dale_s

Not to be overly negative, but I'm not impressed. Maybe I have a bad unit. I hooked this up to my Wharfdale W-35's and played a few CD's. First thing I noticed is how short the power cord is, second a turn on and turn off thump. Well more of a whoosh. The sound is much brighter than my Sansui 3500 that I typically listen to on the bench. Bright to the point of being a bit harsh. I noticed a loss in bass but a few peaks that I would place at 80 Hz and 400Hz. So the begining of the midrange is farther forward that I prefer. I could tame the harshness with the tone controls and get the bass a bit tighter by backing that off too. However, something just sounds odd. Sounds to my ears like when a driver is out of phase. My test will be to set this up at my desk with a set of Minimus 7s. I listen to the 7s everyday, so should be easy to compare amps. I will need to open this unit up before I put it on one of my "better" rigs due to the turn on, turn off noise. Please keep in mind this is just my opinion. Nothing more or less. I've owned at least a half dozen t-amps and am used to their signature. This is a decent amp at a great price! You can spend much more and get much less. I'll try to get some shots of the inside tonight. Dale

Here and here Outstanding! Time to sell off some gear and get an order in.

I've heard of Craig's power amps, but did not know he had a Pre-Amp out. Anyone got a link to information?

Yup, I saw that. I have all the parts in now for your SCA-35. Hope to start this weekend, but have been under the weather a bit. Cold, fever etc... I ordered the amp, $20.67 with free two day shipping. I'll post my impressions here. I'll set it up in my shop so I can listen to it while I work on gear.

One lurkers money sent. [] Dale

I posted Dean's thread over on the AK forum. http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=6900868#post6900868

I've used isolation transformers to break ground loops. Works very well. Also when working on hot chassis radios. Well worth the investment. I have not used one for any of my 2 channel rigs though. Of course that's because I'm cheap and don't want to draw more electricity. [:|]

Interesting review of that little amp. I've been impressed with the T-amps that I've owned. I have not tried one that inexpensive yet. Might be good for a little desktop setup for my kids. Get them away from the tiny speakers in their iPods! I think I'll grab one this week and open her up. See what their using in there. Thanks for the review.

Each transformer is held down with 4 screws into the chassis. There are no nuts under the chassis, so no need to remove the bottom cover.

The box

More

I have not posted here in quite awhile, but a few of you know me. [:$] It's time to let this move on to a new home. So, up for sale is the 10 CD box set of Iron Maiden's "The First Ten Years". Here is a link to the track listing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Ten_Years The box is not perfect and has wear marks. I will try and get pictures posted. The CDs are in excellent shape. All tray inserts and booklets included. I nine of the vouchers, not all ten. Prices are all over the map on this set. So, I'm asking a bit less than I paid at $300 shipped in CONUS. Don't worry about the PP fees. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Aren't those discontinued? Yes, they are. I replaced my squeezeboxes with a VAMP. Designed by Andrew (same guy that builds the Vortexbox). Here's the link (no association) http://vortexbox.org/content/150-Building-the-VAMP This is basicly a pogoplug reloaded to use a playback device. It's about $70 for the device, usb stick and DAC.

Both models from Microsoft can be used with a keyboard.

I've used Monoprice for everything from XLR, to RCA to HDMI. Very nice product for a good price! A friend of mine needed a dozen XLR to XLR asap, and even next day shipping was resonable.

Yes, I can take on another one. Fire me an email or PM and we'll work out the details.

Ben,I will emphasize - LAZY! I know how to do it and am not the least afraid of doing it. I used to work full time as an electronics tech repairing 3 phase motor controllers. BUT thanks for the encouragement. Bruce I understand the LAZY part. That's me. But I'm a bit paranoid about poking around in the output section. Time to get Electroncis Reparis for Dummies. I've no idea how to safely discharge a loaded up capacitor.... Remember as a kid when you put your tongue on a 9-Volt battery.... Yup, just like that. "The preceding comment was meant in jest, under no circumstances should anyone actually perform said action"

Isn't that partly how Craig got started? Now he has to sneak away to go fishing... The following remark was made with a smile. Whoa there Nelly! Let's not compare (even in jest) Craig and myself. He knows more about circuit design and component specifications that I could ever hope to know. I believe I do well within the confines of component replacement. I'm smart enough to leave the engineering to more experianced folks. That said, I do have this LK-72 that I would like to convert to a stand alone power amp and then send to Craig for an opinion.

