Technics SE-A7 Stereo Power Amplifier Service and Restoration

[@paulanderson7796]

Technics made some superb integrated and component amplifiers in this era. Many were like this, and didn't use discrete output stages. They played music absolutely beautifully.

[@CristianIorga]

"Didn't use discrete output stages?" I guess you wanted to say that Technics used discrete output stages (as opposed to integrated, for example Sony's use of STKs sometime). Right?

[@paulanderson7796]

@@CristianIorga Technics did both. I have a couple of SU-V4X amps here that use the SVI2004A output IC.

[@CristianIorga]

@@paulanderson7796 My bad, you are right.

[@barskuleli8612]

What an elegant piece of hi-fi history…

[@batmandestroys1978]

One of the most beautiful power amplifiers made! This item is priceless! I estimate, you would pay about $4000 for this amp today, if they made it to the spec you have carried out! You might just have the prefect power amplifier! It is, beautiful, small, slim and powerful!

[@n.brucenelson5920]

I have a pair of the SE-7s and the matching pre-amp driving Magnepan .7s. The combination is absolutely amazing

[@batmandestroys1978]

@@n.brucenelson5920 Wow you are genius! You could never buy this set again if Technics remade it! it would easily over 10,000 dollars today and it would have less watts!

[@n.brucenelson5920]

@@batmandestroys1978 This doesn't make me a genius at all. But it does make me very lucky. Thank you for your comments.

[@batmandestroys1978]

@@n.brucenelson5920 Bruce, you are a gentleman! Thank you Sir!

[@john-three16]

I just found your channel and started binge watching. I couldn't figure out why this amp has only 2 filter caps. The smarties at Technics used one transformer for the positive rail and the one for the negative. Nice vids.. keep em coming.. thx

[@williamwong5627]

A clever and beautiful engineering design by Technics.

[@Johny666EU]

well done, there is just a one think, after cleaning the board use Acrylic Conformal Coating Anti Corrosion for PCB's. they protect PCB from humidity and oxidation. it’s easy to use, just spray on board and after 15 min is super dry. i do that during my restoration.

[@christof8704]

Cool video Connor, nice to see the restoration process. That amp sounded great at the headphone meet yesterday with a wide range of headphones

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thanks Chris! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

[@willemanuel6580]

Another fabulous restoration, job well done!

[@רונןוקנין-ש2ז]

Beautiful amp, Very good job, Thank you for sharing

[@stephencrozier396]

Absolutely love your channel. Have binge watched most of your videos! Looking forward to the next one.

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you for the kind comment! Glad you enjoy my channel! You will see more from me soon. Cheers

[@clausolsen856]

Very very good video. I bought one including the pre amp SU-A8. And they play way above their league. Don't know how Technics did that, but they perform better than the SE-A5 and SU-A6 that I also own, go figure🙃 And that's without restoration... But thanks to your video, I will know get cracking on the pair😎 Keep them comming, the quality of your work is on another planet👍🙂

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thanks so much for watching and for the kind comment! I'm glad you enjoyed it and find it helpful! That is very interesting! I've been wanting to hear the SE-A3 and SE-A5 for a while now. This SE-A7 sounds fantastic. Good luck with restoring yours!

[@adaboy4z]

Excellent fabrication work! You can tell you pride your work and care for the Vintage equipment.

[@frozzle]

very hifi, i liked the part where he said “it’s slappin time” and then slapped the top of the amplifier over and over

[@adamkowalczyk5155]

Good job! Nice and slim amp.

[@juan-HiFi]

Wow . We learn something new every day. thanks for the video

[@technics-n-thuiast8346]

That is a cool slim design, especially for the era it was built when all amps were chunky and heavy. Looks like nowadays Class D amp. I do a lot of upgrades on Technics stuff too. Technics definitely didn't do that well back in the day regarding parts you did replace ( speaker terminals, IEC, ... ) so glad you have seen those week spots and address them :)

[@AudioElectronicsChicago]

Beauty, a rare one

[@johnbravo7542]

Your work is impeccable,you invest in the best tools to give you a professional as factory or better workmanship,you are the complete opposite to alot of repair techs on KZbin,well Done!

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the support. I’m glad you enjoyed. More to come soon! 😊

[@mdzacharias]

Outstanding!

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you!!!

[@zenithfashions5286]

Excellent design and beautiful sound quality ,love it

[@sanolivo6867]

This is one of the very few channels I have find, that really do restoration. Must channels just check and replace one or few comments and call it restored. That's just a service or quick repair.

[@jonpatrick66]

Great job 👍. I enjoyed it, every bit! Thank you for sharing.

[@PrimeHiFi]

Glad you enjoyed! More to come soon! 😊

[@Luckiestmanalive-bb1mi]

Wow - looks fantastic! Great work and I bet it sounds wonderful!

