ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2024
- In this video, I perform a teardown and refurbishment on a Cambridge Audio A4 Amplifier. I also add some ambient lighting to the front panel to allow the unit to be used in darker environments.
Equipment Used:
Metcal MX-5200 Soldering System
Meterman 37XR
Panasonic FC and FM Capacitors
Rubycon YXH Capacitors
Wurth 151033YS03000 3mm LEDs #ElectronicsCreators
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I bought an A4 from a second had shop for 25 quid and it had a buzzing noise. I was going to throw it away then found this video. Got some new capacitors and followed the video and now it works with no buzzing and sounds great! So, great amp for £35 all in plus a bit of my time. Thanks for the video!
Someone at Cambridge Audio must be thinking... Now why did we not do that? Nice.
Nice job on the control lighting. I myself would have used blue LEDs, but that's just me. I saw my first blue LED as a PC power indicator at a Computer City store about 25 years ago(!) and instantly fell in love. Now, I overdo it and use blue LEDs everywhere. :)
Well done. A very well thought out video. I like the modifications to the amplifier. Great idea. You have got me thinking about some of my own projects.
Robert Cleveland Thanks :)
Very cool, looks awesome. Wish you had shown a bit more (for dummies) on the where you connected the wires on the board, the soldering in of the resisters, and soldering the LED's.
Pretty slick mod, turned out very well. Your clock is looking great also.
I bought a battered, non working A4 for about 15UKP a couple of years back. It had been dropped on the corner of the front panel, cracked the pcb and the chassis was bent out of shape by the transformer when it came to a sudden stop.
I must be a bit mad, but I spent ages straightening the chassis, glueing and patching the PCB etc. It sounds like new. Looks a bit rough, though.
I also did a similar repair job to a Pioneer A400, now that is a great amp! I never finished the repair to original spec though as I could never source a replacement volume pot, which was sadly destroyed in the drop.
Very well produced. Audio level is spot on, very easy to understand what you're saying. Video quality and lighting is perfect, easy to see small details on the PCB. Just subscribed, looking forward to more videos!!!
Very nice! And I'm looking forward to those upcoming videos as well. Thanks.
I will say it doesn't look to shabby with the roof off..👍
Great video but just a minor thing the power amp filter capacitors are 2200uF not 220uF. :)
Great job Steve! Like the back illumination very much. Nice peace of audio gear! Thumps up, Cheers Peter
Hey Peter, thanks. Big fan of your channel :)
Hi Steve, just realised your nice channel and directly sub :-)
Nice work as usual! Look forward to the follow on projects.
Cool! You might find sanding down the inside edge of the perspex to give better (more even) diffusion. 2 minute job max :)
What a lovely looking mod...I would definitely do that...cheers.
Nice lighting! Looks like flames.
Very nice mod -- it really turned out well! And nice to have a look around the amp too. I've never owned a Cambridge Audio, and it does look like a decent bit of kit. One thing I'm curious about -- did you have a chance to measure the bias on the output stage once it was all warmed up?
Excellent job. I think white bulbs would look great too...
Great video. I've had this amp for about 24 years and love it but now have a humming noise from it. Don't want to throw it away ... can you upgrade mine, please? I'm useless with these things, even after watching the video!
Thanks, I like your way of explaining a circuit/ amplifier ;I always learn something new.
I wouldn't have thought to balance the LED's for instance. It was also interesting to see how you calculated the series resistor for the LED's.
Andy Ecallaw Thanks for your kind comments
I've got an A4. My curiosity is, can i put a fan in it?
Great video - thanks for doing it. I also have this amp and would like to do the mod now. Also could you tell me the make and model of the direct push button switch as mine is faulty, often completely disconnects one channel. Thank you very much.
Great video as always. Where did you get the acrylic cut as I would like to try this on the Cambridge Audio amplifier that I have.?
rupert handford I cut them myself on the laser cutter at work. Do you have a similar model? I cut loads of spares which I could send if the knobs are the same size.
Thanks. Will email you via your website.
This is so awesome! I really enjoyed this video. Thank you very much. you made that Cambridge 3X more beautiful.
Great work, just about to recap mine.
Hey Steve, just curious to know if you have any experience with cambridge audio's azur line?
Great video! After 20 years one of those eight capacitors on my A4 has leaked onto the PCB and fallen off. However, the eight capacitors on my board are blue rather than black and they are also not so fat. What might that signify? Just a different make? Do you know where I can get a circuit diagram for this amp?