If you need any help finding parts that fit, let me know. Waterloo is a nice town too, great antique stores.

Ok - The "secret" is out. I am the one responsible for restoring both Rivernuggets and DizRotus receivers. Both of these received about the same treatment. Once I have listened and visually inspected the unit it's off to the bench. I rebuild the power supply including the main filter caps, diodes (or bridge) and resistors if needed. I always replace the main filter caps and only the other parts if needed. In this series of receivers there are also additional filter boards on the underside of the chassis. These boards are given the same treatment. Replace electrolytic caps and other components as needed. Next it's on to the controls. I only use Deoxit if the controls are really bad. IMHO - deoxit leaves the control sounding clean, but it never feels the same. After removing the knobs and front panel, I replace all burned out "fuse style" lamps. In the 430, these are 6 volts lamps, I use 8 volt lamps and replace them all. This gives a slightly less bright apperance, but the bulbs last a lot longer. In addition to the backlights, I also replace the meter light, power lamp, stereo indicator and the dial pointer bulb. Next it's onto the amp section. If there are any signs of the grease drying out on the output transistors, I remove, regrease and replace. All of the electrolytics on the power amp board are replaced. Once this is done, I can set DC offset and bias. If these waver or will not come into spec, I start with the pots and keep going till she works. Next (and normaly last) is the listening test. If I hear high levels of noise, it goes back on the bench. I start working on the pre-amp section. This takes a bit longer than the other areas due to the disassembly required. Neither unit required much work here. As an additional, I use Nichion and Panasonic caps in my rebuilds. Typically their TOTL for a given purpose. Sometimes I have to step down a bit due to physical size of the caps. I never use generic caps. I often will use a larger value cap if there is benefit and the diodes (or bridge) can handle the inrush current. I hope the answers everyone's questions. If someone needs more detail, please let me know. As has been said before, I do not do this to earn a living. I have been invloved in electronic repair most of my life. Most of my formal training is by way of the United States Navy, where I spent nearly seven years. I only have about 10 hours a week that I can devote to this hobby. As such, I am willing to perform repair/restoration work on an case by case basis. Hence the initial hesitation in posting this. I split my time between working on other people's gear and my own gear. So, I can probably get about one repair out a month or so. I do prefer the challenge of tube gear too, but those repairs tend to take longer due the varied options in circuits, parts, tubes, etc.. Solid State repair is something that is more straight forward. Many thanks (I think) to Rivernuggets and DizRotus for encouraging me to post this here. Dale

Once the cover is removed, the "fuse style" bulbs are housed on a circuit board that is held in by (3) screws. With that board out, you can also get the Stereo Indicator bulb too. The Power Light and Dial Indicator require additional disassembly. I get my bulbs from Mouser and/or http://www.dgwojo.com/ No affiliation, just that Dave is a great guy!

Another linux user here. I run a 1TB Vortexbox as the server for both FLAC and MP3. This goes out to iPhone, iPod, Old Roku, WD TV, Squeezebox etc... On a ironic note - I've been a PC guy for more than 25 years... I bought the Vortexbox so that I could quit fiddling with the server side of it and just listen to music. Best purchase I have made in a while.

...For those not familiar, the Quinpu Q2 is actually a hybrid amp. It uses the single tube as a Pre-Stage. The actual amplifier is transistor (or chip). So, not the same sound-stage and harmonics of a true tube amp. Looks like a nice unit for the price!

I recently purchased a set with the intention of using them (one pair) in the office with my PC. However, they just do not sound right. By not right, the bass is thunky and hollow. Percussion is a dull rap. I've tried these on four differant amps, several differant sources, same result. Is this to be expected? I know since these are designed for HT, the lower frequency response is limited, but these just sound bad. More like a cheap 80's boombox than a small bookshelf. My KSB 1.1 are much better sound wise, but are too big. Am I missing something here. They do sound better if I plug the rear port, but are still very hollow. I bought these used, but not abused. I love my other sets os Klipsch speakers, just not these. I'm not trying to bash - just wondering if they are not suited to near field. Thanks.

I have not heard the NAD Amplifier that you are looking at. I would be very cautious of running that amp in bridged mono. Many amps distortion goes WAY up when run that way. I looked for the NAD specs, and do not see any published while bridged.