Dead Soundstream amp?

I have a pair of older SS ref 5.0 (class A) amps, one of them runs my front mains.  Recently it started making a strange intermittant static noise at half-volume or greater.  Below that, amp sounds fine.  Beyond half volume the static starts & increases with volume.  It does the same thing with a silent track, so it seems to be voltage-induced.  I switched out the amp for another, problem solved, then switched back to verify it wasn't the hook-up, problem returned.  So it's definitely local to the amp.

Incidentally, the amp runs at 4 ohm stereo & has performed for a good 5+ years.

I've never had a problem like this before, any ideas what may cause that?  The static is never louder than the music unless it's a silent track, go figure.

Also, where/who is reputable & can repair this old amp with quality parts?  SS says they will but they're expensive & need a solid 4-5 weeks to get to it.  I found an online repair service - www.justrepairs.com - they claim to be able to handle it but I'm leery of sending it to someone I don't know.  Anyone have experience here?

TIA.

By half volume, I'll assume you mean half up on the gain of the amp. I had a Boss Riot sreies amp do the same thing to me. When switched out, it stopped, so it was a local thing. If you feel its voltage induced, sit on it with a multimeter and see what happens. I'm confused too, so i'm gonna wait with ya for an intelligent answer.

Granted, i'm not an old timer in this madness, but I seem to recall a soundstream amp on the wall of a pawn shop covered in an inch of dust (i.e., from what I know, you may want to look at a new amp no who)

The other guys (and gals) will prolly have more insight here, but i'd weigh the time, frustration, and money of repair against just going new.

These things have an amazingly warm sound, I'd hate to give them up.  Actually replaced it for the time being with a ancient SS A-100, had been buried in the basement forever.

When I say voltage-induced I'm referring to the HU output, the noise isn't dependant on current (?) from an audio signal coming thru.  I may be way off on that, what I do know is it still happens with a silent track.  By volume I mean source volume, not the gains - haven't touched those in years. 

hmm, well, with it being a possiblity of voltage induced via head unit, i'm really on the rock. I have no use as far as a cure is concerned, but i'm very curious for the answer.

warm sound ehh... I may go rip that thing off the wall and take it for a spin. I'm always open to others opinions on sounds.

Random thought. Maybe has something to do with the RCA connections? But I tell myself no at the same time, because I believe the voltage remains the same despite volume from head unit. ACtually, I think it has to. Maybe has something to do with exterior noise induction (engine whine, alternator whir)

I dunno, i'd better stop thinking in the forum before I get banned

boulderguy wrote:

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These things have an amazingly warm sound, I'd hate to give them up.  Actually replaced it for the time being with a ancient SS A-100, had been buried in the basement forever.

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I still have a Class A 40. 20 amps regardless of volume. Horribly inefficient, but sounds great (warm like tubes).

^^^ Exactly.  Worth hanging on to. 

JazzCustom - SS has made some el cheapo's in the last 10 years, so don't assume that pawn shop dust bunnie has anything on the ball.  If it says class A I'd jump on it tho.

will do. Such a sad thing. A lot of the old companies have slid down hill. What's the deal.

onto more important things...

Somebody PLEASE answer this question!!

I think the first thing to do is crack open the case and look for physical issues. Like Jazz said look @ the RCAs. If I remember right they are bolt on with wire to the board. Check the wires. Look for stressed solder joints and such.

Heck, open it up and post a pic. I'd love a trip down memory lane.

I cracked it open & two "checked by #" stickers fell out.  Didn't help.  Didn't see anything obviously wrong.

Just remembered the only thing that's changed with this amp, a couple weeks back I switched one RCA input to balanced (SS mentions something about it helping with alt noise, I have a tiny bit - didn't help)  a couple weeks later problem started.  I did some sleuthing & switched it back to unbal (it's the same RCA, just has a 2-position switch over it) and the problem went away for a few days.  Now has gradually returned & is constant now regardless of bal/unbal position.  So maybe the switch went out?

Otherwise the RCA's are bolted to the case, very solid, so I doubt anything shook loose there.

jazzcustom131 wrote:

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Granted, i'm not an old timer in this madness, but I seem to recall a soundstream amp on the wall of a pawn shop covered in an inch of dust (i.e., from what I know, you may want to look at a new amp no who)

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UPDATE - After my revelation last nite, I pulled it apart & checked the bal/unbal switches.  They seem fine but I jumpered them anyway & reinstalled the amp - PROBLEM SOLVED!

Basically bypassed the switches & put it in a semi-permanant unbalanced input mode.