Soundcraftsmen Repair

8diagrams

8diagrams

New Member
Hi - I have a Soundcraftsmen A5002 amp. When I turn it on, the protection lights come on then they turn off and then the amplifier "pops" making the led lights light up from left to right for a split second. (It does this evey time it is turned on.) Finally everything is fine. It works without any problems. Anyone ever seen this problem before? Also, does anyone know of a place to get Soundcraftsmen amps repaired? I live the Washington DC area, but I would ship it to a repair shop. Please help. Thank you.
 
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Hmmm....don't know of anyone in that area since I live in the central part of the US. I had my A5002 worked on by a very knowledgeable guy in the Tulsa area before I moved. The key thing you have to be careful of, from what he told me, is that a lot of repair places are using some off-shore substandard transistors that aren't like the originals. Something to do with the rounded corners versus the square corners I think. But don't quote me on that! I can find out for sure what was meant by that if need be. I had mine gone thru because the speaker A/B switch was jacked up and wouldn't turn off the speakers at all. So, while he was in there, I had him go thru all the outputs and redo what was needed with matched pieces. Man, night and freaking day difference now.
 
8diagrams said:
Hi - I have a Soundcraftsmen A5002 amp. When I turn it on, the protection lights come on then they turn off and then the amplifier "pops" making the led lights light up from left to right for a split second. (It does this evey time it is turned on.) Finally everything is fine. It works without any problems. Anyone ever seen this problem before?
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It's not a problem. That's what the A5002 does when you turn it on. Just be sure to turn it on last and off first.
 
Coastsider - Glad to hear that. Thanks.

Does anyone know where to get a Soundcraftsmen amp repaired? (Just in case I need a repair.)
 
Now that I'm re-reading your original post and seeing it better, I need to chime in again. If that's how it acts when you turn it on, well, that's what mine does too even after being worked on. He said that was normal for a lot of the amps. The key thing is what Coastrider said and is what I do. Preamp on first, then power the amp on. BUT, I always turn the speaker switches on the amp OFF before I power it down. Thus, when the amp is powered up, it won't do the big thump thru the speakers. Power it on and, after the big jump on the meters, THEN turn the speaker switch on and listen away. Just remember to turn the speaker switches off before powering down. That should do it.
 
8diagrams said:
Does anyone know where to get a Soundcraftsmen amp repaired? (Just in case I need a repair.)
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If in fact it does need repair and you don't mind boxing it up really good to ship, then my buddy in Tulsa can get it to the repair guy. I'll PM you his information.
 
No problem...hope that helps out if you can't find anyone around your area. The key thing is finding someone who knows that particular amp brand...or whatever brand a tech is working on. How does it sound other than that? If that's all it's doing, I don't think I'd go thru the process of sending it off. The only reason I did was because of the speaker switches not working anymore and were a complete biotch to use. It was like a "ka-chunk" every time they were engaged/disengaged. Are yours tough to use or pretty smooth operation? Man, after mine were fixed, it was soooo nice not to have to push so hard on them! Ahhh...the simple things! lol Not to mention it's a real beast of an amp that just doesn't seem to give up. My Soundcraftsmen setup is currently at my best friends house running my Infinity Quantum 3's.....awesome combo.
 
Other than what I mentioned, the amp works perfectly. I have a pair of Infinity RS-II that my father bought new back around 1981. I thought they were difficult to drive until my wife got me a pair of Magnepans for Christmas. Even though they do not drop below four ohms (as the Infinitys do) they just keep wanting more and more power. I'm just glad that I have the perfect amp for my needs. Thanks again for all your help.
 
RS II's, huh? Mmmm....nice speakers! I've got a set of the RS IIIa's that I really like but I'd love to come across a set of the bigger boys! That's another pair of speakers I have in storage at the moment. A shame, I know. I bet both pairs sound really good on the A5002 for sure!

Glad to help out...
 
My A5002 (pictured in my avatar) drives the Watkins woofers in my Infinity RS 2.5's. The A2502 sitting on top of the A5002 handles the EMIM's and EMIT's. Neither amp ever gets anywhere close to clipping.

As far as someone to repair your Soundcraftsmen - I am fortunate to have a great shop nearby in San Francisco but I can't imagine there isn't one somewhere in your general vicinity to avoid having to ship your A5002 as it has been my experience that unless packed really, really well, big Soundcraftsmen amps don't travel well.
 
I concur. Look around locally before you decide to ship out. Although the guy I used is phenomenal, you would have to pack that beast very, very well to withstand traveling to the mid US! Plus, shipping would be quite expensive for back and forth. But then again, people box up big McIntosh amps to ship to Terry D, big Sansui, Pioneers, etc to Glenn (echowars), etc, etc. You just have to pack it like there's no tomorrow.
 
avguytx said:
Now that I'm re-reading your original post and seeing it better, I need to chime in again. If that's how it acts when you turn it on, well, that's what mine does too even after being worked on. He said that was normal for a lot of the amps. The key thing is what Coastrider said and is what I do. Preamp on first, then power the amp on. BUT, I always turn the speaker switches on the amp OFF before I power it down. Thus, when the amp is powered up, it won't do the big thump thru the speakers. Power it on and, after the big jump on the meters, THEN turn the speaker switch on and listen away. Just remember to turn the speaker switches off before powering down. That should do it.
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Why not just leave the amplifier on?
 
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