Mf2250 Rebuild

[Kidgreen]

Hello all,
I have a MF 2250 and there seems to be a sad issue with the power supply. Is this worth sending to CJ for repair, probably $500.
I stupidly turned it on with speaker leads touching and popped the internal fuses. The externals are ok.
I had a local tech look at it and he said current limiter shows excessive draw.
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Ken

[admin]

Hi Ken,
Great to have you with us here at CJO.

As for the repair cost, I would say it is worth it if you like the MF2250 as a replacement unit will cost more than $500. There is an MF2250 on sale at US Audiomart currently for $900. That of course doesn't mean it is worth that much unless somebody is willing to pay, but I think it is worth more than $500.

Let us know what you decide.

[AnotherJohnson]

I agree that a working MF2250 is worth more than $500.

The cost of repair will included round trip insured shipping, probably a new factory box, the usual bench fee, shop supplies fee, and whatever parts are required to fix it.

There are guys who advertise that they will buy broken CJ components, so you might get quotes to find out what they would pay without repairs being done. That might help you decide how to proceed.

The MF2200s were worth about $750 in working condition when I sold a couple of them several years ago. The MF 2250 might be worth a bit more. Asking prices are not as informative as selling prices, but getting yours fixed for anything under $750 might be worthwhile if that included recapping. Amps are easier than preamps as there are fewer paths, switches, no pots, etc. If it were factory refurbished, it might be good for another 10 year, and it would be easier to sell.

[Kidgreen]

Thanks for the insights. Figuring sending it to CJ. $145 hr maybe 3 hours?

[AnotherJohnson]

I think 12 quarter hour service units (3 hours) is the standard bench fee. It is unlikely to take more than that.

There are carrier insurance issues if they don’t use a new box, so that’s another chunk o change.

The shop materials fee is small. Maybe 12 bucks?

Round trip shipping w/insurance depends on where you are and how much insurance you want.

On the bright side, CJ will do a good job. It should come back sounding good.

[Kidgreen]

Mating it up with an Accuphase c200 and ADS 810s.
So looking forward to this classic audio setup. I feel soooo stupid for what I did. I was just so excited I wanted to see it lit.
What a dummy.

[admin]

Don't feel bad, we all make mistakes. Who knows, when you get the unit back repaired, it may sound better due to newer components?

[AnotherJohnson]

Back in the day McIntosh took advantage of their protective circuitry in their advertising and demos. You could short the output and nothing would fry. They sold a lot of gear based on that ability. Lots of us have fried stuff through one error or another … the experience humbles and edifies.

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes, infact Mac still do this very thing to show off at demos at shows... whiles the big Mac MC462 and MC452 were powered on, the chap said attention folks!!! Then everyone stopped and gave their attention. He walked round the back of the big SF Amati's, and yanked out the speaker cables that were attached to banana plugs then he crossed the positive & negative leads together and pressed firmly...
Everyone gasped!!! Nothing happened other than a tiny red LED lit up on the front panel next to the blue meters, and then he plugged the speaker leads back in, and Everyone went wooow as if they all released gas in the rear at the same time. What a fabulous trick!

I just rolled my eyes and walked out. Yes, common sense, with amplifier output stage protection or not would certainly help... other than powering up the amp and having leads criss-cross... but although we read the owner's manual thoroughly we still make mistakes!

I'll never forget my big one; they say to fully turn down the bias pots on your tube amps before installing new tubes then turn up the bias slowly... up to required spec. On the Manley Labs Ref350's, I had turned all 16 output tube bias pots all the way up!!! No worries mate all good... installed the brand new tubes (16 KT90 output tubes) powered up the amps, and oh! My! It was the 4th of July! Canon fire went off in the living room, nice one maties!

We only can learn from our mistakes, so don't ever need to feel stupid. $500 smackers to get a nice CJ MF series SS amplifier back in working order, and job done by CJ, that's fully worth it!

Hope it all goes well.
Cheers, RJ

[Kidgreen]

Thank you for commiserating with me. Your words really help. I am going to send the amp to CJ and just bite the bullet. I have always dreamed of having this equipment so here goes.

[Kidgreen]

Well I got the news today from cj. As it turns out the power supply is bad so it was not what I did with the speaker leads so that makes me feel better. The guy I got it from did not represent it as non working so I was taken.
CJ said that it would be about $900 to fix it but $1400 to get the A mods and have it be the best it can be. Now I am not sure it is worth it to go that high. Since I have not heard the unit yet I have nothing to compare it to except my Spectral set up.

Total in would be $2000 if I go for the mods. $1500 all in to just get it working again. Not sure if I should just walk away.
Thoughts?
Thank you,
Ken

[AnotherJohnson]

It should come back sounding better than something you could buy new for $1500 to $2000.

You might get that much out of a resale if it were sold sealed after the repair… but the MF2250 is not being chased, so it might be a hard sell.

Broken it’s worth nothing. Restored/upgraded, it could serve you for many years.

I guess it depends on how handy the money is and whether or not you need a SS amp in that power rating.

[admin]

I think this is a hard decision and there is no right or wrong answer. If you go all out at $2k, you literally are getting the best sounding MF2250 in existence. But there is definitely competition in this price range. As AJ mentioned, you can always sell it and hope to minimize the loss (or make profit), but it probably won't be a quick sell.

The MF2250 is a very nice unit. If you really plan to use this long term, it would not be unreasonable to get it fixed up and would offer years of reliable service.

[Kidgreen]

Thank you for your thoughts. CJ told me that all modded up this would be competing with his 9-10,000$ amps. This is my second system but he did say it would give my Spectral dma180 a real run for the money. Ugh!!! Still not sure and the green does rear its ugly head.

[AnotherJohnson]

Jeff’s not a bs artist. He’s generally right on the money.

But Spectral is mighty fine too.

If it’s in good shape, you may not need a duplicate.

FWIW, I think the Spectral would be the amp to keep. I think it would bring more in a later sale.

[Kidgreen]

Thank you for the Spectral insight. That is suddenly popping fuses, so I talked to Goodwins and he said Spectral would do everything to bring it to new, if they still had the parts. He was pretty sure that they do not for this vintage amp, so I am in another quandry. Get the CJ fixed and replace the Spectral or take a risk that the Spectral can be rehabbed and put the CJ TO PASTURE. I do not like the pasture option at all.

[AnotherJohnson]

Both not working = have CJ fix the MF2250.

[admin]

Well, if the Spectral is not working, suddenly the MF2250 being brought up to spec starts making more sense.

[AnotherJohnson]

It’s really a no brainer. Jeff will bring the 2250 to a high level. In light of these new data, I’d spring for the whole Monty. Especially since you love vintage.

I am not a vintage fan, so I don't want either one.

If I were a vintage fan, and both were functioning normally, I’d probably go for the Spectral. But if the CJ had recently been factory refurbished, and the Spectral had not been, I’d go for the CJ.

[Kidgreen]

This all really helps