Vintage HiFi Audio Forum
Audio Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Bathory on May 17, 2015, 02:30:27 PM
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transformer in in loose, the 4 screws which hold it in place don't seem to want to tighten??? transformer moves about minimum 1/4 - 1/2 inch when I move the amp around.
don't tell me " don't move it" it shouldn't be this way anyway !
any recommendations?????? i just received it from a west coast repair place, and i am thinking maybe it was dropped by fed ex, or thrown about by them????
i don't know, a lot of money for us, and would hate to have this be an issue?
don't know how to check the brackets to see if all the screws are connected, which they are clearly not.
sorry for the no punctuation, happens when Im angry. best to you all
R & J
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I strongly urge you to contact the shop that repaired it. Was it well protected from shipping impacts...bubble wrap etc.
I had to bite my tongue not to say "don't move it"
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Do the brackets look bent or distorted? Wouldn't take much of a drop if it's a heavy transformer. Other possibility - did they remove the transformer? If so maybe they used the wrong fasteners when they reinstalled it?
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it was at the best place.
he said this is normal for an amp of this age to have the transformer move a little, or wobble???
i still question this....
NOTHING should move. mentioned transformer is on rubber grommets, and after time they weaken, etc etc... sounds like bs to me, but who am I, but a pauper
i have never had anything which was or should move around, this to me is broken, or poor craftsmanship
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It's possible the rubber grommets have become brittle with age and may have crumbled, creating the looseness you describe. Howe old is the amp?
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It's possible the rubber grommets have become brittle with age and may have crumbled, creating the looseness you describe. Howe old is the amp?
Hard to judge w/o looking at the unit, but I would recommend you not be mad at the vintage repair shop you used. This is common with equipment this old containing heavy components (another example is speakers with huge magnets). The transformer is very heavy and that, in combination with old bushings, is going to lead to what you have - they did nothing really wrong: just shipped it back using the available methods. No matter how many "Fragile" labels you put outside, all these boxes get tossed about pretty frequently during during shipment, and the transformer being as heavy as it is, will challenge the integrity of 30 year old bushings keeping it mechanically isolated from the chassis.
Options for the vintage shop include replacing the bushings of every piece they get (assuming they can find the right size), or wedging especial foam pieces around the transformer to help it absorb energy during the return trip. Either way, it increases cost for those getting things repaired and is not directly connected to what you sent the unit in for, just a side effect of shipping. So either way the repair shop is in a bad place. If it protects the transformer it gets accused of being too expensive (and no one wants to pay what it costs to fix these things - it takes time to go through them and time costs money). If it doesn't take special measures to protect the transformer from its own mass, and the shipper handles the box roughly, you get what you have.
So rant aside - replacing those bushings should be easy (a trip to Ace Hardware should do it).
OBG
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not at all mad, nor disappointed with the shop, actually, I am very pleased with the shop and everything about it.
The amp if i read correctly, was made Oct of 1996, so it IS old as electronics go, but changing grommets, I am not sure. If I remove the bottom screws I will not get them back in, as the transformer has 2 covers on it. it is the square transformer, fitted with a 2nd round metal one, if your familiar with the signature sunfoire, then you KNOIW what I am talking about.
the screws are welded or soldered at the tops, so when I try to screw them in from the bottom, the whole screw/nut just turns, not tightening. i don't know how to get these tight without possible causing me an added shop price, or possible worse.
m,aybe just leave it alone? but it drives me nuts, knowing it IS like this, and it should not.
damnet !
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there is a amp repair shop close to me, I will see if they can do anything, if not.........well then, its more bad luck, as it seems that is ALL i have had since beginning this catastrophic audio journey 27 years ago. nothing but unreliable, crap since i started.
and I have had some damn good name brand pieces, and NO, not modern day fisher, or shite like that. good stuff, acurus, rotel, b&w, onkyo, altec lansing, and many others. when it comes to anything, everything has broken, such is my luck.
welcome to my hell. cheers
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Maybe just wedge some material under it to keep it from moving
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Wow, you need to take a relaxative. Stuff from '96 really isn't that old if it was good to start with and handled with care. I have one of Bob Carver's first creations, a Phase Linear 400 amp from 1972. It sounds great. It's had a required recap due to its age but that's to be expected. Some of the most prized audio is vintage from 60s 70s and 80s and beyond...
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Wow, you need to take a relaxative. Stuff from '96 really isn't that old if it was good to start with and handled with care. I have one of Bob Carver's first creations, a Phase Linear 400 amp from 1972. It sounds great. It's had a required recap due to its age but that's to be expected. Some of the most prized audio is vintage from 60s 70s and 80s and beyond...
