Tascam Pa-150

[COOLCAT]

any inputs or info on this 150watt studio amp?

[A Reel Person]

Y'know, sight unseen, it seems like it would be a good unit. A simple, 2-channel, stripped amplifier unit. Nothing fancy, just what you need, and ample power rating. It's a NOS unit from a time when Tascam was synonymous with quality. The lower it bids, the better, but expect a NIB/NOS unit to bid higher than the average beater on Ebay.

[COOLCAT]

Originally Posted by A Reel Person

Y'know, sight unseen, it seems like it would be a good unit. A simple, 2-channel, stripped amplifier unit. Nothing fancy, just what you need, and ample power rating. It's a NOS unit from a time when Tascam was synonymous with quality. The lower it bids, the better, but expect a NIB/NOS unit to bid higher than the average beater on Ebay.

your great, how do you know this sht?
i looked and searched and searched for info on this amp, nothing?

i saw a picture. NIB/NOS??

my first ebay bid on studio sht and the guy lives close by ~15min...
so he agreed to sell it to me for $150...still in the box. said studio amplifier so i thought hmmm?

that buys me sometime, I have some RAM 2-way monitors and a set of Paradigms...and OPtimus 7's but one cone blew.

Wharf passives- shte Yellow cones!
or YSM1i's or KRK ST8's...but you know the YSM1 are ART SLM-1?

[A Reel Person]

There's a new-in-box PA-150 on Ebay right now. New-old-stock.

[COOLCAT]

Originally Posted by A Reel Person

There's a new-in-box PA-150 on Ebay right now. New-old-stock.

what does NOS/NIB stand for? as you mentioned.

thats the one on ebay! he emailed me and said tomorrow at 1pm.

i think i'm a bit pleased just to make a damn decision,
it's gearhead happy-hell in deciding in monitor land..geez.
a bryston would have been nice..
so now, i can upgrade my RAM ref.monitors with something...or at least
can compare to.

my upgrade attempt was for a rec-unit and monitors. now i bought an amplifier?

i still can't find any info. on this PA150 unit?
other than a few studio-equip list mentions,
or a picture from a few sites.

hell, try finding my RAM ref. studio speakers...
designed and manufactured in the USA.
RAM Studio Monitor
Model S-100
MAx Power 125W
PEak POwer 200W
IMpeadance 4 ohm
nothing.? pawn shop buy....play like new.

[The Ghost of FM]

what does NOS/NIB stand for? as you mentioned.

New Old Stock/New In Box

Cheers!

[A Reel Person]

Originally Posted by A Reel Person

There's a new-in-box PA-150 on Ebay right now. New-old-stock.

..................

[COOLCAT]

Originally Posted by A Reel Person

..................

not real happy.
so i go meet the dude selling the PA150.

It's a $150, $50 less than Ebay. He said he sold the other 2 for 200.
He says he had 3 of em from a burnt out business.
Unit is ~6yrs old...supposedly NEW IN THE BOX.

He opens the box, it looks like it had never been touched.
But the plastic wrap had a hole in it?..yet it appeared not to have been
opened, the ACD cord was shrink wrapped.

I mistakenly gave him $110. We went our ways, I have the PA150.

So later in the day, he calls and says "he's $40 short yadayada."
I said I'd pay him, he said we could meet next week-no big deal.

So i get home hook up the amp, large heavy thing...

Power up...and then turn the volume pots
..crackle,shshaaazzttcrackle hmm?
turn the Right channel....crackle crackle crackle...

so I think, hmm...dust in the pots? I exersized both of the volume
knobs...crackle,crackle,crakle.

Then I found if I pressed on the knobs...crackle,crakle,crakkle.

I thought, fhk this. The fhkr needs repaired!!

Anyway, once set it plays.
and crackles when turning the pots,
but the pots feel flimsy (not right). The unit seems built well,
so this volume pot issue is fhkd up.

I'm thinking, fhk this...i'll have to get my solder gun out.
then I thought...fhk this sht.

I think I'll ask for my money back, or he can sell it for $110.
thats the gig...$110 or my money back.


I did pop in Abbey Road and it sounded good enough. its an amp
but...oh well.

Used gear. The $40 thing may have been a "curious" happening
and give me leverage to get my $110 back.

Don't buy this unit on EBAY if you see it.

[The Ghost of FM]

1 - Power cords are never shrink wrapped.

2- Factory sealed/never opened products never have holes in the product bag unless it is a third world manufacturer and TASCAM is not in that category.

3 - NIB/NOS is not a fact when asserted by a seller unless it is a "factory sealed", "never opened" box.

4 - Scratchy pots are the result of oxidization which means exposure to the air and more over, the moisture in the air. This means as a best case scenario, your unit was a display unit, sitting on a shelf in a store somewhere or a worst case possibility, the unit was fully used by previous owners or renters.

5 - Scratchy pots can be cleaned very easily with products like Deox-it from Caig labs and only require a little squirt and a few turns to work the product into the range of the control's sweep range. The top of the unit must be opened to gain access to the pot.

6 - If the unit's sound quality sounds up to spec, I'd settle with the seller and keep the unit. Why? Because 150 wpc power amps of decent quality generally sell for way more the 150 bucks.

Cheers!

[COOLCAT]

so looked under the hood today.

the flimsy knobs were loose nuts on the pots.
Even tho an easy fix, and are nice and solid....seems this
unit had something with it

The crackling continued but i was looking to see if it was a poor
solder connection or worse.

