So, I know we're all a bit obsessive about amps, but I promise that sniffing my amplifiers isn't a regular thing.
Unless I've just finished a nice new timber faceplate.
Or' I'm powering up for the first time, and waiting paranoically for that scent of overstressed capacitors.
Or I'm getting wafts of solder smoke whilst I build something...
AAAaaaannnyway, I recently bought a second hand, DIY, solid state power amp, sight unseen, and relatively old I'd say. I popped the top off when I got it, opened it up, and smelt ... chocolate cake mix?
After sitting down and assuming I was about to have a stroke ("what's that smell? Oh I know, it's an aneurysm!') I got to wondering what older caps smell like. The caps on this thing are whoppers - 100V and 38000uF. Thats roughly a 500ml can of ...stuff, slowly outgassing over time, and where I assume this smell is coming from. Either that or there was a baking incident in this amps previous life...
So. What does your amp's innards smell like?
Unless I've just finished a nice new timber faceplate.
Or' I'm powering up for the first time, and waiting paranoically for that scent of overstressed capacitors.
Or I'm getting wafts of solder smoke whilst I build something...
AAAaaaannnyway, I recently bought a second hand, DIY, solid state power amp, sight unseen, and relatively old I'd say. I popped the top off when I got it, opened it up, and smelt ... chocolate cake mix?
After sitting down and assuming I was about to have a stroke ("what's that smell? Oh I know, it's an aneurysm!') I got to wondering what older caps smell like. The caps on this thing are whoppers - 100V and 38000uF. Thats roughly a 500ml can of ...stuff, slowly outgassing over time, and where I assume this smell is coming from. Either that or there was a baking incident in this amps previous life...
So. What does your amp's innards smell like?
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My "PL 400" amplifier smells like dried blood. Probably because it cut me and I bled all over the interior of it, A LARGE QUANTITY OF BLOOD, before realizing what had happened. Extrapolating from that experience of mine, including the "where" and the "why", I bet there are several PL 400 amplifiers that smell like Bob Carver's dried blood. Of course this is only a guess.
Thank you for asking
Thank you for asking
You have missed the two obvious responses for us tube amp builders, and a common one for SS guys, but two of them could be covered by the catch all "magic smoke."
#1) The aroma of carbon composition resistors roasting at a slightly elevated power level.......Allen Bradley 1965, that was a delightful smelling year.......
#2) The smell of a 50 year old vacuum tube being lit for the first time. It's a mixture of heated dust and dirt, with the remnants of the glue in the base, and maybe some lightly toasted Bakelite depending on how hard you crank it.
#3) The aroma of plastic burning as the magic smoke is escaping from that LM1876.....
#1) The aroma of carbon composition resistors roasting at a slightly elevated power level.......Allen Bradley 1965, that was a delightful smelling year.......
#2) The smell of a 50 year old vacuum tube being lit for the first time. It's a mixture of heated dust and dirt, with the remnants of the glue in the base, and maybe some lightly toasted Bakelite depending on how hard you crank it.
#3) The aroma of plastic burning as the magic smoke is escaping from that LM1876.....
There was a period when electronics stopped stinking, then it started getting sprayed with brominated flame retardants, and frequently Way too much. I had a Sony LCD TV that stunk half the house up for two years.
The old Marantz receivers and the like tended to smell like musty old socks inside. The ones that fall behind the washing machine, evading cleaning and rediscovered a decade later.
Probably because they came from storage units.
Also probably because the previous owners smelled like old socks. I wouldn’t discount the relevance of previous owner general hygiene.
Probably because they came from storage units.
Also probably because the previous owners smelled like old socks. I wouldn’t discount the relevance of previous owner general hygiene.
they usually smell like new electrical appliances, but I remember one of my amps under test that was playing some light music and oscillated in the driver stage and some resistor and adjoining parts blew with bluish yellow flame. Quickly enough, I switched off the mains supply.
but the ensuing smell was the most horrendous smell and it took nearly an hour of open widows and cross ventilation to make it go away from the room.
when i reworked on the pcb, the odour seemed to stick to my fingers and took a lot soap to vanish.
cant describe it as odour of charred remains of a cockroach, as i never smelled one, but i selected that option in the poll anyway to simply highlight it as the most unpleasant odour.
but the ensuing smell was the most horrendous smell and it took nearly an hour of open widows and cross ventilation to make it go away from the room.
when i reworked on the pcb, the odour seemed to stick to my fingers and took a lot soap to vanish.
cant describe it as odour of charred remains of a cockroach, as i never smelled one, but i selected that option in the poll anyway to simply highlight it as the most unpleasant odour.
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Smells like WD40
My PA03 Gainclone used to smell like WD40 when playing louder.
This is because when I was tapping the holes in the heatsink the only oils I had on hand were olive oil, massage oil and WD40. WD40 seemed the best suited option - and was in closest proximity to the action.
By now, the smell has worn off.
My PA03 Gainclone used to smell like WD40
when playing louder.This is because when I was tapping the holes in the heatsink the only oils I had on hand were olive oil, massage oil and WD40. WD40 seemed the best suited option - and was in closest proximity to the action.
By now, the smell has worn off.
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