SAE Amps

[thermoluddys]

Hi everyone. I am in the process of maybe buying a SAE 2401 that needs recapped. Does anyone have a idea what the ballpark cost would be to recap? I have read that these were killer amps back in the day and I am " all geeked up" about getting my hands on it. I would love to hear any info or comments that anyone has. Thank you, Tommy
Edit/Delete Message

 

[joekapahulu]

Sae info

Check the SAE group on Yahoo. Lots of avid owners as well as a number of techs who fix SAE gear including some who have for decades.

 

[blhagstrom]

Never worked on that one.
But I've done many SAE.

I'd ball park $200-$300 range.

Labor and the large filter caps are the part that cost the most.

SAE seem to have a chineses puzzle design for the case.
For instance, there are 60! screws to get to the LED meter on a 502!!!

 

[Tucker99]

I am told that working on SAE gear is a bit of a bitch, but not sure if that is so.

 

[blhagstrom]

Yes, SAE is a bit of a bitch, but not a horror.

Mostly dealing with the case construction.

 

[DualRef]

A lot of people who will work on SAE equipment will only work on the SAE stuff made in Los Angeles. That boils down to only the original SAE equipment. For everything else you are on your own.

 

[Sweendk]

Hi everyone. I am in the process of maybe buying a SAE 2401 that needs recapped. Does anyone have a idea what the ballpark cost would be to recap? I have read that these were killer amps back in the day and I am " all geeked up" about getting my hands on it. I would love to hear any info or comments that anyone has. Thank you, Tommy
Edit/Delete Message

I just had my 2401 done recently for $180. Not sure I'm ready to recommend anyone yet though... Maybe it's a data point for you
Kirk

 

[Bailey360]

Hello SAE lovers and I am looking for some advice from anyone familiar with SA 2401.
- can it handle a load of just one ohm when driving multiple speakers?
- looks like it has short circuit protect, yes/no?, does anyone know when this kicks in?
If anyone has a link to specification of 2401 that would be most useful
I will be extremely grateful if anyone can help with this

 

[maxhifi]

SAE seem to have a chineses puzzle design for the case.

So I'm not the only one who noticed this! I just replaced a power cord on a 2401 for a guy... I was seriously unimpressed by the amount of work required to access the innards. And it's no help that a good number of the screws are all self tapping, into soft aluminum. Great sounding amp, with an interesting and innovative design, with all those Toshiba transistors in parallel. But I wouldn't want one for myself..I don't like things which are designed with no thought to the future repair tech.

 

[llwhtt]

I have the Service Manual, start a conversation and let me know your email.

Craig

 

[Hipocrates]

If anyone has a link to specification of 2401 that would be most useful

https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/sae/2401.shtml

 

[Ray Gianelli]

Yes, SAE is a bit of a bitch, but not a horror.

Mostly dealing with the case construction.

+1

I essentially rebuilt a 2600 for a friend. It's a 400 watt/channel into 8Ω beast. Disassembly/reassembly was the worst part of it, and it had a lot of problems requiring a lot of parts replacement.

Contrast the with a Sansui AU-719 that I recently worked on. Well designed with an eye for serviceability.

 

[Bill Ferris]

essentially rebuilt a 2600 for a friend. It's a 400 watt/channel into 8Ω beast. Disassembly/reassembly was the worst part of it, and it had a lot of problems requiring a lot of parts replacement

Yeah Ray, I sorely remember the super PITA that beast gave me as well, when working for, either Walt Rogers, or Carrol Music back in the day..( SAE---"Simply Asinine Engineering" !) at least from an mechanical view point !!
But, most of their gear seemed to perform well, when it was working right..

Peace, Brother

 

[Ray Gianelli]

Yeah Ray, I sorely remember the super PITA that beast gave me as well, when working for, either Walt Rogers, or Carrol Music back in the day..( SAE---"Simply Asinine Engineering" !) at least from an mechanical view point !!
But, most of their gear seemed to perform well, when it was working right..

Peace, Brother

Hey Bill! Scarred for life as well from one of those monsters, eh? Here's a pic of it I had in my phone. IIRC, it was impossible to reach the bias pots unless the chassis was tilted up... and it was a cast iron bitch to get the chassis loose:

It was breaking into oscillation after repairs, and I finally got the issue straightened out by tightening the backs of the negative output terminals. All the ground leads terminated there.

But you're right as usual; thing measured and sounded great after repair and alignment.

 

[eetechTom]

I’m currently working on a 3022 Integrated amp, nothing compared to that monster.

At the shop I worked at in the 1980’s, I saw a few 2400 amps. If you have to disassemble the heat sinks for output replacement on a 2400, you damn sure better replace the Bias transistor mounted under the sink. I had to repeat the heat sink disassembly process on one, because that sucker failed.

 

[ET16]

Rick Ruppert in PA does a good job restoring these.

 

[Kimba]

Rick Ruppert in PA does a good job restoring these.

Hi I was wondering if the sae two line is not as good or as good as the sae line. Also does Rich Ruppert do anything with the sae two separates.
Thanks Tom