No complaints about the build quality either. It came with Mulkard valves too, so I think it's a bit of a bargain.

I wonder if there's any DC on the pot? It shouldn't do that. You can clean the pot contacts by exercising the volume control to max and min 20-30 times with the amp switched off. If that doesn't work, you'll need to spray a little switch cleaner on the tracks.

Frankly, you should consider returning it as no amp (let alone a new one) should make bangs.

Coupling caps... My ex editing suite and very hard used HH amp had terribly crackly (Noble) attenuators/pots but this also changed as the amp warmed up. There are four caps in the signal path adjacent to the controls (it's a pro amp remember and expected to be fed by all sorts of stuff). I replaced these caps with conventional Nichicon FG's and as well 'imagining?' I got a much better sound, the iffy notches on the gain pots was much reduced.

Ive been ther before with Kans and it's a bit of a chore to say the least. Not as bad as sorting out a failed crossover in Saras though. Never again!

i agree a blown tweeter is most likely. Late Kan 1s seem to have a good few crossover failures, due to a single component in kans of a certain vintage being prone to failure. The Kan 2 had a didn't crossover (naturally) so I'm thinking a new Hiquphon wold be needed. I've returned them albeit with a heavy heart knowing they won't be restored correctly.

I apologise. I'm ok at making or assembling simple things, but to my shame, I always preferred selling and enthusing about the stuff, when I'd been better served learning how to service it all too. The sad thing is, hifi Dave and I had a fairly local and amazing service engineer who would have LOVED to work on this. I once saw him partly dismantle a Marantz CD10 player in order to replace a large, 28 pin ic control chip. He was so careful and I swear his soldering was indistinguishable from the original after the chip was replaced. He made his own valve preamp and used rebuilt Beard power amps (the gold ones) and got a lovely sound into Quad 57's. This man had to give it up because by the late 90's, everyone was chucking out their stereo gear and getting into AV systems. Valve stuff was still rare and old Quads and Radfords have always been pricey since the mid 80's.

Thanks, Dave. I will see what the seller says but may take a closer look.

We have a great valve amp expert prety close to me at The Maughan Amplifier Company. He's getting on now and his son does a lot of repairs. I'm not sure if he'd still service anything now. Nice as his son is, he will likely never know as much as Mr Maughan has forgotten. I took an Audio Innovations amp in once and within seconds of whipping the lid off, he had identified the circuit type, flipped open an old text book and said to me "look, this is the same circuit".

He could've been showing me a nuclear reactor diagram for all the sense it made to me, but he was a fascinating chap who took a couple of hours to show me lots of treasures including his amazing valve tester and his huge machine shop. He did a bang up job on that amp and a couple more. I also noticed some very exotic amps sat in their boxes waiting for a service. Not the sort of amps you'd let just anybody loose on. Our local dealer used to send Nakamichi tape decks to Mr Maughan for servicing too, so he clearly has many talents. People like Mr Maughan are never going to be replaced and I think that's very sad.

Sorry for the drift. I hope the amp can be revived because I love saving things. I just wish I had more skills. Since the cycle accident, my right hand dexterity isn't great, and will never recover. Allied to my lack of electronics knowledge, it's a perfect recipe for ineptitude

A few things have come and gone without much fuss.

I bought and sold a Naim CD5i. Very good but I want a top loader again.
I bought yet another Sugden A21a.
I also got a Harman Kardon HK6550. Nice butbive been there before.
I also bought a Puoneer A400x from a mate.,I've had a few before and I quite like the A400x. I still haven't collected it from him, but I will get round to it.
I returned my Audion amp for a service and some extras. It isn't back yet.

The one surprisingly refreshing purchase is a Pioneer A400 GTE. I always wondered whether the Tom Evans mods could really make that big a difference. My I lmpression so far is that they do. I have had mixed results with A400s over the years. It can really shine with big expensive speakers and a great source. Give it an excuse to sound unmusical though and it will happily oblige. If it was human it would be a fussy, stroppy Diva.

So far I have only used the A400x with my minstrels but it's really satisfying. It has none of the edginess you so often get with the A400 and it is incredibly dynamic, I don't want to over-analyse but right now I am really enjoying this amp.

I would post pics, but it's an A400: everybody's seen one.

Enjoy!

I am limited in terms of weight and size. Anything I get will need to be carried in hand luggage when I leave the UK. Hifi will be a much smaller part of my life soon and I will probably have a very poor acoustic to boot, so I don't really want to spend a great deal.

I was going to go down the Rega route but only the orginal Planet seems to float my boat and I've had so many of them I fancied a change. A top loader would've been ideal because my wife prefers them and she uses the system more when I have one.

I hope this player will do the trick. First impressions are very good, but I will need some time to get to know it. Sadly my Exposure preamp has a loose connection and it's too fiddly for me to sort, so I'm without an amp until my Audion lands back from servicing.