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JVC JA-S44, a restore, and some respect for good design.

I hope this post can be brought back to life, as I'm wondering if anyone can give me advice on how to get parts for this amp. I bought my JAS44 new in 1978 and used it 99% of my waking hours for 25 years. As a result, I wore out the volume control. I managed to clean it up and it worked for a couple more years but now it sits waiting till I can find a replacement control. Anyone have any ideas? I thought about writing to JVC, don't know if it would get a response.
I do have the original manual if anyone would like a pdf.
 
Emjay said:
I hope this post can be brought back to life, as I'm wondering if anyone can give me advice on how to get parts for this amp. I bought my JAS44 new in 1978 and used it 99% of my waking hours for 25 years. As a result, I wore out the volume control. I managed to clean it up and it worked for a couple more years but now it sits waiting till I can find a replacement control. Anyone have any ideas? I thought about writing to JVC, don't know if it would get a response.
I do have the original manual if anyone would like a pdf.
Click to expand...

Google the amp number + service repair manual.
JVC will not have parts. You'll need to find substitutes, or buy one off fleabay for parts.

To the OP- Nice work! I'm a big JVC fan, and have a bunch of gear including an A-X5 & 9 amp. They are great amps! The T-X6 tuner was the TOTL that year.

Glenn
 
I picked up a JA-S44 recently. Just cleaned it up and hooked it up to some pretty nice gear: Pioneers TX-9800 tuner, KEF 103.2 speakers, AR-XB tt and Nakamichi 4 CD player. How is it doing? It is holding its own, putting out plenty of volume and sounding excellent. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the volume slider, but the power meters make up for it. :D The built-in equalizer is cool: it does give you a little more flexibility than traditional tone controls. As the OP states, this amp is very solid and well built, and sounds really good. The power rating is also conservative. The KEFs are power hungry and it drives them to very loud levels in a small room. I would recommend this amp to anyone who finds one at a reasonable price. It's a high-quality piece, just as good as most of the better-known gear from the late seventies.
 
Thanks! I always thought of JVC for those beautiful turntables they made back in the day, but I'm finding out that their amps aren't slouches, either. Definitely sleepers. If I ever see another JVC integrated for a good price, I'll buy it.
 
I keep my eye out as well. The A-X series from 1980-81 are great sounding amps. Look for the A-X5 ,7, & 9.
 
Thanks for the tip on the A-X series. I'll snag one if I see one. In the meantime, I'm very impressed with the JA-S44.
 
Old threads never die...I am a traveling construction superintendent, as such I take a "road system" with me. My current system is this great JVC JA-S44, goodwill cd player of the month, Triad bronze from home and new found ADS L-420. I've liked the JVC 44 from my first listen but man it keeps growing on me. I have more n better though of gear at home. This little JVC makes me forget about my last favorite baby integrated, Kenwood KA-3500. I really liked the Kenny but this JVC is just better all round. Sameish but more and better in every way. What a value ($15 for me).
 
r2falleur said:
Old threads never die...I am a traveling construction superintendent, as such I take a "road system" with me. My current system is this great JVC JA-S44, goodwill cd player of the month, Triad bronze from home and new found ADS L-420. I've liked the JVC 44 from my first listen but man it keeps growing on me. I have more n better though of gear at home. This little JVC makes me forget about my last favorite baby integrated, Kenwood KA-3500. I really liked the Kenny but this JVC is just better all round. Sameish but more and better in every way. What a value ($15 for me).
Click to expand...
Good to see JVC getting more respect! The more people hear it, the more they realize just how good JVC gear is.
 
Ditto. I have a post here about 4 years ago, mentioning my lamented late JA-S44, first post-college amp (replaced a Lafayette LA-950).

Recently scored another, along with a matching JT-V22 tuna. (and got another LA-950 also ... Nostalgic infection I guess). Didn't fully forget how much I liked it, but maybe a little pleasantly surprised a few dozen amps later this one still makes me happy.

Not in dire need, but probably deserves the kind of resto the OP here performed.
 
Thread necromancy is an amazing thing. I missed the original posting, but this really is outstanding work. It looks absolutely brand new.

One comment. You wrote you used:
secondslc said:
I used a flux/board cleaner made my GC electronics http://www.gcelectronics.com/order/catdisplay.asp?CatID=3
Click to expand...

I can't get the GC page to come up. But I was pretty sure I knew which product this is. Uh-oh. I thought all of these have been discontinued. Ok, the original posting was 7 years ago, so yeah, it probably was since then.

Because someone else may be tempted to use a NOS can of this cancer in a spraycan, aka cleaner, I thought I'd add this caveat.

Yes, it works well and was used all over the place until about 1990. If it is what I think it is, look up the MSDS. I just did to confirm it contains trichloroethylene, isopropanol, and bromopropane. That was a common formulation for most of the cleaners.

The isopropyl alcohol is harmless, and removes flux pretty well on its own. TCE, however, is a known human carcinogen. Bromopropane is a known reproductive carcinogen. I would not suggest anyone use these removers. Yeah, sure, small usage in well-ventilated areas, wear gloves, etc. Blah blah blah. No thanks. I personally wouldn't go near the stuff. It's brain damage and cancer in a can, plus a whole lot more.

