Excellent demonstration of intellectual balance, you did an amazing job explaining some of the science involved in amplifiers and showing it with good visual references. It is good also to see that some people still exist and even thrive on repairing electronics. It's an very expensive amplifier and is a quality unit so to repair it definitely makes sense, Its good to know that it could be repaired even better knowing there is someone who can repair it. At any cost my man I'm sure you are worth it, thanks for sharing. Love from across the pond my brother

It's a pleasure to see a Brit show how things are done. Well structured, plain English, non-condescending, matter-of-fact delivery makes a mockery of other repair "tutorials". Inspiring. I've a Nelson Pass designed Soundstream A50 which is in need of attention. Despite my limited experience, you have given me confidence to attempt at least troubleshooting it. Thank you for a genuine production aimed squarely at providing relevant information in a digestible format. If we all were so sharing, the world would be a much better place! Much appreciation 😊

I have seen many repair videos that try to explain but you are definitely the best. I have learned more on these two videos than in the Last few years of other videos.

It makes me so happy to see tech being restored by someone who knows what he is doing

Best car amplifier repair video on KZfaq! Nice clear voice and attention to detail. Great job! 👍🏻

Louis Rossmann for amplifiers daaamn

Thank you for the excellent level of detail! Your accent is particularly pleasing to listen to from the USA. Far less aggravating than our own domestic accents. Subscribed!

I can't believe how well educated and skilled you are, and this is coming from a person with a Master of Science degree and 26 years of work experience repairing audio and video electronics. A class D amo. is rare.

Only 1 year of experience at the time of making this video absolutely blows my mind! Brilliant video mate!

Great info. I am pretty good at electronics, but I'm not as advanced at engineering/repairing as you are. Viewing your video taught me a lot and has some great advice for EVERYBODY who does electronic repairs. I especially liked the tips about testing burnt circuit boards to make sure they haven't become conductive, also carefully checking for tiny solder bridges. Even if you can't see bridges, a lot of electrons can flow through them, instantly creating a bigger a disaster. Fantastic work and safety habits. The ungrounded low current power supply trick was brilliant too. That was a new one for me and I'm sure it will come in handy one day soon. Thanks so much for everything.

I'm loving your vibes very much I was learning electronic in the 80s as a teenager back then in Jamaica there was a lot of things I didn't understand about amplifiers that u made clear to me now thank u

after looking at some of your videos, i feel confident going into amplifier repairs... I'd recommend anyone who's new to this, to look at your work first.

@barevids You have some serious talent man.

I love learning from really smart people. I'm just a hobbyist who builds micro-controller circuits that don't even come close to the complexity of that amplifier. I've got to subscribe.

I’m glad you started with an easy fixable straightforward repair 🤣 After more than an hour 35:42 “Ok, so now for the *interesting* part”. Never knew what a chisel is for. Now I do. ;) In cold weather you don’t need to put on the heater just power up the music. Lol. I enjoyed the full 1,5 hour explanation to the fullest. Just incredible how you talk us all the way through this awesome repair. Tx!

I'm a certified Rockford Fosgate Basshead and Tech Fundi , best video i have ever seen , well done Mate , all the way from South Africa.

These videos are very helpful, & I have just bought an HP 554602B 150MHz O-Scope like yours, & a variable power supply & hot air station and a bunch of other things & I'm really tiring to learn car audio amplifier repair.

I've seen a lot of transistors fail due to broken connections. This is due to not just vibration but also from the expansion and contraction of the heat sink they are bolted to. I've found that before cutting the pins down to fit, bending them with a jig stops this. All you need is a 10cm x 10cm board (piece of plywood), a 4 or 5mm dowel rod, a wooden ruler and some screws. Split the dowel lengthwise, sand the flat surface and glue to the center of the board. To use it, screw the transistors to one side of the dowel with a gap slightly wider than the narrow edge of the ruler between the edge of the dowel and the surface of the transistor. Don't tighten! leave the legs to hang over the dowel snug but not tight. With a downward motion from slightly over the dowel use the narrow edge of the ruler and push down on the legs until the transistor body sets flat. Hold the ruler in place, use another piece of wood or plastic to bend the legs around the dowel giving a semi-circle bend while maintaining pin configuration. Now trim and install.

