Audiophonics branded amps: Reliable?

[RickS]

@Rick Sykora I was just curious what you meant regarding how March Audio struggles with operational excellence to match when it comes to his designs, are you simply referring to the Piezoelectric power switch or the choice of the OPA1612 op amp with a high input bias current?

My impression of March operationally draws on the following:

1. The fiasco with the EAC’s review sample of the March Sointuva speaker.
2. A lesser but still disconcerting quality concerns from @Nuyes March speaker review.
3. Channel mismatch measurements in Amir’s review of a March amplifier.
4. My own experience repairing a March amplifier. The amp was difficult to disassemble and had cramped internals. He had mounted a control board to the SMPS heatsink and had to partially reassemble the amp to test it. I was actually relieved when I found a failed amp module as replacing the power supply would have been much more complicated as was not designed with an eye towards ease of manufacture/service.

Admittedly, this is not a huge data set, but is my impression from the few samples I and reviewers have encountered (hence my hedge that March seems to struggle). On the other hand, I have repaired an Audiophonics amp and it was easy to disassemble and troubleshoot. As I look at their amps for the most part I observe ample spacing and generally good wiring practices.

 

[Sokel]

My impression of March operationally draws on the following:

1. The fiasco with the EAC’s review sample of the March Sointuva speaker.
2. A lesser but still disconcerting quality concerns from @Nuyes March speaker review.
3. Channel mismatch measurements in Amir’s review of a March amplifier.
4. My own experience repairing a March amplifier. The amp was difficult to disassemble and had cramped internals. He had mounted a control board to the SMPS heatsink and had to partially reassemble the amp to test it. I was actually relieved when I found a failed amp module as replacing the power supply would have been much more complicated as was not designed with an eye towards ease of manufacture/service.

Admittedly, this is not a huge data set, but is my impression from the few samples I and reviewers have encountered (hence my hedge that March seems to struggle). On the other hand, I have repaired an Audiophonics amp and it was easy to disassemble and troubleshoot. As I look at their amps for the most part I observe ample spacing and generally good wiring practices.

Like this one?

Doesn't seem so complicated,I see 6 screws and that's it.
I would worry a lot more about its thermals as it seems rather small and cramped,despite the upside-down solution who offers a little more dissipation.
Nope,it's not upside-down,corrected,now I see the lettering.

Edit:correction

 

[RickS]

Like this one?

View attachment 419207

Doesn't seem so complicated,I see 6 screws and that's it.
I would worry a lot more about its thermals as it seems rather small and cramped,despite the upside-down solution who offers a little more dissipation.
Nope,it's not upside-down,corrected,now I see the lettering.

Edit:correction

Based on the ribbon cable routing, am pretty sure it was a different amp but recall it was tricky to remove the cover due to short cabling for the external connectors and switch. Note that ribbon cable was glued to the top of the SMPS heatsink. Nice jacket on the p/s cable but am not very comfortable with the ribbon cable routing. Ribbon cable is inexpensive and could easily been routed along the side.

In any event bear in mind, these pics may not fully reflect the effort required beforehand to disassemble.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Like this one?

View attachment 419207

Doesn't seem so complicated,I see 6 screws and that's it.
I would worry a lot more about its thermals as it seems rather small and cramped,despite the upside-down solution who offers a little more dissipation.
Nope,it's not upside-down,corrected,now I see the lettering.

Edit:correction

At this stage, this amplifier’s lifespan is roughly comparable to that of a sealed 200 W power brick.

 

[gfinlays]

At this stage, this amplifier’s lifespan is roughly comparable to that of a sealed 200 W power brick.

There are ventilation slots visible in the sides of the enclosure and slots in the bottom, so it's not sealed. Similar amount of ventilation to the Hypex DIY cases.

Given the very high efficiency and low heat generation of this type of amplifier, I doubt it's an issue.

Maybe when I have some time and my neighbour's out, I'll run one of mine hard with my differential digital thermometer and compare internal and external temperatures.

 

[Oniiz86]

Like this one?

View attachment 419207

Doesn't seem so complicated,I see 6 screws and that's it.
I would worry a lot more about its thermals as it seems rather small and cramped,despite the upside-down solution who offers a little more dissipation.
Nope,it's not upside-down,corrected,now I see the lettering.

Edit:correction

@Sokel I know this is OT but I just thought it was worth mentioning that is a much earlier case enclosure of March Audio's Monoblock Purifi amps when they utilised Hypex's SMPS but have a much larger case now to accomodate the custom SMPS as you can see below.