Dead amp

[pluplog]

I ordered an Archel2 Pro after reading the reviews here and I wanted a small-ish amp to put in the bedroom for ad-hoc listens. There was some initial back and forth that they don't directly ship to my location but in the end I figured I'll take a bet and order through a forwarding service. Fast forward to the day I got it in the mail. I plug in the amp to the provided power supply, headphones, switch on and... drum roll.... nothing. No sound. Just pretty LED lights.

I reached out but after a first reply where I think the folks at Geshelli wanted to see if I hadn't tapped the input selection button enough times to be on the right configuration, the line went dead. One observation I had was that when I turned up the volume knob, when it's near max, I hear some faint crackling music coming through. This applies even after I power off, disconnect from the AC and keep my source running. Anyone has a clue what might be the case? A bad component?

Otherwise it works as advertised - the LED changes color if I tap the power button, I heard a faint click when I hold the input button to toggle gain mode. Should I keep it as a pretty paperweight?

 

[Doodski]

Return it for warranty exchange. There are many happy Geshelli customers out there so this must be a outlier case.

 

[pluplog]

Return it for warranty exchange. There are many happy Geshelli customers out there so this must be a outlier case.

It's probably not worth the effort to ship it back. I'll wait a week or 2 more to see if they follow up with a reply.

 

[AnalogSteph]

This is really unfortunate and about the definition of Shit happens. If sending the amp back is too much of a hassle, maybe you can find an electronics repair workshop nearby instead? The most likely scenario is that something just wasn't soldered properly and went open during shipping, and now a supply voltage is missing from an opamp or something.

I presume they have an inverter to generate -12V from the external 12 V supply, so both of these should be present on opamp power pins.

 

[solderdude]

There is a DCDC converter for the audio part that outputs + and - 12V and is galvanically separate from the incoming power supply.
It could be dead.
The digital part (the LEDs/relays) are driven directly from its power supply so have a separate supply.

Can you check the power supply itself ?
I assume the digital part works on 5V so it is possible the digital part still works as advertised when the input voltage is say 6V but the DCDC converters might not (they aren't wide range types).

 

[restorer-john]

Disappointing for sure. Ask the manufacturer for a replacement or refund. They might be able to just send you an entire populated PCB to save costs.

 

[mhardy6647]

oh, I am so sorry -- the title of this thread is bringing out my waggishness...

Dead amps.
For many, many years, most of 'em were McIntoshes.

 

[Geshelli]

I ordered an Archel2 Pro after reading the reviews here and I wanted a small-ish amp to put in the bedroom for ad-hoc listens. There was some initial back and forth that they don't directly ship to my location but in the end I figured I'll take a bet and order through a forwarding service. Fast forward to the day I got it in the mail. I plug in the amp to the provided power supply, headphones, switch on and... drum roll.... nothing. No sound. Just pretty LED lights.

Hi pulplog

Please contact me either here or by email. We are typically very responsive when a person emails us. I will need your name so I can do a follow-up. If your amp is broken, you do not pay return shipping unless it was specified before we sent your order.

 

[preload]

"Dead-amp, Dead-amp. Dead-amp Dead-amp Dead-amp Dead-amp, dead-aaaaaaaaamp, Dead-amp Dead-amp."

- The Pink Panther theme song

 

[pluplog]

Thanks @solderdude @AnalogSteph, I might have a look and check the power supply as a last resort.

@Geshelli, I've DM'ed you. I had sent out 2 emails to try and follow up but there was no reply from your end. Maybe it went to spam or something.

 

[Geshelli]

Thanks @solderdude @AnalogSteph, I might have a look and check the power supply as a last resort.

@Geshelli, I've DM'ed you. I had sent out 2 emails to try and follow up but there was no reply from your end. Maybe it went to spam or something.

Hi. I did respond to the email. I don't know what happened but I will resend on our email thread as well as on the DM. Thanks.