Great video as usual. @4:15 It's not regulated at the moment, if it was regulated the duty cycle would drop to zero as there is no load. Also, because the regulator part of the circuit is monitoring b+ or b- and you have removed your diodes for testing there is nothing to monitor. You are seeing the soft start circuit which is used to minimize stress on fets and diodes while charging the caps from not to whatever the rails are. The controller board is a neat one on this amp as it uses 21844's, half bridge drivers that are intended to be used in mains powered equipment and I believe they are being fed by a discrete osc. pretty cool.

I worked in a shop where I mostly did resoldering of old contact points on VHS recorders. The worst repairs were on the Goldstar brand VCRs. The circuit boards were very thin and cheap. I am enjoying the video mate. Thank you for a good job and the inspiration to get started fixing things again. Cheers, mate.

Great job! I've been doing this now for about 10 months and I love it. This was a great 2 part video. This is by far my most favorite vid you've done. You have lots of great ones but this helped me a lot. I would love to learn more about how to fix an output board in the future. Thats where I'm having all my problems on my repairs, I just don't know enough about the ic chips.

I appreciate your enthusiasm! Given the accent, if you spoke any faster I would probably miss several words but as it is I understood you just fine. Thanks for a fine video.

very informative and detailed too,, just as circuits are in the chain, and only replacing the parts failed but get you amp running but this tech checks all the circuit chain to see if they are failed causing the original trouble to begin with, which makes a better troubleshooter!

I always like the way you explain and do your repairs, i have a jbl some of the output transistors were out of range i left those that worked inside the amplifier but the rear channel won't work only the front

You should do a video showing how to test each component of the amplifier and what they are supposed to read.

Hope you still out there just seeing videos alot off help liked the you explained been electrician for 23 years been playing way longer than that

Brilliant video, i have recently started studying Electronical and Electrical engineering at university and found this video very good for getting a greater underpinned knowledge with electronics. Keep them coming!

Well done on this repair. Really enjoyed watching you go through the process. Looking forward to watching some more videos from your channel 😀

I want that 45 min stress test ! Don't tell me how wierd I can be on YT :P

These are the BEST 2 videos you've ever done! So much to be learned here, so descriptive, so in depth, just a phenomenal job man... GREAT VIDS!

Finding this really interesting. I have alot of experience in general electronics and Hi-Fi audio but I knew little about car amps. Now I understand fundamentally how they work because of this excellent presentation. I've been asked many times in the past to repair car amps, but have declined due to my lack of knowledge. Now I think I'll buy up a few dead amps and develop my repair skills, then I'll start taking on some work. Very well done, I'm impressed with how much expertise you've developed in such a short time. Just a couple of tips. With the inductor, no need to remove a turn to recover lead length. Just hot snot (hot glue gun) the inductor back on the board, solder some solid copper wire into the board holes where the original inductor wires were, and then solder those to the inductor wires. With the low current test supply. Instead of using a low amp supply that current limits due to overload, get a bench supply with a variable current limit control. Your method works in a crude sort of way but a supply with current limit gives more control in a repeatable way. For full current testing you will need to find some 15 volt, very high current, switch mode PSU's, preferably types that can be slaved so that the supply current required can be reached with multiple units instead of one big supply, which are more difficult to obtain, and very expensive! Fortunately for me, or not (reason will be clear a bit further on!), I have 3 Farnell H30-100 LINEAR supplies, that is 0- 30 volts at upto 100 amps! These can be slaved to give 300 amps! Superb supplies, being linear there is no noise, but they weigh 90 KG each! The big advantage of switch mode supplies is low weight and relatively small size. Anyway, keep up the good work.

Really glad i seen these two videos, I have a SPL Dynamics EXT-3000D that I killed about 10 years ago, I might give this a go to repair it myself as when I enquired about getting it repaired I was going to have to send it from Belfast to Mainland UK and the cost wasn't worth it at the time

thanks a lot for taking time. God bless KZfaq!

