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$15 Radio Shack Amp that kicks - the Accurian

Hi Endspec, that sharpness seems to go away after a number of hours running. Also, it has the treble control to tone it down a bit. The detail if great.
 
Hi Ya'll. I'm here in Piney Flats, Tn. and I stumbled on this forum by accident. I dug around in it for a while and read about the $15.00 amp, and being of Welch and Scottish blood, I couldn't help but be curious. Long story short, I got one, did the mods, and I was ever impressed! I am feeding some KLH BPRO6 speakers right now, (RAT-SHACK-0n sale- $30.00) and even my wife is happy!!!
My main system, which I got about 32 years ago includes a MC250, MAC C26, and Cerwin Vega R-26 two ways. This system has been "rockin' the house" ever since, but the R/S cheap system will be a welcome addition for the shop, deck, and anywhere I won't take the big one.
Thanks for the info on this BIG sounding, inexpensive little package. I look forward to more time in the forum.
Thanks again,
John James
 
The sharpness has smoothed out and I have been rolling speakers on it looking for the best sound, first were the sansui sp 3500's sound was good and full for big rooms, second was acustic model 500's 5 1/4 two way bookshelf units I got from jaymana small room and ok sound, lacking a bit in the bass depot. next set was some home made ob's with 6X9 magnavox tv speakers with 2 inch tweets, had it set up on the kitchen table when I fired it up and the wife turns and says
oohh I like it!!!! so smooth and airie put those in the room with it:thmbsp:
They just seemed to fill the room and envelope you in the music. So now I need to clean up the baffles and stain them.
 
djnagle said:
OK, I've been running the amp on my computer system for over three hours. I am feeding it with the computer cd player and driving Omega Super 3Rs. It is very clear, crisp, and detailed. However on a couple vocals, it gets just a tad sharp. Overall, it sounds very good. It does not compare to the Decware Zen amp I normally have in this system though.
Click to expand...

Try the second modification where the front board is bypassed.

Hook the three wires on the main amp plug all the way to the right direct to the rear RCA jacks.
Locate the input wires on the main board. (on the front of the board, towards the right side while looking at the amp from the front) They should be L G R. They are on the right side of the group of wires.
accurianmodrcaplugrw8.jpg

Yellow to white
Black to green
Red to blue
POOF! No more front board and about 35% cleaner amp! The difference is VERY noticeable.


You can drive it just fine from a computer (even though you will not reach really high volume, it is plenty) and this mod is easily reversible. Try it, my bet is...you will like it!
 
Hi MrGee, when you say it takes out the front board, does that mean that I would not have volume, balance, bass and treble? In my desktop situation, I need balance. Cheers.
 
MrGee said:
Try the second modification where the front board is bypassed.

Hook the three wires on the main amp plug all the way to the right direct to the rear RCA jacks.
Locate the input wires on the main board. (on the front of the board, towards the right side while looking at the amp from the front) They should be L G R. They are on the right side of the group of wires.
accurianmodrcaplugrw8.jpg

Yellow to white
Black to green
Red to blue
POOF! No more front board and about 35% cleaner amp! The difference is VERY noticeable.


You can drive it just fine from a computer (even though you will not reach really high volume, it is plenty) and this mod is easily reversible. Try it, my bet is...you will like it!
Click to expand...

I imagine that they are using an OP Amp in the preamp section.
Can you see what number they are using?
Also - can you see the number on the output transistors?
 
how does this little amp sound byamping a pair of speakers?

also has anyone tried monoblocking thisss little baby. sorry if this has been posted already. but interesting to find out.
 
Just Damn!!!

I told a co-worker about this deal and he went to R/S and was told "It's not available". Now I am embarassed, and he is disappointed. What kind of way is this to run a business? I just hope it becomes available again.
 
Accurian Update

Contrary to some negative experiences, I have a great one to report.

Walked into the Stoneham, MA RS last Monday evening and asked about the Accurian. The clerk was familiar with it, and stated they had none. I mentioned that I'd heard that sometimes the computerized inventory was inaccurate. He agreed, and added that they hadn't had them in about 2 weeks, but he checked the computer anyway - none. He then offered to check out other, regional RS locations, and found that the Gloucester, MA RS had a couple, as did one or two other locales, including Rockingham, NH. I thanked him, but told him I wouldn't be able to make it to any one of them. He then did a STATEWIDE search, and found a couple locations on Cape Cod that had at least one apiece. They won't do a store to store shipment on an old or discontinued item - my thought is that it's also due to the item being only $15.

Since I was going to be in Dennis, MA over the holiday weekend, he called them, and had them put my name on one. I stopped by on Saturday, spoke with the clerk there, and he promptly retrieved the one with my name on it. I asked if they had any more, (always ask) he looked it up on the computer, and saw that they indeed had another. He then disappeard into the back room. About 10 minutes later, he reappeard, covered in dust, and somewhat disheveled, with box # 2 in hand. He told me he had to climb a 6 ft. ladder, crawl to the top of the shelving, and use a broom handle to fish the unit from the dark recesses of the store. He wasn't saying it to complain, he really seemed to enjoy the challenge.

