PLINIUS 8150 Jul 24, 2017 15:02:34 GMT 12
- Edited Jul 24, 2017 15:05:42 GMT 12 by sub
Post by sub on Jul 24, 2017 15:02:34 GMT 12
Well, have had a bit of a gamble. This amp listed on TM as not working, and seller seemed to have put off some potential buyers who asked questions about what was wrong with it. The only answer he gave was it was about a year ago, it was working, he turned the volume up and it stopped, and hasn't had time to get it checked.
Paid $449 for it, so if it is an easy fix it will be a bargain - they seem to sell for around the $1500 mark, if not I guess it could sell for similar money for parts, we shall see.
Will have a proper check when I get it home, and will most likely send to Plinius for repair.
|
Post by michaelw on Jul 24, 2017 16:07:57 GMT 12
nice score. could be as simple as a blown fuse. 
|
Post by sub on Jul 24, 2017 16:12:26 GMT 12
nice score. could be as simple as a blown fuse. That's the first thing I will be checking!
|
Post by Citroen on Jul 24, 2017 18:42:24 GMT 12
You kept that one quiet!
What's the TM link?
I ran a Plinius 8150 for a few years as my main amp. I loved it.
|
PLINIUS 8150 Jul 24, 2017 19:14:37 GMT 12
- Edited Jul 24, 2017 19:15:47 GMT 12 by sub
Post by sub on Jul 24, 2017 19:14:37 GMT 12
You kept that one quiet! What's the TM link? I ran a Plinius 8150 for a few years as my main amp. I loved it. Absolutely, mind you had over 90 watchers, including some from this forum. The seller didn't give make and model in listing title, nor description, so you had to look at the photos to see what it was. Read your love for the amp somewhere, and other positive reviews helped me make up my mind to have a go. My main concern is that the seller appears to be a dj, so hope he hasn't thrashed it. Mind you Plinius build pretty robust so it should be fixable. link - www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1373282571
|
Post by Citroen on Jul 24, 2017 19:48:09 GMT 12
I'll happily pick up and intercept this for you...I mean me... 
"Q. what seems to not be working right?
A. I can't remember it was about a year ago when tested. Think it turned on and cut out once turned up."
"Q. Why don't you try it now so you can tell us more acuarately what it is doing?
A. Time and that's why it so cheep."Really? How hard would it have been to plug it in and turn it on? I smell a rat...
|
Post by colinf on Jul 25, 2017 8:13:04 GMT 12
Good luck, Sub!
AMR-iFi R&D
|
Post by sub on Jul 25, 2017 8:20:07 GMT 12
I'll happily pick up and intercept this for you...I mean me...
"Q. what seems to not be working right?
A. I can't remember it was about a year ago when tested. Think it turned on and cut out once turned up."
"Q. Why don't you try it now so you can tell us more acuarately what it is doing?
A. Time and that's why it so cheep."Really? How hard would it have been to plug it in and turn it on? I smell a rat... Which is why I am a little cautious, but I think at the price it was worth a gamble. We shall see! Picking up today and will give it a careful once over on Wednesday.
|
Post by Owen Y on Jul 25, 2017 11:23:21 GMT 12
Really? How hard would it have been to plug it in and turn it on? I smell a rat... Or something burning....hopefully not, fingers crossed for you.
|
Post by sub on Jul 25, 2017 16:49:21 GMT 12
Picked up today, staying night in Ak. The seller confirms that the amp turns on, works for a while then turns off. Sounds like a heat issue, but will know more when home and can plug it in. Seems tidy enough, a couple of marks on the casing, but nothing major.
Seller seems a genuine sort of young guy who didn't really know what he had. He was very surprised by the interest - over 90 watchers and lots of bids. Has good feedback. Said owned it for three years, not used for about a year after developing the fault. Said he has only used the CD input and only used the amp for gaming! Had pair of easy to drive Yamaha speakers connected, he said.
No remote with it - was it standard or an optional extra? Also, seller never used the phono input and does not know whether the phono stage is MM or MC. The phono stage came standard, but configured in factory or by dealer to suit buyers needs. What is a safe way to check?
