Car Stereo Amplifier Repair Service

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Catbox

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While getting back into car stereo stuffs, I have a few car amplifiers that are in need of qualified service.
Two of them came to me broken from a garage sale for the large sum of $FREE.
One came from another garage sale and cost a massive $5, so I thought I would try it out.
Naturally none of them worked.

So I started looking for a repair guy just to get these fixed up and running again.
While doing research on the YouTube, I saw a post on a video and typed it into my google machine.

Enter: Ellensburg Amplifier Repair Service.
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Todd has many years of electrical repair service and many detailed videos of his repairs.

I contacted him through the website and he was quick to respond and kept in touch throughout the repairs he made.

I sent him 4 amps to repair as needed.
They were all shipped to him and within 1-1/2 to 2 weeks I had them all back in my hands and functional.
To repair all of the amps the total service and parts charge was $48.
Shipping cost me more than the repair...
But for a average total of $30 each amp ((total cost of repairs + $5 purchase of all amps + shipping) / 4) I believe these will work out just fine for some budget music in cars I don't drive on the regular.
 

Catbox

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Here are the amps that I sent to him for repair.
1) A $5 Sentrek 2 channel from 1989 and the previous owner probably abused it as it had loads of tiny wires on it. That all came off and went in the trash, amp does nothing.
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2) A free to me Kicker ZX400.1 Mono Class D sub amp, it would start up and then trip into protect mode.
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3) A free to me Kenwood KAC 7203 2 channel amp, lights came on and nobody home.
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4) The last one is my older brothers Autotek 7030 2 channel amp that he had long ago. It was sent in for cleaning and repair as needed. This one is special to me as it was his and I remember it in his 1989 Camaro. This little thing only has 16 watts per channel, but is a cheater amp.
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They have all been verified to function by him.
I will be putting the Kicker into my Squarebody to power my subs.
I am not sure where the others will go just yet.
But I have them and they all now work.
 

Raider L

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@Catbox,

Wow! I haven't heard from you in a long time. I'll have to contact this guy and see what else he fixes. I have some transistor radio's that need tending to as they are part of my old transistor radio collection. Most all work fine but I've got about three of them that need fixing. They would be the ones that mean the most to me.

There used to be several places around town that fixed everything, TV's, stereos, record players, tape decks, car stereo systems, all that stuff. Now you have to send everything on line. When everything went digital and the throw away electronics came about that killed all the repair shops. Some of those places had been around for over fifty years. Of course it was one of those deals where there either weren't any kids to take over the business, or the kids there were didn't want the business and sold out for the money.

There are a bunch of car sound system installers in town that build custom systems with all the amps piled up in the back end pumping out a few thousand watts, but they don't know squat about repairing any of it. If it's not working they just replace the component. A lot of it looks amazing!
 

Catbox

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I am sure that if he cannot fix them, he will know where to send you.
Todd knows his stuff.

If I wasn't always working, I would have gotten busy and installed these things in the truck.
But nnnnnnooooooooooo.
I worked hard and became important and now have responsibilities.
Haahahahahaaaa
 

Scott91370

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I've always sent my to the manufacturer. Depending on the brand though, it may not be worth the $$.
 

Catbox

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I've always sent my to the manufacturer. Depending on the brand though, it may not be worth the $$.
I was contemplating that as well.
But for my cash dollars, it was much simpler to send them all to one place.
Plus the Sentrek and Autotek are no longer companies.

I was going to send them in to Zed Audio originally, as Steve Mantz is a legend in the amplifier world.
From the Zed Audio website:
"We take care to provide the most professional service for our customers. Zed not only repairs and restores the products which we have manufactured but also NEARLY all other brands."


Overall, I am quite satisfied with the service I have received from Ellensburg Amplifier Repair.
My actual cost to repair and service these 4 amplifiers is shown here:
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$48 plus shipping to and from puts me right around $120-ish total.
That seems plenty fine for making garbage into some good working machines again.


