circuit board smelling like toxic waste

[PreSapian]

I have an Onkyo A919- circa 1992. so it's not exactly a vintage. It's a mosfet/bjt hybrid amp and the tubiest SS sound I've ever come across. It also smells like burning styrofoam. From sticking my nose to the components, I'm certain that it's coming from the circuit boards. I already had one bad experience with a vintage Sansui au-D907 that was stinking from the circuit boards due to it's age. (phenolic boards smelling like roses... and ***) But to have the same symptom from an amp that's only 8 years old is a surprise to me. Is my situation unusual? Could this 100V only amp being operated on 115V stepdown by the previous owner have accelerated the degradation of the pcbs? and what exactly do you think is contributing to this burnt styrofoam/industrial solvent-like smell?

[poynton]

I had an amp which smelled like a cat had cr@pped inside.
So perhaps it's not so uncommon.


Andy


.

[jmmartins]

I have a sansui AU-D11 that is the best amplifier that I ever heard and I heard lot´s of them, including some very expensive ones like Krell etc. Nothing compares to that sound. And nothing compares to the smell coming from those PCB’s. I tried everything: Sun exposure, cleaning products … nothing works. I had to take it out of home. I’m thinking of taking out the phono PCB’s, wich i don't use, and making some PCB cloning of the amp and power source and transferring the parts to new PCB’s. I refuse to let it go.

[ramiro77]

Originally Posted by PreSapian

I have an Onkyo A919- circa 1992. so it's not exactly a vintage. It's a mosfet/bjt hybrid amp and the tubiest SS sound I've ever come across. It also smells like burning styrofoam. From sticking my nose to the components, I'm certain that it's coming from the circuit boards. I already had one bad experience with a vintage Sansui au-D907 that was stinking from the circuit boards due to it's age. (phenolic boards smelling like roses... and ***) But to have the same symptom from an amp that's only 8 years old is a surprise to me. Is my situation unusual? Could this 100V only amp being operated on 115V stepdown by the previous owner have accelerated the degradation of the pcbs? and what exactly do you think is contributing to this burnt styrofoam/industrial solvent-like smell?

I have a Sansui A80 and I never had a problem like yours. Have you tried to clean it? Perhaps there is hidden dirt that is heated by the use of the amplifier

[chlorofille]

A little spray of Chanel No.5 should do the trick :P

[PreSapian]

Originally Posted by jmmartins

I have a sansui AU-D11 that is the best amplifier that I ever heard and I heard lot´s of them, including some very expensive ones like Krell etc. Nothing compares to that sound. And nothing compares to the smell coming from those PCB’s. I tried everything: Sun exposure, cleaning products … nothing works. I had to take it out of home. I’m thinking of taking out the phono PCB’s, wich i don't use, and making some PCB cloning of the amp and power source and transferring the parts to new PCB’s. I refuse to let it go.

I know what you mean. my sansui AU-D907Limited was ungodly when I had it hooked up. I auditioned some high end exotics during that period and nothing impressed me, not even the flagship macintosh. but according to the vintage fanatics at audiokarma, sansui's later alpha models should sound even better than their vintage ancestors, although their build quality might suggest otherwise.

[jmmartins]

Originally Posted by chlorofille

A little spray of Chanel No.5 should do the trick :P

Yep … although Chanel nº 5 is way better in a more fleshy, soft “amplifier” …