[glynnw]

A few weeks ago I purchased a gorgeous pair of Conrad Johnson MV75a-1 amps from the original owner - box, literature and all.  They work but there are some problems I am slowly working on.  This morning when I turned the system on, one channel of the amp I currently had in the rig had a blown fuse (There is a little light that comes on if a fuse blows - classy).  I didn't have a spare so I unhooked it and meant to replace it with another amp.  These amps weigh 46 lbs each which is right at the limit for this 71 year old man to lug around.  As I picked it up off the shelf , which is about 1 1/2 feet off the floor. I burned my wrist on it, let up my grip and BOOM! it flipped out of my hands and hit the carpet upside down .  That was 3 hours ago and I still cannot bring myself to look at it closely - I can already tell some parts have moved inside.  At least I have more amps.  I am a stupid idiot for letting this happen.  Don't you be one, too. Thanks for letting me share this.

[Don_S]

Sorry for your troubles.  I hope the amp, carpet, and your arm are not seriously damaged.  I recently sold two >50 pound amps because they were hazardous to my health. I am trying to keep all new electronics below 40 pounds.

It amazes and saddens me when I see new monster equipment introduced.  There is almost a feeling of pride from the manufacturer about size and weight.  Meanwhile I am thinking 

[Roninaudio]

Yep - I had two great mono class D's. Upgraded to the mfg's A/B amp.  93 pounds. Can't budge it w/o help.  I may be going back to those D's if I can sell this or trade perhaps. No more electronics I can't pick up lol..  Hope you and all is ok.  Maybe the amp will turn out with less damage than you thought. Good luck!

[JakeJ]

I saw this title and just cringed.  Then I read the OP's post and realized this is something I have been afraid of for some time now.  I have some really heavy gear and the thought of dropping one of my VAC PA-160 mono amps is a hideous picture in my mind.  They are built on aluminum sub-chassis' which would bend and be permanently damaged.  I also have a pair of deHavilland Ares 845 monos that are 35 lbs each, then there's the Pass X-350.5 which weighs in at over 100 lbs.  Oh, and let's not forget the JL Audio F212 that's in the hundred pound range also.  Fortunately the Pass and F212 are on moving dollies full time.

Nonetheless, it sucks to get old.  I should probably sell the big stuff over the next five years or so just keep from hurting it of myself.  I will say this, I too have burned my pinkies on hot tubes in the past and have learned to let tube gear cool down before moving, opening, or pulling tubes.  15-20 minutes is usually sufficient but I let the big 845's cool down for half an hour before touching them.

glynnw - try not to beat yourself up over it.  These things happen to all of us at one time or another.  Please keep us updated with progress on the amps.  It would be nice if you can repair them to use.

Don_S - next time I see one of those monster pieces at a dealer or show I'll ask if Harry Pearson's setup guys come and install the beast for me! 

[Rx8man]

Really sorry to hear what happened, hope your ok.   

BUT, you're not alone, day before, a friend of mine was cleaning the floor, slipped and fell, on the way down the Vandy 5 went with him and into the shelf where the preamp and dac got a good knockin, oh yeah, he smacked his head on the tile floor at the end.

He called and told me he had to lay down, I said you better make sure you don't have a concussion, he said he was ok, he's 61.

Me, I did a dummy thing and went to "step behind" my rack and sliced my ankle open on the nice, sharp corner of the acrylic shelf, yeah, I bled like a stuck pig and hobbled to the bathroom to clean up, I'm 61. 

[OzarkTom]

This was when I was a lot younger and a dealer. I lost balance of a large heavy Classe amp one day and the edge of the face plate split my hand wide open.

Years pass, and now I cannot open that hand fully because of scar tissue. If any item is over 20 pounds today, I try to shy away from it.

[dB Cooper]

I am a stupid idiot human being for letting this happen.

Made a correction for you.

[mresseguie]

Glynnw,

I feel for you. What happened is not because of your stupidity. There are limits to what we can easily and safely handle.

My D Sachs Kootenay 120 must weigh close to the same as your amp and most of the weight is in the back 1/3 of the case. It is awkward to lift or move. Every time I lift it I worry that it will fall. I love this amp, but I am certain it will be my last heavy piece of equipment.

Go ahead and pick it up and turn it over. The damage can be repaired. Your pride/ego will recover. Of most importance is your health.