Had a Denon amp a few years back with similar sounding problem, and it was a fairly straight forward fix, so hopefully this will be as well.
|
Post by Citroen on Jul 25, 2017 17:46:28 GMT 12
SO, how hard is it for YOU to plug in now? I can't bear the suspense... Safest way? Email plinius with a pic of the internals. They should be able to work it out from there. Or assuming its in operation, use it and see how it sounds. It should be obvious if its in MM or MC mode. I think the remote was standard but I never used mine (its like a lethal weapon) as I program a universal remote instead. You may very well be onto a winner...
|
Post by Owen Y on Jul 25, 2017 19:38:30 GMT 12
The fuse doesn't blow (not mentioned the seller at least) - which *could* be a good thing. Plinius likely won't want you to poking around inside & you may end up sending it to ChCh. As per usual procedure, note if both ch's die or just one.
|
Post by sub on Jul 26, 2017 16:34:16 GMT 12
Wow!! Been home for a little while. Sorted out a spare pair of loudspeaker leads, Hooked up the CD player, connected via the tuner input on the amp (seller says he only ever used the cd input and using that is when the problem arose), but will try the cd input later. Switched on amp, blue "on" led flashed then turned on properly. Starting playing KD Laing ""ingenue", had volume set to 0, gradually turned it up to 9 o'clock, perfectly lyrical music issued forth from the speakers! Haven't heard KD sound so good before. Played 5 tracks so far, no issues, but early days yet. Will play cd right through, then try again at a slighty higher volume. But my word even at 9 o'clock volume setting, which frankly is about perfect for the cd I am playing now, I am already head over heels in love with this amp. Will report back later!  As per photo, haven't inserted amp in the equipment rack yet, but onto track 7 now, still no issues!
|
Post by Citroen on Jul 26, 2017 17:04:46 GMT 12
Bloody marvellous!  BTW, the LED flashing at turn on is normal, although I rarely experienced it as mine was left on 24/7
|
Post by sub on Jul 26, 2017 18:39:58 GMT 12
Played two CDs without any issues thru tuner input. Now listening to Joan Armatrading - Into the Blues - via cd input with volume control at 10 0'clock, which is quite loud enough. Played all of the cd without issue!
The fault the seller reported happened while he was gaming, with his device audio into the cd input. Don't know what he was using, I guess a PlayStation or Xbox, and he possibly cranked the volume up all the way. The amp runs fairly warm, and I guess if it was turned up excessively the thermal cut out would come into play.
So far, no issues, will listen to CDs most of the night and see how it goes. Will sort out phono input Friday (have to go to Whangarei tomorrow for my annual glaucoma check up, and will be away all day.)
|
Post by colinf on Jul 26, 2017 19:09:53 GMT 12
|
Post by deano1974 on Jul 26, 2017 21:54:05 GMT 12
Well done, nice score brother
Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI
|
Post by sub on Jul 26, 2017 22:15:56 GMT 12
As it turns out, it is! Nice for a change. Just finished playing 7 CDs virtually non stop for near six hours, and the amp didn't miss a beat. At last I have got that sound back. Used to own a Plinius SA100 Mk11 back in the day, and this amp pretty well seems to match the sound I had then. Clean - no hash, no distortion, can listen for hours without fatigue setting in; treble and upper mid-range superb. Experienced goose bumps at one stage, first time in ages! The Plinius 2100i I have is no slouch, and the bass from that is very close to the 8150, but that amp leave the 2100i for dead in the treble. The KEF LS50s handled everything with aplomb, with a caveat about extreme bass. Their bass is clean, musical, fast - starts and stops on a dime, but at the end of the day their size limits things - not that (mostly) the extreme bass is really missed. Finished the night listening to Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here. Turned the volume dial up to about 10.30, and it was superb. The caveat about bass of course comes into play here. Used to play this cd as a demo to friends when I had a pair of KEF C95s - those speakers used to make the walls vibrate!
|
Post by colinf on Jul 27, 2017 7:55:55 GMT 12
The thing that I thought about when the amp was being used for gaming purposes is that perhaps the ventilation slots were being blocked by something on top of the amp, leading to it overheating, even at idle. Just a thought. Is the amp running at normal temperature?
AMR-iFi R&D
|
Post by sub on Jul 28, 2017 11:11:27 GMT 12
Hi colinf, amp temperature seems normal enough. When playing the Pink Floyd album with volume at about 10.30, the area over the heat sinks got fairly warm, but not hot. Could hold my hand on the casing without discomfort. The rest of the time the casing was just warm, as is warned about in the manual I read on line.
However, all is not perfect. Hooked up the TT today via the phono inputs on the amp and kept fingers crossed that a MC phono stage had been installed. It had, as I got perfect sound, but as I stood back realised only sound from left speaker! Tried the usual to check if the problem was input or output. Swapped input cables round, White to red and red to white, still only sound from left speaker. Swapped speaker cables and sound then changed to right speaker.
