Thread: PLEASE, PLEASE Help Me With My Mastersound Reference 845 Amp Problem!

Does anyone in the Greater Central Florida area know of someone who does quality work, that can troubleshoot, repair any problems located, and recap -{the amp will be 20 y.o. in 2021 so if it's going to be opened up for repairs I might as well recap it at the same time}- a 40W/ch, 135lb, Italian, Mastersound, Reference 845, SET, Integrated/Power amp? A little over a month ago -{IIRC that is}- I noticed the LEFT channel started to sound softer than the RIGHT channel did and the overall sound began to sound a bit harsh, and its sound-staging capabilities weren't up to snuff either. I tried replacing all the tubes, but that didn't help at all.

As I stated previously the amp weighs 135 lbs. However, I'll be 67 in Jan. 2021 and I'm disabled so I really need someone in the Greater Central Florida area if that's at all possible! I have friends I would normally have to help me with driving any distances over 45 mins -{my disabilities require me to take extremely strong, pain killers that often cause me to doze when driving over 45 mins}- but I just cannot ask them for their help because of the danger Covid-19 would put our health in -{theirs and mine}- due to our weakened immune systems!

What can I say besides, I truly love this amplifier and the sound of it???? This is IMHO a true "WORLD-CLASS" quality -{whatever that means, because that's what most everyone whose heard it says}- that I can no longer afford to replace with anything that would touch it sonically -{Mastersound's own replacement amp, the Mastersound Evolution 845, costs $18K}- so I hope you see what I mean? That being said, what I do believe I could afford to do, is to have it repaired!

Of course, I'll have to sell that nice little 80W/ch, solid-state, T+A Amp 8, I just purchased from Randy Myers earlier this month and a bunch of the cost would probably have to go on a credit card. But gentlemen as good as that T+A Amp sounds -{and this is a very nice sounding little solid-state piece of gear}-- after living with a gorgeous, 135lb, 40W/ch, Italian, SET amp for 20 years, as much as I tried, I simply have to have my baby back. So if you know of anyone or if you can do it and you live somewhat near me, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, get in touch with me and help this olde toad work something out with you.

I truly believe it's going to be something minor and a recap job. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my post God Bless you and you and your family have a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all...

Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S.

Happy New Year

Originally Posted by joeinid

Good luck with the repair Tom. I’m hopeful you’ll find some help.

Thanks, Joe! I'm sure in time it will get repaired!


Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S.

Originally Posted by CPP

Tom, give Central Florida Speaker Repair a call and ask them. They do pretty good work but also might know someone else in the area or maybe in Tampa. Also, did you call the business you got the AMP from

I purchased the amp 20 years ago from a business in Canada that was either dropping the Mastersound line, or Mastersound was dropping them, I forget which it was. Plus the expense of shipping a 135 lb amp safely is more than I can bear. I will definitely be giving the Central Florida Speaker Repair folks a call! So thank you very much for that bit of information.


Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S.

Originally Posted by Randy Myers

Good Luck finding service for your amp Tom. I hope you are able to get it back to what you know and love.

I really loved the sound of the little T+A, but could not keep all three amps I had. I would gladly swap it back for my Bel Canto ....

Hi Randy, I promise you that if I should decide I have to sell the T+A Amp 8 to pay to fix the Mastersound Reference 845 amp, I'll work out a deal with you for your Bel Canto amp, ok?


Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S.

Originally Posted by Jack

Tom

Try Skip at Audio Thesis in Arlington, Texas and see if he has any ideas.

AudioThesis - High End Audio in North Texas

Jack,

Thank you very much for taking the time out of your evening to share this info with me on New Year's Eve! I will definitely be giving Skip at Audio Thesis a call my friend. God bless you, and your family...


Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S.

Originally Posted by Jack

If my memory is correct at one point Skip was the US distributor but now just a dealer. He should know who their warranty work is done by though maybe not anyone in the Florida area.

Wow, Jack! A second post on New Year's Eve? Thanks, my friend. I will most definitely be contacting Skip! If nothing else he might know a very good tech he can recommend somewhat near the Orlando, FL area. Now it's New Year's Eve my friend enjoy it and God bless...

Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S.

Originally Posted by BlueFox

Good luck with the repair. However, after 20 years, I would suggest getting a new amp for the rest of your life. Technology marches on, so why not enjoy progress? I am 71 and my amps are 5 years old. My current plan is to replace them in another 5 years, and that’s it for the final years. I can’t take it with me, so I better enjoy it now.

Again, good luck.

Hi Blue! HAPPY NEW YEARS to you my friend. You're absolutely 100% correct, technology does indeed march on, but that said, in 2001 I purchased a brand new Mastersound Reference 845 amp that used some of the best components available internally while incorporating circuitry based on the first SET audio amplifiers from around 1912, using the triode vacuum tubes, invented in 1906 by Lee De Forest.

