Old Sony TA-212A Amplifier, Technical help needed.

[Bo Kamphues]

Hey! My name is Bo, and I'm totally new to this forum. (I like it already though).

I recently bought a Sony TA-212A Amplifier (Dutch release) second handed. I love it. It's got cool VU meters and get's the sound through my speakers nicely, but I do have one particular problem. When listening to music the right channel sometimes cuts down to quite a low volume and get's pretty distorted. The VU meter remains all the way to the left, while the left (good) channel remains active in the VU meter. After searching the web I've noticed that there's something about cleaning these old types of amps in particular way, but before going on an adventure I'd love to hear some professional opinions or idea's on this. All the help would be much appreciated.

(Sorry for coming here and immediately asking for help, I intend to stay

 

[bberkom]

The below link is a great place to start and may cure your problem very easily if it's just a dirty/corroded switch or potentiometer. Sometimes it takes a few cleanings to get things cleared up. I had the same issue with an intermittently distorted left channel in a Pioneer receiver I have been restoring, and cleaning the balance pot a couple of times fixed it. Of course it could be something more complex, but almost all old equipment needs a basic cleaning.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/the-idiots-guide-to-using-deoxit-revisited.207005/

 

[Lavane]

How about a picture of the amp! I have a Sony TA3200F power amp from 1971 I refurbished and really like the features and how it sounds. It had intermittent scratchy sounds and volume drop in one channel when I got it. Cleaning the volume/gain controls cleared it up.

 

[NAD80]

Hello Bo Kamphues. Welcome to AK. Yes, try the DeOxit to clean the switches and pots. If there are slider controls use Faderlube to clean those. Bberkom called it for the directions on the use of DeOxit in the "General Audio Discussion" forum. The Service Manual for the amp is on HiFi Engine.com. Just register and download for free. Good luck.

 

[petehall347]

try turning up the volume and see if it comes back .

 

[jdurbin1]

Web image of the TA-212:

Listening to my own TA-313 as I type this, it anchors my office sound system (middle brother to the TA-212, TA-515 was the big brother):



John

 

[Bo Kamphues]

Thank you for all the advice, I will try and it and come back to see if it works accordingly!