Topic: Surplus amps

[oweidah]

sir gbtabora,

i suggest return the unit to little chatty for repair. baka kabisado na nila yung amp mo.

or you may wana try - http://pinoydvd.com/board/index.php?topic=51482.0

[jeppoy]

eto bumulaga sa akin sa pier kahapon.....

Luxman LV-109

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9715943528

binili ko kaagad!!! 

Sir saan mo nabili sa Pier and how much? Plan ko rin bumili. May nakita ka pa ba rung okay na amp besides dyan just in case na wala ng ganyan. Thanks!

[parasmi]

Thanks mga sirs 

I actually bought it for 5.3k. Considering the condition (near mint) of the unit, it’s a bargain!  ;DThis was my fourth purchase from store named **MR Trading (can’t make out the first 2 letters). Unlike Little Chatty’s they priced their items reasonably.

Kung sa Chatty’s nakadisplay yung Luxman, malamang mga 7-8k presyo nun hehehe

nice catch sir mike...     

Whoa!!!
Another TOTL!!!

LV-109 could be TOTL in Alpine/Luxman line in late '80s but its average Yahoo auction re-sale value in Japan is low at 15,000 yen (same as LV-103u). Here are average quotes in the last three years for other used upscale Luxman units that have appeared or were mentioned on this forum recently, not necessarily TOTL: LV-107u - 30,000 yen,  L-530 - 25,000 yen; L-540 - 50,000 yen and L-570 - 70,000 yen.

But then again, if I saw an LV-109 in good condition and it's priced below five figures, I'd probably buy it. I think it is a good buy for a collector. It could serve as sample of Alpine/Luxman's equipment output since it took over the Luxman brand in early '80s.

sir parasmi, congrats! isa na namang backbreaking treasure yan ah
siguro dati kang pirata, at home na at home ka sa pier!

[juneaki]

I just bought a second hand JVC CD player from a fellow PDVD member, i want to buy a surplus integrated amp at the pier. Meron na bang mabibili na desenteng amp sa budget kong Php 2.5K?

Finally, i got myself an amp for my CD player. I bought it from a fellow PDVD member. It's a Denon PMA 920 which was accordingly bought in the US sometime in 1991. When i got it, it looked as if it's been from a bodega. The RCA jacks are heavily corroded (parang may asin) and when you peep inside, ganon din ang makikita mo at makapal na alikabok. Have it cleaned before i set it up. When i put it on and played a CD, wow my diamond 8.3 gave a new sound, buong buo ang bass, and i'm hearing instruments na hindi ko masyado naririnig before. At ang boses ng singer, malinaw na malinaw as if nasa harap mo lang sya. Ok na ok na sana, here comes the problem, suddenly one of the speaker went on and off and also gave unwelcome noise na parang static at medyo humihina. I put the amp off and wait for about 5 minutes to open it again and same problem occured. Inulit ulit ko yung same procedure and i noticed that minsan yung kaliwa at minsan yung kanan na speaker ang nawawala. Major problem kaya ito? Guys please help naman.

[joey]

Finally, i got myself an amp for my CD player. I bought it from a fellow PDVD member. It's a Denon PMA 920 which was accordingly bought in the US sometime in 1991. When i got it, it looked as if it's been from a bodega. The RCA jacks are heavily corroded (parang may asin) and when you peep inside, ganon din ang makikita mo at makapal na alikabok. Have it cleaned before i set it up. When i put it on and played a CD, wow my diamond 8.3 gave a new sound, buong buo ang bass, and i'm hearing instruments na hindi ko masyado naririnig before. At ang boses ng singer, malinaw na malinaw as if nasa harap mo lang sya. Ok na ok na sana, here comes the problem, suddenly one of the speaker went on and off and also gave unwelcome noise na parang static at medyo humihina. I put the amp off and wait for about 5 minutes to open it again and same problem occured. Inulit ulit ko yung same procedure and i noticed that minsan yung kaliwa at minsan yung kanan na speaker ang nawawala. Major problem kaya ito? Guys please help naman.

try nyo po linisin yung volume control first. yung contact cleaner po na madaling magevaporate ang magandang pangalinis diyan. wag po kayo gagamit ng wd-40 dahil magaacumulate lang po siya lalo ng dumi katagalan.

[sandawa]

... Ok na ok na sana, here comes the problem, suddenly one of the speaker went on and off and also gave unwelcome noise na parang static at medyo humihina. I put the amp off and wait for about 5 minutes to open it again and same problem occured. Inulit ulit ko yung same procedure and i noticed that minsan yung kaliwa at minsan yung kanan na speaker ang nawawala. Major problem kaya ito? Guys please help naman.

joey is right, the pots probably just need cleaning. in my experience it's also worthwhile to check the DC-offset of newly bought vintage amps, whether Jap surplus or int'l/US units (which could likely be inferior to 100V units internally). DC leak could destroy HF speaker units.

