Question about old amps

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

If an older amp that is in mint condition sits for a long time unused in a box will the parts inside of it stay intact the same as a newer amp? Parts can be diodes, capacitors, mosfets, etc. Or even if the amp sits unused will the parts at some point start to go bad from being unused?

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[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Depending on the type of capacitors used some of them will go bad over time whether used or not. This was an issue with the original series of Phoenix Gold amps. The semi-conductor portions will essentially last forever.

 

[PPI_GUY 10+ year member]

Corrosion could also develop if the amp is stored in a humid environment such as a basement or garage that see's alot of moisture. The main victims of corrosion are gain pots and speaker/power connections.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Corrosion could also develop if the amp is stored in a humid environment such as a basement or garage that see's alot of moisture. The main victims of corrosion are gain pots and speaker/power connections.

Or a house in Louisiana.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

If the amp is unused and kept in a box under the bed, if or when I decided to use it could I consider it new andthe parts inside of it?

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

If its stored like you say, I would say you can expect at least 10-20 years storage life. Electrolytic capacitors leak fluids and eventually short out or go open circuit. They can be replaced, so its not an issue. Like Helotaxi said, if its a Phoenix Gold, you might have problems. The older ones had bad caps from the factory, as far as I know. Even if its NIB, they need to be replaced if its an old PG.

 

[Bassin Buick]

same goes for the powerclass PPI amps like in the team gates bronco. Excellent amps but the life span of the caps were not good.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

If its stored like you say, I would say you can expect at least 10-20 years storage life. Electrolytic capacitors leak fluids and eventually short out or go open circuit. They can be replaced, so its not an issue. Like Helotaxi said, if its a Phoenix Gold, you might have problems. The older ones had bad caps from the factory, as far as I know. Even if its NIB, they need to be replaced if its an old PG.

Not exactly "bad from the factory" but not the most long lived brand of cap, that's for sure. My Son of Frank has a couple bad caps that I'm aware of. I need to replace them all or just send it to PG with a check for a factory refurb. My 2240 will probably go along for the ride as well.

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

A friend from the shop told me today that they have a lot of brand new Crossfire amps from the late 1990's. He said over the years they were fine but now some of them work and some don't work.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

There was a case of industrial espionage in the late 90s early 2000s where one company stole the electrolytic capacitor formula from another and flooded the market with cheap caps. Only problem is that they didn't steal the complete formula and as a result, many electronic devices had bad capacitors straight from the factory. I don't know how many of those bootleg caps made it into car audio production, but I do remember a ton of computer motherboards dying an early death.