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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

It'll save you having to learn Mandarin in the future I guess to stay in the industry!

Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Another NAD3020 on the workbench this morning with an unhealthy 2.5v dc offset on the right channel output. The original post was a handy reminder as to the likely culprit so found the fault in minutes unlike 11 months ago! 64 ohms instead of 100nF.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Old electrolytics from a 45+ year old NAD3020. Owners often mistake the brown 'goo' for leaking electrolytics. Not the case though as NAD always liked to glue down larger electrolytics to the PCB (or more accurately Fulet Electronics who actually built these in Taipai).

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Your memory beats mine by miles! Suppose it would have been no worse if the BBC had been told one of your engineers is 'no more' having been a practice body for air sea rescue! I could see why Reg tried to ban us from doing it when I became boss in later years thinking about the paperwork involved!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Impressive, flies that Chinook in like a dirt bike on a forest trail! Do you remember the Marconi Radar contractor who hitched a trip up the Gulf on one of the KC 135 refueling tankers one night. Can't imagine it would happen now but I always thought that would have been awkward were it shot down.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Good job it wasn't here as with 36c yesterday afternoon you'd have lost the roof as well!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Update on classic HiFi amps thru the workshop so far: Cyrus 1/2 - 825 Arcam Alpha 9/Delta 290/Alpha 8 -480 NAD3020 - 297 Musical Fidelity A1 - 92 A&R Cambridge A60 - 123 NAD3130 - 51 Musical Fidelity B1 - 13 Almost 1900 amps with a new lease of life!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Once or twice a year an A&R Cambridge A60 arrives with the top cover on back to front. Looks odd as there's a big overhang at the front. Worse though is the strategically placed foil shield which screens the high gain phono stage from unwanted noise is now at the other end & causes increased hum.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Good luck with the switch on! Reminds me of an identical experience 10 yrs back when daughter sneezed over Macbook with a mouth full of drink. Deionised water and iso-propanol eventually cleaned the sticky deposits off the pcb. Much prefer 1980's kit over modern stuff that needs a microscope to see!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Proabably the earliest A&R Cambridge A60 ever seen here with a serial number in the hundreds and produced just 16 months or so after it was released in late 1976. I wonder if the 'JD' that signed this one as calibrated was one of the two original founders of A&R Cambridge (now Arcam) - John Dawson?

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Another day, another sickly Cyrus One arrives for the workbench. This one looks as if it's previously been attended to by Messrs Bodgit & Scarper having failed to master any real directional control of a soldering iron thus melting the electrolytics sleeve but then failing to solder it in at all!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

As expected the first of many, not often I see these two as bad as this.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

First patient of the day a Cyrus Two whose owner complains of noisy input selector. They didn't even comment on the poor bass response on the right channel (green - left/purple - right) just measured before I start on it! Plenty of duff electrolytics in this one I predict!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Planning on purchasing an Arcam internal phono card for your Delta 290 or Alpha 9 ? Do ensure that the plug on your amplifier PCB where the card fits onto matches the socket colour on the phono card you buy. Otherwise it won't fit properly as there are 2 types. Most common is the white one.

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Reposted by Amplifier Repair Services

Morten Morland @mortenmorland.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Wednesday’s @thetimes.com cartoon times.newsprints.co.uk/peter-brooke...

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

A&R Cambridge A60 on the workbench fully loaded with all options: MC Cartridge loading module and preamp (price £8.50 and £24.95 in 1982!) The upside down PCB is a pre-out buffer amp on what was the Aux input DIN as this amp is an A60AP with split Preamp/PA instead.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

A nice NAD 3020 just fully overhauled complete with new RCA's and speaker terminal upgrade and now on it's way back to it's owner.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

A great example of 40+ year old capacitors leaking the chemical used to form the electrolyte between the coiled up internal plates. Quite common now with earlier versions of the A&R Cambridge A60.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

First example of this rare Cyrus amp seen here. Looks like a Cyrus 2 but no input RCA's and plenty of 4mm sockets at rear. It's basically a bass only amp for the Mission 767 speakers with minor adjustment available. Known as an LFAU or Low Frequency Alignment Unit. Same faults as a Cyrus 2 though!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

In 40 years I don't think the number of failed ceramic caps I've seen has made it to double figures yet! From an NAD3020 PA stage & should be 100nF not a few ohms & caused a 4v dc offset on the output (should be zero). Time consuming to trace but luckily for the customer it's a fixed price repair!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

It's very common with those particular two, Roederstein was the brand and at the time a quality offering but after 40 years or so they've done their job!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Cyrus Two with left channel reported quiet. 1st graph shows left channel lower trace and right upper with former having a severe roll off all the way from 50Khz down to a few Hz. Cause is those 2 dying brown electrolytics that form part of the PA feedback path. 2nd graph is what it should look like.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

An interesting 1982 price list for A&R Cambridge products found in an handbook passed on by an ex-A60 owner. If the A60 were still on sale at todays prices then it would be almost £750 including VAT.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

A reminder in the sky yesterday from a site once used by ARS before switching to BlueSky perhaps?

