JBL SA660 Amplifier Maintenance / Repair

Mercuttio

New Member
Hey folks!

I've had a JBL SA660 for around a year, and have it connected to a pair of JBL L112 speakers. I've only got $50 into the SA660 as I found it at an estate sale and bought it without testing it- imagine my surprise when it powered up and sounded glorious. I believe it is entirely original internally,

Right now only the Auxiliary input works, and there is a channel imbalance in the phono stage. The headphone jack sounds fairly decent but the sound bleeds between channels. The tuner input seems to not work at all.

I haven't had a ton of experience with high end modern amplifiers, but this thing kicks the pants off of everything I've heard and I want to maintain it. I'm having trouble finding someone who is willing to do the job though, in the Boston area. Most have told me they don't want to attempt it, one said he would but said it would cost whatever he wanted at the end and offered no timeline or estimate. I've checked the Lansing Heritage site and nobody has responded yet... Does anyone here have an idea of what I should do? Should I just sell the amp to Japanese collectors and get something modern?
 
Pretty rare beast - I sure hope you get some useful responses - I'm also curious!
I have one too, and agree, it sounds amazing (esp on old JBLs)!
I bought mine from the original owner back in the early 90s, and was told that it had had the 'last' of the JBL power transistors just replaced in it. It was my main amp for about 10 years.
Last time I hooked it up (abt a year ago) all functions still worked fine on it - no noise, no DC, not even scratchy pots.
Sadly, I may have to sell it, as I just don't need it anymore...and ebay prices are all over the map.
Any one else?
 
I love the idea of having a full JBL setup, or at least as close as possible. I suppose once it's tuned up the parts inside won't be a "true" matched setup. Ah well.

I do love the thing though- just found a repair shop that says they can take a look so I'll see how things go there next weekend. Now having one and having enjoyed it for a while, it's a mystery to me as to why JBL didn't continue to manufacture this line of equipment. Beautiful hardware, wonderful tactile switches and solid knobs that must be brass.

Pricing on eBay is a little odd... I've watched one drop to like $1299 over a few months, but it is in much worse cosmetic condition than mine. I'm very curious what that Japanese JBL company in Los Angeles buys / sells / does to refurbish these.


Pretty rare beast - I sure hope you get some useful responses - I'm also curious!
I have one too, and agree, it sounds amazing (esp on old JBLs)!
I bought mine from the original owner back in the early 90s, and was told that it had had the 'last' of the JBL power transistors just replaced in it. It was my main amp for about 10 years.
Last time I hooked it up (abt a year ago) all functions still worked fine on it - no noise, no DC, not even scratchy pots.
Sadly, I may have to sell it, as I just don't need it anymore...and ebay prices are all over the map.
Any one else?
 
Yes, totally a special amp...very well made, slick switches and those knurled knobs!
While these sure 'belong' in a vintage JBL setup, I think the sound quality would stand up well today.
Please update with any new info you find out next week!!
Yes, the ebay prices are all over the place - my sense is that auctions several years back kind of satisfied the immediate demand for them in Asia, and prices since have dropped, but who knows.
Thanks!
 
Just picked up my SA660 from AudioProz in Watertown, MA. Had it serviced by Vince there, and so far it has been excellent.

All switches now work, the Phono sections sound excellent, and everything seems to be in tip top shape and sound better than it did when I originally got it.

Vince is a talker and has many strong opinions on audio, but ultimately knew the unit and had worked on them before. Apparently he serviced one for WGBH a few years ago.

Cost me $88 as a deposit, then another $310 at the end. Caps replaced, previous bad repairs fixed in the phono sections, transistors replaced in the phono unit, and the power needed some work too.

Before, only the Aux input worked. Now, it all works. Definitely a keeper of an amp.
 
Many thanks for the update!
That seems like a reasonable investment for peace of mind and sound quality...esp given what you got it for!
Seems to me that WGBH had a bit of JBL gear- I had quite a few conversations with their techs (decades ago, now).
Did he have to replace the power transistors?
Mind was serviced just before I bought it in the mid-90s, and AFAIK, all functions still work fine...maybe I'll haul it out and test it again this weekend:)
I'll bet it sounds great with those 112s!
Thanks!
 
He muttered a lot about how the folks at WGBH loved having a "JBL Listening Room" and how they used the SA660 as part of it. Then he talked about how he didn't understand why people would want that particular sound if it wasn't totally accurate. Oh well.

It does sound wonderful with the L112s. It's very rich but somehow transparent and punchy at the same time. This is also my first experience with the phono stage in it, as that didn't work before. It sounds better than the Cambridge CP2 I had, and have now sold on eBay. He said previous "repairs" had tried to solve issues in the Phono sections but had actually beena result of the power supply. 80 percent of the transistors on the Phono had to be replaced, and I know a lot of things were repaired in the power supply.

His theory is that the power supply is incredibly difficult to get to if you don't know what you're doing, so the previous owner hadn't gone in that deep.
 
Hah, that's interesting, but makes sense in the heart of "AR" country:)
I agree - though it's been a while, I recall it having an almost 'tube-like' character to it, thought it certainly didn't lack for punch, either. I can sure understand why it's so sought after (in some circles).
I'll put mine on the bench and check out the PS and phono section then - I used it a bit as just a power amp, with another pre-amp for phono use.
Did you ship it to him, or is he local to you?
 
Local to me. I believe he worked at KLH for a while, but has specialized in Golden era stereos (mostly Japanese) and audio recording equipment for the past two decades? Perhaps longer. The store is a trip. When you get over your fear of being crushes by walls of amplifiers on their sides, there's incredible stuff available to purchase as well.

But yeah, it's that warm blooming tube sound that never really interferes with any part of the music. A little richer and warmer than reality, but perfectly suited for classic rock and modal / hard bop. It's interesting to hear the new mix of the White Album, honestly... I guess this is what they were going for with that.
 
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