n2dablue

Here are a couple of pics... Like I said, this unit appears to be working very well, but I will be sure to check it out before putting it into full time duty. I agree that I wouldn't have paid as much as I did, but unlike an ebay purchase, I got to see and hear this firsthand. I also get to hand carry this back to the States in a box that I packed- I dont have to trust anyone elses judgement attention to detail. I feel this is a good deal even if I have to do some "work" to it. I have been soldering and working with electronics since age 12, and while I am more qualified with aircraft avionics systems than HV AC circuits, I am pretty sure I can read a schematic and swap out some caps and resistors if need be. Anyway, I will be sure to keep this updated, and will let you know how it goes when I get home. Thanks for reading! Paul

I went back and took a closer look, and had him hook it up for a listen. Sounded great even on the crappy test speakers, and with zero hum or other other issues. Walked out for $400US. I cant wait to get her home next week and try her out with some more deserving speakers. I'll post pics when I have some time to clean it up, but it really is a nice piece. Thanks to all for the input! Paul

Long story short, I am currently in New Zealand and will be returning to the States soon. While walking around downtown I stepped into a used stereo shop and asked out of curiosity if there was any vintage tube gear for sale. The gentleman pointed to an apparently very well cared for US spec "Stromberg-Carlson Stereo 24" integrated amp. He says it plays wonderfully and needs absolutely nothing. His inital asking price is about US$420, but I could probably get him down a bit. Now, to this point I have never heard of SC, and cant seem to find much of anything useful on the net. Does anyone know if this is something worth picking up either for myself or to bring back to the States to sell? I love my Fortes and have been wanting to try tubes before going all-out and getting started on my Scott 299C - based project. Furthermore, getting the amp home safely is not an issue at all; I am not flying comercial. Any thoughts or experience with the Stromberg-Carlson? I am coming home soon so any advice you can provide is much appreciated. Paul

I did not run the amp for very long, just a few minutes. I was just surprised as heck that it worked at all, and wanted to hear it. I know its in no shape to be operating right now. Yes, I have been lurking long enough to have a very clear idea about Craig's capabilities and reputation, and was glad that replied to this thread. I am leaning towards building my own chassis so that the integrated has the fit, form, and function that I would like for it to have. I am pretty "handy" and have a good background in electronics, among other things. I can solder fairly well, use a meter, and read a schematic, so I am hoping, with your guys' help I am not biting off more than I can chew. The challenge will be that tubes are particularly new to me, so Craig, there are probably gong to be a lot of questions coming your way, particularly about the circuit and modifications and such...I hope you don't mind!

last pic for now

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Nice kitty, don't eat my amp!!!

Hey folks, not a big poster here, but more of a professional lurker, but felt that I now have a topic worth posting about. I picked this ugly duckling up for a pretty fair price on eBay last week- Total: $300 shipped 2nd day. I didn't really expect to receive anything that actually worked, but I gently powered it up on a variac and whadaya know, it started passing a signal at about 70 volts. Then I actually hooked it up to my Fortes and surprisingly sounds fairly decent, despite the medley of different tubes, and the appearance that it has never been worked on. I am fairly certain that this Scott is in need of some new caps at the least, as it does hum a bit, and seems to be lacking the power to handle anything over a moderate volume. This is my first experience with tubes, and so far I like what I hear and see, I am really quite excited. What I cant decide, is how I would like to go about getting this up to snuff to replace my current SS integrated. The face plate is pretty trashed and the Scott has a lot of goofy bells and whistles that are pretty nonessential, IMO; I was thinking of building my own chassis and using the transformers and basic 299C circuit design, minus a bunch of stuff that I don't really want or need (stereo selector, phase, loudness, scratch and rumble filters, indicator lights, balance control, center channel circuit), I'm sure you have the idea. Anyways, pics are attached, and are full size off the camera, sorry, 56k. What do you guys think?

Dakayus- Wow, about 2 years ago I was asking almost the very same questions that you are asking now. The only difference is that I had a set of KG4s that I wanted to sound their best on a budget. I have heard an A/B comparison between Denon's current stereo models (the 295, 395, and 685) and one of thier multi-channel units, configured for stereo use (it was a 380x - cannot remember the specific model). My opinion was that even the 295 sounded a little bit better than the 380x, and the 685 was much better than that. If I was going to go with a current-model Denon for stereo use, I would have purchased the 685. After that little outing, I had the opprotunity to pick up an open-box Onkyo stereo receiver for next to nothing. I brought it home and was very, very dissapointed, but in the sound and build quality...just wreaked of cheap, and for good reason - it was! After returning the unit, I was doing a some more homework, and ran into a great deal on an older Denon stereo receiver from the early '90s. The model I bought is the Denon DRA-835r, and I picked it up for a steal: $160 without a mark on it!!! In my opinion, this receiver is better sounding, and much better built than Denon's current stereo reciever line (even the 685), and am still using it today, with a pair of original Fortes. I believe the 835 was on the upper end of the line at the time, and I think Denon put more effort into their stereo recievers back then too. In short, it is a terrrific peice of equipment and will always have a place in my home, even when I switch to tubes. Yes, it came with a remote, and even if none is available with one that you find, just about any universal remote will have no trouble controlling it. I cannot remember the exact watts per channel, but I know it is 100 or more - Way, way more than you need to get those '75s singing nicely. I believe the warm sound you are looking for could be found in a DRA-835 or one of its bothers of that generation, the DRA-825, 1025 and I think there was a DRA-1035. They are not always on Ebay, but here is a DRA-825: http://cgi.ebay.com/Denon-Precision-stereo-receiver-amplifier-DRA-825R-huge_W0QQitemZ290064772345QQihZ019QQcategoryZ3279QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Anyways, just thought I'd throw in my $0.02 - feel free if you have any questions. Paul Larson