Best Damn Instructional KZfaqr of '17! Subbed in two vids! Gave me the correct way to diagnose this old MTX amp I popped years ago. I know it's an AB, but diagnostically, it will be the same steps. I have an AEES in EE and was working on my BEET, but the school was online and I had life changes where I just had no energy or time to continue.. Anyways, your spot on with your diagnostics and procedures far as I can see, your cautious and deliberate and vocal about your actions. Cheers from the US :D

Good job, and well done. This is a fine example of how theoretical (school) knowledge differs from hands on experience. Your testing methods (or better said; short-cuts) are not shown in engineering books, they are the results of field knowledge, handed down with apprenticeship . An engineer would most probably criticize them vigorously, but hey, if they work, they are fine. Three things I would like to mention; 1) That coil you made to lose one winding is a very easy coil to wind. It looks a lot, but actually it is just a few turns with many parallel wires. It would not cost much time and money to rewind it at all. You could have easily unwound it, kept the first lead just a tad shorter, wound it a little tighter with the same wires and I'm sure you would have enough lead to solder the other end without losing a turn. 2) The power calculation you do at the end has nothing to do with the output RMS power, what you calculated was the electrical consumption of the amplifier. Which is like 80-85% true with a class D amp like this one but would be way off with a class AB or A amp. Finally, It is always better to clean the old thermal paste completely with IPA while disassembling a unit, and apply new paste when re-assembling it. This will keep hands and everything else clean and new paste will work better than old and dried up one. Cheers! I totally enjoyed this video.

As always great viewing and very informative, cant say ill be attempting it any time soon, far to complicated for me, looking forward to getting the amp back, would recommend Sam to everyone very professional and very quick will take the time to explain everything to you breaking down whats wrong and what will need doing

yes sir as a technian i learn alot from your channel thank you for ur videos

Excellent video with explicit explanations of the Do's and Dont's. Sometimes your hand gets on the way of the view. Detail views from different angles would be helpful. Thanks for the lovely video.

Very good and very informative documentary on audio switching amplifies for car audio.

actually in a switching circuit mosfets won't try to power eachother,so they don't have to be matched.I have even used different model mosfets together without issue in switching circuits,apart from that,great video

Thank you so much for this video dipping my toes into Amps and you have taught me a lot. I still need to learn much more before I try and do anything but much closer now thanks to you.

I keep magnets around for screws and clips I also use the power supply from and old computer I already had. Just remember to make sure you have it connected to amp before you power up power supply. And thanks for a Great video

I'm really excited to see a horn in a car, got a design for a folded horn in mine that should tune down to 32Hz, my idea is to use the back seat as the mouth of the horn, and have it curve up from the boot lid and over the top gradually expanding. The mouth ends up being 1.3x1m, and the length at 6m. Problem is whether or not I have people in the back seat will affect the tuning. Also, I've heard horns have some phasing issue where the wave doesn't properly form until one wavelength from the mouth, meaning the intensity won't be as high as a ported box even though it's technically more efficient.

Good job. I haven't repaired and amp yet, but at least now i have more confidence i could pull it off if I had too. I've designed and built many digital/analog devices as a part time EE hobbyist.

Only repairing amps for about 1 year you seem to be very knowledgeable in this niche field.

I do have one comment, all of the people like yourself are showing the world how to fix and build the stuff but as u see I am from south Africa and there's no parts to make or build here and if there is its f....n expensive. But great show thanks. I have about R40 0000 invested in sound and still have problems

Never seen anything like this, excellent step through. If I had to hand over an amp repair to a commercial tech I now have a better understanding what to expect as a legitimate repair job. More than happy to pay more for a proper repair that will last!

We are all good in the hood - this one is good👍. Nice lab, I like your 'scope, can't do D-class w/o it, very useful when fitting Mosfets that are slightly different than originals. One the best vids I have seen and you are knowledgeable. You're slightly nuts - bench testing, sh.. I would be slightly scared with that much power.

