NEW MFW-15 amps (May 2010) *pics* - Page 76

It does appear one of the 470uf caps has bulged. I believe that means it's bad. LOL

I ordered the capacitors yesterday. Once I've installed them I will post the results.

When I read the description of the difference between the V1 and V2 amps all I remember was that the driver leads were removable on the V2. I assume that meant mine was a V2 model since the driver leads are removable. Of course on mine the wires are soldered to the board and there are "disconnects" for the driver in line. I now see the V2 model's driver can be disconnected from the power board directly.

So if replacing the caps on my v1 amp doesn't work what do i do next? V3 amps aren't available. The turbo option is expensive and who knows when I would get one. Do I just buy a Hsu Vtf-15 and call it a day?

There are some amps out there for the short term fix, and well..... Turbos are getting very close since the driver manufacturer has been changed..... things are moving forward much faster than I expected

How does a turbo mfw15 compare to the Vtf15?

I don't have a V3 amp for sale, but I could probably sell you a V2 that doesn't hum and doesn't need the cap replacement fix.

Nobody knows it never made it beyond Pre-production stage......

Theyre now re-sourcing the driver and starting over so nobody knows(not even them) what the new final product will be like.

You better invest in a termite bond for thise MFW cabs if your waiting for a turbo kit from seaton and co...............

Steve is a great guy to deal with. Buy the V2 from him, do the cap fix on your V1 and then you could end up with a spare.


Murrel

I will wait to see if replacing the caps on my V1 fixes the issue. Looking closer at the caps on mine I can tell the one marked c14 has blown. It is bulged out and there is some brown stuff on it. Maybe replacing it will fix the hum.

Really? So the Turbo kit I've been listening to for over a year now has all been just a sham????

Damn that Kevin and Seaton fella for sending me vaporware!

Easy Mak,

I never said it was a sham, but yes pre-production.

production means theres product, and there has been none....... Aside from the handfull of lottery winners who were at the top of the "wait list"

Yours(AE Driver) actually is vaporware since it will not ever be produced in any capacity.........

I like the turbo and have three empty boxes i could fill with them but this convo has been going on since 2010 and still no product.

Pre-production.

There WAS production initially, let's make that clear for all reading this thread. My kit was received in early 2011 so that certainly contradicts your statement above. And yes, production was halted sometime afterwards due to lack of drivers, then unfortunately those drivers were no longer available IIRC.

Are you saying that a 1965 Mustang should now be considered vaporware since it "will not ever be produced in any capacity"? . I mean, it was produced at one time, but not any more, right?

I do hope that Kevin/Mark get another driver sourced soon so that they can offer Turbo kits again for those that have been waiting for so long. If I was not on the waiting list at the right time, I certainly would have moved onto an SVS PB-13 Ultra and not waited this long for the Turbo...

But the Turbo still amazes me for what it can do - by far my best AV purchase/upgrade next to the Pioneer Elite 141. I still have yet to push the Turbo near its limits, and I'm not sure I want to for fear of cracking drywall...or the foundation...

So instead of bringing down this thread with the negativity about the not-yet-available Turbo Kit (let's dub it "rev2"), maybe you could cheer just a little for the poor souls who are desperately waiting for a kit??

I've said my peace on this...life is too short to worry about certain stuff!

Before I would purchase a "soon to be released" turbo kit I would have to see some comparisons to other closely priced subs. I would rather spend a bit more for a fully warranted brand new sub if it performs close to the turbo mfw15. Now if the "soon to be released" turbo kit crushes everything close to its price range well then that puts a whole different paint job on things!

Whether I get my V1 amp working or not I would consider the turbo upgrade if it is really that good. And if it actually becomes available of course.

I think theres less than 50 Turbo V1s in the Wild.

Auto manufacturers have to produce a certain number of cars to consider them "Production" cars.

Over at seaton forum there are threads two YEARS old all the way up to present saying the turbo will be available "SOON." It never was at any significant capacity.

Nobody outside seaton/MCCA has seen new driver/Turbo.

