Nakamichi AV-10 Servicing

The Nakamichi AV-10 requires regular servicing, because the cooling fan can collect dust inside the amplifier and heatsink assembly. If the dust clogs the heatsink, then the flow of air will reduce resulting in overheating. This could result in damage to other sensitive components nearby. I bought this pre-used one on eBay and as you can see, it had never been serviced, resulting in heat marks even on the inside of the top metal cover. When an amplifier is as damaged as this, you can expect burnt voltage regulators, cracked ribbon cables, and a plethora of issues.

Highly qualified and experienced engineers should perform servicing because it involves removing the power amplifier assembly together with the heatsink and fan. Here are some photographs I took before servicing.

To remove the front panel, you will need to take all the knobs off including those for the bass, treble, and balance. All the controls are secured to the panel with a nut, and whilst the nut for the volume control is easy to see, those for the bass, treble, and balance controls are hidden within deep recesses. In order to remove those nuts, one requires long-nose pliers.

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