Where to get vintage receivers fixed? NE Ohio

[robh]

I have a beloved Nakamichi AV-10 that could use some TLC. Probably some caps and pots need to be cleaned or replaced. 'Scratchy sounds when I turn some knobs, etc. There is a volume issue with one of the speakers, which was the last straw.

I realize as a labor of love I could spend the time (probably considerable time in my case) learning how to do it myself, but I'd rather just have a pro look it over.

Where do I begin looking for a company who does these kind of refurbishments? I'm in Cleveland OH if that helps.

 

[DanielT]

Try with deoxit to get rid of the Scratchy sounds when I turn some knobs, etc. Nop, ...probably considerable time in my case... It's quick, easy and you don't need to be knowledgeable in electronics when you do it. Of course, just unplug your receiver before you do it

Read more here:

Deoxit - How to use it and other electronics control cleaner stuff.

Deoxit web page is here. NOTE: If you are not a techy do not turn the bias pots, the phono pots or the tuner pots on the PCB's. You will put the device out of calibration and it will not operate properly or you can damage it. In the following video he details cleaning those pots, do not turn them.

audiosciencereview.com

You can also check out some Youtube videos showing how to do it.

 

[robh]

Try with deoxit to get rid of the Scratchy sounds when I turn some knobs, etc.

Sound advice if that's all it needs, but I don't know. I presume it'll need more TLC than that.

 

[DanielT]

Spray on your pots. Exercise them properly, back and forth after you have injected the agent. Wait a while for it to dry. It dries, evaporates quickly.

Edit:
If you want to be on the excessively completely safe side, you can wait, like an hour after you spray, before you turn on your receiver and test if the scratchy sound disappeared. That if it feels best for you to do so if it's your first time doing this.

Do not screw the chassis in place before testing. You may need to spray one more time. After you turn off the receiver, wait a while to unplug and wait a few minutes before you start spraying. Best to be sure that the caps are discharged so to say. Sad to get a electrical kiss if you poke in the wrong place in the receiver (no poking, just spray and exercise the pots).

Besides that, it's just a matter of trying it out. Nothing will break.

 

[DMill]

I can’t speak for Cleveland but here in Rochester, NY I found a local analog record/CD store that resells used gear also. They replaced a cap, replaced a part that was causing a volume imbalance issue and cleaned it up for around $150. It would have cost 4x that to send the amp to the manufacturer in Cary, NC and have it repaired. That said, a clean bill of health from the manufacturer in writing would probably help if I wanted to sell it. I’d start with your niche audio resellers. Even if they don’t do the repair they can probably provide a reliable reference. It’s Cleveland, someone can do it.

 

[DanielT]

I can’t speak for Cleveland but here in Rochester, NY I found a local analog record/CD store that resells used gear also. They replaced a cap, replaced a part that was causing a volume imbalance issue and cleaned it up for around $150. It would have cost 4x that to send the amp to the manufacturer in Cary, NC and have it repaired. That said, a clean bill of health from the manufacturer in writing would probably help if I wanted to sell it. I’d start with your niche audio resellers. Even if they don’t do the repair they can probably provide a reliable reference. It’s Cleveland, someone can do it.

Really good price I must say.

Then the question arises.IF there is no clearly audible noise that requires replacement of parts, should you then with a receiver from 1999 do this?:

Importance of replacing the electrolytic capacitors in any vintage gears

Quote from this part of the article below. In that link you can see how the values of the capacitors were measured and how much they deviate from spec/tolerance. The question is whether it is possible to generalize and say this: As one can see from the test results about 30% of all original...

audiosciencereview.com

Maybe, maybe not.
(I hadn't done it)

https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/nakamichi/av-10.shtml

 

[DMill]

Really good price I must say.

With a receiver from 1999 should you then? :

I couldn’t believe how little they charged me. Your link out is 100% accurate though. I originally asked the tech if he’d upgrade all the caps and his response was something very much like, “why do you want me to fix something that isn’t broken. If it breaks again, just bring it back.”

It was a Cary SLI-80 sig. from the late 90s. My guess is the the manufacturer would’ve gouged me $500 or more for a full cap “upgrade”. $150 to diagnose it and shipping fees.

Long story short I have a fun looking 100% functional tube amp for my office setup and saved a ton of cash.

 

[Doodski]

After you turn off the receiver, wait a while to unplug and wait a few minutes before you start spraying. Best to be sure that the caps are discharged so to say. Sad to get a electrical kiss if you poke in the wrong place in the receiver (no poking, just spray and exercise the pots).

I checked the service manual and there are bleeder resisters at the power supply main smoothing caps. So after about 3 minutes with the unit unplugged you'll be good to work on it safely.

 

[Doodski]

With a receiver from 1999 should you then? :

Importance of replacing the electrolytic capacitors in any vintage gears

Quote from this part of the article below. In that link you can see how the values of the capacitors were measured and how much they deviate from spec/tolerance. The question is whether it is possible to generalize and say this: As one can see from the test results about 30% of all original...

audiosciencereview.com

Don't do a complete cap replacement. It is a hope that any bad cap(s) will be replaced. If it breaks down then get a tech/engineer to troubleshoot for the bad cap(s) and take it from there. The important thing is to address that scratchy pot stuff. Use the cleaner as @DanielT advised and you should be good to go.

 

[DanielT]

Here a person cleaning a Nakamichi AV10. I don't think the OP will do that much because:
Here is the fully exposed control panel. Each switch, button and potentiometer gets sprayed with DeoxIT and operated repeatedly to work it all around the contacts.
Requires, as can be seen in the pictures, to disassemble the receiver a bit, BUT for only cleaning the volume pot you only need to remove the lid.

Strange, it was not possible to insert the link to the page. Anyway I took some screenshots. Those of you who are interested can google it.


Edit:
Robh , if you feel like spraying the volume pot yourself but feel unsure, take pictures and we can help you.
That said, consider what DMill said in #5. It is possible to get hold of professional repairmen at good prices. Just clean the volume pot, that job takes around 10 minutes. My GUESS is that you might have to pay $20-30, for that job (I don't really know anything about what it costs in the US). A spray can of deoixt might cost around $8 so from a pure wallet perspective it hardly doesn't matter how you do it. The advantage of handing the receiver in is that the professional repairermen can also take a general look at its condition. Maybe check DC offset, bias and so on.

Then there is the question of how much a 20 year old AV receiver is worth. How much money should be spent on service, repair and so on, but that can only be decided by the owner himself.

 

[robh]

I found a place nearby. Thanks everyone.