ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
You know, I believe in fair is fair and with this philosophy in clearly mind….. and a certain amount of mea culpa at hand I have discovered that I have been unduly critical of B&O build quality in comparison to the products of McIntosh Laboratories.
Fine products that McIntosh builds notwithstanding, old electronics are just that, OLD and failures happen. Case in point the on/off switch on my C-27 Pre-amplifier apparently had a bit of corrosion and arched sufficiently to burn the switch to a crisp and fill my house with noxious fumes. The end result is a completely useless stereo system.
McIntosh not longer has this part available and the source they recommended has been looking for two days with no luck. As such I need to ask does anyone know a source for McIntosh parts in North America?
Yes guys, I know this is a B&O forum, but I hope I can be forgiven for seeking help anyplace I can find it as I really need another on/off switch.
Any and all leads with be great appreciated! Thank you.
Jeff
Beogram 4000, Beogram 4002, Beogram 4004, Beogram 8000, Beogram 8002, Beogram 1602. Beogram 4500 CD player, B&O CDX player, Beocord 4500, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 8004, Beocord 9000, Beomaster 1000, Beomaster 1600, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 4400, Beomaster 4500, Beolab 5000, Beomaster 5000, BeoCenter 9000. BeoSound Century, S-45.2, S-45.2, S-75, S-75, M-75, M-100, MC 120.2 speakers; B&O Illuminated Sign (with crown & red logo). B&O grey & black Illuminated Sign, B&O black Plexiglas dealer sign, B&O ash tray, B&O (Orrefors) dealer award vase, B&O Beotime Clock. Navy blue B&O baseball cap, B&O T-shirt X2, B&O black ball point pen, B&O Retail Management Binder
I know Audio Classics has been a big repair and reseller of McIntosh and other vintage gear.
http://www.audioclassics.com/
You might also try contacting Roger Russell, the retired McIntosh speaker designer and see if he knows of a good place that might have spares. He's got a great McIntosh site, and is a wonderful gentleman. I used to live near him, we used to visit now and then and do audio with the local group of nuts.
http://www.roger-russell.com/
That's all I know of off the top of my head. I am hoping my C32 doesn't follow suit, will have to clean it some when I get it setup again.
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Thanks Jeff, I’ll give Roger a shout.
Audio Classics has gone silent, never a good sign, but I did manage to find a referral to a shop in Montreal. They don’t have my part either, but asked for photos, which may have done the trick in finding a suitable switch replacement.
Good luck with your C-32, a very nice pre-amp….. far better than my C-27.
If anyone knows of a switch to replace this one, PLEASE let me know.
I appear to be challenged with multiple photos, here is the other side of the switch.
Hi Jeff,
I just sent an email to Roger, so we’ll see what happens.
Thanks for the referral! It means a lot to me.
Good luck with it! Odd about Audio Classics going dark, they've been around for a long time.
This might be the stupidest idea you've read of, but I've had to do it with electronics myself.
Can the switch be disassembled? If so, are all of the internal metal pieces still there and not burned away? Perhaps you can remove any corrosion and reassemble the switch.
I've had to do this several times with a Carver power amp power switch that was not meant to be taken apart. I did not have the "excitement" that you experienced, so perhaps there is nothing left to fix in your switch if you can take it apart.
David
Yea it is odd about Andy, as he was personally recommended by McIntosh. Three emails went unanswered, so what can you do?
Doonesbury: This might be the stupidest idea you've read of, but I've had to do it with electronics myself. Can the switch be disassembled? If so, are all of the internal metal pieces still there and not burned away? Perhaps you can remove any corrosion and reassemble the switch. I've had to do this several times with a Carver power amp power switch that was not meant to be taken apart. I did not have the "excitement" that you experienced, so perhaps there is nothing left to fix in your switch if you can take it apart. David
Hello David,
Your suggestion is not remotely stupid, and most of the internal parts are still there. That said an awful lot of crap kept falling out of it as I cleaned it up to photograph. After the fire the whole thing was back and you couldn’t read any of the writing…. thank God for Windex.
In addition the shop in Montreal says they have my part, or one very, very close and will send pictures this evening.
If they do I would rather theirs than to rebuild mine.
Oh, I think I have some microswithes in my boxes.... I check if there is one like this.
blah-blah and photographs as needed
That would be great. My only “source” has a switch with two posts on one side, unlike mine which has only one.
Piaf: That would be great. My only “source” has a switch with two posts on one side, unlike mine which has only one.
If the switch is the same size, the 2 post doesn't matter, your one post version is a normally open version, the 2 post version has additionally a normally closed function, Just connect it correctly and you are ready to go.
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
Hi Søren,
The switch is the same size, so I imagine it should work.
Yes Søren is right, probably work if measurements fit. I have these 2:
Please hold on to them just in case it doesn’t work out with the guy in Quebec. All my messages to him are showing up blank and I don’t know why.
They have been on hold at least last 10 years
Jeff,
Audio Classics never responded to my multiple emails, what can I say?
I contacted Roger, (thank you for the referral), a very nice gentleman, but he said considering the Japanese source that my chance of obtaining another one was slim.
