Parasound HCA 1000a with dead channel

[mcad64]

My other Parasound HCA 1000a now seems to have also lost a channel. Of course Parasound has no authorized dealers or repair shops in Canada , from what I can tell. I have put in an email to them just to see if perhaps they know of a place near my location. I doubt it highly. So I have looked at a couple of websites of shops in my area and will make some calls. I bought these used so not sure how much I want to sink into them?? My question is, in the meantime, can I pull the other defective one out of mothballs, run my left rear surround with it, and my right rear surround with the current one? I assume yes!!??
Thanks,
Mike,

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I would be very careful about using an amplifier which is known to have a defect to fill in for the channels which do not work. The problem is that you do not know the nature of the defect of the unit on a circuit level - it could, or could not be, one which involves parts/circuits which carry significant current and could cause overcurrent problems. Not a particularly safe thing. Personally, I wouldn't plug in a known defective component unless its on my test bench.

Amplifiers should only be repaired by people who can get exact replacement semiconductors. A "close enough" generic transistor is generally not going to work as well as the exact part - this is particularly true now that output devices are increasingly specialized in function. For instance, some transistors contain a diode junction which can be brought out to monitor and adjust bias current. The characteristics of that diode are critical.

Generally, class "D" amplifier modules cannot be reliably repaired - they are just replaced outright.

Just the humble musings of someone who has probably a couple hundred amplifiers and processors just outside my office window in various states of assembly in the sausage factory.

 

[Randy]

Good advice Rammis.

 

[Deleted member 133]

My other Parasound HCA 1000a now seems to have also lost a channel. Of course Parasound has no authorized dealers or repair shops in Canada , from what I can tell. I have put in an email to them just to see if perhaps they know of a place near my location. I doubt it highly. So I have looked at a couple of websites of shops in my area and will make some calls. I bought these used so not sure how much I want to sink into them?? My question is, in the meantime, can I pull the other defective one out of mothballs, run my left rear surround with it, and my right rear surround with the current one? I assume yes!!??
Thanks,
Mike,

I'd give Parasound's Warranty page a gander first.

http://www.parasound.com/support.php#info

Even though they were bought by you used, were they bought in the US by the original owner? And if so how old are they?

Even if you don't slip in under those two provisions, it's still a good idea to contact the OEM, as you have done, regardless.

Jeff

ps. I agree 100% with Soundhound's warning!

 

[heeman]

So..........just before the Superbowl we were watching a movie. I sensed an issue with the RL speaker. So I immediately went to the Speaker Setup screen on the Outlaw and sure enough very little output on that channel. I have 2 HCA-1000A. I use one with just one of the channels driving the Center and the other one driving the RL and RR. I did a quick swap of amps and took the working channel of the Amp to drive the center and the other to drive the rears............problem solved.

However, now reading what Rammis has suggested, it may not be a good idea driving the Center speaker with a Stereo Amp when one channel is not working properly...............

Does this mean it is time for a new toy??

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

So..........just before the Superbowl we were watching a movie. I sensed an issue with the RL speaker. So I immediately went to the Speaker Setup screen on the Outlaw and sure enough very little output on that channel. I have 2 HCA-1000A. I use one with just one of the channels driving the Center and the other one driving the RL and RR. I did a quick swap of amps and took the working channel of the Amp to drive the center and the other to drive the rears............problem solved.

However, now reading what Rammis has suggested, it may not be a good idea driving the Center speaker with a Stereo Amp when one channel is not working properly...............

Does this mean it is time for a new toy??

Unless you can get it fixed for a reasonable cost, I'd say you're in the market for a new amplifier. If the amplifier has any external fuses, I'd check those first. However, fuses generally blow for a very good reason.......