C Audio SR707

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   Hello all,
I have a quick question on the reliability and performance of the C Audio SR707. I've done a comprehensive search and found some chatter about these amps on Speakerplans and on the web in general, but everything is from a few years back now. 

Does anyone have any recent experience to report, things to look out for etc? Looking to use one on bass duties, planning ahead with a bit more power than I currently need but hope to utilise as the set increases in size. Current amp is way under powered, so anything is likely to be an improvement... But looking for advice or warnings before I drop a couple hundred bucks on an eBay purchase!

Many thanks in advance,
Ben

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Dubshot Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 01 September 2011 Location: Bournemouth Status: Offline Points: 116	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dubshot Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: C Audio SR707 Posted: 24 July 2020 at 7:45am
	Hello all, I have a quick question on the reliability and performance of the C Audio SR707. I've done a comprehensive search and found some chatter about these amps on Speakerplans and on the web in general, but everything is from a few years back now. Does anyone have any recent experience to report, things to look out for etc? Looking to use one on bass duties, planning ahead with a bit more power than I currently need but hope to utilise as the set increases in size. Current amp is way under powered, so anything is likely to be an improvement... But looking for advice or warnings before I drop a couple hundred bucks on an eBay purchase! Many thanks in advance, Ben

jbl_man Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 12 January 2005 Location: London. Status: Offline Points: 11155	Post Options Post Reply Quote jbl_man Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 July 2020 at 8:51am
	As with anything that is now 30 years old,anything can fail at anytime, but generaly very reliable Hitachi mosfet design if properly and regually serviced. Watch out for case rust and corrosion,these were famous for that. Fans can become worn/noisy. Replace. These run very hot,so proper cooling /clean heatsinks is essential. Soft-start is also prone to failure. If you do buy one,get it serviced/checked over before using it in anger. Also worth mentioning, a failure can be the direct result of a previous owner's bodge, see the recent SR808 thread in this section.
	Be seeing you.

Dubshot Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 01 September 2011 Location: Bournemouth Status: Offline Points: 116	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dubshot Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 July 2020 at 2:18pm
	Thanks for your response... Just had a read through that topic and lots of interesting information to be gleaned. The item I'm looking at is Buy it Now for a little less than £300, which looks like it could be too expensive compared to previous sales + the unknown/age possible problems dilemma... certainly makes me feel like that price is a little too high to gamble on. It is somewhat reassuring to know there is a community of people here might be able to help, should there be any problems. The pics of the unit in question are very good (in detail). There is a shot of some of the internals, and from what I can see it is very clean. The fella tells me he's had it for a few years with very little use... Doesn't say much for what or how it's been treated before then unfortunately. Otherwise the amp looks like it's in reasonable condition for its age. It has various marks, the fans look like they could do with changing (they're dirty at least) and I am likely to take up your advice should I purchase it. Would be curious to get other opinions if anyone else is reading Link to the eBay listing here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333660467230 Edit: can't get the link to work somehow... If you're interested, search for "CAudio SR707". There's only a few listings, the one with decent pics and buy it now for £295 is the one I'm viewing. Thanks again to all, Ben Edited by Dubshot - 24 July 2020 at 2:21pm

djeddie Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 26 April 2004 Location: Bristol Status: Offline Points: 4125	Post Options Post Reply Quote djeddie Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 July 2020 at 3:02pm
	Here's the link sorted for you. (Don't forget to delete the 'https://' from the address when pasting the link) £295 is over priced in my opinion. Looks in pretty good condition though. Tops for me would be £150... and I've paid a lot less the that in the past.
	Chas n Dave : it's like Drum and Bass but with beards. E=mc² ±3dB

Earplug Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 03 January 2012 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 7216	Post Options Post Reply Quote Earplug Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 July 2020 at 3:20pm
	Make an offer?
	Earplugs Are For Wimps!

jbl_man Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 12 January 2005 Location: London. Status: Offline Points: 11155	Post Options Post Reply Quote jbl_man Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 July 2020 at 8:37pm
	Yup,i agree with Eddie's comments above, it's clean,but not seeing it at almost £300. Yup,about 150 would be nearer the mark.
	Be seeing you.

njw Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 26 March 2010 Location: S. Wales Status: Offline Points: 2574	Post Options Post Reply Quote njw Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 July 2020 at 8:58pm
	Never owned a 707 but did have a few XR3801's for a few years (essentially just an uprated 707), I had to change the fans in all of them and they were all rusty but apart from that were very reliable. I had one failure but that was more down to user error (by me!) than anything else, I only got rid of them as I decided that lugging 30kg 3 unit lumps wasn't for me anymore. Oh, and these amps are a lot louder than the numbers would suggest, my 3801's were usually used on sub/bass and never seemed to run out of steam!

odc04r Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 12 July 2006 Location: Sarfampton Status: Offline Points: 5482	Post Options Post Reply Quote odc04r Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 July 2020 at 9:48pm
	Yeah £300 is a lot if you want something to actually work with and aren't desperate for whatever reason. It does look in pretty good condition inside but you never quite know. It's clearly been used and possibly abused in the past.

