Any recommendations for a new, cheap 125W power amp? Parasound? B&K?, Rotel?

[jtgyn]

G'Day Tweek48,
I suggest removing the input coupling caps. This will remove any leakage due to them and the signal switching stuff on the inputs.

The amp of course will not work with an input.


I would strongly suggest that you use a cheap speaker to do this. 500mv is rather high for the dc level and could damage the speakers.

Firstly track down the noise problem then you can adjust the DC level and bias.

Before you replace all the caps, it is really good to find the offending part. (I find a small pleasure in taking it all out on that part)

BTW don't do this in bridge mode.

Regards Scott

[rbrooks7]

An easy way to test the caps to see which is the problem is to get out the blow dryer and heat them up one at a time. Any that make th problem better or worse should be replaced. Just take a marker and put a mark on the top of the can and go on to the rest. I've worked as a repair tech for a while and have used this method several times. It works better to heat the caps with a soldering iron, BUT MAKE SURE THE IRON AND AMP ARE ISOLATED WITH A TRANSFORMER.

As for a replacement amp, Rotel amps are well built and bullet proof, and the prices are good. Also, Crown makes their XLS series which start around $400.