[Rclark]

 The amp in my subwoofer appears to have gone kaput.

I did buy the sub used at a very good price, and it did run nicely for over six months but now I either need a replacement (and apparently it's a custom slope in the crossover with a boost, and for two drivers, so I don't think replacing with a generic works) or repair of this one.

I like the idea of repair, and maybe upgrade and make sturdier the amp I already have. This first gen amp they used has a history of failing so I'd like to avoid that again.

Didn't run the sub very hard at all while I had it. But it's inside a sealed box and gets hot.

I wonder if repair and upgrade might be economical versus replacing.

[Rclark]

Found the fuse. It was blown. Spare was in there. Popped that within seconds of powering back up. 

[TRADERXFAN]

What sub is it?  And where are you?

Have you looked into contacting the manufacturer to seek advice direct on where to get service, at all?

[TRADERXFAN]

Maybe have a look inside and see if you have some obvious issues like loose wire, burnt out or something... probably a short.

[Rclark]

Yeah, the company is sort of a one guy operation and apparently he's busy designing the new version of the Empire. Not easy to get a hold of. I think I could get a replacement amp from him, but was wondering if it might be better to repair and upgrade this amp to where it works and won't ever have an issue.

I got one of the old ones I think, first batch.

[JohnR]

Um, it should be covered by the 3-year warranty:

http://store.epiksubwoofers.com/terms.asp


Never mind. Now I see you bought it used. Maybe PE have something that will fit.

[medium jim]

Knowing that you like Hypex, they make subwoofer plates.  You would be best to send the original plate back for repair or replacement.

Jim

[*Scotty*]

I would contact Chad and see what it would cost to replace the amp. Depending on where it was built , if the amp has a history of premature failure, the shipping back to manufacturer and subsequent repair may equal or exceed the cost of a new amplifier. It would be neat if he just sourced it from Parts Express. You might consider pulling the amp and covering the hole with a piece of wood or a piece of 10ga. aluminum and mounting binding posts in the cover. That way you could use an external amp. When I built my DIY subs I left to plate amps unmounted and didn't cut any holes in the enclosure thus leaving me free to power them any way I wanted. If you covered the hole in the box you might be able to use this 500 watt Class D plate amp from Parts Express, see link.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=301-514#
For what it's worth I am using the 350 Hypex senior to power my 10in sub at the rear of my room, it's not a bad amp but if you are used to a ClassD amp in all likelihood the Hypex won't sound as tight as what you had.
Scotty

[Rclark]

I'd like to not mix and match it up too much with amps cause I love the sub otherwise and want to add another one, maybe two. I'm not angry, knew buying a used one was a risk, and I knew the possibility of getting one with a bad amp was there. It was worth it because it sounds phenomenal. Now I just need to get it working permanently.

Do you think a partsexpress plate amp would have a similar crossover to this? Because these amps are designed for the sub, I believe. Think it has a boost as well at 20 or 25 hz.

Although the hypex idea is intriguing... Maybe I could search for another blown sub really cheap and power a pair off these off one of those. Of course I'd have to seal off the hole on the sub and just the wires going in.

[Rclark]

I would contact Chad and see what it would cost to replace the amp. Depending on where it was built , if the amp has a history of premature failure, the shipping back to manufacturer and subsequent repair may equal or exceed the cost of a new amplifier. It would be neat if he just sourced it from Parts Express. You might consider pulling the amp and covering the hole with a piece of wood or a piece of 10ga. aluminum and mounting binding posts in the cover. That way you could use an external amp. When I built my DIY subs I left to plate amps unmounted and didn't cut any holes in the enclosure thus leaving me free to power them any way I wanted. If you covered the hole in the box you might be able to use this 500 watt Class D plate amp from Parts Express, see link.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=301-514#
For what it's worth I am using the 350 Hypex senior to power my 10in sub at the rear of my room, it's not a bad amp but if you are used to a ClassD amp in all likelihood the Hypex won't sound as tight as what you had.
Scotty

what about the crossover in this amp? Isn't that a tricky issue? Or are all sub crossovers pretty much the same? This is for dual drivers with a boost at a certain freq.

[*Scotty*]

Looking at the the picture of the plate amp on the Epik website, it appears much like any other plate amp you might see, volume knob and a crossover frequency control knob. No mention of the crossover type or slope is specified. An email or phone call to Chad could answer any questions about any unique aspects of the crossover and how much boost is used and at what frequency it is applied.
Scotty

[Rclark]

Ok thanks Scotty. I'll try him again on Monday.