Quandary: 1998 Cambridge Audio A500

[jack]

So. I found this in the loft, minding it's own business on one of the racks up there... I guess we had it in use in the early 2000s - maybe for one of the kids' rooms - and it's been in the loft for 20 years...

It was a perfectly good amp, however in its years of being unloved and upstairs, it's suffered a bit.

It may well work and cosmetically it looks good, but it's had a bit of corrosion (doesn't seem capacitor-related). I'm not sure how it got in there, but I'd not be happy selling it in that shape - see photos. Even in good condition they only fetch £40-60 - they don't seem very fashionable...

It may seem criminal, but I'm considering parting it out. The output Sanken Darlington transistors are worth maybe £15 a pair if working as they are known genuine, the transformer is a very nice " audio quality" toroid and there are other nice bits., like a powered attenuator.

What do the team think?

PXL_20241207_115241742_copy_675x897.jpg (132.32 KiB) Viewed 8018 times

PXL_20241207_114342434_copy_675x897.jpg (92.83 KiB) Viewed 8018 times

PXL_20241207_121417685_copy_897x675.jpg (107.2 KiB) Viewed 8009 times

[jack]

No ideas

[Morgan Jones]

Give it a bit of a clean, pop it in the airing cupboard for a few weeks to dry it out, then use it as it is. Transistor amplifiers make excellent bass amplifiers for two-way active crossover loudspeakers with valves for the treble.

Putting stuff in the loft is always asking for trouble - just put it straight in the dustbin or if it has value, the charity shop. Very little survives the temperature and humidity extremes of a loft.