Dead Ultra Sub 12 - Ideas?

[siggie]

Hi,

My much loved Ultra Sub 12 is having trouble. It blew the fuse under the power cable slot and blew two more when I tried to replace it. Any ideas as to the cause and whether it might be repairable (by me--I know Emotiva does not support these)?

If the amp is finito, I would appreciate suggestions for an alternative amplifier. I'm open to plates or external sub amplifiers or a pro digital amplifier or even making a box for a plate amp to use it externally. However, I don't want to invest more than $250, and I am skeptical of Parts Express amplifiers (everything I've purchased from there has died, although, admittedly, I've never bought anything expensive there). Beyond $250, and I'm inclined to invest in a new sub.

I'm using it with a Sherbourn SR-120 with room correction.

Some questions in my mind include whether I need phase control or a built in crossover, how many ohms the driver is, and minimum and maximum number of watts needed.

Thanks,

siggie

[stads77]

I would think the bash 300 or Dayton SPA 250/500 would be a okay match. Obviously Emotiva tailor made its amps for the enclosure and sub, so you may lose some performance, but those would be my starting spots.

[DYohn]

You stated "Emotiva does not support these." Did you contact them?

[siggie]

Dec 24, 2018 13:58:15 GMT -5 DYohn said:

You stated "Emotiva does not support these." Did you contact them?

I didn't contact them, but there are several posts about how the amp manufacturer will not provide parts or schematics to Emo and Emo could not repair them even under warranty.

siggie

[DYohn]

Dec 24, 2018 14:19:51 GMT -5 siggie said:

Dec 24, 2018 13:58:15 GMT -5 DYohn said:

You stated "Emotiva does not support these." Did you contact them?

I didn't contact them, but there are several posts about how the amp manufacturer will not provide parts or schematics to Emo and Emo could not repair them even under warranty.

siggie

Sure. If I was you I'd try Emotiva first. Who knows, they may offer you a new amp for less than the PE price and it will FIT.

[3labman]

I had an amp from an Ultra 10 repaired by Emotiva a few years ago that was out of warranty. I would contact them before making any other decisions.

[siggie]

I’ll try calling them. Thanks, guys.

siggie

[leonski]

Agreed:
Contacting seller is best idea.
Unless you are feeling REAL handy in a DIY sort of way.

Any soldering and troubleshooting skills?

Later:   I added:

Can you SMELL anything around sub or amp?    Kind of a burned smell?    That's gonna be a trace on the circuit board AND a couple parts.
That's gonna be a PIA to fix.   

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES replace the original fuse with a higher value or Slo-Blo if not so equipped from the factory.    It's a trick.  

You need to find the PRIME MANUFACTURER and see if you can pry a schematic / parts list or OTHER documentation out of their hot little hands.

And let that be a LESSON TO YOU.   Real companies support what they've made.   Other companies rely on the 'Churn' of 'new' and 'better' while leaving
a trail of broken and less than repairable stuff.     Or locking down the repair chain, too, like maybe BOSE, which has an awful reputation for being NOT FORTHCOMING
with only minimal technical information.   

[siggie]

Dec 31, 2018 13:08:43 GMT -5 leonski said:

Agreed:
Contacting seller is best idea.
Unless you are feeling REAL handy in a DIY sort of way.

Any soldering and troubleshooting skills?

Later:   I added:

Can you SMELL anything around sub or amp?    Kind of a burned smell?    That's gonna be a trace on the circuit board AND a couple parts.
That's gonna be a PIA to fix.   

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES replace the original fuse with a higher value or Slo-Blo if not so equipped from the factory.    It's a trick.  

You need to find the PRIME MANUFACTURER and see if you can pry a schematic / parts list or OTHER documentation out of their hot little hands.

And let that be a LESSON TO YOU.   Real companies support what they've made.   Other companies rely on the 'Churn' of 'new' and 'better' while leaving
a trail of broken and less than repairable stuff.     Or locking down the repair chain, too, like maybe BOSE, which has an awful reputation for being NOT FORTHCOMING
with only minimal technical information.   

Here's the rest of the story:

I called Emotiva and described the problem (immediately blowing the fuse under the power cable connection). He said they do not have a solution for my problem and suggested that I get a replacement plate amp from Parts Express, which would require some alteration to the cabinet--either a bigger cutout or sealing the cutout and attaching the amp on the outside. Everything I've ever purchased from Parts Express has died, so I don't feel like making that investment--around $125--in an amp that will probably last a year or two.

I pulled the amp out and did not see or smell anything that struck me as unusual. A friend who is an all-around pro audio guru pulled the board off the plate, went through it, and corrected the two areas that appeared might be the source of a short, but the amp still blew the fuse. He said it is probably one of the components on the board, so you'd have to test each one until you found the problem. That was not something he had time to do while passing through town or something that I'd ask him to do. (For any guitar gearheads here, you can see some of my friend's work at 49:10 of this Rig Rundown: )

With the 15% eBay code teaman posted, I ordered a Monoprice Monolith 10" subwoofer.

I posted the dead sub on Craigslist for $100. If I don't get any takers, I may hang onto it and keep my eye out for a deal on an external amp. My friend suggested a Crown Macro Tech or Micro Tech.

siggie

[teaman]

Dec 31, 2018 19:18:45 GMT -5 siggie said:

Dec 31, 2018 13:08:43 GMT -5 leonski said:

Agreed:
Contacting seller is best idea.
Unless you are feeling REAL handy in a DIY sort of way.

Any soldering and troubleshooting skills?

