A sad day for one of my amps

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michael_w
michael_w Posts: 2,813
edited June 2008 in Electronics
I have a pair of Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro's and have loved them from day one. Just today, I brought one of them over to a friends house and hooked it up to a simple system. When I flicked the power switch I noticed the speakers hadn't been hooked up yet but looked like they had since the cables were running perfectly behind them! I immediately hit the switch to power off the amp, unplugged it and connected the speakers. Now I only get sound out of the second channel on the amplifier... I think the spades on the first channel were touching and I shorted it out. Fuse in the back is fine, but I'll pop the case and see if there are others.

The amp no longer runs bridged and will only play from the secondary channel. Any ideas what I cooked and how it can be fixed? There was no sound, smoke or smell - just silence for about 10 seconds until I turned it off. I'm still in shock that I may have just destroyed a pricey little piece of gear :( . Feels like a swift kick to the groin or maybe a football, only I wish it were that funny. Considering there was no fantastic cloud of smoke or the sound of a cap exploding, I hope it's just a simple fix that doesn't cost too much.

Already sent an email to Monarchy for ideas and am scrounging info on google right now.


---- background info on the amp ----

it's a class A amplifier
designed to run as a balanced monoblock
can run as a stereo amp
can also run bridged (how I had them running)

Monarchy Audio link




UPDATE:

Cracked open the case and voila! On top of the externally mounted fuse, there is also one fuse for each channel on the amplifier. Lookie what I found... time to hit canadian tire and cross my fingers!!

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Post edited by michael_w on
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  • joeparaski
    joeparaski Posts: 1,865
    edited June 2008
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    Man I wish my repairs were that easy. Good job, and do be careful around strange equipment.

    Joe
    Amplifiers: 1-SAE Mark IV, 4-SAE 2400, 1-SAE 2500, 2-SAE 2600, 1-Buttkicker BKA 1000N w/2-tactile transducers. Sources: Sony BDP CX7000es, Sony CX300/CX400/CX450/CX455, SAE 8000 tuner, Akai 4000D R2R, Technics 1100A TT, Epson 8500UB with Carada 100". Speakers:Polk SDA SRS, 3.1TL, FXi5, FXi3, 2-SVS 20-29, Yamaha, SVS center sub. Power:2-Monster HTS3500, Furman M-8D & RR16 Plus. 2-SAE 4000 X-overs, SAE 5000a noise reduction, MSB Link DAC III, MSB Powerbase, Behringer 2496, Monarchy DIP 24/96.
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  • janmike
    janmike Posts: 6,146
    edited June 2008
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    Hope that does the trick Michael.
    Michael ;)
    In the beginning, all knowledge was new!
    NORTH of 60°
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited June 2008
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    Definitely. Didn't touch a single thing other than the fuse because I know these boards can carry some scary amounts of electricity.

    Five bucks later (had to buy a 3 pack) and I'm listening in stereo :D

    WHEW.

    I've always tried my best to be aware of these things and not short out anything or make changes / hook things up when it's powered on or even plugged in, but I guess $hit happens and I got lucky this time!


    (sm-70 pro, 80gb ipod classic, 3" audax voigt pipes - simple and easy to move here for the couple days I'll be staying)
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  • janmike
    janmike Posts: 6,146
    edited June 2008
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    Glad everything worked out. Good going.
    Michael ;)
    In the beginning, all knowledge was new!
    NORTH of 60°
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited June 2008
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    Thanks, me too!
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  • BottomFeeder
    BottomFeeder Posts: 1,684
    edited June 2008
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    Ok, er, ah...just powering on an amp when it's not connected to anything can hurt the amp???

    True?

    I'd sure like to know!
    "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." Bob Seger
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited June 2008
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    No, I screwed up and had everything wired up properly except for major part of actually hooking up my cables to the speakers themselves (dumb thing to do, but yeah :rolleyes: ). These specific cables were terminated with spades on the speaker side of things and they tend to come together and touch each other when not connected to anything.
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  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited June 2008
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    Good thing you had the redundant fuse.
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  • BottomFeeder
    BottomFeeder Posts: 1,684
    edited June 2008
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    Oh!

    So glad you figured it out and that it didn't cost you much!