As well as a full Nichicon recap, I added a streamer to one of these amplifiers by using the slot where the phono stage can be added. Details are on the Arylic forum: forum.arylic.com/t/cambridge-audio-a5-amp-with-arylic-up2stream-mini-v3-streamer/239
Hi. Can you please explain which cap is located where ? Panasonic FC and FM Capacitors
Rubycon YXH Capacitors - they are 2200 uF in PSU this is clear. What about FC and FM Panasonic. I have 651A Azur amp 12 years old already so sooner or later recapping has to be done. I have Samxcon at 15V and 5V PSU and some other funny guys placed by CA as original ones.Thank you in advance for advice. KindRegards Marek
Hi Steve just wondering if you can help me. My amp just went this morning it is a Cambridge audio 300. I had noticed a few issues lately a buzz or hum noise coming through the speakers, the sound going up and down and it feeling quite warm. When I heard you talking about the capacitors I wondered if it was them? I am not technically minded but do you think it is worth getting it repaired or would it be cheaper to invest in a new one?
I have an old a4 and its currently got a constant buzz from the speakers, with nothing attached. I believe the capacitors are failing. I'm looking at replacing these but not sure which ones to buy. Do you have list of the ones I need and where I can get them from?
Me too I have the same amp and same problem did you find the capacitors and did it solve the buzz problem?
@@MrHoncheunguk yes they did. It’s working fine now.
Great video! I have the Topaz AM10 and the screen has stopped working. Any idea what I may need to poke at internally to get it functioning again?
Is the rest of the unit working normally?
@@sdgelectronics Yes absoloutely fine
@@DanOsborne I would double check the connectors in that case, maybe passing a soldering iron over anything that looks suspect. Check the voltage rails to the display if you can.
Nice teardown, and cool mod. Do you have a link to those nice LEDs? Thanks!
+PelDaddy They're Wurth Elektronik 151033YS03000, Farnell order code 232-2117. Thanks
Standard ILP transformer there, plain toroid and no screen, so likely an off the shelf version made without a label only.
+SeanBZA Yeah. It's a nice transformer ( I have the A4 myself) but it's just a run of the mill toroid. Looks 'cool' though. :-)
Looks beautiful!
we had one of those ages ago. nice mod
Awesome! I just subscribed.
Nice job Steve, thanks! It might have been better to add a dimmer so you could adjust the brightness, but it looks nice.
Robert Calk Jr. Yes, it's something I'm thinking about - I just need to be careful about not injecting noise into the amplifier if I use a PWM dimmer. Thanks for watching Robert.
SDG Electronics
My pleasure - I enjoy your videos. I forgot to mention that it looked like there was some brown goo under C215 I think it was when you were looking through the amplifier.
Robert Calk Jr. I did notice this, but it looked to be glue rather than any electrolyte when I inspected after taking out the capacitors.
Hi,is it possible to hook up a equalizer in that amp? Does it have a tape 2 monitor?
Awesome video!
Hey, I have a problem with my CA. Volume potentiometer is broken, could you help me what type of potentiometer i have to buy?
Thanks for your help
is it possible to modify record out in amplifier to make it react to volume knob ??
This is a good video!
Good video. Keep going. Subscribed.
Do you resolder the board to wire joints? By far biggest failure point. Caps are a distant 3rd after the regulators.
Seriously, recapping when you've got cold joints is a waste of time, especially in audio.
I would imagine that those power supply caps are 2200uf not 220uf. Also the bias is set with a variable resistor not capacitor.
I know this is a long time ago but could you recomment a phono stage i could buy and fit i have no idea 😂
Good one 👌👍
Just opened mine and the 220uf caps are loose flopping around
how many watts is this amp per channel I've just got it after using the a1 for years
I believe its 50-60 watts per channel.. im sure thats what my manual said
I have a A1 intergrated Amp. Why does the inside fuses blow every time I turn it on ?
My guess would be a failure of the output transistors for initial investigation. They are the most likely parts to result in a high current path. Start with a visual inspection however.
@@sdgelectronics Thank you so much for your reply. Dave.
thanks
Very usefull
Get bro, I've got the same amplifier ,mine works good most of the time but when I switch it off it take hours before the it turns on , please help .. thank you in advance
really like the led in volume knob. I got to find a way to place it in my azur 640a, as this mod would be really usefull
Spent money on a giant PCB.
Uses a crap potentiometer.
Well done Cambridge Audio
Navarro Eletrônica Yeah, quite poor actually. I noticed it said "licensed for manufacture in China" on the back which I thought was a bit odd, but explains a lot (no name capacitors etc).
A poor effort from Cambridge Audio to not incorporate a relay for speaker protection
+David Small Indeed. Not great having speaker pop when the amp is turned on.
I had to put a thumb down on this video. The reason is that this could have been a lot more valuable, if it was shown how the cabling for the panel and the volume knob LEDs was fed through the various pieces of the housing, without disturbing the reassembly and the turning of the knob. Next time, you could just speed up the video where you think it's too tedious or boring, instead of leaving out parts of it.