For TCE see:
www3.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/tri-ethy.html
Most of the trichloroethylene used in the United States is released into the atmosphere from industrial degreasing operations. Acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure to trichloroethylene can affect the human central nervous system (CNS), with symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, confusion, euphoria, facial numbness, and weakness. Liver, kidney, immunological, endocrine, and developmental effects have also been reported in humans. A recent analysis of available epidemiological studies reports trichloroethylene exposure to be associated with several types of cancers in humans, especially kidney, liver, cervix, and lymphatic system. Animal studies have reported increases in lung, liver, kidney, and testicular tumors and lymphoma. The Agency is currently reassessing the cancer classification of trichloroethylene.
Click to expand...

Further reading on trike:
General: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichloroethylene
CDC: www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/79016.html
Canada: www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/hesis/Documents/tce.pdf
UK: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/eis34.pdf

You can dig out the bromopropane info if you care.
 
GD70 said:
Good to see JVC getting more respect! The more people hear it, the more they realize just how good JVC gear is.
Click to expand...

This is so very true.

And for JVC love, I still have my RX-44 receiver (digital display, built-in EQ) and KD-D50 cassette deck (fluorescent display and fancy timer for making mix tapes, an 1980s obsession). Both of which I purchased new in 1981, I think. Bought them from Drucker's in NJ, for those of you in the NJ area who remember such things.

What is interesting is how similar the RC-44 styling is to the 1960s Nivico offerings, including the AST-140E (germanium output transistors) and matching SEA-100 five-band equalizer which I also have. The evolutionary path is clear.
 
Reviving this thread yet again... there was just a *gorgeous* JA-S44 on the bay that I'd only been watching for a couple of hours, listed for $230... and like that it was gone, for $30 less than that...! I'm ultra bummed.

Makes me look over at my A-X2 wishing it were as pretty. Speaking of that... to the OP @secondslc, my GOD, how'd you get that faceplate so nice?!
 
@redk9258 That's true... my A-X2 has certainly been reliable, and I've always really liked its sound. Feature- and spec-wise they're almost identical on paper, save for the JA's apparently better s/n ratio... I'd love to hear one. They're so COOL looking. Well, they both are, but it's a different cool. Late-'70s cool versus turn-of-the-'80s cool.

But the A-X2 is next to impossible to find a matching tuner for! That's another thread though.
 
Marc B said:
HI, Nice job indeed. :tresbon: I am new on the forum. I recently buy a JA-S44 and have some questions about the big power supply capacitors. Modern caps didn't match with position of pc board holes, so how did you solve the problem?
I am also wondering if you used two different types of caps to replace the blue caps and orange caps.
Click to expand...

For those still wondering about this, I recapped my JVC JA-S44 in 2018. I replaced all electrolytic capacitors w/ audio grade Nichicon from Mouser. As for the big caps for the power supply I used Nichicon "LKG1J103MKN Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors - Radial Leaded 10000uF 63 Volts 20% Tol." -- I had to make extra holes in the PCB to install them. I also replaced the speakers relay and the two front incandescent bulb lamps with 12 VAC white LED array (those used in cars). I strongly suggest to use LEDs because the amplifier will operate much cooler. My JA-S44 now fully recapped, cleaned/deoxited and calibrated sounds wonderful and I really like it. However, if you are not really familiar with this kind of electronics, this unit can be dangerous (high voltage), time consuming, complicated and heavy to work on. My unit also had several cracked traces in the power supply area (due to lousy packing and shipping and handling service) and it was a nightmare to repair it and then to get rid of parasite currents caused by wire jumpers underneath (mainly 60 Hz hum and its harmonics), but I completely eliminated it after a lot of work and the use of some extra film capacitors and high-quality shielded inductors in the speakers audio path (2.7 uH, 4.4 mOhm, 24A). IMHO, there are several pros and cons about this amplifier... in summary, if you are not a fan of vintage JVC and if the unit has problems, don't buy it. If you have it and want to have it in pristine condition again, make an investment for a qualified technician to restore it if you can't do it yourself, it will last many more decades of enjoyment, but it will be more than USD 100 in parts only.

Image1.jpg Image2.jpg Image3.jpg
 
Hi,

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but does anyone have a service manual for this amp.

Have tried looking on the web and can't find diddly....

Having a problem with the relay not kicking in and all I can find is a poorly scanned schematic page.

Any help with the manual, much appreciated. Thanks.
 
I always respect good design regardless of which manufacturer it has come from. Many so called audiophiles are too quick to condemn a particular maker on the basis of anything they have heard about. JVC, like most manufacturers, made a wide range of equipment at a wide range of price points over many years.
 
Powertech said:
I always respect good design regardless of which manufacturer it has come from. Many so called audiophiles are too quick to condemn a particular maker on the basis of anything they have heard about. JVC, like most manufacturers, made a wide range of equipment at a wide range of price points over many years.
Click to expand...

Good day, I am not sure if you are referring to my comments, or also to my comments. In regards to my JVC JA-S44, like I informed, I restored mine to absolute perfection last year. I absolutely like it. I am a Generation X guy, and have a bachelor of science in electronics engineering and did the work with absolute confidence, with the proper tools and instruments, and the complete JVC Service Manual. It had too many problems, including many cracked traces due to horrible shipping & handling from previous owner(s), the brown capacitor glue from the factory started to corrode components, and some leaky capacitors (not a big deal). I restore my own sound equipment as a hobby, the great majority is JVC made in Japan from the late 1970s, early 1980s, those are my favorite. The sound of my JVC JA-S44 is very good for my ears, but may not be good for others. I have other JVC amplifiers and the JVC-S44 is not the one that sounds best for me, but I use it the most because I like it. My old point on restoration of a JVC JA-S44 was that it can be difficult and dangerous, especially if the person doesn't have the knowledge, the proper instrumentation/tools and the complete Service Manual. Regards,
 
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