[Maxx134]

Will do additional testing with the trimpots once i have an idea of whats causing the other issues

You read it by the output to ground...
Not anywhere near the trimpots.

unbelievable super thin low quality copper!

Guess again.
Some of the wire is also cheap tin(!)
There is probably huge pressure to be competitive in China market so this result in materials cost cutting.

Now have to decide to buy some Teflon cables and some thick tinned copper wires to replace all the wires inside the amp.

I would stay with thin stranded OCC type because you need wire flexible, not thick.

Check first page as you also need many wires running along side, so a multi conductor cable is optimal.

 

[klnglim]

You read it by the output to ground...
Not anywhere near the trimpots.


Guess again.
Some of the wire is also cheap tin(!)
There is probably huge pressure to be competitive in China market so this result in materials cost cutting.


I would stay with thin stranded OCC type because you need wire flexible, not thick.

Check first page as you also need many wires running along side, so a multi conductor cable is optimal.

I have used Teflon wires to connect those Russian & Mundolf Caps, very good quality. May be will replace some thin wires with this Teflon wires (18 awg thickness), another 16 awg tin copper thick cables is to replace those 3 pin & 4 pin output.Is this good idea?

 

[bloodhawk]

You read it by the output to ground...
Not anywhere near the trimpots.

Yeah i have been using the power sockets ground for the most part.

Im also thinking of taking my whole amp apart and redoing every single wire inside the amp, specially so that its much easier to take apart without tugging and pulling the wires soldered to the board, or even implementing sockets/plugs so that the board is easier to take out entirely.

But first i need to fix my friends amp, on the bright side, this is a good exercise for me to learn more about its inner workings and the common issues.

 

[baronbeehive]

Just find out one cable behind the board (direct right side output) is broken, also I notice that the original wires from factory are suck, unbelievable super thin low quality copper!
That's one of the reason cause my amp burnt 4 times (include today burnt again), my advice is never ever buy their product, better spend a bit more to get high quality one!
Now have to decide to buy some Teflon cables and some thick tinned copper wires to replace all the wires inside the amp.

Yeah, but we're not really supposed to be messing around inside with this amp are we? There is much about these wires on the first page, including warnings. Whatever amp you buy will be compromised in some way, for example so called quality amp but with nasty caps inside, you might know who I mean.....

Don't complain about the product, they produced a product to meet a certain sector of the market, the value sector, and what you lose in crap components like wires you gain in superb SQ so we can't complain.

 

[Maxx134]

or example so called quality amp but with nasty caps inside, you might know who I mean.....

Haha no I don't as that cover most amps lol.

The design of this amp is the advantage tho.
A fully balanced tube amp using popular tubes,
Just not optimally done.
You dont see too many fully balanced Headphone tube amps.
Very, very Few out there.

At least this not an ancient design that rely on output caps or ouput transformers to muck up the sound, and instead using nice idea of op-amp servo.
So it has a high clarity potential.
Too bad it rely on some NFB,
Yet most still do.

 

[baronbeehive]

Haha no I don't as that cover most amps lol.

....oh you won't hazard a guess then.....

So it has a high clarity potential.
Too bad it rely on some NFB,
Yet most still do.

We don't get the hifi meets here like you do in NY city so I haven't heard the absolute top quality amps but from my own imagination I would say that we're about 95% there with that extra 5% only of dust on the glass in between us and the music. And I think we could get as near as dammit once the CCS is in place, the there's always other mods.......


Really I'm completely happy with it, just one or two more tweaks, but that soundstage is wonderful!

 

[klnglim]

Yeah, but we're not really supposed to be messing around inside with this amp are we? There is much about these wires on the first page, including warnings. Whatever amp you buy will be compromised in some way, for example so called quality amp but with nasty caps inside, you might know who I mean.....

Don't complain about the product, they produced a product to meet a certain sector of the market, the value sector, and what you lose in crap components like wires you gain in superb SQ so we can't complain.

