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Counterpoint SA20

Hey all happy new year ..

I just pick up this beautiful amp this was at a estate sale was only able to plug it in to see if it power up and it did ... So now I buy the unit get it home open the box power it up for about a Half hour or so before I connect anything to it ..

I also had the lid off to take a peak in side all look look .

Now I set my self up connect everything and power it up . I was so please with the sound I was very happy .. so for the first hour it all went well then here is were it went south .. I notice that the right was sounding a bit weak and then the pop and the smoke and no sound I power off look inside the right side went ,,,

Well here is were I ask for help . I know that it can be repair by a few repair place on line .

My big question is who should I use have any one use or had any issue with some of the repairs and experience with some of the repair places .

I would like to repair it or should I sell it with one channel down .

Has anyone had this issues with the Counterpoint ... .

Any help and answer would be nice and thanks to all for the help ...

Be well and Have a Happy New Year ..
jackandcoke
johnsonwu
469 posts
 
If an altavista rebuild is beyond budget then a repair using Exicons or Toshiba 2SJ201 2SK1530 should not be that expensive. Other than some tricky procedure with replacing the relays the swap should be pretty easy on an SA20 (not the 220).
A tranny going south would likely mean someone trying power on the unit many times after the mosfet failure and tripping the fuses many times... otherwise my experience tells me the tranny is pretty robust.
usblues
1,217 posts
 
I have had a half dozen dealings with Michael and he is a stand-up guy.Just be ready with the checkbook and you will come out fine.Fortunately he tells you upfront what costs will be.Thats all one can ask for,cheers,Bob
bigkidz
3,392 posts
 
J is correct when he states - I know how to repair these things but based on my experience with SA100, SA220, NP100, and NP220 your best bet is to get a basic rebuild from Mike and add an upgraded Hammond 158L choke. He got me started and then I have gone on from there. The "newer" version of these amps that eliminates the 6DJ8/6922 is what I prefer. Get the basic version and upgrade yourself. Plenty of help from the guys responding here. The only change I would recommend is the Hammond 185L choke. I will be making a custom choke for the amp by mid-year. I swapped out the Hammond for an oil choke and the amp changed dramatically. Also a simple change like the filament resistor worked wonders as AC is different in many places.

As far as the sound, simple changes can take you in a few directions. Overall I have compared it to so many amps and the Counterpoint is one that I will never sell. It is very open sounding, lots of air, very musical sounding, transparent, and it gets the piano correct!

Happy Listening.

Also if you are located in the NYC area let me know as I can help you out.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
No personal experience with Counterpoint products, their reputation for unreliability scared me off many moons ago.
sksos1
388 posts
 
It has been the only tube amp that Ive owned (SA220) that blew up in front of me, that light show was an expeience that one would never forget and hope never to see again!
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