AAARGH!! UPS strikes against the Superstar

[mojo2001]

can pose risk if the impedance gets as low as 2 ohms ... that's not very much resistance between a healthy OT and a dead short.

Actually, a dead short is better than an open/unloaded OT on a tube amp. This is why Fenders have a shorting jack on the speaker terminal as protection if you forget to plug in a speaker and start playing.

A short draws more current, but if there is no load or an abnormally high load under signal conditions, voltages spike and the output transformer can flash over or there can be fireworks inside the tube.

Solid state is the other way around. In that case, low loads or shorts cause excessive current draw which will take out the power transistors promptly.

studies indicate that guys who wimp out on insurance claims suffer from low self-esteem ... :wink:

More like low UPS esteem...like I said, I was a UPS supervisor while in grad school.

My UPS driver agreed with my fears, saying that it seems paying out claims has tightened up with the economic woes. I can think of several ways that package was not up to the shipping "contract" including low burst strength for an 81 pound shipment. They could kick it out in a second.

I already thought of the seamstress idea. There is a good Korean seamstress right down the road. I can do soldering irons but the sewing needle is not my forte! The baffle is not unlike one of those needlepoint hoops, so this should be a plan.

The rust is minor and probably due to some condensation in the presence of dissimilar metals in contact. There is no evidence of water damage.

 

[capnjuan]

... There is a good Korean seamstress right down the road ... low burst strength for an 81 pound shipment.

Ours is Vietnamese and, of course, that has nothing to do with how your speaker was damaged. J

 

[count_scrofula]

A second to mojo's comment about impedance loads on tube amps. A short is much better than an open circuit, a no-load condition on a tube amp causes flyback arcing that can wreck the transformer, the tubes and associated circuitry. There are no generalizations to be made about tone and impedance, the best bet is the proper load on the transformer.

Of course, solid state final amps are a totally different story. Never go below the rated impedance load, and open circuits are just fine.

 

[AlohaJoe]

Elderly won't ship used amps at all. Either packing properly has gotten too expensive or, more likely, they have experience with the major carriers

* Sorry, we no longer ship used amps. In-store sales only! *

 

[count_scrofula]

The superstar looks like a clear ups liability issue...did you notice the hole in the box on arrival?

As for coastie's amp, that looks like bad packing for that sort of damage to the amp.

The trickiest damage I've seen is where an amp was actually packed well and there was no visible issue. BUT, the amp box was dropped from a height on its base. the bottom of the packaging looks fine, the amp looks fine...at first. The rapid deceleration of the flat landing caused the mass of the output transformer to deform the amp's chassis! Lighter amps are usually not a problem if packed well, but heavy iron can be an issue, as well as big ceramic magnet speakers.