Seems the fault is in the amp somewhere - should be easy fix.
Then set up the Dynavector P75/3 through a spare set of inputs on the amp, and everything worked fine.
Hope can get the phono sorted soon so I can put the amp into use - will need the phono stage working, otherwise not enough inputs on the amp to meet my needs.
Amp has 5 inputs - Phono, CD, Tuner and two tape loops, one of which I can use as an input. There is also a loop for HT processor which I won't need. On my shelf I have LP, cassette deck, CD player, Bluray player, and set top Freeview box, so need those five inputs. If I used the TT via the Dynavector P75 into the amp, I will be one input short. Seems the processor loop takes away space that would normally be used for an aux. input, which would have been of value to me!
|
Post by colinf on Jul 28, 2017 21:04:42 GMT 12
Hmm, ok. Next fault finding step: with the amp set to phono input, and the turntable disconnected from the phono input, and the volume gradually turned up to high, is the generated noise (hiss) the same in both channels? Or is there no noise in the right channel? That would indicate a problem with the selector circuit or the phono stage itself, or its power supply. However with noise both the same in each channel that would indicate something wrong with the phono RCA connector or its wiring. Ps. Remember to make sure the volume is set back to normal when you select another input!
AMR-iFi R&D
|
Post by sub on Jul 29, 2017 10:48:35 GMT 12
Hmm, ok. Next fault finding step: with the amp set to phono input, and the turntable disconnected from the phono input, and the volume gradually turned up to high, is the generated noise (hiss) the same in both channels? Or is there no noise in the right channel? That would indicate a problem with the selector circuit or the phono stage itself, or its power supply. However with noise both the same in each channel that would indicate something wrong with the phono RCA connector or its wiring. Ps. Remember to make sure the volume is set back to normal when you select another input! Did the above, hiss clearly heard from left speaker while standing beside it. There was also hiss from the R spkr, but I had to put my ear right up almost touching the cone, to hear it.
|
Post by colinf on Jul 29, 2017 12:51:36 GMT 12
Ok, perhaps something wrong with the phono stage itself then, unfortunately. The hiss in the right channel, does it vary with volume position, and is it louder than the hiss when the source is set to a line input (with nothing connected)? I'm just thinking if the issue is in the MC stage or not. Perhaps the MM part is working ok but the MC part isn't.
AMR-iFi R&D
|
Post by michaelw on Jul 29, 2017 14:13:07 GMT 12
iirc the 8150 had a mm phonostage with optional solder in parts to convert to mc use.
the later 8200 had user changeable jumpers to switch gain.
|
Post by Citroen on Jul 29, 2017 14:50:34 GMT 12
Correct Michael, solder in parts to convert from MM to MC.
IIRC, the "hiss" level was normally louder on the phono than the Line
|
Post by colinf on Jul 29, 2017 15:12:10 GMT 12
So the solder-in parts change the gain of the same circuit, from MM to MC, is that correct? I'd look at the integrity of these parts first.
AMR-iFi R&D
|
Post by sub on Jul 29, 2017 15:44:48 GMT 12
Thanks all for your input, tried the hiss test through line inputs with nothing connected, and both speakers gave off an equal sound. So, the problem is in the phono stage. Will have a tech check things out when bank balance recovered! Insurances and rates due this month, drat.
|
Post by sub on Jul 29, 2017 15:53:39 GMT 12
iirc the 8150 had a mm phonostage with optional solder in parts to convert to mc use. the later 8200 had user changeable jumpers to switch gain. According to the 8150 manual, it too has user changeable jumpers to switch gain. Factory set for high gain, but user can change position of the jumpers, after taking off the cover, to reduce gain by 6dB
|
Post by michaelw on Jul 29, 2017 18:51:15 GMT 12
right you are, come to think of it, the soldering was only to change the loading ?
been so long since i've listened to or even seen an 8150 ...
|
Post by Citroen on Aug 15, 2017 17:29:24 GMT 12
Sad day @chez Citroen's McIntosh pre-amp stopped working, so thought oh well at least I have my Plinius 8150 which I kept as a back up. Hasn't been used for about a year but was working perfectly before then for many many years. Plugged it in and NOTHING. Fuse OK.  When moving it I noticed a slight rattle inside, as if a small piece had broken off something, or maybe a dead roach... Have had to resort to using my bedroom system as a pre-amp. 
|
