The death of an amplifier

I hope this is not too far off the subject but I'm asking about solid state amps. I have currently sworn off tubes, but tomorrow's another day. Actually tomorrow is Sunday so I hope all of you will follow your relijus convictions and go to church.

they finally pass away when the owner fails to recessitate the unit. might be a lack of out of date replacement parts, or murder! i've had a 'must be that time' run of three amps that went to the dr. in the last six months! if ya like the amp, dont give up on it. kurt

Oh GAWD!

This is silly - pressure washers and religion and liquid and airy sound. Nonsense!!! Everybody knows that to preserve the life of a SS amp you must put a piece of fresh meat on top of it periodically. Use only beef, lamb, or pork. NO CHICKEN - not even if it is free range! It is time to change the meat when it a turns light shade of taupe. Do not leave the meat until it is green - that is just plain cheap.

For tube amps, place a bowl of cooked lima beans on top each week, and keep the beans hydrated. Smear uncooked duck fat on the face plate and sides of the amp. If you use 300B tubes (or are just looking for a little extra insurance) smear the uncooked duck fat on your chest and forehead and dance naked at sundown on your front lawn/porch/balcony/roof to further appease the audio gods.

Hope that helps.

Okay Nate, I will answer your question. If you do not kill the amp by shorting the speaker leads, running too-low impedances,(or pressure washing it), and it is left to its own demise, the capacitors will generally be the first thing to break down. Electrolytics typically are the first to go. Usually in the power supply section. Also generally, the hotter an amp runs, the faster it will cause the passive components to fail. We are talking about SS amps here, so I am not talking tube life or anything. Of course, any part could fail at any time, so there are no guarantees. But, the things I mentioned would be typical. The other common failure item is the on/off switch.