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old Ashly MOSFET amps

S

steelglam

Super Member
Anyone here run an old Ashly MOSFET amp in their home audio setup? If so, tell me about it. I've got a possible line on a FET-500 and am wondering if it's worth pursuing.

I know the Ashly stuff is well thought of in the pro audio world, but not sure about home/hifi. I have/had pro Crown amps and think they're great, so just because it is pro and has a fan does not turn me off (the Crown's fan is pretty quiet anyways).
 
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FET500 weighs 65lbs, and the fan is probably noisy by now. I just replace them with a good ball bearing model, they stay quieter much longer than a cheaper fan that uses sleeve bearings.

Is the Ashly a factory unit, or was it OEM'd for Kelmar or another company, it would say Kelmar, or THX on the faceplate as well as Ashly. Those models are usually wired for the fan to run full speed at all times, the bearings are usually shot and replacing the fan is the only way to quiet them at that point.

I use an FET500, an FET2000M, and a FET1000M to drive my Altec A7-500's, and their subwoofers. Another of my FET500's is powering a pair of Altec model 19's a few miles down the road from me. When i was still working in the live sound/DJ business i owned a dozen or more FET's, they're superb sounding, and quite bulletproof in any application.
 
steelglam said:
Anyone here run an old Ashly MOSFET amp in their home audio setup? If so, tell me about it. I've got a possible line on a FET-500 and am wondering if it's worth pursuing.

I know the Ashly stuff is well thought of in the pro audio world, but not sure about home/hifi. I have/had pro Crown amps and think they're great, so just because it is pro and has a fan does not turn me off (the Crown's fan is pretty quiet anyways).
Click to expand...

The one I had here sounded real good.
Wasn't much wrong with it, just connections and
some sloppy work from another tech. They're just two
mono block amps stuffed in one cab with a big ass
supply feeding them both. As bowtie mentioned earlier,
you might have to replace the fan. Also, there are no RCA
jacks, so you might need an adapter depending on what
you're driving it with.
 
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bowtie427ss said:
FET500 weighs 65lbs, and the fan is probably noisy by now. I just replace them with a good ball bearing model, they stay quieter much longer than a cheaper fan that uses sleeve bearings.

Is the Ashly a factory unit, or was it OEM'd for Kelmar or another company, it would say Kelmar, or THX on the faceplate as well as Ashly. Those models are usually wired for the fan to run full speed at all times, the bearings are usually shot and replacing the fan is the only way to quiet them at that point.

I use an FET500, an FET2000M, and a FET1000M to drive my Altec A7-500's, and their subwoofers. Another of my FET500's is powering a pair of Altec model 19's a few miles down the road from me. When i was still working in the live sound/DJ business i owned a dozen or more FET's, they're superb sounding, and quite bulletproof in any application.
Click to expand...

What fan did you use as a replacement?
 
steelglam said:
What fan did you use as a replacement?
Click to expand...
I think it was an Omron in the 500 i have now, probably from MCM Electronics, but maybe Parts Express, it's been 6 or 7 years, so i'm not 100% positive.

The most important thing is to get one with ball bearings, it will cost a little more, but run much quieter much longer.
 
I hate to say, but, check out radio shack, they had a really good fan, at one point, almost seemed it shouldn't belong in that store.

not sure about now, but they might have something.
 
Gee thanks for adding another MOSFET amp to my "someday..." list. It certainly looks easier to work on and better constructed than the Sound Code Systems 2600a that is currently in pieces on my bench.
 
You have to stop at Radio Shack to get the RCA-to-1/4"-phone-plug adapters anyway, so check out the fans while you're there.

"Grab Hold Of An Ashly-- You'll Never Let Go. If You Do, You'll Break Your Foot."​
 
Anyone know how to remove this fan?
I got a used Ashly FET 1000M off clist, and the fan is too loud.
I need to remove the old fan to clean/replace.

These look like pop rivets?
 

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Those white things look like they may be plastic push rivets. If they are, pull the center pin out.
 
No plastic - the white things look to be some form of metal pop rivets. There are some similar fasteners on other items (e.g., inputs).

I was able to clean up the fan to reduce the 'buzzing', but the airflow noise is still too high for my listening habits. I saw this tip on the net:
i am also the proud owner of an ashly ftx 1501. if you want to reduce the noise of your fan you can simply insert a 2.2k 5W resistor in series with the fan. this tip was provided to me by the very helpful service staff (mike bow) at ashly. they are wonderful folks, and i believe their amps are top shelf for the price.
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I will reach to Ashly to see what they recommend.
 
This amp must use a fan to cool it's self. Ashly makes excellent commercial power amps . Since the little noise a fan makes is a non issue in commercial audio, they designed the heatsink and chassis such that you need forced air flow through this amp. This design is great for rack mounting several of these amps. These amps will actually get hottest when run around 1/4 to 1/2 power. I have worked on a few and they will get quite warm. Without the fan, they get too hot and will most likely fail. They are an excellent sounding amp and I can see why people might use them as a hifi amp. These amps work great with a preamp like a McIntosh C100 or MX-121 using the XLR balanced interconnects. Failing that, you will need adapters to allow you to run non balanced to balanced. You can make Phono to XLR cables or use 1/4" to phono adapters. MOst Ashley amps have volume controls for each channel. If so equipped, you can run a CD player directly into the amp without a preamp. This company makes an excellent product.
 
seta1 said:
Ashly makes excellent commercial power amps .
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And good service too!

Within hours (and during the holiday season!), I received a response to my email asking about reducing fan/air noise via the resistor mod:
Yeah, that same mod will work. Same fan. That's your best option and is perfectly safe on a 1000M unless you intend to run a continuous sine wave through it for extended periods. Unless the fan is mechanically bad I wouldn't change it.
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I am going to follow their advice & add the resistor.
 
mrwood200 said:
And good service too!

Within hours (and during the holiday season!), I received a response to my email asking about reducing fan/air noise via the resistor mod:


I am going to follow their advice & add the resistor.
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I did the resistor MOD; 1500 Ohms series resistor w/the fan slowed it down so much that noise became irrelevant for home use but still moves air. 5 Watt resistor does not even get luke warm.
 
Little resurrection. Picking up two 2000M's for $150 today. Pulled from a local theater. If anyone is interested, they have two 500's you can probably get for the same price if you're around the Philly area. Will be fun to see how my MA RS6's and Celestion A1's sound with that kind of power. Currently they're powered by. Pioneer SC75. Have an old Tandberg amp I play my Infinity Reference Fours's. Nothing very power hungry, but for the price they'll be fun to try, especially in my 12x12 theater room.
 
Just found a FET 2000M at Savers for $30...it seems like the only thing wrong is that the one of the gain knob covers is off on the back and it looks like one would have to take a flat-head screw driver to adjust it. Would a tube preamp sound nice for audio use on this? Boy it is really heavy. Can't test it till the weekend.
 
icenine said:
Just found a FET 2000M at Savers for $30...it seems like the only thing wrong is that the one of the gain knob covers is off on the back and it looks like one would have to take a flat-head screw driver to adjust it. Would a tube preamp sound nice for audio use on this? Boy it is really heavy. Can't test it till the weekend.
Click to expand...
Hey what were your thoughts on it. I have a chance to pick one up
 
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