If you are able to enlist the assistance of a RS person who is truly helpful, ask them to check the largest region or statewide. You may be pleasantly surprised. It also helps if you have business or someone in the area who can pick up the unit for you.

Happy hunting!
 
Mark1gmbh said:
Contrary to some negative experiences, I have a great one to report.

Walked into the Stoneham, MA RS last Monday evening and asked about the Accurian. The clerk was familiar with it, and stated they had none. I mentioned that I'd heard that sometimes the computerized inventory was inaccurate. He agreed, and added that they hadn't had them in about 2 weeks, but he checked the computer anyway - none. He then offered to check out other, regional RS locations, and found that the Gloucester, MA RS had a couple, as did one or two other locales, including Rockingham, NH. I thanked him, but told him I wouldn't be able to make it to any one of them. He then did a STATEWIDE search, and found a couple locations on Cape Cod that had at least one apiece. They won't do a store to store shipment on an old or discontinued item - my thought is that it's also due to the item being only $15.

Since I was going to be in Dennis, MA over the holiday weekend, he called them, and had them put my name on one. I stopped by on Saturday, spoke with the clerk there, and he promptly retrieved the one with my name on it. I asked if they had any more, (always ask) he looked it up on the computer, and saw that they indeed had another. He then disappeard into the back room. About 10 minutes later, he reappeard, covered in dust, and somewhat disheveled, with box # 2 in hand. He told me he had to climb a 6 ft. ladder, crawl to the top of the shelving, and use a broom handle to fish the unit from the dark recesses of the store. He wasn't saying it to complain, he really seemed to enjoy the challenge.

If you are able to enlist the assistance of a RS person who is truly helpful, ask them to check the largest region or statewide. You may be pleasantly surprised. It also helps if you have business or someone in the area who can pick up the unit for you.

Happy hunting!
Click to expand...

Good story, thanks for sharing. It's good to hear that customer service isn't completely gone from the retail experience. Most of the RS stores I've been into haven't had very helpful employees. :thumbsdn:
 
I might have just got lucky, but I logged in 5 days ago and they were in stock. Mine came today, I did the mod immediately, and hooked it up to a couple of Yamaha NS-20T's. Sounds better than my current rig, which isn't saying much :banana:
 
I checked the web and it said my local RS dealer had it in stock, it was not available over the web. I drove over today and grabbed one. The dealer checked his computer and there were only two more amps in Suffolk county out here on Long Island, NY. I just got in under the wire!

My wife has been complaining about the audio not being loud enough on our new 20" flat screen TV in the bedroom. I have a pair of Realistic X-77 speakers hanging around, so I figured it might make a decent sound system for her. We'll see.
 
I did the mod this morning and I've had it hooked to a CD player and running for the last 12 hours. Figure it needed some "break-in" time to have it sound a little more mellow. To be honest, I'm not sure what I want to do with it right away. But hey for $15, I'll find something interesting.

Has anyone figured out how to put a preamp card in this thing and have a 2nd set of inputs to hook up a turntable? (Yeah I know I can buy an external preamp, but just appealing to the DIY crowd here at AK.)
 
MrGee said:
Try the second modification where the front board is bypassed.

Hook the three wires on the main amp plug all the way to the right direct to the rear RCA jacks.
Locate the input wires on the main board. (on the front of the board, towards the right side while looking at the amp from the front) They should be L G R. They are on the right side of the group of wires.
accurianmodrcaplugrw8.jpg

Yellow to white
Black to green
Red to blue
POOF! No more front board and about 35% cleaner amp! The difference is VERY noticeable.


You can drive it just fine from a computer (even though you will not reach really high volume, it is plenty) and this mod is easily reversible. Try it, my bet is...you will like it!
Click to expand...

I missed this aparently. Is it within this thread already? Where does it appear? And what does the Second Modification really do?
 
I picked up mu Accurian today. RS ordered it for me in store about a week ago. I had to pay in advance, but there was no shipping charge.

I did the mod and hooked it up in my bedroom to use with various portable cd, .mp3cd and .mp3 players.

Appropriately, the speakers I am using are operating a bit out of their original design as well. I am using two of the passive speakers from the Klipsch Promedia 2.0 set. Someone on ebay was selling them cheap, and I thought since they were Klipsch, I would try them out. For grey plastic crap, the speakers sound pretty good. They are 11" tall, 3" wide, three way, with two 2.5" drivers and a tweeter. The bass isn't bad for such small drivers. Now, I'm waiting for the Accurian to burn in to get rid of some of the harsh high.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed ideas to this little project.

Regards,

D-Ray
 
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