[juneaki]

try nyo po linisin yung volume control first. yung contact cleaner po na madaling magevaporate ang magandang pangalinis diyan. wag po kayo gagamit ng wd-40 dahil magaacumulate lang po siya lalo ng dumi katagalan.

Ok. Thanks i'll do that. BTW, where can i buy the contact cleaner and what particular brand you can recommend? TIA.

[juneaki]

joey is right, the pots probably just need cleaning. in my experience it's also worthwhile to check the DC-offset of newly bought vintage amps, whether Jap surplus or int'l/US units (which could likely be inferior to 100V units internally). DC leak could destroy HF speaker units.

Thank you sir, will also consider your advise. I know this will help in the long run (will prolong the life of my AVR).

[juneaki]

Another newbie question lang po. Yung Denon PMA-920 ko po ay merong A+B speaker out option, can i use both in bi-wiring (or bi-amping?) my Diamond 8.3? Which is better, bi-wiring using output A only or bi-wiring using output A+B?

[ATJr.]

Another newbie question lang po. Yung Denon PMA-920 ko po ay merong A+B speaker out option, can i use both in bi-wiring (or bi-amping?) my Diamond 8.3? Which is better, bi-wiring using output A only or bi-wiring using output A+B?

i see no problem either way...

[juneaki]

i see no problem either way...

Thank you sir Tony.

[juneaki]

I brought my Denon PMA-920 to my techie friend for cleaning as recommended by sir joey and sir Tony. My friend observed the behaviour of the amp for two days using a pair of 8 ohms 100 wrms bookshelf speakers. Covinced that the amp is ok already, my friend let me take the amp home. Pero pagdating sa bahay, when i set the amp and put it on, andoon pa rin paminsan minsan yung problema na nawawala yung sound pero this time sa left channel na lang. Yun bang tipong nasu-supress ang power at hindi makalabas. Pero dun naman sa shop ng friend ko while we were observing the amp, it didn't behave naman like that! Hindi kaya nagki-clipping ang amp ko dahil sa overload ng speaker?  But the amp says that it can handle 6 - 16 ohms speakers. And the amp is providing 115 wrms amplification for each channel. BTW, i am using Diamond 8.3 (which is a 6 ohms spker) in conventional bi-wiring. Pero yung problema ay hindi na tulad ng dati, minsan minsan na lang ngayon. May palagay ako na dahil matagal ito na hind nagamit (years daw) ng dating may-ari eh baka kailangan ulit ng break-in. Mga sirs ano sa palagay nyo? Kailangan ko bang ibalik sa hospital o obserbahan ko na lang muna?

[qguy]

Isolate the problem by

1. Try changing the interconnect cables or speaker cables
2. Try switching the speakers use the Right Channel speakers for your amps left channel
3. Could it be the source (CD or DVD ) and may problem ?

funny how I had a similar problem with my old amp, everytime I would bring the amp back to the shop it would "heal" itself, but once I got home it was busted again. Eventually the intermittent problem became permanent and the technician was able to fix it

[juneaki]

Isolate the problem by

1. Try changing the interconnect cables or speaker cables
2. Try switching the speakers use the Right Channel speakers for your amps left channel
3. Could it be the source (CD or DVD ) and may problem ?

funny how I had a similar problem with my old amp, everytime I would bring the amp back to the shop it would "heal" itself, but once I got home it was busted again. Eventually the intermittent problem became permanent and the technician was able to fix it

Have tried # 1 and 2 already and it's the left channel that is really showing problem (although hindi na grabe tulad dati). I'm not sure about #3 though. Pero o-obserbahan ko pa rin and if symtoms persist, i think i should bring my amp back to the doctor.

[juneaki]

Finally, my Denon PMA-920 is now functioning well. Naisip ko kasi na baka dahil sa tagal na di nagamit e talagang heavily corroded na yung volume control, so once again i flushed contact cleaner to it. Pati yung mga speaker terminals as well as the rca jacks nilagyan ko na rin. Thank God, nag-sounds ako ng Saturday and Sunday at wala namang problema. Talaga palang magandang tumunog ang 8.3 if given the required power. The highs and the lows are perfect the way i wanted to hear it. When i put on my active sub (connected via the pre-out), wow parang na rin nasa Spectra. Lalo na siguro kung may enough sound defuser yung living room namin. Thanks again guys for the advise, malaking tulong.

