Help, Rammstein killed my sub!

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1101

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#2798077 20-Oct-2021 10:59

OJB:

accompanied by a rather nasty smell of overheated electronic components! Switched back on it gives the usual slight hum, but the power light doesn't come on, and it makes no sound. Where can it be repaired, or is it dead? I live in Dunedin. Thanks for any advice.

Yes its dead
Its a garbage design (or garbage components) if the amp blew that easily . (Ive build a few amps back many years ago)

You'll need someone experienced in amp repairs , not some local handyman or auto electrician
A guitar amp repairer or PA amp repairer would have the skills to repair it.
If its a Class-D amp , may be not be repairable (easily)

It may not be worth the cost of repairs . Wharfedale subs are often pretty cheap to buy on trademe

Handsomedan

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#2798087 20-Oct-2021 11:08

1101:

Wharfedale subs are often pretty cheap to buy on trademe

I remember the days (probably the 80's if I am honest) when they were very high quality and eye-wateringly expensive.

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Handsomedan

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#2798090 20-Oct-2021 11:11

Just a note of appreciation.

As a result of this thread, I am now in the process of destroying my headphones and eardrums with Rammstein.

Makes a nice change from clients droning on

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ShinyChrome

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#2798091 20-Oct-2021 11:12

I would also consider whether the cost of repair is justified vs. the value of the sub itself.

If it's something weak like a SW-150, you are probably better to just write it off and put your money towards a better sub, especially since you are clearly pushing it to the point of dying. And IMO, all of Wharfedale's subwoofer lineup I have seen seems to be there mainly to provide a "consumer friendly" match to the stuff that Wharfedale actually does good (floorstanding + bookshelf speakers).

If you do decide resurrection is justified, and the amp isn't salvageable, another option is to look at the likes of parts-express.com for a whole replacement plate amp. But even that could still end up spendy with shipping, taxes etc, not to mention the delay; so you would really want to have to save it vs. just buying another locally.

K8Toledo

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#2798325 20-Oct-2021 20:26

1101:

OJB:

accompanied by a rather nasty smell of overheated electronic components! Switched back on it gives the usual slight hum, but the power light doesn't come on, and it makes no sound. Where can it be repaired, or is it dead? I live in Dunedin. Thanks for any advice.

Yes its dead
Its a garbage design (or garbage components) if the amp blew that easily . (Ive build a few amps back many years ago)

You'll need someone experienced in amp repairs , not some local handyman or auto electrician
A guitar amp repairer or PA amp repairer would have the skills to repair it.
If its a Class-D amp , may be not be repairable (easily)

It may not be worth the cost of repairs . Wharfedale subs are often pretty cheap to buy on trademe

Completely untrue.

As mentioned earlier both my Pioneer VSX 5x100W amp and the LCD display in my car were fixed quite easily.

I found the burned out component (not hard) then identified it using a circuit diagram. The electrician ordered the part & replaced it.

All achievable by anyone with common sense and soldering skills.

TLD

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#2798353 20-Oct-2021 21:48

I can't help, but I can identify. I blew up my dad's speakers with Black Sabbath a full 50 years ago. If you know their first album, it was the first track (called 'Black Sabbath') and my brothers and I were so impressed we wanted to share it with the neighbours (in the next town) so we moved the speakers to the window, turned the volume to a Spinal Tap eleven and cued up that bit where Ozzie screams 'Ooooooh noooooooo...' Both tweeters were toast, and dad was not impressed.

A YouTube channel I have been enjoying since I started looking at Atmos receivers and speakers etc. is Audioholics. He is into that 'numbers never lie' approach and has many thousands of dollars invested in test equipment with which he can actually measure results and expose BS. I love that he reveals the myth about uber expensive speaker cables, and found one multi-thousand dollar cable actually caused distortion. He insists that a well made cable of big enough gauge to cause no resistance, will sound the same as the 'snake oil' crazy expensive cables.

Getting to the point, he says that modern equipment is so full of nanny circuits it's pretty much impossible to blow it up, although you might find that your 100W into two channels can be throttled back to as little as 20W if you use eco mode into 4ohms. He also says — very strongly — that you should never set your amp to 4ohm even if driving 4ohm speakers.

Trevor Dennis
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WolfmanNZ

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#2807554 4-Nov-2021 15:26

If a repair is out of the question and you decide to go all out for a replacement then I personally love the SVS range- you can get the SB-1000's for about a grand. I managed to be an SB-3000 for pretty cheap last year although at the time it was the last one on the country, it sounds amazing.

But if that's out of your budget then one thing I would advise against is a second hand Velodyne - they were great subs in their day but there is a fairly common issue with the boards inside them dying (I have a dead one sitting in my garage) once they get past 10-12 years old, and the original company is defunct so no parts etc. I only mention this as there always seem to be a lot of 2nd hand Velodynes of roughly the era of my old one on TM.

We went like this. he went like that. I say "Where'd he go?" Hollywood says "Where'd WHO go?!"