A&R CAMBRIDGE A60

Basic Fixed Price Overhaul - £158

This option will return a faulty A60 to full working order and includes the return postage back to a mainland UK address.

All common defects are checked for and rectified, all potentiometers are removed and fully refurbished as most are noisy along with cleaning and lubrication of all switches. The output stage biasing is checked and reset as required. A full audio performance test (power output, distortion, noise and frequency response) is carried out to ensure full compliance with the original manufacturer specification.

Following overhaul and a period on test a comprehensive repair report is supplied along with an invoice which can be paid through Paypal (note that the repair service only covers electronic faults - cosmetic faults with the casing, missing knobs etc cannot be rectified under this service)

Additional options: 

• Replacement of all electrolytic capacitors with Nichicon audio grade replacements  - add £48 to basic £158 price (click here for explanation of why electrolytics might need replacing)

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Guide to Buying Used.

The A60 was produced by A&R Cambridge (now ARCAM) between 1976 and 1986 with minor circuitry changes leading to 4 main variants over the decade. A lovely slimline design available with teak, rosewood , walnut or matt black finishes having a nice discrete appearance.   All have DIN inputs (except S.N 20000 on which has RCA sockets for the phono stage only) but don't let that put you off as they cause far less issues in terms of reliability than models of the same era with RCA sockets and suitable interconnects are widely available.  Common problems on all models are leaking/failing electrolytics, noisy volume and tone/balance controls, blowing speaker fuses and in the worst cases damaged PCB's due to o/p transistor failure.  The earliest had 2 pin DIN speaker sockets which always become intermittent (a limited stock of original replacements is held here) and these were soon switched to more standard 4mm binding posts. The very best models were the last from S.N 25000 onwards with better Alps potentiometers used.  These later models also had the Aux input labelled as CD now with a 6dB  attenuator pad on the input to allow for the higher outputs of  CD players. This mod can also be added to the Aux/Tuner inputs of any A60 here for overhaul to better match the higher output levels of any modern source and avoid having to use the volume at a really low setting where channel balance is often poor.

Used prices for the A60 have crept up in the last year having been a bit of a bargain prior to that but expect to pay £100 to £250 with the upper price for mint, boxed examples.