I can honestly tell you that my Mastersound Reference 845 amp sounded as good if not better than 95% of all the audio gear I've heard out there. I personally believe that a SET amp built using today's best caps, resistors, inductors, and transformers is about as good as audio sounds. Is it perfect, no!?!?!?!!!!!! They can certainly be improved in their bass performance, but heck if a person can't live with that, then get a subwoofer. IMHO, SET/High Sensitivity speakers rule the audio kingdom. But that's the best part of living in the audio kingdom it can be built upon: SET/High Sensitivity speakers, High Power, Solid-State/Apogee Speakers, Hybrid Amps/Multi-way Speakers, Bi-amped Tubes on Top-Solid-State on Bottom/2-way Speakers, Class A, Class AB or Class D, Planar, Electrostatics, Cones, Horns, Turntables and LPs, Reel to Reels and tapes, CD transports, DACs and CDs, Music Streaming, etc, etc, etc.

In the end, it's whatever sounds the best to you! Unless of course, we can get down to "The Absolute Sound" and what does a clarinet really sound like when it's played in your audio room from the perspective of where you sit. But Blue unless you're taking all the measurements required to ensure a clarinet, piano, guitar, bass, sax, etc., etc., etc., sounds 100%, spot-on from your listening position, then all you're doing is what 90%+ of us are doing i.e., trying to attain a sound we enjoy and find pleasing and we believe a clarinet, piano, guitar, bass, sax, etc., etc., etc., would sound like from our listening position. Unless a person is taking all these numerous listening tests, it's perhaps more honest is to admit to ourselves we just want the music to sound like we believe a clarinet, piano, guitar, bass, sax, etc., etc., etc., would sound like from where we sit in our audio room.

I sincerely hope in 5 years when you make your upgrade, you're ecstatically happy with the changes you've made. By then Class D will be greatly improved upon --{even I, a SET, Class A, aficionado, have to admit Class D is making vast improvements}-- just remember Blue, all you need to do is end up with an audio system that blows you away when you listen to it and Blue, before I go, thanks for taking the time to provide me with some of your audio wisdom this New Years morning. God Bless you and your family, my friend...

Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S.

Originally Posted by Jack

If my memory is correct at one point Skip was the US distributor but now just a dealer. He should know who their warranty work is done by though maybe not anyone in the Florida area.

Hi Jack! I just wanted you to know I reached out to Skip, but I got his voicemail instead. I left a brief message that went something like this:

"Hi Skip! I met a fellow named Jack, from Tallahassee, FL. thought you might be able to help me with an audio problem I'm having with my Mastersound amp. If you would, please call me back at (my phone #) so I can explain exactly what my problem is and whether or not you or someone you know in Florida, might be able to help me. Thanks for your time..."

Jack, I just wanted you to know I called and deeply appreciated your help.

Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S.

Originally Posted by CPP

Tom, give Central Florida Speaker Repair a call and ask them. The do pretty good work, but also might know someone else in the area or maybe in Tampa. Also did you call the business you got the AMP from

Hi CPP!

I wanted you to know that your suggestion may have just paid off for me! I called Fernando at Central Florida Speaker Repair earlier today and he told me,

"We'll charge you just $65 to diagnose the problem with your Mastersound --{this no small thing CPP, with the exception of one repair shop that's almost 2.5 hrs away from where I live, all other places that I've called said "NO!" the instant they hear the amp weighs 135 lbs}-- and if you decide to have us repair the problem, we'll apply the $65 diagnostic charge towards the repair!

My friend I cannot tell you what a Godsend this is for me. At the very least I'll finally have the problem with the Mastersound diagnosed and if I can discover through some research just how good their techs actually are, then and only then, if I can afford it, I'll have those guys fix my baby too!!!!! WOOO-HOOO! So CPP --{once I can get a couple of friends to come over and put the 135LB Mastersound into my SUV}-- I'll be driving over to 4411 Parkbreeze Ct, in Orlando, FL, to have Central Florida Speaker Repair check my baby out! BUT, do you want to know what the best part is???? Hmmmmm, do you? It's only about 30 - 45 minutes away from where I live!

CPP, I wanted you to know I called Fernando, but even more importantly, I wanted you to know I appreciated your help.

Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S.

Originally Posted by Randy Myers

That is awesome Tom. I hope he can get your baby back to its top performance at a reasonable price!

Hi Randy!

