If polarity is right, I don't see any problem with that.One thing to mention:
I put the new C19 / C20 caps on the underside of the Pcb since the C19 was hard to access from the top.
Don't know if this is ok to do or not or if it had anything to do with the failure.
View attachment 3329273
Thanks, so in this case Preamp Output would be from ground to C515 / C516?Maybe stick a voltmeter from ground to the output of the preamp
Would this mean you are thinking that the culprit may be in the - rail and not + rail?It seems something is pulling the voltage down

Ground to + side of C515 jumps around from -mV to + 1-2V and 4-5V on the - side of the cap, so clearly something is wrong in the R-CH.
Excellent couple of advices, much appreciated, will get on all of it tonight and get back.Please check (with the unit unplugged and capacitors discharged), resistance to ground from B5 rails
Aha, yes that does make sense, Thank you, learning a lot here.yeah thats your pulse in DBT with the preamp connected to the power amp.
Thought so too.. But are you thinking that those, perhaps leaky, transistors are located in the Left ch?I will say the 100-odd mv is strange
I did replace the 2SC1344´s in Q501/ 503 and Q502/504 with the recommended KSC1845F and the unit was running fine until the bang..
Could it be that since this unit is a "High Current" unit that the KSC1845F are not a sufficient replacement in the preamp?
Thanks for walking me through this, I'll disregard the caps for now.In cases like your, usually the problem is a human mistake
I've read the same thing but I've also seen videos of *edit* competent techs using this same transistor in same position on this unit so thought they were OK.I've reand here in AK that in some situations, the 50mA if the KSC1845 vs the 100mA
C13 0.820 Mohm (I wasn't clear if one should expect high resistance in a healthy rail?)resistance to ground from B5 rails, to see if you have a low resistance in some rail
R8 403 ohm (SM 390 ohm)check the dropping resistors R8, 10 , 11, 13.
R8 +14.74V / +21.06Vmeasure the voltage drop across those resistors
they all measured kind of the same, 24V + or - 10 mVCheck also B1 and B2,
Got it, Will do.Narrow your search around R13 and the associated zener and caps
C13 0.820 Mohm (I wasn't clear if one should expect high resistance in a healthy rail?)
C12 2.070 Mohm (is this what to expect?)
Very much appreciated!Large resistance, in those magnitudes, are not relevant.
Pulled the Q501 / Q503, they didn't measure bad, but I've read that Transistor tester doesn't reveal noisy transistors so changed them for a new pair.maybe pull the transistors and check them.
Checked voltages backwards at C14 / C15 and they were uneven as well, so measured connecting R12 / R13 ohm and voltage drop (@ a 40W bulb)Narrow your search around R13
