Phoenix Gold Phorum

Just picked up a Sapphire SA3.0X off of Craigslist for $10.00 that was advertised as "not working". When I went to pick it up, the guy told me that it may very well be just fine as the replacement amp didn't work either and the problem was a fuse in the car. Get it home and he was right.....Works like a champ!

I downloaded the owners manual I found online, but it looks like it is for a earlier model. I just have a couple things I would like to confirm about it. On the "Xover Out", the internal select HI or LO switch, when it is switched to "LO", then the "Xover out" gets the "HI" pass and vice versa, correct???

The other thing is that the manual states that it is 4ohm stable bridged but have found here on the phorum where someone states it can run at 2ohm when bridged. Any truth to that? Here is the thread.....http://www.phoenixphorum.com/viewtopic. ... lit=SA3.0x

Any other info would be helpful.

Here are some pics.......

I wouldnt run saphires at 2 ohm bridge

Based on the manual, I wouldn't either. But, from what I was reading in the other thread I linked to, the problem is heat and at 2 ohm load, it goes into thermal shutdown pretty easy. Adding a fan or two cures this and 2ohm is OK. You see why I am asking. I'm getting contradictory info.

Can anyone confirm about the Xover?

Nice steal...I mean score, I have one myself and one thing I can advice is to replace the filter and rail caps as both are HFZ or HFQ and they did leak on mine. Once there make sure to check the solder joints for the terminals and RCA.

The heat sinks are pretty small compared to MS series, so if you do run it at 2ohms bridge them I suggest a fan or two above it. And yes you are correct regarding the xover, if amp is set to low then the output is high...vice versa.

You could also modify it to bypass the crossovers in case you don't need them...pm for info.

The other thing is that the manual states that it is 4ohm stable bridged but have found here on the phorum where someone states it can run at 2ohm when bridged. Any truth to that? Here is the thread.....http://www.phoenixphorum.com/viewtopic. ... lit=SA3.0x

The Web FAQ states that the power supply and heatsink are not capable of handling 2 ohms bridged.

Thanks for the conformation on the Xover. Though, I don't think I will bypass it now, I'm sure it will be worthwhile knowing how to. When you get the chance, TrickyRicky, PM that to me.

Now, on to recapping....... Please check out the pic below and let me know if I am missing anything.

Yep those that you circle red are the ones that need to be replaced. I would recommend Panasonic FC, FR, FM or Nichicon HE for either of those two sections.


I'll pm you the detail later tonight on how to bypass the xover.

Great...Thanks! Yea....Low ESR on the caps. I need to get a couple Ti Burr Brown op-amps from Mouser anyway.

THUMP-LUMP wrote:Great...Thanks! Yea....Low ESR on the caps. I need to get a couple Ti Burr Brown op-amps from Mouser anyway.

BurrBrown, where are those going? If you want to use one on this amp then just switch out U101 as the rest of the op amps are used for the crossover filtering. As mentioned am sure it can handle a 2ohm bridge load...just keep it cool enough with two fans.

trickyricky wrote:BurrBrown, where are those going? If you want to use one on this amp then just switch out U101 as the rest of the op amps are used for the crossover filtering. As mentioned am sure it can handle a 2ohm bridge load...just keep it cool enough with two fans.

I have a NAD 2100 home amp that got hit by lightening and cooked the gain section. A BB OP275 opamp is the best I could replace it with.

Almost forgot to ask....Would anyone know the lead spacing on the caps that I circled and are getting replaced?

THUMP-LUMP wrote:Almost forgot to ask....Would anyone know the lead spacing on the caps that I circled and are getting replaced?

Not 100% positive, but it appear from my picture that the smaller ones are 5mm and the larger ones are 7.5mm. Best bet is to pull one off on each and measure it but am pretty sure am right.

I will double check but I do believe you're right as well.

No rush.....just a reminder about bypassing the Xover.

Double checked the pin spacing. You're right TrickyRicky. The small ones are 1000uF 16v 20mm x 10mm case with 5mm pin spacing. The larger caps are 1000uF 50v 25mm x 16mm case with 7.5mm spacing.

And as you can see you have an extra 4mm on the diameter of the B+ filter caps and probably an extra 2mm on the rail caps. So you should be able to fit 20mm on the B+ and 22mm on the rails for more capacitance (bigger caps) just make sure their height is not pass the bottom cover..