Akai amp Am-U04

[Patt]

I turn on my amp and then turn on the cd or the tuner, which are both
plugged into the back of the amp and then there is this very loud sort of
cracking crackling noise from the speakers. Even if I do not touch the
volume control there is that loud noise. It kind of scares me. Sometimes if
I slide the volume control back and forth it quits. Also for no reason the
speakers will cut in and out. Could it be some dirt in the system.
Patt.

 

[Arfa Daily]

I turn on my amp and then turn on the cd or the tuner, which are both
plugged into the back of the amp and then there is this very loud sort of
cracking crackling noise from the speakers. Even if I do not touch the
volume control there is that loud noise. It kind of scares me. Sometimes
if I slide the volume control back and forth it quits. Also for no reason
the speakers will cut in and out. Could it be some dirt in the system.
Patt.

Sounds like a job for Switch Cleaner Man ...

Seriously though, if it really does seem to be related to the volume
control, and it's a slider, these can usually be recovered without too much
fuss, by standing the amp on its back, then squibbing a *small* amount of
switch cleaner / lubricant into the slot that the contol's operating lever
runs in. Once it's in there, scrub the control vigourously back and forth
for 5 seconds. If after doing this, the control feels a bit 'stiff', due to
the switch cleaner having washed out some of the mechanical lubrication, you
can usually get it feeling ok again by putting just a drop or two of light
machine oil in there. Failing doing it this way, it's a case of having the
pot out and replacing it ( likely not available if it's an old Akai ) or
stripping it and cleaning and relubing it, which can only be done if it's a
metal bodied type. If the pot is badly worn, then none of these methods
other than replacement, will cure it, but the fact that it seems to recover
for a while after you 'work' the pot, would indicate that you stand a good
chance.

Arfa