Actually I didn't plan to mod this amp since the day I bought it, however after 6 months of using, the smoke show up & smell bad burnt, then I have to open fix it.Unlucky is after fixed, less than a month another smoke show up
again, this time getting worst as the amp spark and smoke everytime try to turn on, now it become my nightmare

 

[baronbeehive]

Actually I didn't plan to mod this amp since the day I bought it, however after 6 months of using, the smoke show up & smell bad burnt, then I have to open fix it.Unlucky is after fixed, less than a month another smoke show up
again, this time getting worst as the amp spark and smoke everytime try to turn on, now it become my nightmare

Yes I appreciate that, I also had a problem with it and was without it for a year or so, but it's really all been worth it now, and I hope you will feel the same when you've got it fixed lol! Just replace those bad wires with good quality OCC and it will sound soooo good!

 

[bloodhawk]

Yes I appreciate that, I also had a problem with it and was without it for a year or so, but it's really all been worth it now, and I hope you will feel the same when you've got it fixed lol! Just replace those bad wires with good quality OCC and it will sound soooo good!

Part of the reason why im really trying to have this amp fixed, want to pry that WA22 out of his hands that he is soo happy with. :S

 

[klnglim]

Yes I appreciate that, I also had a problem with it and was without it for a year or so, but it's really all been worth it now, and I hope you will feel the same when you've got it fixed lol! Just replace those bad wires with good quality OCC and it will sound soooo good!

Hopefully no more smoke after replace all the wires

 

[baronbeehive]

The Problem is to heat good because the other side of board needs to make contact as it is double sided.

This is a problem, with my last issue it would not have helped if I tested one side of the board necause there was a different trace on the other side which I hadn't noticed which also needed testing for continuity.

Part of the reason why im really trying to have this amp fixed, want to pry that WA22 out of his hands that he is soo happy with. :S

Haha, no you don't want that lol, The LD is better!

Also, I would suggest you test the resistances with the resistors in situ because they point to the problem, if you take them out they will read OK usually anyway.

So the meters are correct on switch on but drift later?

 

[bloodhawk]

Haha, no you don't want that lol, The LD is better!

Also, I would suggest you test the resistances with the resistors in situ because they point to the problem, if you take them out they will read OK usually anyway.

So the meters are correct on switch on but drift later?

For the first few power cycles they read fine, and then if left turned they drift apart, and after a few time they start showing different bias.

The resistors read fine in the circuit as well. Just that the voltage is off on the area that i circled in the image earlier. Ill double check the wiring in that region today. But the main concern right no is the left channel buzzing.

 

[baronbeehive]

For the first few power cycles they read fine, and then if left turned they drift apart, and after a few time they start showing different bias.

The resistors read fine in the circuit as well. Just that the voltage is off on the area that i circled in the image earlier. Ill double check the wiring in that region today. But the main concern right no is the left channel buzzing.

That can't be tubes, you've tried it and the same happens with different tubes.

More likely a cold solder perhaps, when heated up it expands and the poor connection suffers as a result possibly. But you've resoldered everything in that circuit?

And the voltage readings are the same as before, so something around that area, which is why I asked you about the wiring. Still might help to check all the tube pins with the other circuit and see if that leads to anything unusual.

 

[bloodhawk]

That can't be tubes, you've tried it and the same happens with different tubes.

More likely a cold solder perhaps, when heated up it expands and the poor connection suffers as a result possibly. But you've resoldered everything in that circuit?

And the voltage readings are the same as before, so something around that area, which is why I asked you about the wiring. Still might help to check all the tube pins with the other circuit and see if that leads to anything unusual.

Yeah thats the next thing ill try tonight, to triple check the wiring in that area and resolder the socket pins. I could be that a stock solder joint was damaged when putting the board back in as it goes in super tight into the socket holes.

 

[baronbeehive]

Yeah thats the next thing ill try tonight, to triple check the wiring in that area and resolder the socket pins. I could be that a stock solder joint was damaged when putting the board back in as it goes in super tight into the socket holes.

Yep, and checking all the pins would show up a bad connection to one of them as well.

Also you could check the pads on the reverse of the board if you get it out again.