Need maintenance on a used amp?

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Early B.
Early B. Posts: 7,900
edited November 2004 in 2 Channel Audio
Just wondering if it is necessary to take in an amp that was purchased used and is several years old to get it bench tested to make sure it's operating optimally. Any need to do that?
HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

"God grooves with tubes."
Post edited by Early B. on
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited November 2004
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    Can you give us more info? By 'several' years old, I'm assuming it's under 5 years old? Tube or SS? You should also ask the owner when it was last used and if the unit was stored in a 'proper' location.

    By doing a visual inspection, you should get the idea of how well the owner treated the amp. If it looks good, try it out. I doubt you'll need to take it to a techie.

    Maurice
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited November 2004
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    OK. It's an Odyssey (ODL) Stratos SS amp about 5 years old. Seems like it was treated well and sounds great. But my question was not necessarily geared toward my particular amp, but, in general, is there a need to get a "tune-up" of an amp every few years?
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited November 2004
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    Just as with tube amps, sand amps are "biased' to specs and can drift. Fellow over at AudioKarma did an excellent post on this. Part of the jist was how overlooked this is and how easy of a DIY it is. If I can find it, I will post a link...

    Otherwise unless there are upgrades to be gained by having a Mfg. certified tech give it a once over, service is not essential IMO.
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • gatemplin
    gatemplin Posts: 1,595
    edited November 2004
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    You talkin bout Echowars post on measuring DC offset Bruce?
    http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5634&highlight=offset

    I measured my 34 year old amp and it was like 5 mV and 9 mV so there was no need to adjust. I still have to clean the pots though.
    Graham
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited November 2004
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    Yuppers... that's the one..
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited November 2004
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    Problem is that you need to know who "tunes" it up. Chances are that most techs hook a pair of cheap bench speakers up and say "yup, it's fine, that will be $93".
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2004
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    Originally posted by Tour2ma
    Fellow over at AudioKarma did an excellent post on this. Part of the jist was how overlooked this is and how easy of a DIY it is. If I can find it, I will post a link...

    I think Echo lives in my community and I was wondering if he would want to bring my SA12 back to current without changing its overall layout.

    I have watched him from afar and am not sure if he is approachable for these types of efforts?

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • gatemplin
    gatemplin Posts: 1,595
    edited November 2004
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    Henry,
    Lots of people send him their old vintage amps for him to tune up. I dont know if he is familiar with your amp but it is worth a shot. He seems to be very helpful and knowledgeable.
    Graham
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2004
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    Is there someone around that could give me a good reference who has dealt with him for me? I would hate to just send a blind email or pm over at AK...

    Thanks Gate!

    Henry
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • gatemplin
    gatemplin Posts: 1,595
    edited November 2004
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    Wardsweb or Russ probably know Echo pretty well.
    Graham
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2004
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    REALLY!!!!! My man Russ gets around don't he.
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited November 2004
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    Glenn is a good guy, you should approach him with your questions.
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2004
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    Originally posted by RuSsMaN
    Glenn is a good guy, you should approach him with your questions.

    Russ I sent you PM
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
    edited November 2004
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    Use my name or Russ' name. Echo is a great guy, but inundated with requests for service. He may take a couple days to get back to you Henry, but he will.

    Yup, Russ gets around. Wonder how he found a great site like AudioKarma?

    George Grand (of the Jersey Grands)
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