I found about about these failures of the promedia system two days ago. The morning I read about them, I thought "Good thing mine still works after 4 years!" I got home from work that day to find my speakers dead. I replaced a blown fuse, not a good idea. Then plugged it back in to hear a loud buzz. Unplugging quickly, I pulled the amp to explore. Following the smell and the charring. I found a component that had been blown out. After further investigating this thread today. I looked at the diode and 2 resistors aforementioned. R26 is cracked and the board is black between the diode and the other resistor.
The damaged component, that I imagine was secondary to the resitor failure, is melted and I have trouble making out all the specs. I'm a electronic newb and have only done some minor repair work from online guides in the past (free IBM 260 21" monitor was worth it). So please pardon my description. On the heat sink near the transformer there are 2 three legged IC's that mount directly on the heatsink. I read somewhere else someone complaining about the lack of thermal grease on them and the fact the are clipped on not screwed. Anywho, I can read the top line as 'IRF 740.." the 40 is not for certain. the seond line is 'I*R 12' not sure on the 1 in this one. Could anyone ID this for me?
Thanks in advance