Well, if they go bad, the standard procedure is to scrap the amp.
Apparently, they need to be closely matched, which requires a large pool to draw from for matching. Joe may have more insight on that.
The "accepted" idea of taking good devices from an amp with one bad channel generally ends in tears with Marvin smiling... and the few authorized service centers do not share any service documents with anyone. A lot like Rolex is now, completely cutting out the independents. Difference is there is no more Counterpoint, and agreements with the company are null; agreements with Mike directly are null (now that he is deceased). It doesn't make sense, but I spoke to one such repair person who is "honoring their agreement with Counterpoint" and when I point out the above, they have no reply...
I did get to chat with Mike Elliot on a couple occasions and he was a pretty down to earth guy. Preferred the "cheap" Sovtek tubes in his amps to the esoteric and expensive stuff. My budget always agreed with that (and as a dealer it was a no-brainer). Told me personally how to make my amps into balanced mono blocks and I've run them that way since. (Still noisy, as you can see in the specs)