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

Almost 220 NAD3020's have passed through the workshop to date but they are dwarfed by the Cyrus One and Two's which are nearing 800 now. There is one major manufacturer that does redirect enquiries for a couple models in my direction which I really appreciate though.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

That was a mess. Saw an equally rough bodge at one of the kids places recently, an instant 9.5Kw under sink heater fed as a spur from the back of a kitchen 13A double socket! I was struggling to find where to isolate it on the board initially before the discovery.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Test of a Cyrus 2 before overhaul clearly shows slight left to right channel imbalance and also a small phase difference between channels in 1st image. Almost always down to electrolytic failure as indeed was the case with 2 completely dead electrolytics in the PA stage. 2nd image after replacement.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Really nice to see this recent UK start up producing amps/sources with British components/materials and really hope they succeed especially having designed these with repair and long term support in mind. www.whathifi.com/news/fell-au...

whathifi.com

Fell Audio is a new hi-fi brand that aims to entice hi-fi fans with affordable, British-made separates

Hailing from Cumbria, the new Fell Amp and Fell Disc separates launch with entry-level prices

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Enjoyed having a quick catch up and a good idea to plan another in the future (just west of Cambridge is midway). Hope you and the family enjoy the rest of the break!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Have a safe trip, Aldeburgh (incl Thorpeness), Framlingham & Southwold really lovely towns near to where you are, give Leiston a wide berth & Saxmundham not worth bothering with either apart from a good Tesco/Waitrose for supplies. Currently testing sugar cubes...

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Common damage on an Arcam Alpha 9 not correctly packed to survive transit. A knock during shipping to the balance/tone controls just snaps potentiometers clean off the PCB. Even a risk during overhaul unless you remove the metal rear fascia to avoid accidentally stressing it while on the workbench.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Planning on purchasing a used Cyrus One or Two amplifier (or 'preloved' to use the current fashionable term!). See this concise handy buyers guide here before potentially handing over your money for a flaky Ebay example and ending up disappointed! www.amprepairservices.com/cyrus-buying...

amprepairservices.com

Cyrus Buying Guide | Amplifier Repair Ser

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

A real shame to see a whole sector of engineering that we were trained for just fading away but HF in particular should just be abandoned now and broadcasters should stop wasting energy & expenditure keeping it going. It's about as productive as trying to heat an ocean with a fish tank heater!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Two early Musical Fidelity A1's this week both with the same fault causing channel loss. This input selector switch has several broken solder joints on the pins that solder to the PCB. Caused by slight movement each time the switch is operated eventually fracturing solder joint (no mechanical mount)

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

It's rare to find a Musical Fidelity A1 where the PCB holes line up with the base threaded inserts. This one just had the 2 M3 studs at the rear and the 3 M3 screws for the front were just left out at the factory! Not bad amps though, produce a typical 12W Class 'A' before entering AB then ~26W max.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Perhaps as the valves have run out they can't even get them rebuilt reliably any more. I used to get many of the valves from the B6122's in Antigua rebuilt at a place in the US. Most worked well as long as they were carefully conditioned on arrival and then powered up gently in the Transmitter.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

Replacement RCA sockets now available for the NAD3020 as an option when your amp is at www.amprepairservices.com for overhaul. These mate far better to modern RCA plugs. Also red inserts are used to identify the right channel inputs and white for left as this can be confusing as designed by NAD.

Many plugs are such a tight fit that plugging in/out over many years eventually tears the socket away from the PCB which is only attached by the 3 solder joints. These replacements overcome this issue and mate far better to modern RCA plugs used. Additionally red inserts are used to identify the right channel inputs and white for left channel as this can be confusing as designed by NAD.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Clearly recall riding up that hill for the first time after a snowy 140 mile freezing ride on my Z650 in early Jan 86. Last saw it in Jan 1990 when I left for Masirah as they shut the transmissions down whilst I was away. Cold war finished, Russia not bad guys any more so no need they said......

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

The new one has quickly outgrown the old one in just a few months!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Some great brands there likely to be coming your way! I'm aware of one major UK amp manufacturer that directs customers with older products my way which I'm most grateful for. Most of the stuff I repair though is 35+ years old & not many youngsters these days understand repair to component level!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

An electrolytic that forms part of the phono stage power supply on a Cyrus One has blown it's top and let all the microfarads escape! It's quite common now to find these Roederstein branded components failing in these amps which are nearly 40 yrs old. The black rubber seal has failed due to gassing.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

I bumped into a work colleague of his back in 2012 ish who was flying 747's with him for Virgin Atlantic at that time! Guess they were high enough off the tarmac that none of those could end up nose first into the perimeter fence of an airport!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Brilliant, made me smile! At least we weren't as bad as that Jag pilot (Marty I think) who took the Hobie Cat out on his own, capsized it & knackered his ankle. Only a passing US Navy P3 Orion spotted him drifting out as it was on it's approach and alerted SAR. I always took a phone in later years!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

This is the built in phono stage in an Arcam Alpha 8 amplifier. It's hard to get much simpler than this! Even most external 'boutique' phono stages though are often little more than a couple of chips (often NE5534, NE5532) and a few equalisation components totalling a few £'s in a fancy box instead!

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Looking at the last 2 years expediture for both around 75% went to Digikey versus Mouser. I guess it's Digikey for me based on the better availability of certain components I prefer to use. I rarely use Farnell (Newark in U.S) & occasionally use a UK firm called RS Components.

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Amplifier Repair Services @amprepairservices.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

When you powered that short Omni with 250Kw to work on the main 5 ele array the pick up on each of the towers when you earthed them in the ATU was phenomenal! Although it's a short top hat it has just a few copper plates buried in the marsh & no traditional ground plane so amazing it works so well.

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