MS, and live in North GA. I often go through Mobile on my way back and forth from home to the job site. I could pick your amps up and take them to my repair tech I have back home. He does a great job and is very reasonably priced. He may be able to fix the problem, he may not. I've had nothing but great experiences with him though and highly recommend him.

If it were me I'd go this route won't hurt to try. Then off to Ebay if it don't pan out.

BlueFox

When my right channel Cambridge-Audio 840W broke the only authorized North America center is in Eastern Canada, which is almost the furthest a repair center can be for me. So, I shipped it off, took 5 days to get to New York then a couple more days to go through customs, it came back repaired, didn't cost to much other than time, and now works fine. The question you have to decide is whether those amps are worth the cost of repairing.

EndersShadow

Yup, either work to find a solution to get em working and keep or sell em at that point, or sell em as is for parts on ebay, CL, audiogon, usadiomart, etc.

Habanero Monk

If you can get the service manual with schematic it would help. Without that it becomes more of a crapshoot for the repair tech.

kuntasensei

Supposedly, the HCA-2003 just needs output relays, or so Parasound thinks. But I am incredibly UNtechnical. I can build a computer and troubleshoot stuff all day, but when it comes to soldering, NO.

May talk to Dawgfish on this one.

Dawgfish

No problem. I'll be glad to help out in any way I can.

pitdogg2

elmex I say goodbye to you spammer

Serendipity

This is exactly why I do local pick up only when I buy used audio gear. I bring a source, some demo material, and a pair of bookshelves to test out the amp or w/e I am buying.

drumminman

If it was me I would send it back to the manufacturer. They know this stuff, problems that can crop up and how to repair properly. Plus they have the parts to do the job right. It may be a little more expensive, but worth it.

Not saying there are not good techs out there, but you've already spent so much time and energy (and money) on repairs.

leftwinger57

My take is if these are not now or ever going to be sought after history in the making amps then you should just sell them as is on E-bay or Just get estimates one at a time which again can be very cost prohibitive w/ shipping and the whole trust thing w/ your tec. References are very important and if I found an authorised repair dude then get testamonials from happy customers.Turn around time, cost of repair and shipping are factors and it's really whether you really want those pieces of steel in your closet.

sucks2beme

I had a NAD I paid $40 give out. I sold it needing repair for $40.

Please remember that a lot of the classic amps are getting long in the tooth.
I can't believe what people are getting for unrestored 70's receivers.
Many of the amps in use around here are 20-30 years old as well.
So please always keep that in mind when buying stuff used. It's like buying an old car.
Perhaps you might have some luck listing your broken gear here. There are those
are up for a bit of tech work. Good luck and hopefully you can recover some $$$
and someone gets a good quality project. Win-win.

Polkie2009

A number of those vintage audio electronic components are almost 40 years old and still working. Many of which were built in Japan. To me, that says a hell of a lot about the integrity of the product. It makes me wonder if some of these new amps being bought today will last even 10 years, time will_ tell.

sucks2beme

A lot of quality amps will last. A lot more won't.
Discrete component stuff was easy to maintain, so
it isn't a surprise that a lot are still around. Add to it
the sheer volume of them sold back in the day.

samreddevilz

If the amp once is malfunctioned, it's tough to repair. So I rather suggest you buy a new one. it will work superbly.....

pitdogg2

samreddevilz wrote: »

If the amp once is malfunctioned, it's tough to repair. So I rather suggest you buy a new one. it will work superbly.....

Amps are not a tough repair, not to mention you can have a brand new one with problems right out of the box.

kuntasensei

They're a tough repair if no one near you does it and you're technically inept! :cheesygrin:

I'm growing weary of the idea of having them fixed, since I'm happy with my XPA-3. Sucks, because the two 3-channel amps are very likely easy fixes and actually work right most of the time. I've got PMs from a couple of interested parties, so now I guess I gotta pull a $ amount out of my keyster. Either way, I'm taking a big loss on this entire ordeal... and it sucks. Maybe they'll benefit the next guy, right?

pitdogg2

kuntasensei wrote: »

They're a tough repair if no one near you does it and you're technically inept! :cheesygrin:

While i have seen and read your misfortune's, I have had no problem shipping mine 3000mi to be worked on by a VERY knowledgable repair shop and have had ZERO problems.

My comment was to the fly by night poster that left a ton of one line comments or used others comments as their own.

kevhed72

I would post them on Ebay as not-working, describe the problem, and try to get 200ish + shipping for each. You never know...I did this about a year ago with my 2003 and was successful.:biggrin:

custopper30

try to sell on craigslist cause you will be able to know what you are getting for money without guessing like ebay.