[parasmi]

Finally, my Denon PMA-920 is now functioning well.

good for you, sir  Ako rin, nagawa na yung power amp ko. Dinala ko na sa authorized Sansui sevice center sa may Soliven bldg along EDSA di na kasi magawa nung local technician namin  It cost me arond 4k  :'(

[juneaki]

good for you, sir  Ako rin, nagawa na yung power amp ko. Dinala ko na sa authorized Sansui sevice center sa may Soliven bldg along EDSA di na kasi magawa nung local technician namin  It cost me arond 4k  :'(

Pasalamat ka na rin at nagawa pa.   Sana lang it performs way within or above your expectation para sulit na sulit ang pagod at gastos mo.

[sandawa]

good for you, sir  Ako rin, nagawa na yung power amp ko. Dinala ko na sa authorized Sansui sevice center sa may Soliven bldg along EDSA di na kasi magawa nung local technician namin  It cost me arond 4k  :'(

so, bukas pa yung Sansui service center sa V.V. Soliven? Yung nasa likod, right side if you're entering from EDSA? the last time i visited that place was 10 years ago, wala, even the signages were gone. i saw a Sansui oldtimer sometime in late '90s working in Virra Mall who told me some of his colleagues were working in Raon and in Banawe, QC and some have already gone abroad. if a Sansui service center has reopened in V.V. Soliven, that's good news and thanks a lot!

[parasmi]

yes, they're still open  you remember it correctly, sir sandawa. If anyone's interested, their number is 726-2697

so, bukas pa yung Sansui service center sa V.V. Soliven? Yung nasa likod, right side if you're entering from EDSA? the last time i visited that place was 10 years ago, wala, even the signages were gone. i saw a Sansui oldtimer sometime in late '90s working in Virra Mall who told me some of his colleagues were working in Raon and in Banawe, QC and some have already gone abroad. if a Sansui service center has reopened in V.V. Soliven, that's good news and thanks a lot!

[sandawa]

thanks a lot for the Sansui service center's phone number. i have a problem with an old AU-70, one channel's output is a bit weaker, and i don't want to tinker with it since it's a tube amp issued in 1965 (i've seen my dad hurt a few times trying to fix his tube amps in the '60s when i was a kid.) i don't think our technicians here in Davao can handle '60s tube gear. i'll bring it there in my next trip.

[mandrake]

yes, they're still open  you remember it correctly, sir sandawa. If anyone's interested, their number is 726-2697

Thank you very much for this valuable info parasmi.  Kamusta naman ang service nila?  I want to bring my AU-D907X for a check up also.

[parasmi]

ok service, sir. mabait naman yung owner/technician. tinulangan pa akong i-pack tsaka kargahin yung amp  napamahal lang bayad ko dahil madami parts na pinalitan 

Thank you very much for this valuable info parasmi.  Kamusta naman ang service nila?  I want to bring my AU-D907X for a check up also.

[mandrake]

ok service, sir. mabait naman yung owner/technician. tinulangan pa akong i-pack tsaka kargahin yung amp  napamahal lang bayad ko dahil madami parts na pinalitan 

Sir pwede ba malaman anong amp ang pinagawa mo?  And what is the name of the tech?  I was there yesterday at about 9:10 kasi sabi nung nakausap ko sa phone they open at 9:00.  I had to wait for an hour bago dumating yung mga tao .  There was another guy who had been waiting also, but probably not as long as me.  Sabi daw sa kanya pwede na makuha ung Sansui receiver nya, but it turned out naka-kalas pa   He was looking for a certain Danny, who I think was also the guy I spoke with on the phone.  Apparently this Danny is the only one who does amps because when I asked the lady in charge whether I could stay around and watch the check up proceedings she told me no because the guy who was going to do it wasn't around.  She said I should call back Monday afternoon.

Well the guy who was expecting to take home his receiver didn't seem upset.  I would have been if I were in his place!  But from his exchanges with the lady, I gathered he had probably been their client before.  In fact he was asking if a huge Sansui quadraphonic (is that the right term?) that had apparently been in the shop for a long time was available for sale.

The bottom line is that my experience with service shop didn't leave me too confident.  Yes the other tech who helped me bring in my amp was friendly, and so was the lady.  But I was hoping to talk with the actual guy who would fix my amp.  Add to this a small, lingering fear that my amp could end up being the parts source for some other project of theirs.  Or they could quote me an atrocious price in the hope of me abandoning my amp there and they could then sell it at a profit.
I know, I know...I sound paranoid .  But this has been know to happen in other service shops.

The good thing is at least you had a good experience there.  Sana ako din!

