This is how I repaired my Buttkicker gamer 2 amplifier

JZijlstra · Mar 23, 2023

Hi everyone,

The amplifiers of the Buttkicker Gamer 2 are a bit infamous for breaking down quite fast. In my case after just one year of enjoying it, it broke down. You push the power button and you hear the clicking sound, but instead of the led turning from red to green, it stays red and doesn't turn on. You can see this problem in this video from another user on Youtube.

There are solutions to get another amplifier, but a colleague of mine who knows a thing or two about audio amplifiers offered me to try if he could repair it and to my surprise he did it and now it's up and running again as if it was new!

The problem? Just one resistor that was broken. The one on the picture below.

This is a 150 kOhm 1 Watt resistor which costs almost nothing and is easily available at sites like Conrad or Amazon. The only thing you have to do is take your amplifier apart an solder the new one in. In the pictures below you can see the resistor that was replaced. The blue one on position R201.

If you have the same problem as I had, you can give it a try and maybe it also works for you and you can save some money.

stigs2cousin · Mar 23, 2023

Thanks for your post.

To find the faulty part did your friend have to measure all resistors or are ther eobvious signs that this part is broken?

JZijlstra · Mar 24, 2023

I asked him today how he did it. There is nothing you can see on the circuit board. No burn signs or what so ever. It's not just a matter of randomly measuring the parts. He has quite a good knowledgde about amplifiers, so he worked in a structured way to find the solution. I can't explain it, because I don't know too much about amplifiers.

Neilski · Mar 24, 2023

JZijlstra said:
I asked him today how he did it. There is nothing you can see on the circuit board. No burn signs or what so ever. It's not just a matter of randomly measuring the parts. He has quite a good knowledgde about amplifiers, so he worked in a structured way to find the solution. I can't explain it, because I don't know too much about amplifiers.

Do you know the failure mode for the resistor? (E.g. open circuit, short circuit.) It looks superficially OK.

JZijlstra · Mar 24, 2023

It should be 150 kOhm, but when you measure it's about 400 kOhm.

Neilski · Mar 24, 2023

JZijlstra said:
It should be 150 kOhm, but when you measure it's about 400 kOhm.

OK wow that's a surreal fault (and repair)...

JonP01 · Mar 27, 2023

I will keep this thread handy and thanks for posting it. My amplifier died after about 3 years. I opened it up and could see nothing wrong with it. Baffled, I contacted Buttkicker but they were of no help. A look inside showed no damage or anything that I could see. I ended up forking out for a new one (currently still working but probably about due to die on me!).

GagarynGaribaldi · Mar 28, 2023

I think the original resistor is a carbon film. It's not that unusual for these to fail with high resistance. When they do it can be tricky to find the fault especially if you are just guessing expected voltages. That was a good spot by your friend.

JonP01 · Mar 29, 2023

I can't believe it. Two days after I come across this thread my one year old amp has now died! Oh well I guess I will try this fix!

JonP01 · Mar 30, 2023

Well I took a look at mine and there was nothing obvious wrong that might have caused the failure. All the resistors tested to their colour coded values. I couldn't see any blown capacitors or anything at all really. I have decided I am done with Buttkicker products. I have gone through 3 of their amplifiers in 10 years with two of them in the last three years. And we only get a year warranty on the amps where I am but honestly, even if they did fix or replace it, it won't be long till it fails again.

Buttkicker have left a very sour taste in my mouth and I will never under any circumstances buy their products again. Further to that, when I outright asked them the last time an amp died after just a little over a year's use (so my second failure) whether there was a known issue with these amps, they denied that there was. I do not believe them when they told me that.

Apart from that, the device has always been a pain to use with no display showing the volume setting and only broad "steps" available with the wired remote. Every game needed a different setting to - there simply was not one setting to suit them all. And the device only kept it's settings for as long as power was supplied through the wall socket. A blackout or merely switching it off at the wall socket when not used for a few days and you lose the setting. But you are basically "blind" with this model to the point where I had to actually count the button presses to "know" where I was in terms of "volume". I realise the new model addresses these issues but as I say, I am done with this company. They are just awful.

ShinyAndy · Mar 30, 2023

JonP01 said:
I have gone through 3 of their amplifiers in 10 years with two of them in the last three years. And we only get a year warranty on the amps where I am but honestly, even if they did fix or replace it, it won't be long till it fails again.

I replaced mine with a 40€ Nobsound sub amp from Amazon around 2 1/2 years and it's been perfect ever since

GagarynGaribaldi · Mar 30, 2023

JonP01 said:
Well I took a look at mine and there was nothing obvious wrong that might have caused the failure. All the resistors tested to their colour coded values. I couldn't see any blown capacitors or anything at all really. I have decided I am done with Buttkicker products. I have gone through 3 of their amplifiers in 10 years with two of them in the last three years. And we only get a year warranty on the amps where I am but honestly, even if they did fix or replace it, it won't be long till it fails again.

Buttkicker have left a very sour taste in my mouth and I will never under any circumstances buy their products again. Further to that, when I outright asked them the last time an amp died after just a little over a year's use (so my second failure) whether there was a known issue with these amps, they denied that there was. I do not believe them when they told me that.

Apart from that, the device has always been a pain to use with no display showing the volume setting and only broad "steps" available with the wired remote. Every game needed a different setting to - there simply was not one setting to suit them all. And the device only kept it's settings for as long as power was supplied through the wall socket. A blackout or merely switching it off at the wall socket when not used for a few days and you lose the setting. But you are basically "blind" with this model to the point where I had to actually count the button presses to "know" where I was in terms of "volume". I realise the new model addresses these issues but as I say, I am done with this company. They are just awful.

Did you test the four diodes that make up the rectifier?

JZijlstra · Mar 30, 2023

ShinyAndy said:
I replaced mine with a 40€ Nobsound sub amp from Amazon around 2 1/2 years and it's been perfect ever since

The Nobsound is indeed also a recommended replacement that I have seen on a forum somewhere.

JonP01 · Mar 31, 2023

GagarynGaribaldi said:
Did you test the four diodes that make up the rectifier?

No. I tested every resistor I could find after verifying what its value was supposed to be. I visually checked all the capacitors. I also looked for any signs at all that anything might have burned out, somehow been damaged and whether any solder joints had deteriorated. Visually it was perfect as were the measurements I did take.

I am sure a technician could have got it going again but for me it is just not worth it since it would probably fail yet again down the track. The frustration and time wasting for me isn't worth it given the chronic unreliability myself and others have experienced even they are repaired and / or replaced. It is as if the actual design itself has an inherent weak point that takes about a year plus to cause an issue.

Eyeon · Apr 4, 2023

I had one fail and got it replaced under warranty. Seemed like it overheated as I noticed they get quite hot with sustained use. I have been running 120mm fans on top of each amp now for the past 2 years and no issues, the amps don't get anywhere near as hot.

Good info in this thread though if one does eventually fail I will look into swapping that resistor or maybe get a replacement.

Mark Norton · Sep 24, 2023

Hi, Just thought i would confirm this repair.
My amp stopped working with exact same symptons as OP.
Tried to measure (R201)on board but resulted in inconclusive reading.
Lifted one leg and sure enough it measured at 450K.
I didnt have a 150K on hand but tested with 2 x 300K in Parallel.
Fixed

I will replace with 150K as soon as possible before putting back into use.
I have heard so many reports of this problem on other forums, i wonder how many amps have been scrapped due to a .50 Cent resistor?
Thanks JZijlstra for your post, saved me alot of heart and wallet ache.