Crown Microtech 1200 Problem

[BZadlo]

Channel 2 on my power amp sounds all distorted.
I usually run it bridged but now just use channel 1.
Does anyone know if this is an easy or cheap repair? It sounds huge when you bridge it.

[Nightbass]

Dumb question, but did you switch the amp back into Stereo mode in the back?

So you're saying that if you use Ch 1 input and outputs, the sound is fine, but when you use Ch 2 input and outputs the sound is distorted?

[BZadlo]

Yeah, I put the switch in the correct position.
When I run the channels together or run channel 2 alone, the sound is very distorted.

[BZadlo]

I've been using channel 1 alone for the last few months because I assumed the repair would be more expensive than then amp is worth.
I only paid $350 for it used on CL.
I'm guessing I got what I paid for.
It just seems like a lot of weigh and bulk to carry around for 500 watts or so.

[BZadlo]

Anyone else have any idea?

[BZadlo]

So, no one really familiar with these amps?

[dmusic148]

I don't think anybody from Crown hangs out here. My guess is it's a loose connection somewhere. It might be an easy fix. Even if it costs a couple of hundred bucks to fix, you could make a case for saying it's worth it. Call it 'unscheduled maintenance.'

[Nightbass]

It's probably nothing more than a few defective small-signal transistors and/or power transistors. They are easy to fix. The parts are cheap. Bench time is not. My WAG is that it could be $200 or so to repair *if* it's a component that failed and took a few upstream components with it.

If I'm reading your post correctly, you bought it that way for $350. If you fix it, the cost of buying it and repairing it will probably be close to the prices for typical used ones.

[craig.p]

Open it up and re-seat every possible plug-in connector you can find. If there are daughtercards plugged into a motherboard, reseat those, too. And check any wires/connectors coming off the amp to the chassis. It's a long shot but what have you got to lose.

If it were my amp and I tried the above and channel 2 still didn't work right, I'd find a use for that "still good channel 1" somewhere. Maybe in a monitor chain? Opportunity to biamp the PA? Even as a spare amp in case something else craps out? Most commercial contractors carry spares that aren't necessarily 100% functional but can still go into service in an emergency.

[BZadlo]

Maybe a backup is the best idea.

I bought it for only $350 with it fully working.