Phoenix Gold Phorum

Hey guys,

I took a road trip this weekend and had just put in my X1200.1. It sounded great all the way up and I set the gains with a DMM but I only set them to where the amps was putting out about 50v AC so I had it detuned a ways.

On the way home, the amp went into protect when I was listening at barely audible levels and it didn't come back out. I disconnected everything and then reconnected the amp without the speaker wires and it stayed in protect.

I opened it up and one of the zip ties around the smaller coils had melted and broken in two and a little of the melted plastic is on the coils but I can't see anything else that looks damaged on the inside.

Is there anything to look for on these or do I have to get it fixed?

pictures could be helpful for some of the guys here...I know nothing about amp internals...but there's a few guys on here that can help I am sure.

Pics coming right up. I think I found the problem area. You can really get a good look at this stuff with a nice high res camera. I think I will need someone to service it for me. I wouldn't even know where to source the parts and I dunno if I can solder on something that small.

The pics are really huge so I didn't hot link them but you can zoom way in and snoop around. I don't think it is tough to see the problem area. Does anyone know what this area is for? Is this part of the output stage or something different?

http://cube3design.com/rob/blown_x12001/

I don't see any damage except the coil that lost its zip tie. It looks shorted, but thats a PG part only if it is.

What load were you running it at ?

it makes the same juice at all loads soI always tell folks to run them at 4 or 2 ohms only as 1 ohm only gets you blown outputs if you push the amp TOO far < like most D class amps>.

What kind of setup do you have ? Is it a trunk bass through the car seat setup ?

I am interested in these sorts of info because even PG asks these sort of questions...

I think this image might have still been uploading when you were looking at the images. This can't be good....?

http://cube3design.com/rob/blown_x12001/CIMG0639.JPG


I was running it at 4 ohm.

My step brother had my car for 3 weeks and he is a bass head and used to ported subs and I think he might have been abusing it.

It used to be a trunk bass setup but the pass through was removed so they weren't really just pushing through the seats but if you're inferring that it caused me to try to push it too hard because it wasn't loud enough that that was probably the case but it wasn't me.

I don't see anything with that picture but I might be slipping. Now if you ohm those power Fets out and they read 10 ohms or less then I think there would be a issue, as fets read in the hundreds of ohms not 10 or less.
Just in my experience.

I am almost 100% sure you popped a output < this is fairly common> But without having hands on time Its just a guesstimate. PG is your quick answer.

Well, sending it in to Phoenix Gold is out of the question. I am not going to pay $135 + another $25 to ship it so $160 to get an amp replaced that is worth $200. I will have to try to find another one or get this one repaired locally.

You say there doesn't look like there is anything wrong but don't those soldering points all look fried and maybe like some of them are not making good contact anymore? It sure looks like it to me but I don't know what I'm looking for.

"Worth $200"? Even the ones leaked on eBay were $350 or so NIB, and that's still way below MSRP. If you got yours for $200, that is one hell of a deal. If you got a Lamborghini for $20k, would you call it a $20k car? Probably not.

The $125 also includes return shipping, and I guarantee it's probably the cheapest price you can find, bar doing it yourself. This also means it will be completely worked over and bench tested by a PG tech, so that you won't have these problems again.

Is it just me, or does the #2 transistor look like it's third leg is barely soldered on? That looks like a first batch Xenon QC issue... since then they started working over every amp in the US before sending them out.

They seem to go for about $225 plus shipping when I see them pop up on ebay. I bought it for $280 shipped.

I'm taking it to a local place that was recommended by two car audio shops and I'll see what they say. It's only $15 to have it looked at so I'll see what they say. My budget for this is blown and I don't have $160 to have it fixed. I'm hoping to get it fixed for under $100.

Theres a old saying you get what you pay for, and with electronics its pretty much law... PG would have done you right, they always do.

Best of luck getting your amp fixed

1moreamp wrote:Theres a old saying you get what you pay for, and with electronics its pretty much law... PG would have done you right, they always do.

Best of luck getting your amp fixed

This place came highly recommended to me and the guy was pretty old and seemed to know his stuff. We'll see when they come back with a quote. Not all repairs are worth what PG charges or they wouldn't do flat rate repairs. I have had amps repaired for $50 locally before that lasted years after the repair. You don't always get what you pay for.

Again realize that it does depend on the situation of the amp. And what kind of amp. The flat rate fee may be expensive if the work is cheap....
If the amp is blown all to heck, and is obviously not a $50 fix, paying PG to fix it is worth every penny.

Wakeup wrote:Again realize that it does depend on the situation of the amp. And what kind of amp. The flat rate fee may be expensive if the work is cheap....
If the amp is blown all to heck, and is obviously not a $50 fix, paying PG to fix it is worth every penny.

This is pretty much right along my line of though. It is worth $15 for me to find out if it's an easy fix. If the amp didn't turn on or anything I would probably send it right to PG but I think the problem is just a couple of the outputs which might not be too expensive.

Cool Cool,

I hope you don't need any outputs the IRF360LC can be a bit of fun to locate.
Digi-Key has them at between 9 and 12 bucks each, just in case you need one or three... Good luck ! ...C

1moreamp wrote:Cool Cool,

I hope you don't need any outputs the IRF360LC can be a bit of fun to locate.
Digi-Key has them at between 9 and 12 bucks each, just in case you need one or three... Good luck ! ...C

If they sound sketchy at this place at all I've already gotten the green light to send it to PG from the wife so if there is any doubt it is going there.

Thanks for the tip on the outputs. From what I can see, I think that is what it is going to be.

Live and learn right guys?

The monkey at the electronics place called today and said 4 of the outputs are blown and quoted me $275-$300 to fix it. He said it was $150 in parts alone. I laughed.

Then he told me that he can't get it back together because it's in pieces until Thursday. I cried.

My amp could have been to PG already by then.

A fuckin' atoadaso!

(anyone get the reference... gridracer?)

stipud wrote:A fuckin' atoadaso!

(anyone get the reference... gridracer?)

You told me so?

Ricky from Trailer Park Boys?

You didn't use google didya?