Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners m80v3 and harman hk3700/3770

Hello,

The harman Kardon HK 675 did an average to good job driving two Axiom m80 V3.

today there was a high odor of chemical smoke comming from the inside of this integrated amp.
I was not playing any sound, and sound volume was at lowest.

I was looking around receivers like a HK 3490 120W per channel and capable of 4ohms output.

Unfortunnaly, it's discontinuated.

They sell HK 3770 and 3700.
I downloaded the pdf, it say:
6/8 ohms.

I don't wanna take a risk, then i'm thinking about a hk 990.
It's way out of my budgect but very tempting.



There are already answers about amps choice in forum so i'm not in need, there is a Search function

But if I post this message here, it's just to know if HK 3770 and 3700 are able to drive the m80 V3.

I always checked old amps feature but new models looke strange.
i dunno what happend.

I heard about brands like outlaw.
I don't think i can find it in france i will try to look for an amp replacement on my own time anyway.

Thank you very much

I untight screws to access the amp.
Actually i see no traces of leaking capacitor.

Odor of burnt is somewhere between two fuse (fuse are in good shape) and two 12000 uF michicon capacitors.
of the lest power amp block.

It's maybe a part named RS802
V 502
AC
or just under it.

I don't wanna go further and unmount everything yet.

Culprit could be also the BA250V Massuse me-11 012-2H4...
but i know nothing about electronic.

I wanna ask to a electonic shop to repair it for me
but harman kardon on the manual say it's them job.

Edit:

there was lot of dust + spider webs.

I used a air horn to remove most of the dust, maybe it was just burnt dust?

After cleaning dust and rewiring everything fewminutes ago:
Volume was at min.
I just pressed the power switch and speacker 1.
But before i tryed to switch the standby mode off, there was this strong odor again.

If repair is not expensive i will go for it, or buy a new amp in 6 month.

That "burnt chemical smell" is a very unique smell and it's always bad news, unfortunately. I would not risk your connected speakers/equipment again, nor risk a fire in your house. UNPLUG that receiver and leave it unplugged.

If you can get a free or $20 quote locally (not pay for shipping) than do it, but I'm betting it's not worth fixing.

Are you just looking for a 2-channel amp or a HT 5.1/7.1 receiver/AVR?

Hello,

Thanks for the advice.

Ok where to start ?

I am looking this time for 2 channels power amps+ preamp, or integrated.

Idea is:

Every brand for me are ok as long it will not overheat with M80v3 at reasonable volume.

There are good review for almost every brand, and i have little to no preference.


I found as an exemple:

integrated:

Anthem I225f
has balanced xlr input and pre out.
No extras like dlna, optical input,
But i don't require a media player amp.

Axiom Ada-1000 +
and a preamp.

I know nothing about preamps just it's needed
and i have choice of features. No need to replace the amp if preamp die and vice-versa.

Third choice are monobloc amps + preamps.
But require more powering cables.

third : all in one like nova serie from peachtree.

In last choice, small sized amps:
like HK675, HK980.
But i will move to dedicated furniture instead of put audio material on my computer desktop.
So i can have freedom of choice about amps models again.


Ok so:
80w or even 60w per channel @ 8ohms is enough.
I just need more freedom sometime.

Distorsion happend on HK675 at half volume.
Off course i don't need to go that far often.

But you know about very good old cd not clipping recorded at -20 dbfs peaks.

This is the time i need power


Thanks you again.

I went the integrated route with an Arcam A19 for a while. My advice is get something with decent gutz. The Arcam went into the classifieds within 6 months. Replaced with a unit that will carry me to retirement.

50wpc was a waste of time. I would suspect the peachtree nova at 65w(?) wouldnt be superb either. I quickly lost faith in online reviews and mags after that experience. Stereophile subscription not renewed. I would use reviews for info and not much else.

Seriously, if you are into stereo audio get a tanky 150wpc setup and be set for life. Integrated is definitely the cheaper route.

My opinion I guess. Good luck!

Most amps sold in stores a where i live show
50-60w amps up to 2000 e price.
First second and third page on website are full of them.


I know some cinemas had very expensive tubes amps for the same wattage, paired with very efficienct speackers and sound was very loud.

So i'm not judging anything.
I will stop speacking too much about audio material or it will become a troll topic.

Actually i found monoblocs 100-200w ~ and it's less or equal to 1000e a pair.

I will avoid low wattage rms amps just for my setup.
I won't look at 1000w amps either

I can find some integrated amps price range under 1000e and sometime 400e they are about 120w @ 8 ohms .
It should be ok right now.

I just remember sailers trying to convince me about good 40w amps.
But like i sayd before i went to axiom i had not the speacker to be paired with that amp, so i bought the hK675 80W at 8 ohms.

Anyway your opinion is nice, i was thinking i could look atlow wattage amps and my ego urged me to look for morepower.

I t's just a question of trade

Have you tried the used market? There are a lot of very rich people who get bored of their gear and buy new every 3-5years. Yay for us! Most high end used gear is babied as well. Your dollar goes a lot farther in the used market performance wise.

A beefy older cambridge amp would be a nice find.

I found on the web a serious shop selling used hifi audio and new items:

Audio Research SDP1 + SDA1 1150e instead of 7000e
Nad C275BEE 600e instead of 1299

I will start a search, good to not put eggs in the same bag.

Also a very good deal:

Musical Fidelity A3.5 for 500e.

Yep lot of choice almost everywhere.

I can get for 1199e at -19% at sales period i think an Anthem I225

And there is more to come.

Thanks Serenity_Now for the idea,

It was more difficult to get a good cathodic ray on used market, but wow , about audio it's raining good offers.

The sad part today is 50W does not equal 50W. I have an old Nakamichi AV1 that is rated at 100W. It will blow the proverbial doors off a $3000 Pioneer Elite AV unit rates at 250W+ at 4Ω

I have tried one of the new amps on a set of Axiom M80v4 and turned the volume up to point of clipping and it wasn't all the impressive. The Nak, I can get to about 1/2 before the room starts to shake and there is still life left inside of it.

I'd recommend looking for an older receiver if all you want is 2 channel sound.. the simply don't make them anywhere near like they use to.