However the “game changer” was Orava posting the picture of a Honeywell switch and then Søren de Mexico identifying it as a commonly available micro switch. After this the “impossible” because easy. Orava, thanks for holding the switch for me, but as you can see I found a few.
I was referred to a shop in Quebec who sent me two switches gratis, which was beyond nice and I also found another switch at my local electronics supplier. (They had reams of them!)
Soldered the replacement switch in place and I have my McIntosh system back.
Ran into a few “teething” problems in that the McIntosh MI-3 oscilloscope was badly misbehaving. I had just replaced most the vacuum tubes which apparently “upset” something. The MI-3 provided only a very flat straight response to the Beogram 4000, 4004, and FM….. but “liked” the Beogram 4500 CD player. I don’t even have a “theory” on that one. Eventually it settled down without any help from me.
This McIntosh system is a COMPLEX beast and takes several hours to wire-up, even with my detailed notes and hand-drawn schematic.
Never did resolve the issue of no visual display with the Tandberg, as the MI-3 must be in-line with a tape recorder and I chose to have the Beocord 9000 have a visual display. It won’t be of much interest here, as this is a B&O forum, but connecting the Main to the Main between the MI-3 and the Pre-Amplifier does provide a visual of the Tandberg sound BUT it also causes the volume control to shrink and enlarge the visual display, which for me is just unacceptable.
The other “surprise” I had was regarding speakers. As wiring-up this system is a time consuming process, the McIntosh ML-2 speakers (HUGE behemoths, more like furniture) were not a priority, so once I got the basics connected, I hooked up the Linn Isobarics, and went on to test the system.
What I found was a sound quality that was very, very disappointing. So much so that I thought I might have the speakers wired out of polarity. Of course this is where the MI-3 really shines, as if the speakers were out of polarity the visual display reverses and the problem is obvious. This was not to case here, so I continued by connecting the McIntosh ML-2’s and OMG, the glorious sound was back.
The speaker set-up in the living room could not possibly be worse in that the Linn speakers are on stands flanking the television and aimed directly at the viewing area whereas the McIntosh speakers are at a right angle to the Linn’s and face directly into the back of the 10’ sofa. You literally are unaware that the McIntosh speakers are even playing….. however turn them off and you immediately see what they add to the sound mix.
Let’s just say that these to diverse speakers, built in different eras, one aimed at the European market while the other aimed squarely at the American market….. and oh how they complement each other PERFECTLY!
While this sounds like a speech from the Academy Awards, I sincerely want to thank Jeff, Doonesbury, Orava, and Søren de Mexico for all your help, without which I seriously doubt I would ever have gotten my McIntosh system up and running again. You guys done GOOD!
Wow! I didn't know you had such an extensive and I there's ting McIntosh collection! Very cool. Especially the scope.
Roger is indeed one of the true gentlemen of audio. And very knowledgeable.
My C32 may need some TLC, when I last had it hooked up it had a couple of anomalies, probably the "ribbon" cables again. They connect the various boards with this ribbon cable made of parallel wires in a paper ribbon, and they get brittle and unreliable. We will see when I have time to dig into it. I like having it for my main bench/playroom preamp because of its flexibility and features.
Glad you're back in business!
Hey Jeff,
Yea the MI-3 Maximum Performance Indicator is one of my favourite possessions. The year I purchased it the State of Florida was allocated by McIntosh something like six for the year…. fortunately the sales manager at Cooper Radio liked me, and I have had it ever since.
Your C-32 is a much better pre-amplifier than my C-27, but I’ll stick with mine is it was rebuilt by the factory along with my MC-2255 amplifier.
Interesting detail here, I was given an estimate of around $1,100 to repair my amplifier and was VERY surprised to receive both the amplifier and pre-amplifier in brand new shipping boxes (gotta be worth $150 each) gratis with a note from the McIntosh president saying, “Thee is no invoice because in our opinion your 2255 shouldn’t have broken in the first place.”
Simply incredible customer service in this day and age.
Piaf: However the “game changer” was Orava posting the picture of a Honeywell switch and then Søren de Mexico identifying it as a commonly available micro switch. After this the “impossible” because easy. Orava, thanks for holding the switch for me, but as you can see I found a few.
You are wery wellcome, glad you have your amp working again.
If I remember right my Honeywell was in a washingmachine
Oh my God, the solution to my McIntosh switch problem came from a washing machine? If I told anyone about this, I very much doubt that anyone would believe me.
Well, I'm sure that they are used also in more hi-tech appliances They are pretty universal.
Universal to be sure, but what really matters to me is that IT WORKS!
Orava: Well, I'm sure that they are used also in more hi-tech appliances They are pretty universal.
I have seen them in several different brands of printing and bookbinding machines and equipment, but to tell people "I repaired this with a washing machine part" sound a little more adventurous
Piaf: Oh my God, the solution to my McIntosh switch problem came from a washing machine? If I told anyone about this, I very much doubt that anyone would believe me. Jeff
Oh the humanity!
I gotta be honest, I don't care where the switch came from so long as it works! And it does!