2. amps-preamps
  3. 1353731391

Nakamichi PA-7 Stasis Hum

My dad was very much into his stereo, and put together a nice Nakamichi system with KEF 107 speakers. He passed away in 2001, and the stereo doesn't see much use anymore, but for Christmas, or whenever my mom wants to watch a movie on the big screen. Unfortunately, the PA-7 has developed a very loud and annoying hum, and the left channel "warning light" lights up as soon as the amp is powered up. My first thought was that amp was always more than those speakers could handle (couldn't turn the volume up more than half way without those warning lights starting to flash), so why not just replace it with a less expensive one? After reading a bit on what it takes to properly supply those speakers with power, I'm now leaning towards getting the PA-7 repaired, but I don't know a thing about it, really. Is it worth it to get the PA-7 repaired, or could the same money be better spent investing towards another power amp? Keep in mind I don't have a lot of cash, and expensive stereos aren't the most important thing to me or my mother. I understand that's not the case with you folks, and I respect that, I'm just asking for you to keep it in mind when offering suggestions to us.
Thanks for your time,
Matt
emjaysea
metralla
945 posts
 
I think you should get it repaired. It's likely something simple and you will get many more years of use out of it when it returns. The challenge will be finding someone to do the work for a reasonable fee.

Regards,
slikric3000
638 posts
 
Try a line conditioner, mine will hum in this crappy apartment
wolf_garcia
6,696 posts
 
And now back to the real world: Getting an older high current amp repaired can be a really bad use of funds when a newer (working) amp could be found for possibly less money, if money (or lack of it) is an issue. If the amp problem is "something simple" (what you've described sounds like anything but) you still could have a time bomb of leaky caps and whatever else can plague an older amp ready to fail. I'm not into wasting things, and maybe you could sell the Nak "as is" and put those likely small funds into one of thousands of newer amps, but a "reasonable fee" repair is often a fantasy.
mechans
3,048 posts
 
It is a very good amp with a cultish following given that the design is attributed to Nelson Pass. So for an "audiophile" it is worth resuing. But as Wolf points out that is not the case here. The problem will be in matching the quality of the sound you had with the Stasis with an inexpensive new amp. There are some of course but you will have to specify a budget. A $500 amp is not expensive in these forums but might be twice what you want to pay.
BTW with $500 you might be able to repair and recap the amp you have now, but I wouldn't have anyway of knowing that for sure.
emjaysea OP
6 posts
 
Thanks guys. I'd say $500 would be the upper end of what we'd be willing to spend. I've also contacted the store the system was bought at (30 years ago now), just to see what their take on it is.
Appreciate the insight.
Matt
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