[@DetroitAnalog]

Class A Technics technology. I've owned several Technics amps over the years, but not this model. I still have and use several SE-9060 & SE-9070 2U rack amps. I've got several different classic/vintage Technics beyond that. I've only had one recapped/updated, and would like to redo them all eventually. If you would like to take on any of them for your youtube channel (for variety), I could pay you for the work done, and you could have a nice cross section of offerings for your viewers. You have a sensible, efficient, and professional way about your work. It shows. I be recommending your channel to a few serious gear lovers that will dig your videos. Glad to have found these myself. Please keep doing what you do. :0) Thanks, and be well.

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you for your kind words! Really glad you enjoyed the video. There are more to come soon. My schedule is currently full and I’m not taking in any work, but I have references if you’d like 👍🏼 You can also shoot me an email and I will try to get back to you when I can. Thanks again!

[@batmandestroys1978]

Fantastic video! You are a genius! I love this video so much! Great job!

[@ford1546]

The reason why you should not use a 110v 230v noise filter on an amplifier is because of the noise coil inside the filter, which normally has relatively thin wires and behaves like a rubber band. When you turn up the volume and powerful bass hits, the current gets a kind of rubber band effect where current is held back.

[@fredsk1]

I really enjoy your vids. Just wondering, I've noticed you mention defluxing boards often and the result always looks very clean. Can you please share the process / tools / chemicals you use to do that?

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thanks for watching and commenting! Glad you enjoy them! For defluxing circuit boards, I use a multi stage process which includes the use of 99% Isopropyl alcohol and a tooth brush. Hope this helps!

[@assistantto007]

Very nice , superb workmanship.

[@allanjose9299]

I love your work, very clean professional looks better than Factory!

[@VinylPro]

phenomenally great result !

[@raycimbalnik5159]

Nice job and a very cool amplifier

[@mikemmikem2758]

Another great video. The Technics reminded me of a cooling fan I have from ACInifinity for my Denon 4700H that ran hot enough to fry and egg on until I got this power cooler. They have cooling options for any setup. And no I am not associated with them

[@h0ll0wm9n]

Very high PRODUCTION values on this video. Camerawork, editing, pacing, narrating. I miss Maxxarcade's similar videos, so Prime HiFi is a great replacement! keep 'em coming, bro!

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you! I also miss Max’s videos. He was one of my many inspirations. More to come soon!

[@sergioomar9090]

Nice work! 👏👏👏

[@Xantylon74]

Really nice work!

[@ivanterekhov5369]

Nice amp. I'm was thinking of replacing my current integrated Technics SU 8080 with with A7+A8 combo.

[@naadbrahmasound2955]

Very Nice Work , of my favorite brand Technics

[@ashleycox432]

nice restoration. I would have kept the power cable and probably the output terminals too though I can understand wanting to change them as they're not the best.

[@Sunday_Jazz]

You are talented! Such a great fix/ upgrade.

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thanks so much!

[@mat.b.]

really great job on this

[@PrimeHiFi]

Much appreciated!

[@briancoish1695]

Nice work sir.

[@bertramlefarge69]

Great job. Thanks

[@rainman3269]

Fantastic work again Brother ... 😎

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you!

[@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120]

Great job thanks for the video

[@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120]

I'd like to try amp with my Freya Pre !amp !!!! Can't find one online but about ro put me G8000 up for sale I hate to but it's so dam big !!! If that amp ever got redone by you OMG end game it's a Monster !!!

[@jitrapornpha5104]

Wish I could be this guys apprentice, but no, “Go to uni they said, see the world they said ..”

[@alynicholls3230]

They were one slot in hight due to the fact there was a corresponding pre amp you could get which made them standard hight when together.

[@jasonpomare5639]

Good work my friend , 👍

[@paulschreuder4211]

Great restore and nice video! Tnx for sharing. I also (other viewers asked the same question) would like to know how you get those board so clean, they look great.

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you! For defluxing circuit boards, I use a multi stage process which includes the use of 99% Isopropyl alcohol and a tooth brush. Hope this helps!

[@kevincollins9075]

You rock! I am retired High-End Audio store owner, and would love to know if you sell these restorations, or how one gets on your list of having their hardware restored by you?????? How does one reach you and your team? Thanks again. Great work.

[@calvinb2450]

Great video thanks for posting. I have two of these I picked up on a lark from Goodwill and use as mono-blocks. I was shocked at the clarity as I had always regarded Technics as midrange consumer products. I have since found Technics did produce some quite good receivers and amps during the heyday of the Japanese consumer electronics "wars." I have a question though, on both the amps the FVD's, peak power meters are gone, do not register, does the mean the florescent tubes are finished or can one repair or find replacements? Thanks and was great to see other one of these SE-A7's in action. And oh, BTW, I was surprised at heavy each of these units are for something that would otherwise seem so "light-weight."

[@paulanderson7796]

Does this really need an overhaul? It looks box fresh to me.

