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My Bose Receiver Stinks - Literally!

M

MCM Marvin

New Member
Hi AK friends. I recently came across a Bose 551 Spatial Receiver and hooked it up to my 901 IV and within a few minutes there was an acrid smell coming from the unit. I looked it over very carefully and did not see any signs of cat or animal urine, it's very clean inside and out.

Has anyone come across anything like this? This is not your typical vintage smell, rather a toxic chemical smell.

Better yet - how do you get rid of that smell?!!
 
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Sounds like frying electronics. Look at the individual components for brown or black pieces or sections.
Did you continue to run it?
 
teal'c said:
Sounds like frying electronics. Look at the individual components for brown or black pieces or sections.
Did you continue to run it?
Click to expand...
I did. 99% certain nothing is burning. The system plays as it should. I sniffed around the main power caps too, not there.
 
The only really nasty smell I've come across was due to an overheated power transformer.
 
Stanky electronics usually comes from electrolytic caps leaking or something getting hotter than it should.

That and cat pee...

If it's definitely not cat pee, run with the lid off until it reeks, looking for smoke as you do. Then turn it off, unplug it, and carefully feel for overheated parts.
 
Some gear stinks after warmup due to the use of certain plastics. Some Technics models are notorious for this, from what I've heard.
-Adam
 
Maybe a capacitor outgassing?

I exploded one once and the lingering odor was kind of "organic". I've burnt a few resistors too but there was no doubt about that smell.
 
Could it be the cap across the power switch, Rifa branded ones are notorious for smoking and they smell horrible, i've had atleast 10 go up in smoke on me, usually when they're powered up after years of not being used.
 
DaveVoorhis said:
Stanky electronics usually comes from electrolytic caps leaking or something getting hotter than it should.

That and cat pee...

If it's definitely not cat pee, run with the lid off until it reeks, looking for smoke as you do. Then turn it off, unplug it, and carefully feel for overheated parts.
Click to expand...

"Stanky electronics", Love it!:rflmao:

I'm going to have to steal this Dave as a way to describe crappy audio gear.

"That piece must have been made by Stanky Electronics.":biggrin:
 
Tantalum caps can leave horrible smells behind when they fail (usually blue, with polarized +/- markings)....very chemical/electronical -ey smelling.
But they also usually leave significant 'launch' marks/stains, not to mention residue....though I have seen some fail so that they leave nothing behind but powder and the original legs sticking out of the solder joints...either way should be fairly easy to spot - usually used to clean up DC power supply rails on pcbs.
Got pics of the pcb?
 
First time I have heard of a BOSE unit literally... "stink".. other than the usual snob comments.. "no highs, no lows, that's BOSE".

Sounds as if it needs a good "burn in", another technique subject to debate?

I would run it 24 hours, no cooling period, but do use an inline circuit protection, in the event it is a board component :smoke:"smoking"!
 
I'd be VERY surprised if the cheap-ass Bose design team included tantalum caps in this.

I'd agree - a burst or leaking electro cap.

Either that or this unit is releasing the stench of many years of accumulated BS from Dr Bose's patented Audio-Correction Spatialiser Improvement Room Enhancement System (TM).
 
Tant's were used very liberally on the gear I did QC on in the early 90s, as power supply rail filters - probably due to them using early generation switching PSs. Cost was not a consideration at all.
And Bose sure didn't cut costs on assembly labor on these things! (Yeesh).
But then, 'our' stuff was sure better designed - amazing what hideous assembly, wiring, & sub-component design can hide behind a pretty face!
http://www.vintageaudioaddict.com/bose_receiver/bose_receiver.htm
I do see lots of little electros, though, to your point....wonder at what point tantalums became the choice for PS filtering?
Cute comment about the Bose BS stench - but I'll step aside from that topic though.
But there is certainly plenty of stuff in there to 'go steenky'!
 
slimecity said:
I'd be VERY surprised if the cheap-ass Bose design team included tantalum caps in this.

I'd agree - a burst or leaking electro cap.

Either that or this unit is releasing the stench of many years of accumulated BS from Dr Bose's patented Audio-Correction Spatialiser Improvement Room Enhancement System (TM).
Click to expand...

Since we're talkin' Bose, is the smell direct or "direct reflecting" (more Dr. Bose BS)?
Caps don't burst in these units, they BLOSE! :confused:
 
Bose 901's are difficult loads. Try running it with no speakers connected and the volume all the way down and see if it still smells. I suspect it is heating up from driving that load.
 
I've got one of the Bose Spatial Receivers - the model 551. If it is running right, there will be heat felt rising from the right hand side of the top vent. Even if you run it hard with the 901s, there is a large finned heat sink sticking out the back that will get modestly warm at best.

The heat you feel rising from the top vents will be from the power supply regulators. You should have the receiver sitting on a hard surface and the small feet should still be intact on the unit. If not, there's no venting for the power supply.

So, the data supplied by the OP is insufficient to be able to determine if there's a real problem or if there's the typical smoke-smell from a smoker's residence. Frankly, the smell needs to be isolated further in the chassis - its a _big_ receiver - to know if there's an electrical problem or not.

Cheers,

David
 
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