Used equipment- A40 mono blocks
Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 12:00 pm
I’m fortunate to have a pair of A40 mono blocks mk2 that I picked up second hand on eBay and have been using them for over a year now even though I have an A30 & an S80 (old A20).
These A40s were in poor state when received and were ‘for parts/spares- not working’
They tested good with my multi meter and visually no magic smoke so I fixed the cases, re soldered a few joins and added music- so far so good for about 18 months. Delightful music was the result.
I recently began to note the right mono block was becoming increasingly sensitive to source equipment being turned on/off whereas the left remained silent.
Opening up the case I was horrified to see the glue from the previous owners attempt to secure transformer, caps and board to chassis had ingress to a few components and was turning black from its natural clear/brown state- I had obviously missed this when first received and now was very obvious.
I full afternoon of stripping components, cleaning, replacing and cleaning the board has resulted in a return to normal operation- no noise and I’ve noted the sound stage to be more “equal”.
Lesson learnt- check used equipment very very carefully and take note of small changes in their modus operandi as this could have progressed with severe outcomes.
These A40s were in poor state when received and were ‘for parts/spares- not working’
They tested good with my multi meter and visually no magic smoke so I fixed the cases, re soldered a few joins and added music- so far so good for about 18 months. Delightful music was the result.
I recently began to note the right mono block was becoming increasingly sensitive to source equipment being turned on/off whereas the left remained silent.
Opening up the case I was horrified to see the glue from the previous owners attempt to secure transformer, caps and board to chassis had ingress to a few components and was turning black from its natural clear/brown state- I had obviously missed this when first received and now was very obvious.
I full afternoon of stripping components, cleaning, replacing and cleaning the board has resulted in a return to normal operation- no noise and I’ve noted the sound stage to be more “equal”.
Lesson learnt- check used equipment very very carefully and take note of small changes in their modus operandi as this could have progressed with severe outcomes.
