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Post by jagman on Dec 31, 2021 18:30:11 GMT -5
I have three Gen 2 XPA-5 amps. One of them has the quickly flashing amber E light in the front button and is non-responsive. I've tried doing a hard power reset but that hasn't made a difference. I suspect there is an internal fault... or worse. My understanding is that it could be a blown fuse, possibly a capacitor gone bad or something more significant.
I'd like to at least try the basics before shipping it off to Emotiva. I get that their service is $300 and includes a full refresh of the amp and return shipping so if needed I'll gladly do it. At the same time, maybe I'll get lucky and it's something simple.
Have any of you had to deal with this? Any advice on checking the fuses?
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Post by DavidR on Dec 31, 2021 20:55:15 GMT -5
I have three Gen 2 XPA-5 amps.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Any advice on checking the fuses? Yes Unplug the unit first but do check the fuse. The Owners Manual should have its location.
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230 
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Post by novisnick on Dec 31, 2021 21:57:23 GMT -5
jagman Have you tried unplugging all the speakers and then powering up? There may be a fault with one of the speakers, I’ve had this happen out of nowhere.
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Post by jagman on Dec 31, 2021 22:41:33 GMT -5
jagman Have you tried unplugging all the speakers and then powering up? There may be a fault with one of the speakers, I’ve had this happen out of nowhere. I have not. Great idea! Thank you 👍 |
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Post by leonski on Jan 1, 2022 17:46:04 GMT -5
IMO?
Make certain that IF you go with the 300$ 'EMO FIX' that should ANY of the large PS caps need replacing they ALL get replaced.
Nothing worse than 'churing' for a fix where you replace the obvously 'bad' part than do the same again in 6 months.......
Same goes for output devices. 1 bad? Replace them ALL.
Get this straight in advance.
Also? See if EMO will part with a Schematic....It is possible for YOU to get an Ala Carte fix if you have a good, local tech. If he charges for a diagnosis?
Such fees will ususally be waived IF you go ahead with the fix.....Again? Find out IN ADVANCE.....But get that Schematic, FIRST.
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Post by leonski on Jan 8, 2022 23:59:48 GMT -5
How'd this work out? Unplug speakers help? Nothing worse than a SINGLE wire strand you can't even SEE....haning across a pair of terminals.
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Post by jagman on Feb 25, 2022 0:58:49 GMT -5
How'd this work out? Unplug speakers help? Nothing worse than a SINGLE wire strand you can't even SEE....haning across a pair of terminals. So randomly it started working again and it did until yesterday. Now it's back to the rapidly blinking (really more like fluttering) amber light. I unplugged all connected wiring including the power cable. I let it sit for a while, then reconnected the power cable but the flickering amber light resumed as soon as the power switch was toggled on. I don't know why it worked for a while, then stopped working again. I did not touch any of the wiring until tonight, and the cabinet is tucked away so nobody else touched the wiring. I mean it's possible a mouse could have chewed the speaker cables in the attic, but wouldn't the fault go away as soon as speaker cable was unplugged? |
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Post by 405x5 on Feb 25, 2022 12:05:40 GMT -5
I have three Gen 2 XPA-5 amps. One of them has the quickly flashing amber E light in the front button and is non-responsive. I've tried doing a hard power reset but that hasn't made a difference. I suspect there is an internal fault... or worse. My understanding is that it could be a blown fuse, possibly a capacitor gone bad or something more significant. I'd like to at least try the basics before shipping it off to Emotiva. I get that their service is $300 and includes a full refresh of the amp and return shipping so if needed I'll gladly do it. At the same time, maybe I'll get lucky and it's something simple. Have any of you had to deal with this? Any advice on checking the fuses? Did you test it driving one of the other 2 working loads? |
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Post by leonski on Feb 25, 2022 16:04:45 GMT -5
Something that comes and goes? Either a weak component....a transistor on the edge of failure, for example, or a BAD solder joint....a so-called 'cold solder'.
I see more of this these days since they stopped using real solder and went to ROHS compliant stuff which is more 'brittle' but also theoretically more enviromentally friendly.
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Post by jagman on Feb 25, 2022 19:53:29 GMT -5
Something that comes and goes? Either a weak component....a transistor on the edge of failure, for example, or a BAD solder joint....a so-called 'cold solder'. I see more of this these days since they stopped using real solder and went to ROHS compliant stuff which is more 'brittle' but also theoretically more enviromentally friendly. So this seems likely something internal to the amp. Does it make it less likely to be caused by a faulty external cord? |
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Post by jagman on Feb 25, 2022 19:57:46 GMT -5
I am exchanging emails with Emotiva 👍
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Post by leonski on Feb 25, 2022 20:00:34 GMT -5
I am exchanging emails with Emotiva 👍 Unless this is a very frequent issue, they'll just use an educated guess.....and STILL want to have the amp for test / diagnosis. I still must ask If they'll part with a schematic.....and if so? Do YOU have a competent tech willing to take on this project. Another issue? EMO probably won't sell you any parts.....But the good news is the amp probably (overwhelming) has NO proprietary parts..... |
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Post by jagman on Feb 25, 2022 20:43:40 GMT -5
I am exchanging emails with Emotiva 👍 Unless this is a very frequent issue, they'll just use an educated guess.....and STILL want to have the amp for test / diagnosis. I still must ask If they'll part with a schematic.....and if so? Do YOU have a competent tech willing to take on this project. Another issue? EMO probably won't sell you any parts.....But the good news is the amp probably (overwhelming) has NO proprietary parts..... I do not know of a person near me who can fix an amp, let alone know of one who is or isn't any good at it. I can confidently say I'm not skeptical of Emos ability to fix it properly. I've read that they are willing to provide schematics, but I haven't asked them for it. Right now I just want to work through the simple things first, but it's late on a Friday and I'm still at work so I'm not expecting anything until next week. |
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Post by leonski on Feb 25, 2022 23:26:41 GMT -5
Good idea to be patient. No question that this won't be settled in a single call.....
