[Hank]

doublej, I would venture to guess it's the power supply electrolytic capacitors that fail most often in plate amps.  Most of those amps are built to a price point, meaning cheapest parts to get the job done.  When a sub is cranking, those caps are charging and discharging quite hard.
Has anyone here had a plate amp die and then gotten a diagnosis as to the failure mode?

[dlparker]

doublej, I would venture to guess it's the power supply electrolytic capacitors that fail most often in plate amps.  Most of those amps are built to a price point, meaning cheapest parts to get the job done.  When a sub is cranking, those caps are charging and discharging quite hard.
Has anyone here had a plate amp die and then gotten a diagnosis as to the failure mode?

Just got a reply back. They sell the replacement feet for $30 and the replacement amps for $165. And no schematics or wiring diagrams available because that's proprietary info..

[srb]

When a sub is cranking, those caps are charging and discharging quite hard.

And vibrating hard and heating up, external heat sinks or not.

Steve

[drewm]

Just got a reply back. They sell the replacement feet for $30 and the replacement amps for $165. And no schematics or wiring diagrams available because that's proprietary info..

You don't need schematics to fix a sub amp. Use your nose (component burn smell) and eyes to locate the failed component, that's how the pros do it. It's most likely a power supply capacitor like mentioned above. I've fixed a few sub amps like that, along with replacing around 210 capacitors that failed on SATA controllers at work.

[dlparker]

You don't need schematics to fix a sub amp. Use your nose (component burn smell) and eyes to locate the failed component, that's how the pros do it. It's most likely a power supply capacitor like mentioned above. I've fixed a few like that.

Like I said, I'm a real klutz (1st Class), and wielding a soldering iron I can destroy just about any component made. I didn't smell anything, but on closer inspection in a brighter light I see at least one swollen cap. Seems like the smartest thing to do would be to sell the amp on ebay for parts, get my old Hafler DH-200 fixed, and use that to drive the sub. And $30 for a set of 4 feet just ain't happenin'. A set of 4 from GR at $12.95 is what it's going to be even if I have to pop out the inset that's in the sub now and pound in one that fits the threads of the GR feet. Popping things out and pounding things are well within my level of woodworking and mechanical skills.

[drewm]

Like I said, I'm a real klutz (1st Class), and wielding a soldering iron I can destroy just about any component made. I didn't smell anything, but on closer inspection in a brighter light I see at least one swollen cap. Seems like the smartest thing to do would be to sell the amp on ebay for parts, get my old Hafler DH-200 fixed, and use that to drive the sub. And $30 for a set of 4 feet just ain't happenin'. A set of 4 from GR at $12.95 is what it's going to be even if I have to pop out the inset that's in the sub now and pound in one that fits the threads of the GR feet. Popping things out and pounding things are well within my level of woodworking and mechanical skills.

You'd still need to plug the hole where the amp used to be, otherwise that's one big air leak. Most people have to leave the stock amp in place. Power supply capacitors are about $3 a pop and the labor for an electronics guy to replace a cap or two can't be that expensive. I'd look into fixing it.

[dlparker]

You'd still need to plug the hole where the amp used to be, otherwise that's one big air leak. Most people have to leave the stock amp in place. Power supply capacitors are about $3 a pop and the labor for an electronics guy to replace a cap or two can't be that expensive. I'd look into fixing it.

Thanks. That sounds like the least hassle. I'll give it a shot. Could be that it's never been working right since I've owned it. I went to the high level inputs from the power amp because the RCA low level input is for a summed L/R signal only and the two preamp low level outputs are paralleled so the whole system went mono when I used the single RCA input on the plate amp. I've got a guy in town that I go to for guitar amp repairs and last I knew his bench rate was $80.

[Early B.]

If you can't fix it yourself, it's not worth fixing. Throw it in the trash and buy another sub.

[mojave]

A friend had a Hsu VTF-2 that had the amp go bad after about 10 years. Cost ~$80 at the local electronics repair shop to get it fixed. It only needed a few capacitors replaced.

[dlparker]

A friend had a Hsu VTF-2 that had the amp go bad after about 10 years. Cost ~$80 at the local electronics repair shop to get it fixed. It only needed a few capacitors replaced.

I've got somebody coming by next week to pick up a RTR and a power amp to fix, I'll ask him about the plate amp.

Thanks!