Vintage HiFi Audio Forum
Repair / Help Forum => Repair / Help => Topic started by: ST-Rider on November 15, 2014, 05:29:09 PM
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So I have a carver amp and it keeps shutting off. I think it's some kind of protection circuit thing.
Ive heard that Tom's shop isn't ready to take in any new repairs. I stopped by the new shop tonight to ask about stuff but I couldn't tell if it was open or where to go in or anything.
So... I'd really like to get my amp fixed... Can anyone recommend a place to take it to?
Thanks
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If you want something done right...
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I wish... I wouldn't know the first thing about what to do.
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Hopefully you know where not to take it.
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Ended up taking it to Galaxie Electronics in Squirrel Hill.
We'll see how it goes...
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My experience with Vince at Galaxie has been positive so far, others may have different history with him. He does not have the levels of experience/knowledge that Tom/Anders have for Carver equipment, but if it's a simple issue he can be a great resource. And he is relatively quick. Good luck with that repair.
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I was going to take a denon pma-757 to Vince that was blowing fuses, he recommended me to take it to atlas because he didn't know what was up with it. Needless to say i will be fixing it myself, so I pretty much have no use for Vince.
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I have used Vince approximately 20 or so times for troubleshooting logic circuit issues in tape decks that usually ended up involving a bad integrated circuit chip or the right voltage not getting to the chip because of an upstream component gone bad. So my experience in that domain (tape decks) has been good, usually takes him two weeks to complete work. I have never used him to troubleshoot an amplifier issue, mostly because I take that type of work to Tom. I have noticed he redirects work to Atlas when his workload is high - I have never used Atlas because os his reputation. But Vince has been good to me and stands by his work.
OBG
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His first suggestion was that Carver amps will go into protection mode if there are any issues with speaker wires touching each other, etc. more so than most amps/receivers so he said that could likely be the issue. He said he'd take a look at it anyway and see if he finds anything else.
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He kind of pissed me off because I told him all about it on the phone and he said bring it down, and when I got there said he couldn't before I even set it down. He could have saved me the trip.
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I've never had anything repaired there, so can't comment on that. I do go to Jerry's every now and then and I always stop in to see what he has. I've asked him questions about things that I have and he always seems like he just doesn't care. Almost like he's at the end of his rope with hearing stories or repairing things. Just have to wonder if that same attitude goes into his repair work. Not bashing the guy, just my observation that he doesn't seem to be interested in the work he does.
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Just to be clear, my first choice by a long shot was to take it to Tom....but I don't think he's ready to take new work in.
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I thought Vince was best known for working on turntables. I have a persistent hum in my beloved ReVox turntable so OBG had offered to drop it off at Galaxie for me. About 2 weeks later it was ready. My older son took me there to pick it up. Sure wish I would have tested it there before leaving with it. Said he had to find some of part to replace and he changed the cartridge electrical clips. $150 no tax since cash. No receipt and no bad parts were returned to me. Got it home and no improvement. He said to bring it back again but I haven't been able to and I have no confidence anyway. Sad but true
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Maybe he'll tell you to take it to atlas as well
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Vince worked at Atlas for a bit, he knows what it's like. I have no idea why he'd refer peeps there. He has asked Anders' advice on repairs from time to time. I believe after awhile Anders started asking him to refer some of these things to VHF, rather than assist further. The questions are less frequent now. Shrug.
It's hard for me to explain his level of expertise, but I know it's not on par with Anders or Tom. I've heard he's a nice guy.
Anders would love to work on stuff, but the day job has him buried in overtime, and there is a backlog of repairs at the shop. He can't take on new repairs unless Tom gives the OK. Anders has no time to play with his own audio, hasn't for months and months.
Wish things could stabilize a little from our end too.
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Vince is an old school, great guy, means well and is honest IMHO. However he is overwhelmed with repairs right now. A lot of people bringing in junk they think is worth incredible amounts of money cause they saw it on a "Reality" show or knows someone who knows someone that told them it's worth X$'s.
He's gotten burned way to many times with repairing an item, calling the customer to come get the item who then doesn't want to pay the repair fee. He has a ton of orphaned gear taking up valuable space.
@Dicky
Not sure what happened but don't judge him on that.
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Though I'd post an update. I picked up the amp on Saturday. Vince said he had it running, it sounded great and over the course of pretty much an entire day never once shut off. He said it's possible that the speaker wire I had was too thin, or frayed somewhere, etc. So, I bought some better speaker wire, and haven't had any trouble so far (knock on wood). Also, he didn't charge me anything. I was expecting to pay something, like an evaluation fee or something, but it was free.
So , while I didn't really get anything repaired there, I came away with a pretty good feeling about the place.
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I know Vince pretty well and I have a good idea of what he can and can't do.
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Hardly ever had a problem with anything Vince has repaired for me, if so I brought it back he figured it out at no additional cost.
It's pretty cool that for a region of this size there are still very competent repair techs at our disposal, from Tom & Anders, the guy down in Bellvue and Vince. I think we are pretty fortunate in that regard.
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One other thing, there are lurkers on this forum who rarely if ever post so be careful what you say, think or feel about other people as it might get back to them.
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One other thing, there are lurkers on this forum who rarely if ever post so be careful what you say, think or feel about other people as it might get back to them.
If an honest opinion or experience of someone's product or service is going to hurt their feelings, then they probably shouldn't be in business in the first place.
Positive and negative feedback are both tools to learn from.