Later:   I added:

Can you SMELL anything around sub or amp?    Kind of a burned smell?    That's gonna be a trace on the circuit board AND a couple parts.
That's gonna be a PIA to fix.   

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES replace the original fuse with a higher value or Slo-Blo if not so equipped from the factory.    It's a trick.  

You need to find the PRIME MANUFACTURER and see if you can pry a schematic / parts list or OTHER documentation out of their hot little hands.

And let that be a LESSON TO YOU.   Real companies support what they've made.   Other companies rely on the 'Churn' of 'new' and 'better' while leaving
a trail of broken and less than repairable stuff.     Or locking down the repair chain, too, like maybe BOSE, which has an awful reputation for being NOT FORTHCOMING
with only minimal technical information.   

Here's the rest of the story:

I called Emotiva and described the problem (immediately blowing the fuse under the power cable connection). He said they do not have a solution for my problem and suggested that I get a replacement plate amp from Parts Express, which would require some alteration to the cabinet--either a bigger cutout or sealing the cutout and attaching the amp on the outside. Everything I've ever purchased from Parts Express has died, so I don't feel like making that investment--around $125--in an amp that will probably last a year or two.

I pulled the amp out and did not see or smell anything that struck me as unusual. A friend who is an all-around pro audio guru pulled the board off the plate, went through it, and corrected the two areas that appeared might be the source of a short, but the amp still blew the fuse. He said it is probably one of the components on the board, so you'd have to test each one until you found the problem. That was not something he had time to do while passing through town or something that I'd ask him to do. (For any guitar gearheads here, you can see some of my friend's work at 49:10 of this Rig Rundown: )

With the 15% eBay code teaman posted, I ordered a Monoprice Monolith 10" subwoofer.

I posted the dead sub on Craigslist for $100. If I don't get any takers, I may hang onto it and keep my eye out for a deal on an external amp. My friend suggested a Crown Macro Tech or Micro Tech.

siggie

I look forward to your thoughts on the new Monolith once you get it set up. Glad my post helped you save a few bucks!


Tim

[leonski]

One other possible solution to the 'fix'.

Take amp to a tech. Get some kind of estimate. Have a 'not to exceed' price in your head.

Usual deal is for cost of estimate to be forgiven IF you continue with tix.

Maybe 2 hours labor plus parts? Something along those lines.


Yet another potential solution? MINIDSP as crossover. Fed from a full range pre-out. TO an amp, as suggested, than speaker.

[localnet]

It is probably a .10 diode or something along that line. I would find a computer repair or audio repair shop and send it to them for a quick diagnoses. I found these guys, if you like the sub it may be worth the expense. www.approvedaudioservice.com

[siggie]

Jan 16, 2019 13:17:51 GMT -5 localnet said:

It is probably a .10 diode or something along that line. I would find a computer repair or audio repair shop and send it to them for a quick diagnoses. I found these guys, if you like the sub it may be worth the expense. www.approvedaudioservice.com

Thanks!

[leonski]

One other minor factor.
How OLD is the sub? I know that a tech who fixed it might be leery of working on an old piece. Other weak points may exist and other failures occur.

If it's indeed fairly old, than fixed, and THAN breaks again?

Other than a circuit board, all parts should be available.

What's a .10 diode?    Did you mean price?   Like 0.10$ or such?      Yes, diodes are commodity cheap.

[nvr4d]

The common way to diagnose failing circuit is to power it on with a 100W incandescent bulb in series. This way it won't blow a fuse and you'll be able to switch it on for couple seconds to see which components get hot on the PCB.
But as it involves tinkering with a line-level voltage, I'd advise against it. I had my share of =160V while repairing UMC-200 PSU and it wasn't pleasant in the slightest.

[leonski]

Getting Zapped is ALWAYS a PIA.

I was working on a machine once (semiconductor processing) and got a small shock which caused a twitch which gave me a Cut about 3" long on my left hand.
A deep scratch, is more like it.

Buddy dropped a 1/2" end wrench while working on another machine, this one QUITE high current with transformers the size of an end table.
Wrench, as fate would have it, dropped across a pair of terminals......the wrench 'fused' and mostly disappeared.

We were working on an IMPLANTER once, troubleshooting an extraction PS problem.   this ran @20,000v but fairly low current.    ALL safeties were defeated,
from door interlocks to the 'chicken stick' which ordinarily provided a goof-proof grounding.     We were all set up to read the meter (with high voltage probe)
from a safe distance.    Circuit was energized and the METER (a nice Beckman) was struck by lighting....never to be the same again!   nobody hurt.

Another buddy was working on some RF circuitry.   It was 'on' and energized while he was taking some readings.     Person came by and DROPPED their Stainless
Steel Tweezers INTO and ON TOP of the circuit board.    Than reached in and plucked them out.    NOTHING HAPPENED.     My buddy shut the whole thing down,
and took a  45" break to settle down.    Close Call?   How about a 1000:1 shot?   

Or the idiot working on the same implanter as above, was doing some rewiring.   And managed to REVERSE GROUND AND NEUTRAL on several internal extension
cords.    Imagine the technicians surprise when the WHOLE CHASSIS was now at 120volts.   Surprise!   

I've got MORE of this kind of stuff, accumulated over maybe 30 years working in the semiconductor field.     

And this was by people who Theoretically Had Training.      

OH! one other thing:   When the plant had a new service installed of higher capacity, they couldn't get the new main breaker to latch.    Seems a Ground Fault feature
prevented the circuit from closing.   This was one HUGE breaker.     They had to DEFEAT the GFI feature to get it to work..... THAT'S how many electrical goofs were 
in that building.