Counterpoint SA20


Hey all happy new year ..

I just pick up this beautiful amp this was at a estate sale was only able to plug it in to see if it power up and it did ... So now I buy the unit get it home open the box power it up for about a Half hour or so before I connect anything to it ..

I also had the lid off to take a peak in side all look look .

Now I set my self up connect everything and power it up . I was so please with the sound I was very happy .. so for the first hour it all went well then here is were it went south .. I notice that the right was sounding a bit weak and then the pop and the smoke and no sound I power off look inside the right side went ,,,

Well here is were I ask for help . I know that it can be repair by a few repair place on line .

My big question is who should I use have any one use or had any issue with some of the repairs and experience with some of the repair places .

I would like to repair it or should I sell it with one channel down .

Has anyone had this issues with the Counterpoint ... .

Any help and answer would be nice and thanks to all for the help ...

Be well and Have a Happy New Year ..
jackandcoke
Daniel,
I just read that ad and wow! Sounds like AltaVista is pretty horrible, and I understand his frustration but he will never get out from under that preamp with that description. Unless of course his intent is just to slam Alta Vista in which case mission accomplished. Unreal!
I didn't figure it would cost so much to fix it for that much money i can buy a couple of amps I look around and there is a place call green audio that fixes the Counterpoint waiting for a reply costly TO FIX THE AMP . Any idea what i i should sell for just to recover what I lay out ..
Daniel and Jond, one consumer's problems with a product or company does not imply everyone should run from the product or the company. I have seen that SA-5000 preamp listing here for several months. First of all, anyone who has nearly $8k invested in an 'updated" SA-5000 is a fool. With the Aria WV5 out almost 4 years now, at less than $8k, and which handily outperforms any variation of the SA-5000, why would anyone put so much money into the upgrade. The same goes for the SA-11 which was in a completely different league of performance over the SA-5000. These older Counterpoint products are fine for repair but upgrading them now makes no sense at all.

My experiences with getting a Counterpoint NPS-400 and SA-2 repaired and updated through Alta Vista Audio were quite different.....both were major success stories. And the Aria WV5 preamp designed by Michael Elliot continues to perform incredibly well against the competition at much higher cost than the Aria.

Concerning the Counterpoint SA20/220, Michael Elliot, the designer, has written for years that the amplifying devices for this amp are no longer available. Buying these amps used today, might result in great sonic performance, but once the amp dies, the buyer has few options without spending much for a fully rebuilt amp with newer parts, This is costly. But as one person here wrote, some of these older devices might be available from ann amp that was sent in for upgrade.
My experience with Mike has been very good. I had the basic upgrade to one of the amps and then did the rest of the modifications myself. Whenever I emailed Mike with questions regarding what parts I wanted to try versus what he used, he was always very helpful. Remember that Mike knows the product better then anyone and he backs up his work. I still own my modified COunterpoint and find few amps that can compete with it when you get it fine tuned. The old mosfets were known to fail. Once they do, do not get the used mosfets, that is a mistake. Either update the amp or sell it.

Happy Listening.
Okay. I'll try to be diplomatic about this.
There are many 20 year old & older pieces of gear bought, sold, praised & put down on this site.
In the case of amplifiers, I have repeatedly suggested to anyone who asks, IMO the Adcom GFA5500 equals or beats them all, at around $550.00 for 200 watts per channel.
I've owned over 30 amps since I became an enthusiast.
My favorite brands are Rowland & Pass. I owned (2) of the GFA5500s, for the money, they are bulletproof & again, IMO
they sound very good.
I have friends who've owned Counterpoint, PS Audio CX, Acoustat TNT, and (early) Spectron. They've all moved on when parts aquisition or service issues became difficulties.
If anyone asks about an issue on this site, and I believe I have constructive input, I give my 2 cents.