    & now I know not to touch speaker wires together when they're connected to a powered up amp!
    "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." Bob Seger
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  • SlowcarIX
    SlowcarIX Posts: 887
    edited June 2008
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    i shorted the output on my amp 3 times, once when the IC metal jack bridge the output in the back of the amp and 2 times banana jack at the speaker end touched...makes a bright blue spark :eek:

    luckily the amp modules has a built in protection to prevent damage :o
    my 7.(1x4) HT setup
    TV - Mitsubishi WD-65734
    AVP / Amp - Onkyo PR-SC885P / D-Sonic 2500-7
    Front - Emerald Physics CS2
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    Surround L/R / Back - Polk RTi4 / Polk FXi A4
    Sub - 4 X Hsu ULS15 playing nearfield
    DVD / CDP - Sony PS3/40GB / Sony SCD-XA9000ES
    Belkin PURE AV PF60 / UPS
    Buttkicker

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60612
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,630
    edited June 2008
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    Michael,

    There are extra fuses packed inside the amplifier some where. They aren't obvious as my brother has the same amps and wanted to see how much he could get out of them and blew a rail fuse. We looked all over inside the amp and finally had to send an email to CC Poon and he explained where extra fuses were. Sorry I can't remember where he said they were. I will say the fuses from the typical hardware store seemed to be nicer than the ones provided by Monarchy, at least visually.

    Hopefully no other damage was done.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | Holo Audio Cyan 2 Dac | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited June 2008
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    Good to know. I didn't really hunt around inside it other than to look specifically for the fried fuse which I found right away. The amps are very easy to open (8 phillips and the heavy top plate comes right off) so I'll take another look today, but that's pretty cool they stash extras in case you need them.

    I replaced them with ratshack fuses, but I have no idea of different fuse quality so it's not something I'm too concerned about as long as they meet their marked ratings.

    I can't hear anything different about the amp or a difference between the left and right channel so I think I'm in the clear, but it definitely was a hell of a scare.

    Even her cat is digging the rig. He'll come sit next to me and "watch" the music as the different songs image differently :p


    Appreciate the comments people!
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  • zombie boy 2000
    zombie boy 2000 Posts: 6,641
    edited June 2008
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    I remember my Monarchy had a fuse bagged and taped to the underside of the amp. Nice touch.
    I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,630
    edited June 2008
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    zombie boy 2000 wrote: »
    I remember my Monarchy had a fuse bagged and taped to the underside of the amp. Nice touch.

    I think that's where it was on my bro's amps as well.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | Holo Audio Cyan 2 Dac | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • jwhitakr
    jwhitakr Posts: 568
    edited June 2008
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    Man, that is awesome that you were able to identify the issue and get it fixed so quickly. If only all amp issues were as straightforward as a blown fuse!
    My HT
    HDTV: Panasonic PT-61LCX65 61" Rear Proj. LCD
    AVR: Harman Kardon AVR 235
    Video: 80GB PS3, Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD
    Fronts: Polk Audio RTi8
    Center: Polk Audio CSi3
    Amp: Emotiva LPA-1
    Surrounds: Polk Audio R150
    Sub: HSU STF-3

    The only true barrier to knowledge is the assumption that you already have it. - C.H. Dodd
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  • jwhitakr
    jwhitakr Posts: 568
    edited June 2008
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    BTW - to the CP mods --- we need a "Problem Solved" badge to mark threads where there was originally a problem, and now the issue has been found and resolved. That way people will be able to easily identify threads where there might be useful troubleshooting info.

    My .02
    My HT
    HDTV: Panasonic PT-61LCX65 61" Rear Proj. LCD
    AVR: Harman Kardon AVR 235
    Video: 80GB PS3, Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD
    Fronts: Polk Audio RTi8
    Center: Polk Audio CSi3
    Amp: Emotiva LPA-1
    Surrounds: Polk Audio R150
    Sub: HSU STF-3

    The only true barrier to knowledge is the assumption that you already have it. - C.H. Dodd
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited June 2008
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    That's a good idea. I have no control over the [Help Needed] after the thread has been started.

    There really isn't a lot of room to dig around and look for a fuse, so safe to say I didn't find a hidden spare. I'm not going to pull the board and look under that for the sake of a fuse when I already have spares! They've laid out the amp quite well to cram it all into one small package.
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