Still and all? Are you anywhere near a city of 1/2 million or more? Any such city will have a good tech. The US has 40 such cities, scattered about.
To find such a person? Get in touch with the local 'Audio Society'. Even the backwater town I live near, SanDiego, has such a group and
they can make recommendations.
If you go with the EMO fix? Make certain that a few things are done. If a PS capacitor is bad? Change 'em ALL. Likewise with output devices.
The DOWNSIDE of the EMO fix is SHIPPING. A crapshoot in this day and age.
You do NOT want to suffer 'The Death Of 1000 Cuts'.......
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Post by jagman on Mar 14, 2022 16:03:31 GMT -5
Reached out to two local shops. Both require a certain amount down that will be used toward the repair.
The first said 4 month backlog of repairs before they can even look at it.
The second said had the following reply to an email I sent with loads of questions...
"Our shop minimum is $110, payable at the time the unit is brought in. We will call you with an estimate and the $110 is applied to the total
repair. Technician will evaluate and determine what needs to be done. Recommendation for parts known to fail early and need to be replaced
will be included in the estimate. Ball park estimate without evaluating the unit is $400 - $600. We currently have a four week turnaround for providing an estimate. Directions and shop hours may be found on our website."
Emotiva's in-house repair will also run around $400 when one way shipping from CA to TN is factored in. So it comes down to 2 things...
1. Will one shop do a better job than the other in fixing the problem and dealing with parts known to fail early? I don't know the answer.
2. How badly do I want to avoid the perils of shipping across county trice (there and back)?
What do you guys think?
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Post by leonski on Mar 14, 2022 16:20:06 GMT -5
Personal Opinion Alert: I'm not a big fan of shipping.
Getting a fee for diagnosis is common and I'd expect it.
If local? You need to get some undertandings with them. Like if one PS cap is bad? replace 'em all....and with a Tier 1 part.
Same goes for output devices.
CAN you get a schematic?
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Post by jagman on Mar 14, 2022 16:34:58 GMT -5
Personal Opinion Alert: I'm not a big fan of shipping. Getting a fee for diagnosis is common and I'd expect it. If local? You need to get some undertandings with them. Like if one PS cap is bad? replace 'em all....and with a Tier 1 part. Same goes for output devices. CAN you get a schematic? Yes. Emotiva supplied the schematic without me asking for it. This shop does warranty work for about 20 brands. Their website lists not only repairs but that they also do mods (e.g. upgrade caps). |
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Post by ttocs on Mar 14, 2022 17:00:55 GMT -5
Reached out to two local shops. Both require a certain amount down that will be used toward the repair. The first said 4 month backlog of repairs before they can even look at it. The second said had the following reply to an email I sent with loads of questions... "Our shop minimum is $110, payable at the time the unit is brought in. We will call you with an estimate and the $110 is applied to the total repair. Technician will evaluate and determine what needs to be done. Recommendation for parts known to fail early and need to be replaced will be included in the estimate. Ball park estimate without evaluating the unit is $400 - $600. We currently have a four week turnaround for providing an estimate. Directions and shop hours may be found on our website." Emotiva's in-house repair will also run around $400 when one way shipping from CA to TN is factored in. So it comes down to 2 things... 1. Will one shop do a better job than the other in fixing the problem and dealing with parts known to fail early? I don't know the answer. 2. How badly do I want to avoid the perils of shipping across county trice (there and back)? What do you guys think? Shipping is costly these days. $400 all in is a great deal! Doesn't seem high enough, actually. If Emotiva will do some proactive repair, replace items likely to fail in the next few years, then I'd let them do the repair. Emotiva knows their product, so there shouldn't be any guessing. My Krell went in for warranty repair twice. The first time they fixed the problem, they thought, but it wasn't totally fixed, there was another culprit that went undetected. The second time they replaced every cap in the box so it wouldn't need to go back. This is to say that I would ask Emotiva to replace anything that could fail in the next five years. Four years ago it cost me $115 to ship my amp FedEx 2 day including insurance and signature confirmation, and Krell said the repair would've cost about $650 at that time if I had to pay. To ship that amp the same way now is $404 plus insurance, Ground is $128 plus the insurance. Which shop is better? Unknown to me. Shipping back and forth didn't bother me before, so wouldn't bother me now. |
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Post by ttocs on Mar 14, 2022 17:05:05 GMT -5
This shop does warranty work for about 20 brands. Took me so long for my previous post so didn't see this until now. Then it just comes down to time. Are you concerned about how much time it will take? If not, then stay local. |
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Post by vcautokid on Mar 14, 2022 17:29:43 GMT -5
The element of shipping is a risky one as other have said. Especially if the original box and packing are not used. Hopefully you still have both if a trip to Emotiva is in order. If it were me I would let Emotiva fix since they have the schematics and techs that know them. Plus Emotiva is going to stand behind their work. Not sure how well that will be from an independent. The symptom you indicate can be from another of things. Could be anything. DC offset, dead or dying coupling capacitor or filter capacitor in the power supply. An XPA5 gen 2 is coming up on the time for a possible full recap anyway. ESR and out of spec and or electrically leaking capacitors, bad driver transistors or dead resistor, could be actually anything. Simple or complex. Who knows? One thing is for sure, is to stay on top of the XPA on the Capacitors especially those that are connected to that Micro Controller that governs protection and so on. If that controller goes out is bad news. Especially true for the XPR series too. Just my 2 cents.
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