I bought myself a (in my opinion) nice pre-amp a number of years ago called the “ifi Zen CAN” and I used it regularly. Sadly, for some reason, the amp began to distort audio quite a bit making it unusable. Also, returning the device and warranty were not options for me, so repairing the device or throwing it away are the only options. It has since sat unused and in box on a shelf for a long while.
I did have some concerns before this happened, namely, the amp would get rather warm while in use. I did some research online, but it seems many other people noticed this as well and dismissed it as a non-issue. I did not find any other instances of someone having this issue with this exact pre-amp, but I could have missed a post.
It is hard to describe exactly what it sounded like, the best description for the audio I have would be “tinny,” “quiet,” and sort of like it is under water and maybe lacking bass? This only seems to happen after the device has been on for a while which is what leads me to believe that the issue could be related to heat.
I opened up the device and inspected the single PCB that makes up the amp but I saw no indication of any damage. My best guess at this moment is that something is wrong with one or more of the capacitors attached to the PCB in relation to long heat exposure and all I need to do is replace it/them.
That said, I am no expert so any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you for your time!