Rowe CD100 Channel Blown? Can I Replace Juke Amp with Stereo Receiver?

[cqlink]

Speakers connected to the right channel of my CD jukebox distort on SOME (not all) CDs.  I can't stand it.

I already sent the amp to Bruce W. at A&B for rebuild and I don't want to shell out $300-$350 to have another rebuild.

Is there a way to bypass the jukebox amp and wire the CD player to another/ external amp or receiver?

Would one of the Rowe Ami Amplifier Boards such as the 60792702 get me there?

If so,  could anyone explain how to do it?

Thanks in advance!

[lilshawn]

you can just unplug the RCA's from the amp that come from the CD unit and pipe them directly into a regular old power amp. even if you had the amp board 60792702, you'll have to supply your own volume control for it... making the purchase pointless.

get a home receiver and extend the IR outside the cabinet (or pipe the RCA's outside the juke to your amp) and just use the amps remote to control your volume.

[cqlink]

you can just unplug the RCA's from the amp that come from the CD unit and pipe them directly into a regular old power amp. even if you had the amp board 60792702, you'll have to supply your own volume control for it... making the purchase pointless.

get a home receiver and extend the IR outside the cabinet (or pipe the RCA's outside the juke to your amp) and just use the amps remote to control your volume.

Thanks.  What are "IRs?"

By any chance, do you have a picture of a similar set-up?

[lilshawn]

IR = Infra Red - IE, the remote control for the amp... so you can adjust the volume without having to go the amp and manually turn it up everytime.,

[cqlink]

you can just unplug the RCA's from the amp that come from the CD unit and pipe them directly into a regular old power amp. even if you had the amp board 60792702, you'll have to supply your own volume control for it... making the purchase pointless.

get a home receiver and extend the IR outside the cabinet (or pipe the RCA's outside the juke to your amp) and just use the amps remote to control your volume.

So....I'm guessing the internal jukebox speaker wires and my external speaker wires need to be wired into the external amp?

Thanks for the help!

[lilshawn]

they would have to be, yes. with a great big "but"

Out of the box, the speakers on the left and right channels are wired as such to share a "ground" IE negative connection... this would be incompatible with most amps to just pull the speaker wires off the transformer taps and plug into another amp.

off the top of my head i can't think of a real easy way to proceed with hooking up those speakers in the cabinet without actually opening up a machine and going through the wiring... i think the main issue is the crossover... but again i'd have to go through it and find out.

going back to your original comment... you said it sounds blown...but only on SOME tracks? what did you mean by this? what kind of CD's are they? are they burned discs? are they mp3's converted back to cd format? are they cd clones? are they original discs?

maybe you have just a badly ripped cd?

[cqlink]

they would have to be, yes. with a great big "but"

Out of the box, the speakers on the left and right channels are wired as such to share a "ground" IE negative connection... this would be incompatible with most amps to just pull the speaker wires off the transformer taps and plug into another amp.

off the top of my head i can't think of a real easy way to proceed with hooking up those speakers in the cabinet without actually opening up a machine and going through the wiring... i think the main issue is the crossover... but again i'd have to go through it and find out.

going back to your original comment... you said it sounds blown...but only on SOME tracks? what did you mean by this? what kind of CD's are they? are they burned discs? are they mp3's converted back to cd format? are they cd clones? are they original discs?

maybe you have just a badly ripped cd?

Original CDs.  Distortion is "hit and miss."  That's part of the reason why I'm guessing the channel is fried. 

Using original factory CDs,  some play great.  Others distort.  On some occasions,  some CDs that sounded distorted ("fuzzy") on the ONE channel sound fine.  On other occasions, some  CDs that sounded fine,  distort (but only on the right side).

While I'm trying to sort it out (and before I have to spend more $$$ bringing in a local expert or taking my amp to a place capable of rebuilding it again),  could you (or anyone else following this thread),  share the optimal internal and external speaker hookup to the taps inside your box or a typical Rowe CD100 box?

I've moved the tap wires around so much (keeping an eye on the LED overload meter),  I've lost track of where they should be placed.

Finally,  I think this amp delivers 125W per channel.  Do you (or anyone following) know if Rowe or another manufacturer makes an amp with more power?

Thanks again for the assist!

[cqlink]

And, just to add to the confusion (for me),  I moved the internal jukebox speaker wires back to the E5 taps (right and left side).  The two, 8-ohm external speakers are back on the E4 taps.

The factory CD I played sounds great.  No overload lights.

What is likely to happen is tracks from the same CD will eventually distort.

I'm thinking about pulling the amp and checking fuses and/ or replacing transistors.

[lilshawn]

i personally do these ones like this...

just the internal speakers...  the colored pink/violet should be on E7 with the black on either of the E1 taps. not a problem.

if adding external speakers, it going to depend on the speakers. internal speakers should be moved down moved to E4 or 5 on the left and right sides and the external speakers attached with negative to E1 and the positive on the E# tap if the speakers are "4/8 ohm compatible" then internal on E4 and the external on E5. this is because 4/8 ohm compatible speakers are typically 6ish

if they are straight 8 ohm then the internals can go on E5 and the externals can go on E6

note. this would only be ONE speaker per channel. not multiples.

nothing should go on E7 when externals are being used, the amp doesn't get loaded properly. i typically load external speakers on the taps higher than the internals... unless they are low ohm speakers, then all sorts of dickery has to happen with series parallel connections to keep things in spec.

[cqlink]

i personally do these ones like this...

just the internal speakers...  the colored pink/violet should be on E7 with the black on either of the E1 taps. not a problem.

if adding external speakers, it going to depend on the speakers. internal speakers should be moved down moved to E4 or 5 on the left and right sides and the external speakers attached with negative to E1 and the positive on the E# tap if the speakers are "4/8 ohm compatible" then internal on E4 and the external on E5. this is because 4/8 ohm compatible speakers are typically 6ish

if they are straight 8 ohm then the internals can go on E5 and the externals can go on E6

note. this would only be ONE speaker per channel. not multiples.

nothing should go on E7 when externals are being used, the amp doesn't get loaded properly. i typically load external speakers on the taps higher than the internals... unless they are low ohm speakers, then all sorts of dickery has to happen with series parallel connections to keep things in spec.

Thanks.  Tried all the wire combinations you mentioned.   For approx.. 30-days,  everything sounded great.  Lately,  nothing but distortion on the right side.  I'm guessing the amp channel is fired.

That's a shame.  The one-year warranty by A&B Jukebox (they rebuilt it) just expired.  I really don't want to spend another $350 + shipping to have it rebuilt again and have it last for only one year.

I'll see what I can learn regarding repairing it myself or look for a local electronics repair shop.