Just thought I'd update you all. We decided on shipping via Greyhound. They were each packed in a new, large wardrobe box, with plenty of protection. Each box cost about $70 US to ship. It took 5 days to get from Dallas TX, to Tacoma (near Seattle) WA. We picked them up at the local Greyhound station with no problems whatsoever. The boxes really looked untouched with no marks, holes, or dents. As a bonus, and much to my surprise, the Fortes are in better condition than the pictures on the auction would have you believe. All in all Greyhound was a good experience, at least this time around. I will definitely try them again next time I have something odd to ship. I am really enjoying the new speakers, in time I will upgrade to a tube amp, perhaps a modded ST-70, and a descent preamp, but even with the current setup, the grin factor is definitely there! Thanks to everyone for your advice.

One thing the seller did mention early on is that he was not opposed to exploring other options such as greyhound or baxglobal. Has anyone tried to ship via greyhound before? Their website says that they handle oversized and heavy weight freight. I got quoted for just under $100 per speaker. I wonder if its safer than UPS.... Thanks for all the input, everyone! Sorry, I didn't mean to start another cable/interconnect war!

Hello All, I have been a good bit of a lurker here for a year or so, and hopefully it wont be held against me too much, but I could use a bit of advice. I just picked up a what seems to be a good deal on a set of Fortes off of EBay. You can see them here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSAA:US:11&Item=5804347558 The seller seems to be a good guy, but just as the ad says, he wants to ship them via a company called "Creighters and Freighters" which just quoted him $359 shipping (crated obviously) from near Dallas TX to near Seattle WA. All of a sudden I didn't get such a good deal. The seller wants to avoid UPS/FedEx/DHL due to risk of damage. I have had KG4s shipped via UPS before and they arrived in perfect condition, and come to think of it, I dont think I have ever encountered shipping damage in my life (knocking on wood). Should I try to talk him into shipping via UPS/FedEx/DHL? If the speakers were mint I wouldn't think twice before shelling out the extra $$, but as you can see from the picures the cabinets are nearly ready for some TLC already, and I am already thinking of restoring anyway. Advice / sharing of experiences would be appriciated. Thanks in advance. Paul Larson

Spooky? Hmmm, that doesn't sound very positive...What do you mean exactly? Could / would anyone say that the difference in sound between the Forte 1 and 2 is significant, or are they more similar in character of sound?

Gil (or anyone else who may know) I listened quite a bit to my folks' Forte 1 setup growing up, and for the last few years, been looking for a set of my own. I think I have found a seller for some 1's, but I cant help but wonder how different the 2's sound. Reason being because my fiance (next month my wife) has listened to the 1's and thinks the midrange is too forward. I have a feeling that this is the case because she is used to the sound from our KG4 setup, which is great, but a little lacking in the midrange detail, comparatively. My folks once listened to a set of Forte 2's and my dad, who struggled to put into words, said that compared to the 1's, the 2's were "not as live sounding" and "almost too refined". Can anyone who has had a chance to listen to both comment on this? Dad is a great musician, and has been around the block a few times, but I don't know how much weight his audio equipment opinions should carry... Any opinions would be appriciated. BTW, I listen to cd, SACD and DVD-A - just stereo, and the occasional movie. Currently using a Denon DRA-835 stereo receiver (early '90s good stuff) but plan to upgrade in a year or so to a tube setup - something like a Dynaco ST-70 with some sort of home brew tube preamp - likely to be loosely based on a Conrad-Johnson PV9 or 10 (brain fart). Thanks all!

Power you say? I found a Denon DRA-835R from Audiogon last year for $150 to mate to my KG4s. I had tried other new 2 channel recievers but this 10 year old receiver blew them out of the water. I recently found out from Denon that they last retailed in '95 for 800 dollars. They are rated 100 WPC @ 8 Ohms, I rarely go past 1/4 turn on the volume, as there is just no need, TONS of power to spare. The sound is just incredible especially with the price in mind, with the first phrase coming to mind being "warm and powerful, yet clean". I doubt with KG4s that you can really go WRONG with many amplifiers/receivers, but this is the most RIGHT my system has ever sounded. I have the DRA-835, but its brothers, the DRA 825, 1025 and 1035 are all of the same caliber, and there is usually one or two on Ebay. Denon's current 2channel receivers aren't as good IMO, the DRA-295, 395, and 685, all of which I have listened to. It really makes me whish Denon still cared about stereo.