[@PeterMilanovski]

I would have loved to see a soldering iron on the heat pipe and it's effect through a thermal camera! The heat transfer should be almost instant at the other end! Otherwise whatever gas has been used might have leaked out, generally a heat pipe has a drop of water in it and then brought to a vacuum which the water being very good at transferring heat will vaporise into a gas under low atmospheric pressure at the place of heat contact and re condense at the other end....

[@johnbrewer2206]

Epic, you know what there Optonica SM-7304 is?

[@fredsk1]

Thanks again for your vid, Connor. I got myself an SE-A7 finally and restored it too, so this was a great reference. I ended up using the exact same filter caps, BR diodes, and probably a lot of other similar parts. After I'd finished, I was looking at the (shitty) terminals on the back and I thought to myself "naw I ain't gonna do those... they will be fine". I greased them with some Shin Etsu and called it done. 3 days later one of the positive terminals snapped when I was trying to secure wire lol. So now I am putting the same cheap but cheerful 4mm sockets in as you with alu bracket. Feels a bit wrong leaving that terminal PCB flapping in the breeze... did you secure yours somehow? I see what you mean about the RCA's being an anchor point now. Oh, one other thing - was setting the auto load impedance adjustment a pain for you (6.5 ohm resistor and all that jazz) or did it work fine first go?

[@TheJastaprasta]

Hello, superb work ! Your video caught my attention to this amp. Now i have two power amps, pre amp and matching tuner. Is there a way to share parts list?

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thanks for your kind words! These are great amps. Glad you found them! As for the parts, I used what I had in stock. I didn’t put together a parts list for it. It is pretty straightforward though. Enjoy!

[@vladimirdjokic5741]

Now get the SU A8 so you can complete the collection. 👍

[@cajuncoinhunter]

Those banana jacks that you said were good quality , can I get a name or part # please ......

[@jotasgasco]

Hi Connor, love your videos, you inspired me to buy broken equipment to fix it in my free time, its been some time since i´m looking for low porfile banan jacks that are tight as those ones, the ones i´ve been getting my hands on are pretty crappy, could you tell the brand of those? THank you a lot, keep up those vids!

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you! It makes me happy to hear that I inspired you to work on equipment! The binding posts I used can be found on Amazon here: CESS Black and Red Banana Female Jack Socket - 4mm Banana Female Connector a.co/d/36eYira Cheers!

[@jotasgasco]

Thank you a lot! @ConnorG

[@watdanuqta-mf5ms]

Really nice. You do great work. Love it and I would have passed over this amp until looking at the interior images. Did you listen to it before the mods and what are the sonic differences?

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you! I noted better bass and impact, likely to do with the replacement of the aging capacitors and upgrading the rectifier. Cheers

[@hashtag-shaneiacs]

Love the process and end result. Where can I find the cover for the old lamp cord power cable hole?

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you! I will try to find where I picked them up.

[@BRIANMCKOY]

Nice Video, you do excellent work. I have a Technics SE-A3MK2 Amp and SU-A4MK2 Preamp. I was wondering, have you worked on the above models?

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you! And not yet! But I’d like to in the future! Cheers

[@DMTW]

I think KZbin's obsession with music copyright infringement is getting out of control, what harm is there to play like 5 -10 seconds of a song. It's not being copied and viewers are not listening to the entire song. This is just absolutely crazy.....

[@larryhazelwood5491]

Matushita made Technics and Panasonic.

[@jiarenlok9083]

Based

[@edwardhippensteel138]

Great job and great video! What value rectifier diodes did you use?

[@PrimeHiFi]

Thank you! I used UF5402 rectifier diodes if I remember correctly.

[@vladimirdjokic5741]

Can you do the Optonica SM 7100 after the Sony?

[@marcoantoniojoaquim1797]

Perfeito me de papai

[@mennims]

Germanium diodes for feedback loop are damaged by now. Your amp won't sound good, and it may report a good THD, but the DC offset is unstable.

[@hatnay]

Cuold you let me know how I can use your service

[@a.f.1587]

Why do you change the rectifiers? Those are the components which super rarely fail, if they do their job, why to change them? THey are not caps, they won't change they characteristics after time, like caps... And what does "better quality" rectifier means? How exactly the new diodes do improve anything? I don't really get that part.

[@PrimeHiFi]

Installing higher current capable soft recovery diodes is a big upgrade for the power supply. They run quieter and cooler.

[@freewheeler2050]

ive got two of these amps can you do mine lol

[@jerryandlisa27]

What's your take on yamaha mx2 stack got it for 200 for both .

[@batmandestroys1978]

Well done! Great system, great price!

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

I use a small chissle to get the glue off. I have to wonder why you would ever bother spending time or money on this amp.

[@djonmull4883]

уу дас ист гут унд фантастишь ..!

[@Hr.0ldenberg]

Was quatschst der so viel, wir wollen die Dose von innen sehen.. Vorspann eine Menge blablabla! ‼️