Radii MPP-M8 tube amp

treitz3
treitz3 Posts: 18,987
edited January 2009 in The Clubhouse
Anybody know a reputable place to get one repaired? Mine just bit the dust.

My wife noticed a strange smell while we were cooking today and after about three or four minutes we discovered that the tube amp was cooking along with us. I powered her down and I'm assuming that it doesn't work. It definitely smelled like an electronic failure and the smoke was easily visible. Hopefully it didn't destroy my Focal's.

I don't know a damn thing about this amp with the exception of a couple of CP members have used it over the years. The amp is pictured below.......

attachment.php?attachmentid=33612&d=1212456095

Bummed out in North Carolina.........:(
~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
Post edited by treitz3 on
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Comments

  • ohskigod
    ohskigod Posts: 6,502
    edited December 2008
    AHHHHH ****!!!!!

    dude I loved that little amp. I know nothing about who could fix it. Hoping someone else will chime in here. That amp has been around the block. could it be just the tube?

    where was the smoke coming from, the back?
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  • Fireman32
    Fireman32 Posts: 4,845
    edited December 2008
    NO NO NO..... Man I miss that amp and I called first dips on getting it back just last night when talking to you on the phone. Hopefully its something that can be easily fixed.
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,987
    edited December 2008
    AHHH **** is right! The smoke appeared to be coming from underneath the transformers. Black in color. The tubes were still glowing when I powered her down.

    I'd really like to get this amp back up and running again. It's a fantastic 8 watts that blows away some of the 375+ watt amps I have had in the same rig. I'm already missing the sound and it's only been a couple of hours. :(
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited December 2008
    have you looked inside yet?
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,987
    edited December 2008
    Naw, I don't have the time tonight. I'm off to my best bud's house for a New Years Eve bonfire. Hopefully it's just a resistor gone bad or something that wasn't catastrophic to the innards.

    When I go to Google repair shops or any other information, I get nothing but Club Polk threads. Hell, I might give Bob Carver a call and see if he'll fix it if it's not something relatively easy. This amp WILL be brought back to life. She's not going down without a fight!
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • mmadden28
    mmadden28 Posts: 4,283
    edited December 2008
    Bring it with ya. I'd imagine Ben would be more than happy to crack 'er open. Just don't let him near any gasoline. ;)
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited December 2008
    Yep. Bring it down;)
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • obieone
    obieone Posts: 5,077
    edited December 2008
    "Dr. House" has volunteered, I'd say you're in good hands.
    I refuse to argue with idiots, because people can't tell the DIFFERENCE!
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  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,788
    edited December 2008
    You a dumb motherf*cker Tom. I said DON"T cook grilled cheese on the tubes.
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  • Fireman32
    Fireman32 Posts: 4,845
    edited January 2009
    Ben bring that amp back to life. I will want that back someday.
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  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited January 2009
    I know a few folks who might be able to help if all else fails.
    Testing
    Testing
    Testing
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,987
    edited January 2009
    Well, upon further inspection, it looks like a resistor and cap have gone bad. No indications as of yet what would have caused this but it did burn the board pretty bad. I'll have to look into replacing the 2 components and see where we stand from there. I can't read the bands on the resistor due to the heat buildup but the other side of the board has the same identical thing for the other channel so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what the values are.

    Looks like this thing may be back in operation without too much effort. Good thing too, I love this little tube amp!
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,806
    edited January 2009
    A bad cap is usually just a bad cap. But resistors don't normally go bad without provocation. A bad cap could have caused but a power surge from somewhere else could have caused the cap and resistor to both go bad.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
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  • Fireman32
    Fireman32 Posts: 4,845
    edited January 2009
    Hope you can get it up and running again. I love that amp.
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  • disneyjoe7
    disneyjoe7 Posts: 11,435
    edited January 2009
    Jstas wrote: »
    A bad cap is usually just a bad cap. But resistors don't normally go bad without provocation. A bad cap could have caused but a power surge from somewhere else could have caused the cap and resistor to both go bad.


    I agree, something else is fired along with cap and resistor. Good luck on the repair :)

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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited January 2009
    Do you have any soldering and high voltage experience? I have worked on my tube amp without any problems and swaps like caps and resistors are very easy. (As long as you mind the voltage :eek:)
    Jake
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,987
    edited January 2009
    Oh yeah, plenty of experience including severely burnt boards. Just no schematics. That's the bummer. Something caused it. Just at this point, I don't know what.

    I have another set of tubes I will test it with in case that was the issue but other than that and the replacement of known shot components, I'm shooting in the dark.
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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