The amp is in great cond. this must have happened during shipping. I see no other explanation for this. the transformer is ver very loose, this should NOT be this loose.
if i knew how to fix it i would.
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Wow, you need to take a relaxative. Stuff from '96 really isn't that old if it was good to start with and handled with care. I have one of Bob Carver's first creations, a Phase Linear 400 amp from 1972. It sounds great. It's had a required recap due to its age but that's to be expected. Some of the most prized audio is vintage from 60s 70s and 80s and beyond...
The amp is in great cond. this must have happened during shipping. I see no other explanation for this. the transformer is ver very loose, this should NOT be this loose.
if i knew how to fix it i would.
If it worries you that much silicon it to the chassis and be done with it!
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NO......do NOT silicone it. Nasty stuff, very acidic when curing, which will likely cause problems down the road. Not to mention silicone creeps causing contamination issues.
If you can't properly secure it yourself, take it to a shop that can as you do not want a loose tranny.
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NO......do NOT silicone it. Nasty stuff, very acidic when curing, which will likely cause problems down the road. Not to mention silicone creeps causing contamination issues.
If you can't properly secure it yourself, take it to a shop that can as you do not want a loose tranny.
Bad things happen when a tranny is on the loose.
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Talked to bob carvers tech for sunfire. The L brackets and grommits are no longer available. (((((
Driving the amp to rockford illinois to sounds classic. Hopefully they can secure the transformer.
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Shit, you could drive it to me (morgantown wv) and we'd get it secured just fine.
Can you post a picture or a link to a picture of the transformer where it connects? Give us a better idea of what we're dealing with. That seems excessive to drive all the way out there for some rubber bits.
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Talked to bob carvers tech for sunfire. The L brackets and grommits are no longer available. (((((
Driving the amp to rockford illinois to sounds classic. Hopefully they can secure the transformer.
Jeanine
Sorry to here about your problems, hope you get it sorted out real soon. A moving transformer is not that good in an amp.
Brian
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Yep - just look at Bruce Jenner.
Bad things happen when a tranny is on the loose.
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Also. The binding posts....... The hole for speaker wire wont fit any thicker wire.
Is this normal? The hole is small(:) were these switched out? Or are these stock posts.
Wont fit my 8 or 10 ga speaker wire. Should i use the plugs instead to connect the 10ga wire? Banana plugs?
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Best bet is soldered banana plugs. Unless you're running 250' lengths of wire 8-10 AWG is pretty much overkill. You could also use 1/4" spade lugs.
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Best bet is soldered banana plugs. Unless you're running 250' lengths of wire 8-10 AWG is pretty much overkill. You could also use 1/4" spade lugs.
+ on spade plugs
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+ 1 on bananas.
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+ 1000 on soldered banana plugs.
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It is a silly debate IMO. Neither makes any difference in sound quality. I like the spades because the mechanical connection is strong, the banana plugs can fall off with movement with heavy gauge cables.
+ 100000 do whatever suits you best 8)
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I'm sure it makes a difference on which banana plugs or spades one uses. I've never had an issue with the bananas I use falling off. In fact, it takes good effort to insert or remove them. The spades however always loosen in time.
I don't remember if it was on here or somewhere else, but I calculated that the bananas actually have more contact area than spades.
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I don't remember if it was on here or somewhere else, but I calculated that the bananas actually have more contact area than spades.
I believe that is true, but I'm not at all sure that it makes a practical difference.
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Jesse -
You probably use much much better quality banana plus than I have experience with. I have memories of Monster banana plugs I used with Infinity RS-1 and their speaker-level crossover that left me thinking I would limit banana plug use for home theater only because they are so damn convenient.
I admit to having started a calculation on surface contact area for banana plugs [2*pi*r*h] vs spades [you need to assume a size for the "ring of contact" and calculate the area and multiply by 2, a larger ring would improve things, but the area would be 2*Pi*(Rout-Rin)^2], but soon got distracted by the music. All things considered, if I found a banana plug that could be successfully soldered to 8 gage wire and that were strong enuf to stay put, I suppose that would be the way to go.
:-)
Pepe
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I have memories of Monster banana plugs
Yeah, those were/are pretty bad.
I admit to having started a calculation on surface contact area for banana plugs [2*pi*r*h] vs spades [you need to assume a size for the "ring of contact" and calculate the area and multiply by 2, a larger ring would improve things, but the area would be 2*Pi*(Rout-Rin)^2], but soon got distracted by the music.
LOL.....