[oweidah]

sir mandrake,

u may wanna try this guy-

http://pinoydvd.com/board/index.php?topic=51482.msg574583#msg574583

[mandrake]

Thanks Oweidah.  I certainly will if I don't get good service from Sansui Soliven.  Tatawag pa ako this afternoon.  I hope I get a sensible reply...kundi baka pull out ko na.

[parasmi]

I had my Sansui power amp (B-2102) repaired there, sir. If you guys are in a hurry to get your gears fixed, I would suggest that you look for another tech since isa lang talaga gumawa (Danny) sa Soliven 

Based on my experience, they will quote you first of total cost of repair before proceeding to the actual repair. In that way, the customer will still have a choice of pulling out your gear or continue with the service.

I understand you sounding paranoid because I also had my share of bad experience with technicians whom I do not know. As for me, tiwala naman ako sa Fil-Audio (name of service center). So confident that I had my Onkyo amp and vintage Sansui stereo receiver brought there for check-up  

Sir pwede ba malaman anong amp ang pinagawa mo?  And what is the name of the tech?  I was there yesterday at about 9:10 kasi sabi nung nakausap ko sa phone they open at 9:00.  I had to wait for an hour bago dumating yung mga tao .  There was another guy who had been waiting also, but probably not as long as me.  Sabi daw sa kanya pwede na makuha ung Sansui receiver nya, but it turned out naka-kalas pa   He was looking for a certain Danny, who I think was also the guy I spoke with on the phone.  Apparently this Danny is the only one who does amps because when I asked the lady in charge whether I could stay around and watch the check up proceedings she told me no because the guy who was going to do it wasn't around.  She said I should call back Monday afternoon.

Well the guy who was expecting to take home his receiver didn't seem upset.  I would have been if I were in his place!  But from his exchanges with the lady, I gathered he had probably been their client before.  In fact he was asking if a huge Sansui quadraphonic (is that the right term?) that had apparently been in the shop for a long time was available for sale.

The bottom line is that my experience with service shop didn't leave me too confident.  Yes the other tech who helped me bring in my amp was friendly, and so was the lady.  But I was hoping to talk with the actual guy who would fix my amp.  Add to this a small, lingering fear that my amp could end up being the parts source for some other project of theirs.  Or they could quote me an atrocious price in the hope of me abandoning my amp there and they could then sell it at a profit.
I know, I know...I sound paranoid .  But this has been know to happen in other service shops.

The good thing is at least you had a good experience there.  Sana ako din!

[Lord Foo]

I used the repair services of that EDSA service center about 10 or more years ago. In both cases the sansui units i brought came back to me in good running condition. Medyo matagal lang ang service kaya tawag ako ng tawag. Several times. Then out of the blue, ayos na raw ung unit ko. I agree with Sir Parasmi... wag dito pag nagmamadali ka. Luluha ka ng dugo. My units run very well for a long long time though.

[mandrake]

All's well that ends well .  Got a text message from Fil-Audio yesterday at about 10:45 that my unit was done and the cost was 1,090.00.  Went there at about 2:00pm and sure enough my AU-D907X Decade was singing again!  Danny told me he had to replace some transistors in the pre-drive section.  He obviously has had a lot of experience repairing vintage Sansui gear.

Sayang I had to leave that same afternoon for an out of town appointment.  Won't be back 'til Saturday evening so I haven't really had a chance to test the unit longer than the few minutes I heard it playing at Fil-Audio.  But I have no doubt that Danny did a good job and he did it much faster than I expected.  Hmmm... I wonder if he reads this forum, or is even a member??  

So to all of you vintage Sansui (and maybe other brands?) owners out there, there are at least two of us PDVD members who have had recent, good experiences with Fil-Audio.  And if you add to that what Lord Foo has said, I guess this is one service center that knows what they're doing.

[dana]

Hi Mandrake ,

Congrats for having a newly revived Sansui gear.
I myself owns an AU-9500 (type na type ni mike...), also had to repair it myself (pinagtyagaan ko itrace ang problem...), same case, had to replace some leaky transistors in the pre-drive section...one chanel goes to cracking first and then muting after a few minutes of playback. Medyo hirap lan gawin because they are not that service friendly,dami pyesa, dangling/short wires...

Hope to hear your gears!

[mandrake]

Thanks Dana .  I wish I had even half of your technical skills.  Is your Sansui also an integrated amp?  Galing pier din ba 'yan?

Hopefully in the not so distant future pag ok na ang bahay namin pwede na mag-session.  Right now ayaw na ayaw ni commander mag-invite except for close relatives kasi magulo pa.  Kulang kasi sa budget para maayos lahat