I was also going to jumper the volume pots out to FULL ON,
like a knobless-amplifier...and eliminate the crackling pots.
This wasn't needed, I set the pots MAX,
and sounds good, unless I turn the pots. Solder joints and fittings
all snugged down.

will go to RapShack to get pot-cleaner.

So now I'm happier...huge torrodial type coil in this amp! daang,
6" round...and made of Metal. PCB said Jan. 1996..and with large
ELCAN/ S'CON something Capacitors.
My ADCOM PRE is now on 2 instead of 6!!!

Unit appears to have never been used or plugged in. some of the
wrapping was just too "factory".

Packing did look like it hadn't been opened kinda, aappeared the amp was
never fully out of the shrink wrap..but there was like a hole
in the front package...right where the loose knob was?very strange.

Thats my gut instinct on this unit, it was like a "1996 BLEM piece".
So it is never been used but was a "known loose potentiometer type from the Recall Alert TASCAM factory line" type thing...FHKNG POT ON UNITS 33399229 thru 4444999333 have bllsht faulty pot builds...sell cheap...
we do not want returns to TASCAM....hold these units until
2005 and sell on ebay to COOLCAT. for $150 or $110.

sounds great now. and knobs are solid. and actually I'll never use the pots, due to the ADCOM pre-amp is the knob.

what do you think? keep my "curious $40" or pay the dude even tho
it's not MINT, i truly don't think he ever tested the unit, and is ignorantly innocent of the crakling pots.

[A Reel Person]

Sounds like a legitimate NIB/NOS unit, that maybe someone had just partially torn the factory plastic wrap. In that case, it would have been susceptible to moisture or environmental factors that cause corrosion in the pots. This would be a small issue, & nothing to get too worried about. Some proper pot-cleaner should hopefully help.

I'd not make an issue with the guy, but since the unit was somewhat compromised and requires touch up work on your part, it would give you legitimate reason to short him $40, and go on your way. Just explain it tactfully, and you should hopefully be okay. It was an off-Ebay sale, so he has no way to penalize you with the feedback system.

Sounds like you'll be okay!! Hey,... pots can become loose on equipment for no reason, other than thermal dynamics. It doesn't imply anything sinister.

I'll follow up on Ebay, and maybe bid on the other PA-150, myself!!

[COOLCAT]

Originally Posted by A Reel Person

Sounds like a legitimate NIB/NOS unit, that maybe someone had just partially torn the factory plastic wrap. In that case, it would have been susceptible to moisture or environmental factors that cause corrosion in the pots. This would be a small issue, & nothing to get too worried about. Some proper pot-cleaner should hopefully help.

I'd not make an issue with the guy, but since the unit was somewhat compromised and requires touch up work on your part, it would give you legitimate reason to short him $40, and go on your way. Just explain it tactfully, and you should hopefully be okay. It was an off-Ebay sale, so he has no way to penalize you with the feedback system.

Sounds like you'll be okay!! Hey,... pots can become loose on equipment for no reason, other than thermal dynamics. It doesn't imply anything sinister.

I'll follow up on Ebay, and maybe bid on the other PA-150, myself!!

he said he had an older SHURE mixer board too? I didn't know they made mixing boards.

Reel...I thought you were saving for a MASTERLINK?
gearheads...daaanng

i went looking for new monitors and recording unit...

and bought an amplifier?

[A Reel Person]

Shure made a few mixers. I've seen a couple very compact mixers, but I don't know much about them, or whatever other mixers they may have had in their product line.


I'm not headed toward a Masterlink, any time soon. I'm not into it very much as a product, & I'm taking a reduced gearbuying stance in 2005. Not zero tolerance, but I'm trying to keep a lid on my gear buying habits. I've had a small ration of hardware & larger expenditures on media, so far this year, and I'm cool.


You seem to have gotten a really good deal on the PA-150.
I hope the pot cleaning helps.

[The Ghost of FM]

I just found this on the web for those who want some insight into what exactly a PA-150 is/was.

http://www.tascamcontractor.com/ftp_...50_faxback.pdf

Cheers!

[COOLCAT]

thanks for the inputs.

sprayed down the pots/Caig and all is clean and pristine.
gold plugs on back too!

appears to be a nice unit and anxious to
compare some Small room monitors.

found the B&W303 and KRKST6 to try. seems GC is transitioning to
Actives only. 6.5" passive YSM1i and Wharfs would be great
~ $225 pair...but shipping$$.

the ebay-dude called and wants his "missing" $40. I mentioned the problems
and will see....

again thanks for the info. ended up ok.

[The Ghost of FM]

the ebay-dude called and wants his "missing" $40. I mentioned the problems
and will see....

I wasn't a witness to the conversation between you and seller so, I don't know what was said, what was promised and what was expected by both sides but, seeing as the unit is working and in decent shape, I would honor the asking price and pay the guy or at least give him another 20 bucks to split the difference seeing as you had to invest in a can of pot cleaner to remedy the dirty controls.

To stiff him completely for the 40 bucks is not cool and especially for someone who has the word cool in their name.

Cheers!

[COOLCAT]

yeah...he'll get his money, i'm thinking $10 charge for the repair and bottle of Caig?

altho $150 is a good price. either way, I'll let him be the "cool" one.

he's bringing a Shure Mixing board too today.