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George,
I was going to recommend you
I really like Blackie. He is a knowledgable guy who has had years of amplifier repairs under his belt. He repaired two Harmony tube guitar amps for me. He did a great job and upgraded the power cords on the guitar amps making the amps safer, and they sing.
However I am not convinced he is the guy for audio amplifiers. I posted earlier this year in the tube forum looking for someone to repair my HK A500. This was after going to Blackie.
Long story: I purchased an A500 five years ago and had Analogique repair it. After 5 years one of the can caps is leaking, oops. Analogique is not the same shop as it was when I first went to in in the 90s so I went to Blackie with it. I told him about the leaking can cap and said check the other caps and check the tubes. The A500 has 7355 tubes but I had collected 8 extras. After $400 in parts and labor I get it back. Blackie said he replaced some caps and the offending can cap, but the tubes were good. He told he he tested them. I take it home and hook it up, but it still does not sound great, especially the phono. I take it back to him a week later and he hooks it up, goes through the aux and the phono, and tells me that it sounds the way it is supposed to sound. Ok, I think, I remember this sounding better.
I then find Mark Weiss at Amplifier Experts in CT (about 2 hours away) and he does another $200 parts and labor, finds shorted caps, additional bad can caps and bad power resistors. Oh and all the tubes are bad. However, now the amp sounds great. Really wonderful. I am happy.
Could the A500 have deteriorated in the three months in between? Possibly. But I did not run the amp as it was not sounding good, so I am not sure how the tubes would go bad, and the caps and power resistors would develop issues without it being used. I think Blackie missed something. Mark did a great job. He has a slightly cheaper labor rate than Blackie, but is not close by. Also he is seriously talking about moving to Japan so I don't think he will be my go-to for the long run. I don't know, maybe the A500 is an odd piece, and it takes patience to get it to sing right. Maybe Blackie is better with Fisher and Dynaco like the Stereophile video shows. I just know I don't like having to take something to be repaired at a different repair shop after picking it up from one shop.
Thus my question here in the Fisher forum. I bought a Fisher KX100 and when it arrived in the mail it was not working. I think something happened in the shipping. The person I bought it from offered to take it back and refund my money. I however want a working Fisher. This one is nice cosmetically so I fell for it. It looks gorgeous. I am trying to find someone to repair it. With Fisher in it tube prime being local to NYC I thought there may be a local Fisher aficionado here that someone on this forum knew.
Unfortunately with rental costs of NYC another shop I had used, Cosmophonic Sound, has moved to Long Island. I have heard of Bender and Stereo Repair World, but I do not have experience. I don't mind traveling to get something repaired, but I can combine going to CT and NJ into other trips. I don't have real reasons to go to Long Island.
I have also heard really good things about Bristol Electronics in Ho-Ho-Kus and talked to them on the phone, but he always has a long turnaround time so I have not gone there.
The tech I know in NJ is a guy in Boonton NJ who works out of his house. I had him repair a MAC 1700 and he did a wonderful job. I will post his info when I dig it up. I have it in my files.
Sorry for the long post, but I feel like finding a tech you like and trusting their work is a never-ending search.
Curious: Any way you could put up an audio of this "thwack, thwack, thwack?"
If you liked Cosmophonic Sound, I'm thinking that that might be your best bet. Heck, you're out on Long island already really, being in Brooklyn. Also, navigating there is easier than going up to Connecticut or out to Jersey. By the way, I hope you're enjoying the Wharfedales.
Of course because I have not tried the amplifier for over a month, now that I plug it in the "thwack, thwack" is not happening. However, my right channel had a healthy level of crackling and static but that has slowly diminished in intensity over the last hour.
Hmmmmm. Very curious....
But I don't suppose anyone wants to hear a recording of static. I think it was the uniqueness of the "thwack" sound that people wanted. Right?
George; You're just a glutton for your own Punishment!
Hey Gannon, right you are about Brooklyn being the tip of Long Island. Now if only getting to all the fun stuff did not mean the LIE...
And I am loving those Wharefedales. I got them for the tubes and they sound sweet. And I threw a coat of oil on them and they look gorgeous now. Thanks!
That "thwack" or rapid "tock, tock, tock" may be what's called motorboating, a symptom of a dead/dying cap or a grounding issue. That's why I wanted to hear it. If you now have diminishing static, I'll bet it's a tube arching in its socket or just a bad tube. With the unit playing, see if you could see a tube flickering. If so, clean the socket and see if that cures it. If not switch the tube elsewhere to see if it acts up in another position. If so, you found your problem.