NAD amp distorting heavily after running a bass guitar through it.
My NAD 214 stereo amp is dead or dying. Any signal I run through it is extremely distorted and I have to turn up the volume to even hear that.
Beginning a few months back it would sound fine and then all of a sudden die and the sound would become horrible distorted. The time it takes the amp to go from working fine to distortion box continually shortens from 20 to 10 to 5 to 2 to 1 minutes. Now it doesn’t work for anytime at all.
I haven’t been playing nice with it recently. I have run a microphone and bass guitar through it. However, the amp had experienced the problem I described above before this.
So my question is this: Is there any fundamental reason why running a bass guitar or mic through this amp would hurt it? Also, does anyone have any idea what might be wrong with my amp.
Thank you!
-Jon
Ps here is my setup in case it’s helpful.
NAD 214 Stereo Amp
NAD 512 CD player
Adcom preamp
KEF Q55 speakers
Monster XP cables
Do not use HiFi gear as a guitar amp.
Amplifiers for musical instruments are fundamentally different from home stereo amplifiers. At least in how they are rated.
When playing a guitar through an amplifier the peak to average power approaches one. When playing music it is usually at least 10 to 1 and often 20 to 1. Your hifi amp can't take the abuse. Guitar notes sustain, requiring your amplifier to output massive power for a long time.
When I was younger I repaired a number of HiFi amps for people that tried to save the cost of a musician's amplifier. False economics. Most musicians I know are incapable of resisting the urge to crank up the volume until the amplifier is well into clipping - ocassionally I have seen the smoke pouring out.
No No No. :eek: