SMcQ Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Hi there - looking for a bit of help pricing this ME power amp, which may have a potential issue. I've inherited this this ME power amplifier - it was the old man's (RIP; legend) and he upgraded about a decade ago and this has been in storage ever since. I recall that one of reasons for the upgrade was occasional and undiagnosable blown fuses - the amp was looked at by the guys at Audiotrends here in Melbourne, but they were unable to diagnose any issues, so it could have been with the setup at home. Anyway, it's now in my hands, and it's more amp than I'll ever need in my house, and I do not have the skills to diagnose any issues or test. The dealers that took some of his other gear said it would notionally go for around 5K, but they were keen on other stuff that wasn't as niche or that would move quicker. I know it's a sought after amp that doesn't come up for sale much, and that someone with a bit of know how would probably be interested in picking it up, even with the potential issue. Comes with original owner manual, receipts and press material. Interested in any views or help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andythiing Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 @Zaphod Beeblebrox might be able to help with advice on possible repair/servicing costs and likely current value 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Pricing an ME1400 is difficult, without a careful examination. Particularly, if the amp has a known fault. In general terms, an ME1400, AFTER a full overhaul and in perfect operational order and good cosmetic condition, I would look to sell for around $5k ~ $5.5k. Of course, it's worth way more than that, but that's what the market MIGHT pay. In non-functioning (or partly functioning) condition, no one can tell. I would not make an offer on such an amp, without examining it on my bench. As you are in Victoria, you would be well advised to take the ME1400 to Ron Berger at Winovate, where it can be restored properly. At the very least, Ron can inform you of the likely repair costs, after he has examined the amp. Be aware: Servicing an ME1400 is not an inexpensive exercise. Although it is double the size of an ME850 it is 10 times more difficult to work on. It has an extremely complicated cooling system, which will likely require service at this time of it's life. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_nautilus Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 I am the lucky owner. I will post the adventure here. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_nautilus Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 (edited) First channel has been thoroughly checked with all major components tested. The component matching Peter did is quite impressive. The bottom board was terrible and I briefly thought of repairing tracks but ended up removing, testing and transplanting the components to the pristine (and identical) middle board. @Zaphod Beeblebrox the foam in the cooling system is new so I reckon it was replaced in the last 10 years. I suspect at some stage the cooling circuit has had the foam disintegrate and the amp has run hot for some time. Quite a few of the caps were stuffed. Otherwise it is looking good. Will gently test this channel next weekend and move onto the next one. Will also replace electrolytics in the control board. Edited June 6 by The_nautilus Admiration 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_nautilus Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Well I think I found the intermittent fault. I thought I would thoroughly test all of the transistors including the MJ15025/24 pairs. I found some odd marks on the heatsink below on of the MJ15025 that looked like little electric arc burns. Above the same area was a hole in the mica insulator that had probably been there since new. What I suspect was happening is under normal lower volumes the air gap was fine however when the amp was turned up loud the voltage was large enough to create a spark and a direct collector-earth fault. given this is the main speaker output from the 12 paralleled output transistors the fault would have been quite significant. This matches the description where the amp would randomly blow a fuse but work ok once a new fuse was put in. Both modules test ok now and have had significant bench time playing music without issue. I will be doing some of the Art Vanderlay mods over the coming months. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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