amp blew up - need help please

Nick B · « **on:** 22 Apr 2006, 12:42 am »

This morning, there were power surges in so. Utah. My wife heard a very loud pop in the living room and my amp is no longer working. I replaced a couple of fuses, but that did not help. I'm taking it to Vegas tomorrow to have it looked at, but I'm also concerned about the speakers. Can I test by using a 1.5 v battery, a "C" or a "D" cell and using some wire across the terminals? If I get some noise, all is OK...I hope. Also, I've never had my amp on any surge protectors and would appreciate some recommendations on audiophile quality, but reasonably priced units. I presume all audio gear should be plugged in, but I normally have the amp on a separate line and all the other components on a simple power strip. Any comments are appreciated.

warnerwh · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Apr 2006, 12:48 am »

Nick: Yes a battery across the speaker terminals will allow you to see the drivers move.

I'd make the electric company pay for it. They will if you put up a bit of a fight. Ask your neighbors if anything was damaged at their homes too.

You can use a surge protector for an amp if it is rated high enough for your amp. I don't think I'd pay for some audiophile grade one. They look nice but I doubt they work any better or as well as a commercial type one.

Find out what caused this large surge, you have a good chance the electric company will pay for the damage.

Nick B · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Apr 2006, 04:31 am »

I used a 9v battery and the drivers moved fine. No damage is apparent. I'll call the electric company about the surge and resultant damage. Thanks, warnerwh, for taking the time to respond and that also goes for the PM that I also received from a fellow Utah resident and audio manufacturer.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Apr 2006, 04:37 am »

Quote from: Nick B

This morning, there were power surges in so. Utah. My wife heard a very loud pop in the living room and my amp is no longer working.

That sucks!!! Sorry to hear that....what name amp might this be ?

Nick B · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Apr 2006, 05:54 am »

Yessir......it sucks. Timing was perfect according to Murphy's law. The 2 power supplies I was going to test for my newly modded SB2 arrived this afternoon. The amp is a heavily modded Metaxis Solitaire II. Rated at 150w. I was going to buy a new amp soon anyway (maybe Butler or AVA), but this does speed up the timing a bit in that regard.

Nick B · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Apr 2006, 06:53 am »

I took my amp to Anthony in Las Vegas and he determined the main fuse holder was shorted. An easy fix and I'm now listening to "brand x" power supply with my analog modded RWA SB2 and the sound is wonderful. I'll be trying the Acopian ps in a couple of days. Amazing what a very good ps can
do.