Mighty Favog Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Had to replace a couple of blown fuses in the old Rotel today from the left-channel not playing. Sure it couldn't be so easy as to be the main 12A power fuse, naaaaww. It had to be two T6.3A 250V ones on the inside....they were relatively easy to get to. I replaced one and tried it. The offending channel would now only make noise if the volume was turned up a bit, and then it would only make a very short popping noise. So I built a second one. And it STAYED UP! (o.k., enough Monty Python humor) Replacing the other blown fuse worked and all is well. In the mean time I was in aw' at what this thing was made with. Nichicon, BlackGate..like Ragu, it's in there. And 4 15,000uF 80V caps. to drive the motors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I could be wrong, but I seem to read constantly on boards here and there that Rotel amps, while sounding terrific, have a major problem with fuses blowing...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 It could have been my fault. I was trying to find out what the amperage output is on this thing and I could have had the meter on the wrong scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Dang, that is be-oo-ti-ful! Massive! Maybe I need one of those? M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 Michael, what happened to your avatar?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancientdude Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I think he is trying to make a point... am i wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 ---------------- On 7/21/2005 5:51:01 PM nicholtl wrote: I could be wrong, but I seem to read constantly on boards here and there that Rotel amps, while sounding terrific, have a major problem with fuses blowing...? ---------------- Nick, some of the models do - but the 1080 is not usually one of them. Tom, I feel your pain. I blew three of four of the internal fuses on my 1080 - actually it was someone else's fault - and it was not the fault of the amp. Luckily, my 1080 was still in warranty, and I purchased it from a local shop. Even though fuse blowing is not usually covered, the local Rotel dealer replaced the three (with slightly larger ones) for a very minimal fee. But, I know where you are coming from because replacing them looked to be a pain..... Michael, they are one of the greatest bang for the bucks in an amp ever made. Built like a you-know-what house, with plenty of nice goodies - and yet with a bunch of redundant safety features in case something does go wrong. Not all that spectacular at lower volumes, but get into it - and voila - the amp sings. And boy is there a damping factor.....I now have my 1080 with my Peach as my high volume amp for my Belles, and my Marantz 8B for low to medium volume duty. And to think, I almost sold my 1080 after I acquired all my nice tube amps - but noone jumped on the deal - and I decided to keep it. Glad I did. A very nice amp for Klipsch speakers - and especially for the money. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 Thanks, I wonder if Rotel would send me a few fuses if I called them and asked "how much they cost". Maybe they'll send some to me for free . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Worth a shot. I know that Rotel got some bad reps on some BBs three or four years ago when there was a hum problem associated with some 1095s (Rotel's multichannel version of the 1080). But, Rotel apparently fixed that problem on an updated version of that amp, and the performance of my 1080 (and my 1075 before) has been nothing short of spectacular and reliable. And, the time I have spoken to their customer service (and their local Rotel), they were helpful. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 They were a little tough to get to. I only had to unscrew one wire to move it out of the way. They are mounted vertically, just used a flat-head jeweler's screwdriver to pry them out. I got a little bit of a spark when I made the connections for the one towards the rear (I guess a cap discharged). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 22, 2005 Author Share Posted July 22, 2005 GOOD NEWS!! I called Rotel this morning and they are sending me (free) 8-8.0 amp fuses to replace the 6.3's that are in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 The build quality of that amp looks very good! Did the fuses just blow or were you driving it pretty hard when they gave out. Just curious. It is great to see that manufacturer's are still willing to be helpful to their customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Rotel makes some fine quality audio amps,the chassis is passable in quality.The guts(electronics)are of good quality,I had a few Rotel amps over the years and liked the way they performed.Never blew a single fuse in any of them. One thing I could never go over was the mass market looks.Other than that Rotel products are very good quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 22, 2005 Author Share Posted July 22, 2005 ---------------- On 7/22/2005 10:09:04 AM Frzninvt wrote: Did the fuses just blow or were you driving it pretty hard when they gave out. ---------------- I wasn't driving it hardly at all. It fact, I had just turned it on to do the test, disconnected both speaker cables and connected the test leads. Then, no readings at all. Farted around with it making sure all the preamp settings were in the right place and the protection circuit wasn't thrown etc., and nothin' was coming from the left channel. Hooked the amp up to another system in another room and that conformed it was the amp that had a problem. Who knows, I may have touched the spades to the speaker cables together accidently (although that should have just thrown the protection circuit). So it's probably just a known problem since they up-ed the fuses from 6.3 to 8.0 amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 ---------------- On 7/22/2005 12:02:16 PM Tom Blasing wrote: ---------------- On 7/22/2005 10:09:04 AM Frzninvt wrote: Did the fuses just blow or were you driving it pretty hard when they gave out. ---------------- I wasn't driving it hardly at all. It fact, I had just turned it on to do the test, disconnected both speaker cables and connected the test leads. Then, no readings at all. Farted around with it making sure all the preamp settings were in the right place and the protection circuit wasn't thrown etc., and nothin' was coming from the left channel. Hooked the amp up to another system in another room and that conformed it was the amp that had a problem. Who knows, I may have touched the spades to the speaker cables together accidently (although that should have just thrown the protection circuit). So it's probably just a known problem since they up-ed the fuses from 6.3 to 8.0 amps. ---------------- In my situation, someone did the equivalent of touching two speaker wires together while the amp was on and that's all it took to blow some internal fuses. However, I'd rather have that happen than some of the alternatives. My guess is that the protection circuit probably should have kicked in as the first line of defense, but the internal fuses are definitely the second line of defense. From what I've read on BBs, the protection circuits usually kicks in if the unit is overdriven or overheats. Never had a problem with the unit shutting down due to overdriving or overheating, and I've pushed the 1080 hard. Yes, Ear, they are not the most attractive exteriors. I could also say the same about my little 'ole Dynaco Stereo 70, but they both do the job just fine. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invidiosulus Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Oooh, You have one of them there roundy round transformers. Nice looking amp. I always enjoy shots of equipment guts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Tom, If you had the speakers disconnected and used a multimeter set to measure current, you made a direct short across the output terminals. To measure current, your meter would have to be on one leg of the speaker leads. This is why it is a pain to check the current a motor is pulling. For that, the clip on kind is worth its wieght in gold (maybe not). Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 ---------------- On 7/23/2005 6:52:29 PM Marvel wrote: Tom, If you had the speakers disconnected and used a multimeter set to measure current, you made a direct short across the output terminals. To measure current, your meter would have to be on one leg of the speaker leads. This is why it is a pain to check the current a motor is pulling. For that, the clip on kind is worth its wieght in gold (maybe not). Bruce ---------------- So should I only try one lead (pos.)? Where does the other lead connect to (if anywhere)? Or do I need one of those non-contact clamps that mearly go around the cable? The meter I'm using is auto ranging both in scale and AC/DC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsp1068 Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 Rotel has a fix for the 1080's that open fuses. They bumped the current rating up a tad and changed a cap and resistor. Doesn't sound like a "bug" so much as the right combination of loading will take them out. Check out club Rotel @ htguide for lots of chatter on the topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 24, 2005 Author Share Posted July 24, 2005 rsp1068- Thanx for the direction. There is post on there that says that the RB1080 has a peak current output of 120 amps. Seems like lot to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.