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Should I be worried about buying a used Class D amp?

#21
DeepFriedBass said:
My little mark II died after about 7 years. No more class D for me, I want an amp to last decades

And since it's a circuit board, noone I bring it to knows what's wrong or has the patience fo find out
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I wouldn't judge all class D amps on your experience with MarkBass. ... but I will say that earlier in my post I commented that I personally wouldn't buy a MarkBass amp. But there are quite a few other class D amps that I would buy with no concern (including Mesa).

DeepFriedBass said:
Mesa has a 5 year warranty, wonder why it stops at 5?
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SMH :rollno:
 
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#22
GuelphBassie said:
They are telling me it will require replacing at least one of the two circuit boards and that will cost at least what I paid for it.
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Who is "they"? TC?

I think it's using IR (international rectifier) components so if it is the class-d amp part that failed, it can be fixed at the component level, but you'll have to find a tech that is savvy enough and not just a board swapper.

If it has an effects loop you can put a signal in the "return" jack and see if the amp part works. Or take the "send" out to another amp to see if the pre-amp still works.

Support the "Right to repair" acts so people that have an amp a few years out of warranty can get schematics and parts.
 
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#24
A used class D amp is no worse than any used heads. I've bought every amp I've ever owned used. My current head, a Genz Benz Streamliner 900 is flat out killer. I got it from a fellow TBer and have not had a problem. If I ever did, I'd ship it to off to Mr. Agedhorse. He does great work at a reasonable price.
 
#25
bassinflorida said:
A point if note. Class D amps usually (always?) refer to the 'switching mode power supply' that is used in them. Some or all may have incorporated various integrated circuits that would be considered 'digital'. That technology has been proven reliable for years now. They are powerful and reliable. Definitely research brands though.
Pretty sure some 'experts' will jump in. :smug:
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Except that class D has nothing to do with the power supply, integrated circuits or digital.

DeepFriedBass said:
My little mark II died after about 7 years. No more class D for me, or should I say solid state. Kind of bored of the sound anyway

And since it's a circuit board, noone I bring it to knows what's wrong or has the patience fo find out, nor has suggested any possibility of a way to have it work again. I've inspected it very carefully and everything looks brand new

Mesa has a 5 year warranty, wonder why it stops at 5?
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Iirc, the 8 year old LM II is not class D.

Circuit boards have nothing to do with your tech's inability to diagnose or repair an amp. What it does mean is that your tech is woefully under-educated and under-trained for working on more advanced products. I know many techs that have no problem working on PCB based products, I work on them every day too. In fact, I much prefer PCBs.

At 5 years, Mesa has the longest warranty in the industry for production products. Why? My question would be why many others are less than 5 years???
 
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#27
agedhorse said:
Except that class D has nothing to do with the power supply, integrated circuits or digital.



Iirc, the 8 year old LM II is not class D.

Circuit boards have nothing to do with your tech's inability to diagnose or repair an amp. What it does mean is that your tech is woefully under-educated and under-trained for working on more advanced products. I know many techs that have no problem working on PCB based products, I work on them every day too. In fact, I much prefer PCBs.

At 5 years, Mesa has the longest warranty in the industry for production products. Why? My question is why many others less than 5 years???
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hey- welcome back!!:thumbsup:
 
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#30
I see big advantages with class D amps, mainly weight. I have three Behringer NU3000DSP amps in my pa rack and I can tell you first hand I am very very happy. They replaced two Peavey 8.5C amps and one 1.3kC. I didn't loose any headroom and my rack shaved well over 100lbs. The dsp is incredibly useful and dependable. I consider it sorta like free.

I avoided Behringer for many many years. I talked bad about them and viewed them as junk... all I can say is my best friend has been gigging weekly with a bugera tube amp for about 6 years. Zero issues. Ah guy in a band I was in used one for years, and replaced it with one of those jet city 333 amps...zero problems. In fact, I don't personnally know anyone ever who has had a Behringer product break. I'm not saying they are the greatest amp on earth. I do think they are "ok" and are a great value. I really don't understand the hate they receive.
 
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#34
I've never once bought a new amp, cab, or bass... and never had a problem in the 5-7 years I've been playing since purchasing them all one by one. Even got a buttload of used pedals in the past couple years and all work flawlessly.

I discovered that the Genz Benz classDs were a great value in terms of tone, wattage, and features, and like our bass brother, @S-Bigbottom already alluded to... TB's AgedHorse is THA MAN should anything go terribly awry.

I don't know of any other companies EX techs who would stand by their product years after the company's been sold off and models discontinued. That should tell you something about their reliability and build quality! :thumbsup:

A few others are out there that I hear plenty of people are perfectly happy with as well. Good luck in your search :)
 
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#35
catcauphonic said:
I've never once bought a new amp, cab, or bass... and never had a problem in the 5-7 years I've been playing since purchasing them all one by one. Even got a buttload of used pedals in the past couple years and all work flawlessly.

I discovered that the Genz Benz classDs were a great value in terms of tone, wattage, and features, and like our bass brother, @S-Bigbottom already alluded to... TB's AgedHorse is THA MAN should anything go terribly awry.

I don't know of any other companies EX techs who would stand by their product years after the company's been sold off and models discontinued. That should tell you something about their reliability and build quality! :thumbsup:

A few others are out there that I hear plenty of people are perfectly happy with as well. Good luck in your search :)
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It helps when the past owners, including some very large companies, are fully supportive in every way possible. There are times when it's nice dealing with "adults" ;)
 
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#36
DeepFriedBass said:
My little mark II died after about 7 years. No more class D for me, or should I say solid state. Kind of bored of the sound anyway

And since it's a circuit board, noone I bring it to knows what's wrong or has the patience fo find out, nor has suggested any possibility of a way to have it work again. I've inspected it very carefully and everything looks brand new

Mesa has a 5 year warranty, wonder why it stops at 5?
Click to expand...

That's a MarkBass issue, not a Class D issue.

That's like saying 'My F-150 died after 7 years of abuse. No more trucks for me'.
 
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#40
I have an Ashdown MiBass 2.0 and a Fender Rumble 350. No dependability issues with either. Not blown away with their tone, but they're lighter and smaller than my Marshall VBA-400 tuber. Of course the big tube amp sounds a lot better, and gets much louder, but most audiences don't seem to care about my tone. Easier to schlepp a class D and a small cab to a fifty buck gig.
 
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