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Clipping like distortion on one channel of vintage Sansui amp

post #1 of 7
9/24/09 at 6:40am
Thread Starter 
Could anyone help me isolate the problem I have with a vintage Sansui AU-101 stereo amp?

It has distortion that sounds like clipping on one of the speaker channels. It is the amp and not the speakers, already confirmed that. Another clue is that I get distortion on the headphone out as well if the speaker circuit switch is on and it disappears completely on the headphone out once I flip the speaker switch to off so I guess the problem is related to the load the speakers create... I also noticed that the distorting channel sounds slightly louder than the other one. I guess it could be a problem with a broken resistor?

I barely know anything about electrical circuits so cut me some slack if I'm slow.
I do have a multimeter, the amps circuit diagram and I can use a soldering iron.

Oh I also tried different inputs, no difference.
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post #2 of 7
9/24/09 at 10:57am
I had this same issue with my NIKKO when I got it and it's really hard to track down.

Did it just start doing this out of the blue one day?
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post #3 of 7
9/24/09 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DKJones96 View Post
I had this same issue with my NIKKO when I got it and it's really hard to track down.

Did it just start doing this out of the blue one day?
Not sure, someone gave it to me and it already had this problem.
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post #4 of 7
9/25/09 at 2:15am
Well, what speakers do you current have connected? Try disconnecting them completely (cables and all) from the back of the receiver. Does the problem go away? What happens if just the speaker cables are connected with no speakers?
The problem does seem rather internal, but knowing if it is reacting to these or any speakers or cables will begin to narrow it down.

Good luck!
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post #5 of 7
9/25/09 at 2:23am
Its a really hard to tell - specialy with old amps ..

Can be dry caps, soldering soldering joint etc etc .. there is no general answer ....
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post #6 of 7
9/25/09 at 11:32am
I've ended up getting everything I need to just completely replace the output stage in my NIKKO. I was going to just replace all the output stage but they don't make the sand used in these old receivers anymore and if you're gonna change the sound you might as well start from scratch. Mine is getting an EL34 based hybrid since the +-30v power supply is already there and I'm too lazy to make an all tube output stage.
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post #7 of 7
9/27/09 at 1:06am
Chek out Audiokarma's Vintage Solid State forum.
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