[glynnw]

Thanks for all the kind posts.  My only injury is a slight burn on my right hand.  Normally I would be smarter than this, but this was first thing in the morning before coffee. I always fire up the stereo as I get up so it will be warmed and ready for when I cannot stand the TV news any longer.  This evening I finally opened it up and could find no damage other than the center plastic pin on one of the tubes breaking off.  With a fire extinguisher nearby, I turned it on and stood back.  I put a new fuse in the right channel and then was able to set bias on all 4 tubes.  Music played, it sounded fine ...and then... the left channel fuse blew.  So I need to decide whether to send it to Conrad Johnson for fixin' or, living in Louisiana, I can always just put it up on cinder blocks in the front yard.  Of course, the repair cost with shipping will probably be more than the amp is worth, but without doing this I cannot use both amps in bridged mode and rock my world.  Time to go through the closet and find things to sell.

[JakeJ]

Don't know where in LA you live but have you looked around for a local tube amp tech?  Just a thought.

[JLM]

Could be worse, with the help of a friend I dropped my turntable about 50 inches onto carpet covered concrete floor about 30 years ago.  There was no hope for it and so moved forever to digital.

[timind]

Sorry to hear of this Glynn. Hate to say this, but maybe it's time to think about downsizing those amps. I recently sold a 55 lb amp simply because I was tired of moving it around. Shame, as I really liked it's sound.

[who?me?]

Sorry to hear of this Glynn. Hate to say this, but maybe it's time to think about downsizing those amps. I recently sold a 55 lb amp simply because I was tired of moving it around. Shame, as I really liked it's sound.

... just another reason to try out Class D, most anybody can pick up a 10 lb amp ....

Equipment is dangerous for sure.
 I fractured my toe when It ran into a 75 lb Pass Labs amp on the floor ...

[vintagebob]

I'm sorry that you fell victim to the dreaded "Gravity Storm"!

I hope you get to a happy ending...

[G E]

Ouch!

Things change as we get older. Wiser sometimes but no longer able to walk through those brick walls like 20-30 somethings. You just gotta know your limitations. And lifting monoblocks is one of them.

I have 90 pound mono blocks and no way I let them go. Those Bryston 28s are incredible!  I'm keeping them until I no longer know what what they are for... about the same time the kids/cops pull the car keys.

I'm 63 and my stereo is just getting good!

[yeldarb]

Call C-J.  You might want to send both amps back and have them fixed / updated.  Some consider those amps "classic".  If you don't want to keep them, a "spa" treatment at C-J can't hurt their value.  Good luck with them.

[bluemeanies]

One word BUMMER!!
Know the feeling and as many people have said it's not stupidity!
What was it? It was a mistake and I guarantee it will not happen again..you have learn a valuable lesson.
That said..here is my sad story to maybe comfort you in your angst.

I was selling a FATHOM 112 subwoofer excellant condition orginal container manual, you get the picture. The buyer was coming from NYC. A WALL STREET guy worked in the banking industry.
He was driving down to Pennsylvania where I live to pick it up.
He left at 9am...10am I was disconnecting the Fathom when my heel snapped off one of the input jacks.
Grrrrr!!
I called the buyer who was on the road already to tell him what happened.
It took a week to get it fixed locally which I was fortunate to find out the place I deal with periodically for repairs or clean up was willing to try to fix it. The main problem was the Fathom comes in a sealed cabinet. The trick was to find out how to get inside.
Anyway it was fixed and two weeks later the same person purchased the Fathom.
The damage?
My cost for the repair was $200.00 ouch!

[JakeJ]

Reminds me, I have a TEAC T-H500 tuner and broke one of the input RCA jacks off trying to get a locking connector loose.  The input jack is a super cheap stamped metal job that is "attached" to the back panel via (I think) a press method.  When it happened and the jack came out of the hole it was  a) square and b) had tabs of metal folded around little reinforced areas on either side of the hole.  Lesson leared: no more IC's with locking RCA connectors.  And no that's not the only time I've had issues with locking RCA connectors.

[Randy]

Some years ago, maybe 15, I was sucked into buying an Equi-Tech "balanced" power conditioner.  This thing weighed a ton, maybe 75 lbs.  It never did anything to improve the sonics of my system, but I kept it in there as sort of a glorified power strip.  Finally, deciding to try another pc, I dragged the Equi-Tech off the rack, picked it up, and started carrying it toward another room for storage.  Not sure how it happened, but I dropped it. Wham, carpet-covered concrete floor.  It seemed as if all the insides had come loose since everything was rattling around. I altered course and headed for the dumpster, and dropped it in. No regrets.

[Don_S]

Magna Cart is my friend. I still have to lift but I don't have to carry from room to room. I have a bad knee and I can lift and hold but walking while carrying something heavy is dangerous. A big  for me.





Check out Fry's.  Cheaper than Amazon.  Available in my local store and they will deliver it today for free.
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If that does not work for you:
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