Amp Problem (1 Viewer)

[StephenRabinowitz]

I have a B&K AV5000 series 2. Two years ago it blew out a Monitor Silver Series Speaker at the L/R channel. B&K replaced the amp board on it as it also fried itself. Since then I only use it occassionally & has blown out 2 more speakers in the left rear channel. They were an Energy Take 2 & an Optimus speaker. The optimus I dumped but the Energy was repaired by Energy & told me the xover was burnt & the woofer blown. I don't play it loud at all, it is connected to a B&K Ref 20. I had an authorized by B&K (Sound Advice) service check the amp out, they found nothing wrong & within specs. I hate to go thru the expense of sending it to B&K again to be told nothing wrong. Any ideas on why this amp is doing this. Otherwise it goes in the closet or hopefully sold. No more B&K for me, I had their receiver which was falling apart new, traded it in for the ref 20 & amp but my original was NG so the store sent it to B&K & they sent me a replacement. But any ideas on the amp.

 

[Arthur S]

Stephen

B&K seems to be one of those companies that make more than there share of lemons. If you get a good one, it will probably work well for a long time. If you get a bad one, well you know.

So far you have had:

1) a bad B&K receiver

2) a bad B&K Ref 20

3) a bad B&K AV5000

4) a good B&K Ref 20


One out of 4 is not a good batting average.

Very hard to say what is happening with your 5000. Perhaps one of the electrical engineers on the forum would care to speculate.

Regardless of the reason, it seems that you are doing nothing wrong and the piece has an ongoing problem. If I were in your shoes I would be torn between selling it and then worrying about the buyer having problems and trying to get his money back, and keeping it or trading it in.

Putting an expensive piece in the closet is not very appealing. Is trading it in a possibility? Would you have to trade it for another B&K product?

I was just thinking that if they wanted to, audio companies could design their electronics with a phone jack or ethernet port and they could run diagnostics from their location right to your home. I don't think this is going to materialize any time soon if ever. Besides, B&K has already said your amp meets spec.

Since you are not inclined to use the 5000, perhaps the best move would be to advertise it on ebay with a disclaimer. I've seen stuff on ebay that includes such language, and it seems to me that at the right price, someone will take a chance. So you could get something for it without worrying about what the buyer experiences.

Last, I remember your posts from quite a while back about your problems with B&K. Sorry to hear they haven't ended yet.

Artie

 

[StephenRabinowitz]

The receiver I traded in for the Ref 20 & AV5000. The Ref 20 was bad from the start & was replaced by the dealer. Other equipment I have is Cinepro 2k5ll, ATI 1505, Sony 9000 amps, pre amps Parasound 2500, Sony 9000. Speakers Platinum (out of business, great speaker) Klipsch 20 & Monitor Silver. The B&K sounds the worse of them all, kind of flat. B&K is over priced & underbuilt.

 

[Yogi]

Other equipment I have is Cinepro 2k5ll, ATI 1505, Sony 9000 amps, pre amps Parasound 2500, Sony 9000. Speakers Platinum (out of business, great speaker) Klipsch 20 & Monitor Silver. The B&K sounds the worse of them all, kind of flat. B&K is over priced & underbuilt

Don't mean to disagree with your experiences (I would be bummed if I were in your place too), but I found the exact opposite. Out of all the choices you mentioned the B&K amps I have listened to were most musical and very well built although a little expensive compared to Parasound or Rotel. But then labor rates aren't exactly the same in the US and China.