Dubshot Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 01 September 2011 Location: Bournemouth Status: Offline Points: 116	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dubshot Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 July 2020 at 11:32am
	Thanks everyone for the solid advice... Holding back for the moment on making the purchase. Not desperate for a unit right now, but would like to sort something appropriate for a potential gig coming up locally. Current amp section is fine for home listening but not for anything remotely serious! I'm sure these things come up fairly regularly and I've really just started the search for this improvement to the sound system. Interestingly, another one has popped up at £300 buy it now (offers accepted) which looks even cleaner, but is a little further away for collection (the first amp is only 45mins from me). If I can pick this unit it up for sub £200, I think I'll take a stab at seeing how she runs. Whilst we're here... Does anyone have suggestions for a unit of similar specs, price range etc. I'm going to be using it to power a Fane 15XB in a ported box, with a vision to either upgrade to 2x Fane or for 2x Oberton 15XB700's (which a fellow SP member has offered in a ported G-Sub style box). Thinking the 707 (or similar) would give me plenty of headroom and flexibility moving forward, if I want to change to a couple of scoops or whatever in the future.

dj jammin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Young Croc Joined: 10 April 2010 Location: southampton Status: Offline Points: 770	Post Options Post Reply Quote dj jammin Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 July 2020 at 12:27pm
	Don't rush into buying an amp... take your time and do your research...
	Reverence Sound system

midas Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 27 October 2011 Location: Cumbria Status: Offline Points: 2117	Post Options Post Reply Quote midas Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 July 2020 at 12:44am
	Agreed. If I was desperate for a 707, which at the minute you are probably not, nearly 300 for a 707 is as said regularly a lot of money. I have had loads of these. The last rack full was 4 x 707 all bridged running 8 scoops. What a lovely sound that was. We have also had, 2 x CA18 and 2 x pkn5002 and all were nice sounding. Ues the 808 in the other thread is my one, these very rarely come up for sale but I have seen them for as much as £500 which I would not pay. That said I would not sell the one I now have for 500. Someone had drilled through into the secondary windings to knacker this one up. That is quite some feat as there is a metal plate either side of the transformer. Luckily this is a good community and it pulled together and we found the parts for Kevin to mend. You would be better to bridge the 707 into 4 ohms to get the full potential. Currently I have a 707 running a pair of twin 15 tops with the 808 on a pair of X1's. With the comfort of knowing I can easily add another pair of X1's to the 808 if needed. When we had the 4 x 707's running bridged into 8 scoops, this was to cover 700 people. One woman who must have had a pill or two was running round shouting, there's too much bass....there's too much bass...lol. Everyone else enjoyed it with several complaints of dust in their beer... Edited by midas - 26 July 2020 at 12:48am
	In bass no one can hear you scream!

Dubshot Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 01 September 2011 Location: Bournemouth Status: Offline Points: 116	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dubshot Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 July 2020 at 12:50pm
	Getting the general impression that these amps are what I need for current purposes and for future planning! A 707 should do the trick with any ideas i have for The foreseeable future. Having a look around, the QSC RMX4050 or Tamp Proline 3000 could do the trick too. Have done a fair bit of reading over the last few days, old posts and whatever I could find. Lots of opinion to be found (not many manuals!) and plenty to read. I've always liked the idea of an old school JTS amp, but I think "Brand Goggles" would see me spending more money than I could ever justify... The 707/808 look like they would fit into the same category of the "old school heavyweights", ticking the same boxes for a fraction of the price of an old JTS/Links/Crown or something exotic like that. I don't have plans (for now) of going any bigger than either 2x15 or 2x18. Its just for private party use and very small gigs locally. I want to blend the PA and HiFi worlds, kinda creating a set that someone like my Dad would appreciate. Something with some weight, tone and quality... But small enough to fit in a large car/small van, with tasteful/old school/vintage appearance. So, these things come up regularly enough that I could expand easily if really really necessary! I really appreciate everyone's advice and recommendations. I didn't win (or bid high enough for the reserve) on the unit I've had my eyes on. Have contact the seller to see if he's willing to let go for a little less than his reserve (which he kindly told me during the sale - if you're reading this Seller, thank you kindly for your communication and honesty). Anyone reading this with a 707 they would like to part with... PM me. Got a budget of 150-175 to play with. Would like to sort in the next month or so. Based in Wiltshire, happy to travel for collection within reasonable range (Sheffield, for ex, would probably be too far!) Big up to all the SP community.