Spark 40 Amp died, headphone only now
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I bought my Spark 40 in October 2020 and have used it about a dozen times so far. Today it makes no sound out of the speakers, only the headphone output. It would cost $110 for repair with only a three month warranty for that work. While the amp was cool, Unfortunately I am considering cutting my losses and seeking a more experienced amplifier manufacturer.
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@jtdscrap I tried that several times, firmware update too. The fact that the headphone amp still works leaves me not much hope that this is more than just an extremely large headphone practice amp.
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@fivemasks I would certainly try some contact cleaner in the headphone socket as there is a switch there that turns off the speakers when it thinks there is something plugged in. Sometimes a small amount of something can make that switch stay that way when the headphone plug is removed, and a little switch cleaner can sort it.
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@broadkarnage I just tried that but it didn't work. :(
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@jtdscrap Thanks for the encouragement to take a look, which I did. Nothing smelled bad or looked bad. Still no luck.
I am beginning to believe that preselling an idea that later gets developed and manufactured is not a great business model. Software is easy, every little device manufacturer in the world pretty much has OS and user interface software down pat.
Hardware on the other hand is a little more challenging perhaps. Having a bunch of anxious customers waiting for you to work out the bugs seems like a bad idea in retrospect.
I have a Fender GTX100, rock solid, software works as good or even better than the Spark. Again, software seems far less challenging, if it isn't right then you know sooner because the product will not work. Whereas hardware can work on a design bench but not survive production/warehousing/shipping/etc. My thoughts at the moment.
