Advice on new Momark Amp

[Lumi71]

hi,
i am new to this forum.
today i got my new momark ta500 for a great price.
but i am a little confused and need a little help from other momark users.
i am not sue if the amp is ok or if thee is something wrong with it an i should return it.

first, the fan is running permanently. is this normal ?
i thought and read that the fan is "temperature-controlled" ...

second the amp distorsts ugly when gain is too high and clip light does blink too often. i did not expext this for the t1m tube preamp module.

third, the production date reads "march 2009" . does anybody know if the momarks were not produced later than this?

otherwise it sounds really great....
sorry for my english, i am from germany.
thanks a lot

 

[Dave W]

first, the fan is running permanently. is this normal ?
i thought and read that the fan is "temperature-controlled" ...

I don't know. I would think if the amp were hot enough for the fan to kick on that it would remain on. I would ask Markbass about it and see what they say.

second the amp distorsts ugly when gain is too high and clip light does blink too often. i did not expext this for the t1m tube preamp module.

If you're cranking the gain high enough so the clip light comes on all the time, you're clipping the preamp and it's going to distort. Every preamp on any amp works like that. Some just sound better than others.

third, the production date reads "march 2009" . does anybody know if the momarks were not produced later than this?

Certain Momarks are still produced now. I don't think they are very hot sellers, so it's probably one that sat around for awhile.