Soundstream Reference 500sx Repair

[sdiesel]

my Reference 500sx works, but not right. I am unable to adjust the gain when in mono mode. Mixed mono i can adjust, but not mono. The guy I took it to wants to replace the two small boards next to r29 and r92 as well as the mono switch. I've got a pic of said "boards" but think I need photobucket or something to upload it to this site.



http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...12/noflash.jpg

1. Does this sound right that all 3 should be replaced??
2. Where can I get parts from?

[1moreamp]

You can contact Jaime at jandrelectronix on ebay or at jandrelectronix@aol.com to possibly get those parts. He might also know weather or not it will solve your issue...hope this helps some...

[AKHeathen]

assuming your right channel will adjust with the gain pot while it is in stereo and mixed mono, then likely worst case, you would need to repair, or replace the smd inverter board. my money is on that switch, though. should be simple enough to test the continuity of the switch before throwing time and money at it. that switch ties the left channel to the right, with the inverter in the middle.

[Dr Zeus]

I second the switch. Although others have their technique; I personally prefer using a q-tip drop of WD-40 on defective switch. There may be better/cleaner methods of cleaning the switch (like taking it off the board, taking it apart, and risk losing parts) but WD40 I find has been very reliable. I have a Soundstream MC140x which had terrible switches and WD40 saved its life - now working for more than a year.

1. Spray WD40 in a cup or cap.
2. Soak a Q-Tip in the WD40.
3. Dribble/dab the Q-Tip in/on/arond the switch (Try to get WD40 inside the switch, but not anywhere else)
4. Rock the switch pack and forth about 20 times.
5. Wipe up any excess.

If you dont want to use WD40 you can try something like TV Volume control cleaner or electronics cleaner; the trick with WD40 works because WD40 has a slight ammount of continuity. I learned this trick when working with Dell Laptops which had ribbon-cable/keyboard incompatible metals. WD40 saved my company 10s of thousands in replacement laptop costs when Dell stopped waranteing our defective keyboards (Blamed it on abuse).

[Perry Babin]

The left channel amplifier is fed from the right channel preamp circuit when in mono mode. Can you adjust the level of both channels by using the right gain when in mono mode?

[sdiesel]

I'm going to try cleaning up those switches with WD-40. I got the amp back from my repair guy and noticed some areas that look burned. I purchased this amp refurbished back in the 1990s, so I'm not sure if this burned area has been there all along or if it's new and causing my current problem.

[Perry Babin]

Clean the area with acetone and cotton swabs or a toothbrush to remove the flux and anything else that shouldn't be there.

[sdiesel]

Emailed Jamie but no reply and I see he doesn't have any active listings on eBay. The left gain works , just never the right. I attempted the wd40 but maybe i need to get more in there....

[hollbrow]

I saturated mine with the wd40 and worked it back and forth then used a shop vac to suck it out of there. Did that several times and my switches are working good now.

[sdiesel]

Originally Posted by hollbrow

I saturated mine with the wd40 and worked it back and forth then used a shop vac to suck it out of there. Did that several times and my switches are working good now.

So you think its the switch that controls stereo/mixed mono/bridge that is making the right gain inoperable?