Conversations like this keep the turbo relevant since theyre not shipping and validating themselves.

just curious removed my amp today i believe i have one of the early mfw (still has threaded inserts for feet on base) my caps are black and rated to 105 degrees one of the 470 caps is bulging (hope that reason for hum). Also my amp does have disconect spade on leads to driver. we heard that the problems started when av123 went with cheaper caps are my black 105 degree caps the same as everybodys or different and i am curious why the cap fix will work for v2 and mush less likley for v1 either way i ordered caps and will see if it works

If you have spade lugs on the output board for the driver it is a V2

Let me know if you need help.

Murrel

the disconects are on the leads going to driver not on board itself its is one of the first run mfw believe made in china but has to be v1 as i had it a long time before v2 amps came out i was just curious an\\bout ccaps as we remeber how we were told the caps were changed after the first production run

To be clear, you cannot buy nor order a Turbo kit at this point in time. All anyone can do is express interest to Kevin and be added to the contact/wait list.

We could have shipped many more of the originally planned kits, but decided not to as the overload behavior changed when an upstream part changed unbeknownst to both us and AE. Most wouldn't find this limit, but we decided that a knocking sound, even at levels of a pair of original MFW-15s was not what we wanted to ship. With the variables encountered with a few parts involved it proved to not be something AE could not profitably and sustainably supply for the near term.

After the past experience and surprises of the first effort, I don't think anyone should be surprised by our more reserved position until a quantity of parts are in house and tested. We've only stated that we are still pursuing a suitable driver, and not made any statement of when they will be available. I will confirm that drivers have been ordered with production quantity of the custom parts soon to arrive at the build house.

just picked up dual MFW-15 Version 3.

trade for my Epik Castle 15" sub.

Actually that's not true. I had one here (prototype) and it was absolutely night and day difference. The massive driver Kevin was using along with the SA1000 amp was very impressive to say the least.

Yup and unobtanium will melt your ear hole.

Turbos, unobtanium, and your prototype are none available for purchase.

Turbo fanboys should start their own thread and call it "The turbo is really really real and will release soon" ill continue this convo there....... PM me the thread link.

Sorry to folks with legitimate amp issues and questions.

Done.

murrel just want to say tnx replaced caps hum gone worked on a v1 amp only one 470 uf caps bulging replaced all 4 tnx again

That's good news for me Eric! My capacitors arrived today. Hopefully I'll have time to install them sometime this week.

Your welcome!

Has anyone used this info on a UFW amp?

I have a UFW10 that developed a hum, so dropped in the PE replacement amp. But would like to use the original amp plate if it's just a matter of replacing some caps.

I have a bunch of times, first one goes back to about the first time they started to fail. Havent had one go bad yet.

Same rule of thumb, go up on the voltage one step.

PM me if you need a V1 or V2 amp.

I attempted to change the caps today but I ran into a problem. I am having a hard time getting the solder on the board to liquify so I can remove the old caps. I finally got one of them off but it took a long time and I scratched the heck out of the back of the pcb. No damage as far as I can tell but it looks horrible. After I got that one off I can't get the holes to liquify long enough to install the new cap.

I assume the factory used lead free solder which has a higher melting point than traditional solder. I have a feeling my soldering iron isn't hot enough to melt the solder on the board. It is a Radioshack 30 watt stick model. Should I pick up a new iron?

I bought this one from amazon-

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002L...6780039&sr=8-2

And it worked on my v2 amp just fine. The solder pump was a help in getting the old solder out piece by piece it just took some patience.

I haven't been on this forum for a while, but today, my MFW-15 amp started humming like crazy. Now, it always had a little hum that wasn't audible as soon as the audio came on, but now it's bad. Very bad. Sounds like the common issue.

I bought my sub in August 2008, so I'm not sure what amp version I have. I'm not really good with small electronics, so replacing capacitors seems like a bit of a problem. Reading around, I see that replacement amps were offered, but are no longer in productions.

So... what are my options for fixing or replacing my humming amp now?

Thank you in advance.

beekermartin

If you are afraid of damaging your board take it to a local TV repair shop and have them swap the parts. If you cant find one you are welcome to send it to me. I have a bit of experience with that particular board.

A 30 watt iron should be plenty. It just takes some patience.

Let me know if you need help
Murrel