Barevids, nice video. I'm into electronics as well and it's really nice to see a repair on a high power amplifier. I really learned quite a bit from this video in addition to what I already know.

Superb videos. I enjoyed every second of them👌👌 and i really would like to make same video in Finnish, just to spread the knowledge of car audio. If you don't mind. 🙏

thank you for taking the time to do this vid.. i would love to learn this stuff. your the man.

The inductance of that toroidal is number_turns^2! Without knowing the effect on the audio signal I would have found a way to terminate that winding intact. Enjoyed the video. Maybe you got lucky and the difference is cancelled out by feedback.

its a pleasure the way you handle this lesson congrats

u r more skilled than me bro ive jus repaired a lightning audio small amp had protection probz an found it was the ground wire off the board easy compared 2 yor repaired cheerz bro fanks for the vid had it playing while i was repairing my amp

Excellent vid, this - with proper explanations of why thing work & sometimes don't. I've not worked on one of these, but I'm guessing Class D with FM audio control? wasn't really covered in the talk. Just one thing tho': & somebody else mentioned it here. The 'original' inductor has a zip tie holding it down, would have been better to use one on the 'repair' one (as well as gluing it down!). Mind you, the 'original might have been a repair. Either way, zip ties on both would be good practice. Also, if the headers used on the driver board aren't super tight, that might end up falling out too, due to vibration.

Cheap amplifiers rely on manufactured lots of MOSFETs. The higher end, professional grade MOSFET banks are "matched" MOSFETs, which are VASTLY more expensive, and provide higher quality audio fidelity.

You should add a zip tie on the inductor as a strain relief just like the original one has. It will probably prevent it from breaking off the board again in the future.

you are a genius,I've learned so much from you in these two videos.thanks

32:00 Time to break out the larger diameter solder for those larger pads on the inductor!

Very good knowledge of electronics and simple and clear explanations. The perfect troubleshooting video in this area. We realize how badly these amps are designed at the base with the minimum protection. Every penny counts in this poor quality design. I speak as an engineer in the industrial field where such a product would not pass the first stage of testing. Your job clearly has a future;)

only a year dam im on year 3 and im still behind mr bare you have some skill

God Bless your talent!!! You're so very knowledgeable, to say the least, which is a rarity nowadays!!! Will give you thumbs up and subscribe. Simply put, I have learned a great deal with your Teaching, Tips and vast outstanding repair expertise. Keep up the good work!!!

Great videos, really enjoyed them both. One very slight criticism though, if it were me doing that repair, i would have taken out the heatsink insulators, cleaned off the old heatsink compound and applied new one. This would give better thermal conductivity. Maybe you did it and never mentioned it? Apart from that small observation, it was a great job!

Man.... You're a great teacher... Much love from Chicago

just watching you work and listening to how you approach problems and solutions was mesmerizing. its just too bad your not in the states because I would definitely have no problem with someone like you doing my repairs. I have some older equipment that needs a competent and thorough person as you are. my head unit is an Alpine 7949 preamp deck from 1998 and was their flagship unit. also I own an Xtant 3300i 3 channel amp also from the same year. I have not found any other system to match the quality sound they produced. Trying to find a shop or individual to do my repairs has been exhausting. You wouldn't by some chance know of someone here in the US you could refer me to?

Best tech porn ever for a bass head.

Great video, helps a lot if you are a beginner in car audio amps repairs !

Thanks dude this video helped me massively as I couldn't figure out how to get the clips holding the mosfets to the heatsink out as my amp needed resoldering fingers crossed it worked

I've got a bang and olufsen Lear amp on my audi s4 problem is the front door speakers don't work. Where would you be looking first for only the front speaker no sound? The rest of the speakers and sub work. Thanks for your videos I'm watching and learning with you. 😊

Freakin’ excellent vids. I’ve been debating on getting into amp repair also. I learned a lot. Thanks! 🔊🔊🔊

Thank you for a detailed demo I am new to amp rebuild and or repair. Good stuff Sir

I just subscribed. You did exactly what i did on my little 2kw amp when the transformer broke of the board and killed half my psu and a capacitor.... Output stage was fine tho, saved me the hassle. Hell of a good job man, keep it up :D :D

You sir are excellent!!! I'm now more familiar with testing amps.

Excellent quality, both repair labor, and video production. Would like to learn more about the power output estimation, any references you would like to share, books or whatever. Thanks.

you may also want to look at Safe Operating Area or SOA of the mosfets you are choosing for replacement. Many high current mosfets only handle high currents at low voltages. and a given device while rated higher current, may handle LESS current at the voltage you intend to run them at. you should look at the SOA graph and compare it to the mosfet you are replacing and make sure that you can still handle the power requires AT the voltage they will run at. could save you on a costly repair!

Very cool dude . I truly enjoyed the two videos. Greg fall city wa usa . I look forward to the next videos

Practice is the mother of all skill.

Great job for doing amp repair only for a year.

amazing logic from the start to the end. Love the channel. Subscribed.

Thank you

Amazing work 👌

great video i will like to see more of this type of videos

Nice. I am going to get into this. I have everything I need to start.

I would have took the spots that were burned out. took a drimel tool and got rid of the burn stuff because it will create resistance that could cause a bridge causing voltage leak. and then rebuild the area back up with fiber glass resin, and you can also put a copper pad back in place also. This is how were repaired boards in the Marines,.

one of the large electrolitic capacitors on the left near the fets has gone bad !!! you can see it starting to bulge under the plastic protective cover........that amp will fail again shortly because esr went way up :( 41:35

Keep in mind MosFets are static sensitive. They can be damaged by just handling them. Try to keep from touching any of the leads. At the minimum use a grounded wrist strap and also ESD pad.

Here I am looking at videos from 5-6years ago because they are so informative. Ive brought back 2 cheapo Amps thus far and doing a few more (currently an older KX1200.1) before I try to dig into my DD Amp which you suggested this in another video where you repaired a DD-M4c (i think)... I noticed you used a chisel to secure the FET clips to the heat sink. My question is: Should you use a chisel or something similar to secure the FET clips inside of a Digitial Designs D series Amplifier(D5.1000)? Or what did they do from factory to get them so darn tight and difficult to remove?

When I was building my own class D amp, I put a 100nf capacitor (with a 680r resistor across it) in series with all driver outputs and never blew another gate driver IC after that. Didn't interfere with the gate drive signal at all, maybe half a volt of difference, which can easily be designed around. I wonder why commercial amps don't do that.

If your LCR tester is anything like my DMM, the RdsON measurement doesn't mean squat. Even if the RdsON was in the milliohms, the resistance of the probe and clips would be so large in comparison to make the result largely meaningless.

thank you.

Great video

Perhaps you mentioned this in another video, when you stress test your amps, what are you meaning? Playing music at a certain level? Letting it run at a certain output? If you could elaborate on the stress test protocol, it would be helpful, I like to establish a protocol for final testing.

Should I be worried if a single output capacitor in a group appears to be leaking, but isn't expanded at all, and the sound output is fine without any decline in audio volume peak? The amp didn't get hot from overworking or anything, might just be from age and the sun heating the heat sink shell, but everything else inside appears to be solid and in working order.

Okay so I'm quite new to most things speaker related. And I really need a good receiver or amp to push two seismic audio 155.2 towers. I know those towers arent the best at all but it seems good to me. I just need a true 1000w receiver or amp that pushes 4 ohms. Or one I can bridge to 1000.

Excellent video and thorough explanation of process. Just one minor question on the silicone you used to secure the inductor .... was it 'natural cure'?

Excellent video, showing me a schematic would have greatly helped. So mOSFETs on the output mean this is a digital amp? And the four coils or use to remove the high frequencies going to the speakers? I just needed a little clarification on that part

Great work brother!!

Well done

Awesome work! You've got yourself another sub. I'm amazed that RS is still individually packaging components, used get right on my tits; ended up buying from Farnell instead.

Job well done Sir..