Amp reapir

[Kickstand Premium Member]

So a member PM'd me asking for some help with his amp
He wanted to know if it could be repaired
I had him send me pics
I told him no it was a lost cause but I'm not a expert on the subject and just in case I'm wrong I wanted a judge's ruling on it.
I'm pretty sure that pile is what used to be a cap but I figured since there is a good section of board missing it was dead

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[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Is that Hiroshima?

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

Soundstream china amp not worth the cost in shipping and repair honestly.

 

[Kickstand Premium Member]

Reversed the polarity when hooking it up

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

It is very hard to see any details, but that looks like a pile of previously molten metal.

 

[Kickstand Premium Member]

If you notice the big section of the board with no print on it
I'm pretty sure that's what's left of it and whatever else was there
Looks like a pile of melted solder

 

[Deiimos]

Can the photos be made bigger? I did a lot of amp repair over the years but I really can't see anything in those pics.

 

[Bobbytwonames 5,000+ posts]

Chernobyl!

Is that Hiroshima?

Maybe Chernobyl!

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Soundstream china amp not worth the cost in shipping and repair honestly.

My thoughts as well. Even if it is repair-able (can't tell from the pictures) is it worth 80$ an hour bench time + parts + shipping 2 ways? Probably not.

 

[Deiimos]

While that is true, this is where you hopefully find somebody local to repair that does stuff cheap, sometimes people do. I use to repair amps for a little above parts cost, meaning I profited maybe $20 and the rest was parts. Yeah not worth it for me, and even then people still cried about the price, lol, but still you might be able to find somebody. I remember repairing an amp for a relatives friend, and he cried that it cost $20 total, which was like 6 or 8 power supply mosfets, gate resistors, and maybe drivers, he would only give my cousin $10 for the repair saying he didn't give the go ahead for repair (I wasn't there for the deal, just helping out, figured $20 was dirt cheap / just parts cost).

Shipping will kill you if you have to ship these days, not worth it unless it is an amp that has value even after repair, or it is sentimental. The best bet with amps that are not all that valuable is to sell them non working to someone that can repair themselves and use that money on a new amp. I use to buy blown amps if they were cheap enough, but often people want crazy prices which you can't make any money after parts cost.