amp just died- could my speakers be damaged?

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My lovly fisher amp just died :( :( :( I was just lisening to some music and it just stopped i looked over and it was still on but there was nothing comming from it. This means that I am going to have to wait for christmas to get a new amp because I have just spent a lot of money on my B&W dm 601 s3 speakers (which are fantastic) I was just wondering is their any possiblility that my speakers have been damaged too? I havn' any way of trying them so I don't know if they are but if it is possible put to put my mind at ease i would be very grateful.

btw i was looking at the NAD C320BEE AMPLIFIER as a replacment, good idea?
 
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DO NOT BY NAD !!! I REPEAT DO NOT BUY NAD!!! ITS TERRIBLE!!!

it was beaten buy the teac 500 series in a listen test i did not so long ago...its terrible stuff...everything sounds like a surprise to it...a surprise it doesnt cope with well atall...i detest the stuff!!! (worked in a hifi shop untill 2 months ago when i went to uni btw...i admit i never knew great deal of stuff about hifi things BUT i knew what sounded best...and it was nad) :)

if there was no big noise when the amp went your speakers SHOUD be ok....about all that might have happend is a power surge and you woulda herd them...you can test the could by GENTLY and VERY CAREFULLY pusing on the cones and feeling if there is any roughness in the movment...although its best not to :) they should be ok :) you woulda heard it if they blew your speakers
 

Jez

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You would almost certainly know if the amp had surged, i wouldnt worry :)

I would ask you to consider anything from marantz or denon, to my ears anyway they deliver much softer nicer sound than the NAD you mention.
 
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I'm pretty sure you'd know if there was any damage to the speakers, as you'd usually hear some pretty nasty sounds as the amp died ;)
As a quick thought - Is there any power at all to the amp? If not it could just be one of the internal fuses at the transformer blowing. If it is this and you're happy tinkering around inside, they are very easy to replace (and cheap) - almost as easy as a main plug fuse.

I had my very first amp, a Musical Fidelity A1, die on me a few years ago, when I was trying it out with my current kit :( It was a sad day, but I was VERY happy no damage was done to my speakers :)

On the replacement amp front, the other option you could try is to have a look around to see what second hand kit you could get for that money. There are some real bargains to be had if you spend a little time looking.
 
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Thanks for the advice guys :) The amp remained on but there was just no output. Fortunatly there where no bangs or anything so I don't think I would have been that. I will have a look around at second hand stuff. Cheers for the help

sky-
 
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Just to reiterate what SenTineL said, I would make sure that it isn't just that the internal fuses have blown. That happened on my amp not so long ago, and I was considering spending loads on a replacement, but then decided to check the fuses. A few minutes and about £1 later, the amp was back to normal!
 
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I'm getting the C320BEE, when I can actually get hold of one. Every review I've seen absolutely praises it, for sounding so good for such a small price. Howcomes I've seen about 5-6 reviews all giving it max score and you guys say it sounds crap? :confused:

Dan
 
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Originally posted by martink

Spike - Don't trust reviews implicitly. Use them to help you devise a shortlist, but make sure you listen.

I agree, go with what your ears tell you not what someone elses tel them. For example some people's ears tell them s club juniors = good :D
 
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Originally posted by martink
Skyman - Don't worry

Spike - Don't trust reviews implicitly. Use them to help you devise a shortlist, but make sure you listen.

Ok cheers :) Hows does having a listen work though? I mean, I can't all the rest of my equipment to the listening room, obviously. So perhaps they set something up and I take my amp and compare that?

I really don't have a clue on how demos work, please tell me

Me > :confused:

Dan
 
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IF the shop sells the same equipment then you can ask to demo different amps using that set up. It is much better to test the amp on the system you are using because matching speakers and amps is important. You could test the amp there with some other speakers and it wil sound good but it may be a worse match for your speakers than your current amp. What speakers and amp do you have currently?
 
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Originally posted by Spike
Ok cheers :) Hows does having a listen work though? I mean, I can't all the rest of my equipment to the listening room, obviously. So perhaps they set something up and I take my amp and compare that?

I really don't have a clue on how demos work, please tell me

Me > :confused:

Dan

Better IMO if you can either borrow a hifi shop's demo unit for a few days (large deposit, obviously) - it'll be well run in, and you can listen to it in it's intended setting - or have a listen on their kit and buy on the basis you can return it in x days if it doesn't work well on yours.

The problem with most hifi shop demo rooms is that they tend to be accoustically much better than your own, and most things tend to sound better in them. What works really well in there on their speakers might not sound as good when you get home.

And as for NAD, I like their stuff a lot, my 310 amp is still going strong (over 6 years old now) and will probably be replaced for a 320BEE next month to sit under my 521i CD player.
 
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Originally posted by qube
Better IMO if you can either borrow a hifi shop's demo unit for a few days (large deposit, obviously) - it'll be well run in, and you can listen to it in it's intended setting - or have a listen on their kit and buy on the basis you can return it in x days if it doesn't work well on yours.

The problem with most hifi shop demo rooms is that they tend to be accoustically much better than your own, and most things tend to sound better in them. What works really well in there on their speakers might not sound as good when you get home.

And as for NAD, I like their stuff a lot, my 310 amp is still going strong (over 6 years old now) and will probably be replaced for a 320BEE next month to sit under my 521i CD player.

their old stuff is nice enough...ive got old nad :) new nad is pants though :)

and yeah check those fuses...i meant to mention that but got so caught up in my dislike of nad :p
 
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Originally posted by qube
Better IMO if you can either borrow a hifi shop's demo unit for a few days (large deposit, obviously) - it'll be well run in, and you can listen to it in it's intended setting - or have a listen on their kit and buy on the basis you can return it in x days if it doesn't work well on yours.

The problem with most hifi shop demo rooms is that they tend to be accoustically much better than your own, and most things tend to sound better in them. What works really well in there on their speakers might not sound as good when you get home.

Yeah, most decent dealers will be happy for you to borrow the kit for an agreed number of days so you can see if you can live with it. Some might be able to arrange a home demo, although this is sometimes only an option if you're spending a lot of money.

I've always found any kit I've borrowed to sound much better at home than in a dealers dem room - it's all in the setup really.

Then when you've got the kit to demo just dig out the stuff you know well AND and stuff that you've never liked the sound of, if you find something that improves both, you're onto a winner!

/edit One last thing, even if product x has had more great reviews than you can shake a stick at and you don't like the sound of it - thats all that matters, just walk away and try something else.
 
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Originally posted by skyman
IF the shop sells the same equipment then you can ask to demo different amps using that set up. It is much better to test the amp on the system you are using because matching speakers and amps is important. You could test the amp there with some other speakers and it wil sound good but it may be a worse match for your speakers than your current amp. What speakers and amp do you have currently?

The shop won't have the equipment I have, got eltax liberty 5+'s from richer (queue the comments as per usual!). At the minute I have a cambridge A5 amp. My system sounds good (to me!), but I'm curious as to how much of an improvement a better amp will sound. Since I could spare some money I thought the 320BB would be a good choice.

Maybe it would be good to put a deposit down to test it first, if possible.

Cheers,

Dan
 

Jez

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spike - if i were you i would go for a new set of speakers rather than a new amp, it will have a much greater impact on your sound, i have some liberty 5+'s here and tbh i find they sound a lot worse than a lot of other speakers ive had, if you like the eltax's then give the symphony range a go :)
 
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