Here is his business card information as well:
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Scott91370

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$48 plus shipping to and from puts me right around $120-ish total.
That seems plenty fine for making garbage into some good working machines again.

That seems more than fair and probably cheaper then if the manufacturer was still in business.
 

Rusty Nail

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While getting back into car stereo stuffs, I have a few car amplifiers that are in need of qualified service.
Two of them came to me broken from a garage sale for the large sum of $FREE.
One came from another garage sale and cost a massive $5, so I thought I would try it out.
Naturally none of them worked.

So I started looking for a repair guy just to get these fixed up and running again.
While doing research on the YouTube, I saw a post on a video and typed it into my google machine.

Enter: Ellensburg Amplifier Repair Service.
You must be registered for see images attach


You must be registered for see images attach

Todd has many years of electrical repair service and many detailed videos of his repairs.

I contacted him through the website and he was quick to respond and kept in touch throughout the repairs he made.

I sent him 4 amps to repair as needed.
They were all shipped to him and within 1-1/2 to 2 weeks I had them all back in my hands and functional.
To repair all of the amps the total service and parts charge was $48.
Shipping cost me more than the repair...
But for a average total of $30 each amp ((total cost of repairs + $5 purchase of all amps + shipping) / 4) I believe these will work out just fine for some budget music in cars I don't drive on the regular.


Yo is this the dude when we were talkin bout Yamaha 110v stuff?

Re-Member while back I was after another 'nother amp ?
Well it showed up after gettin OutOfPocket $158.58 annnnnd didnt work worth a damn.
Muted sound?
Back channels dead
Tuner dead
:(
Downloaded the groaner's manual and everything...fidgeted with it a week or 10 days before starting the return.

What a b*tch right?
Second one (r.i.p 500u)BUT!

It's 230 watts!
AV-85
This one has a remote control - aaaaand it works!


Seller said "sorry" and told me dont send it back?
"Use it for parts"
Wtf srsly?!

Obviously NOW I'm thinkin before I try and buy number three maybe I oughta reach out to that one dude Catbox was talkin about on the internets.
Since this amp is all wicked and stuff..with the flicker and everything!


Here feens.



PIX!:whip:

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SquareRoot

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Yo is this the dude when we were talkin bout Yamaha 110v stuff?

Re-Member while back I was after another 'nother amp ?
Well it showed up after gettin OutOfPocket $158.58 annnnnd didnt work worth a damn.
Muted sound?
Back channels dead
Tuner dead
:(
Downloaded the groaner's manual and everything...fidgeted with it a week or 10 days before starting the return.

What a b*tch right?
Second one (r.i.p 500u)BUT!

It's 230 watts!
AV-85
This one has a remote control - aaaaand it works!


Seller said "sorry" and told me dont send it back?
"Use it for parts"
Wtf srsly?!

Obviously NOW I'm thinkin before I try and buy number three maybe I oughta reach out to that one dude Catbox was talkin about on the internets.
Since this amp is all wicked and stuff..with the flicker and everything!


Here feens.



PIX!:whip:

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
Dead doesn't sound wicked...:popcorn:
 

Rusty Nail

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Thing is - a knowledgeable guy could probably fix it in a couple of hours for $30 or whatever is 1/4 the price to ship it back and forth and even then there is no guarantee some shipping dude isnt gonna chunk it like a football.

Thats all part of the fun though right?
I can offer a complete A25 in trade which oughta double the price. :rolleyes:
 

Catbox

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Yuppers, Todd is the guy.
I would reach out to him and see what he can do for you @Rusty Nail
It would be worth the time to package it up super well and get it off to him.

When I sent mine in, all the amps were in their own boxes that I made and then they were packed into a single larger box. Padding all around.
 

Rusty Nail

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He shot me down yesterday sad face :(
Worth a shot!
Thanks.
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Catbox

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461
Whelp it was worth a shot.
I know he does some of that stuff, but perhaps he has specific brands he likes to work on.
 

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