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Sending a 110 lb amp to the manufacturer for cleaning/calibration. Good idea? How to ship?

Hi All,

So I reached out to Simaudio as my amp (Simaudio Moon Titan HT200 5 channel) is getting a bit long in the tooth. It performs truly flawlessly and is just beautiful and barely even gets warm after running all day long. I was just more curious than anything about lifespan, etc. Simaudio replied right away. They said all the units they'd manufactured since 2001 are still "active". However they did recommend sending it to them (if I could be without it for a few weeks) for "cleaning and calibration".  

Couple of things, I can't even go 1 day without this unit. But beyond that just the thought of packing this thing up and shipping literally makes me cringe. I'd certainly pay extra if there was some way to avoid UPS/FedEx or any other means like that. Any recommendations and have any of you ever done something like this?

Would appreciate any advice. Thanks all in advance...
kingbr
jsd52756's avatar
jsd52756
446 posts
 
I see in forums folks recommending replacing caps after XX amount of years.  I have a Krell FPB amp from around 2000.  It sounds perfect still to this day.  There are folks here that forgot more than I'll ever know about audio equipment.  But for the life of me, as several have mentioned prior, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Reason I mention this, is FedX scrapped my old KSA200s when Krell shipped it back to me.  I insured for $8k & FedX paid me $3250.  
That amp did need repair.  
The FPB300cx has been sitting in the same spot except for the yearly cleaning ever since it arrived.
I hope this helps with your decision.
-John

fac516819
2 posts
 
Sounds like you have a gem with great meaning to you. My advice is to drive it directly to where they service.  This is the only way you have control over it’s delivery.
Good Luck!
geof3
1,129 posts
 
Yeah, missed the “4 hour tour” part... I would definitely be making that drive vs shipping. Not even a question.
jb1
97 posts
 
By the time you pay for shipping both ways to find out no problem found or pay for a very expensive full capacitor replacement, you are better off stashing the money away for a new or used  amp replacement. The Mark Levinson guy said that because M/L used defective capacitors for years and the amps went into premature failure. I experienced 1of those failures, luckily, it was a known problem with the 300 series amps and they did a full replacement of all the caps which would have been $1000.00 or more. Luckily, I was in driving distance to their Middletown Ct facility so I saved the $200.00 shipping charge. 
dletch2
455 posts
 
Do you have any woodworking skills? I am not sure I would waste time on cardboard or just whip up a box with 2x4 and plywood, though with the price of wood these days, that may cost more than the amp.

https://www.packagingsupplies.com/collections/wood-shipping-crates
https://www.uline.com/BL_427/Standard-Wood-Crates


Don’t waste your time with regular packing foam or anything like that. Get expanding foam bags. They will conform exactly to the amp and box. Big amp like that, you will need 4 or 6 bags: https://www.amazon.com/EcoBox-Inches-Instapak-Temperature-2032-1/dp/B00KAFU2SK/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&...


Is it >4 hours each way? That is 16 hours total. 1000 miles. There is a very real cost for your vehicle usage, probably more than shipping.
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