My friend thank you for your words of encouragement. Too few people realize just how powerful their words truly have to both build up and also to tear down. I remember back many, many years ago when I was a biker, I was drinking in one of the friendly biker bars I hung out in called The Park Place Cafe in Hartford, CT. Well, many people see bikers and especially biker girls as all being tougher than nails. Well, I remember one occasion when a few of the biker-girls were hanging out at the bar talking about one of the better-looking biker dudes when one of the girls queried; "How many of the girls -{meaning their fellow biker girls}- do you believe Bigfoot messed with?" Then one of the girls started laughing and said; "It would be easier trying to find out who Bigfoot didn't mess with!" Of course, they all laughed at that, and finally, one of the girls asked; "Is there anyone here in this group that he didn't mess with?"

Then a female voice from behind them said; "It's nice to know he's been hanging with good friends when I feel him crawl into bed around 4 to 5 am on Saturday mornings!" I felt terrible for her, poor Bigfoot's wife had been standing right behind the girls trying to work her way to the bar when she caught wind of the topic of the girl's conversation. She tried to act tough, but I saw her eyes welling up as she walked out of the bar. As you can even when there's no intent behind words, for good or bad, they still have a lot of power. I said all that because I wanted you Randy, CPP, Jack & Bluefox to all know it was your words of encouragement that caused me to look further and deeper into getting the Mastersound Reference 845 repaired. Originally I wanted to get the Mastersound repaired, but I cannot tell you how many people told me things like; "You got 20, wonderful, years of enjoyment from the Mastersound. If you like tubes so much buy a new tube amp" or the thing that really discouraged me came from those who previously been over and heard how glorious the Mastersound, sounded and they'd say to me; "Tom you could put anywhere from $1K to $4K into fixing the Mastersound, and believe me, when I tell you IF it went back to how it previously sounded it would be well worth the all that money spent, BUT what if you spend $4K, the Mastersound sounds glorious once again and a week later a tranny dies? Do you really want to take that kind of chance"

I was about to throw in the towel on the Mastersound, that's why I bought your T+A Amp 8 Randy. But after placing my "PLEASE, PLEASE Help Me With My Mastersound Reference 845 Amp Problem!" Post here and something similar elsewhere, I received so many words of encouragement that I dug in, made phone calls, and now have a place that will diagnose the problem for just $65! If nothing else I finally know what's wrong and approximately how much it will cost to fix the problem and that all happened because of you guys and your many words of encouragement! Just remember guys be careful what you say to people because words have a lot of power, even when there's no intent for good or bad on your part, they can still inflict a lot of damage!

Finally Randy I have GREAT news to share with you. But let me start here; for a good bit of time after receiving the T+A Amp, I honestly questioned your listening skills, --{I'm sorry for that and I apologize for doing so}-- my reason behind that was the T+A Amp 8 just never sounded "right!" I changed ICs, speaker wires tried repositioning the speakers numerous times, etc., and nothing I did helped. Finally, I sat listening in the audio room really frustrated while trying to enjoy listening to some music. When I thought to myself "Tom, just admit to yourself you're just a tube guy, sell the T+A Amp back to Randy "IF" he even wants it and buy another tube amp to replace the Mastersound..." and BAM that's when the solution hit me..

The reason the T+A Amp 8 wasn't sounding the way it should was that I had Don Sachs install two preamp outputs! One output was optimized to work with tubes and the other output was optimized to work with solid-state. But because I was so eager to hear nice music flow from my system again, when I unhooked the ICs from the Mastersound and hooked them into the T+A Amp 8! However, as a card-carrying member of Dummies-are-us, I never went back to the preamp to change the outputs being used from the tube output to the output optimized to work with solid-state. The eureka moment came Saturday morning and I've been listening for 18 hours on Saturday, 13 hours on Sunday and unfortunately, my wife is now working from home because of Covid-19, so I cannot start listening until 6:30 pm, but I didn't stop until 3:30 am! Randy. again I apologize for questioning your listening skills. You cannot believe what an amazing combination the Don Sachs SP14 preamp / T+A Amp 8 is, I mean OMG! This is a wonderful combo and I know it is because I catch myself constantly getting up from the computer again and again because I HAVE to listen to this song in the sweet spot on the couch. Randy, my friend, you have GREAT listening skills!!!!!, I know you do for discovering an unknown piece of audio gear like that T+A Amp 8! That is a wonderful piece of solid-state gear, that I've been telling everyone about.

One last thing before I finally go to sleep, my good friend Steve B. has a Pass XA25 amp and a Copland CTA305 preamp and because his wife works at a hospital and he has heart conditions, this qualifies for obtaining some of the earliest Covid-19 vaccines in our area of Florida. Once he gets them and feels comfortable that they're working -{I keep asking how do you know they're working}- we're going to have a shootout of the Don Sachs SP14 preamp vs Copland CTA305 preamp and then the T+A Amp 8 vs the Pass XA25 amp. If and when it ever occurs I'll let you all know the results...

Thanks again for all the words of encouragement!


Thetubeguy1954 aka Tom S