arco

Joe, http://users.erols.com/bluestat/rectifiers.html#5AR4/GZ34/GZ37: In the above link you will find a rather large selection. And the seller is tried and tested!

Mike, I cannot say I bought many things from Ebay but things like that may happen and if you live "on the other side of the pond", as Maxg says in a very British way, the only practical thing to do is to give the seller the negative feedback he deserves. As my (ex captain) uncle says: "Worst things can happen at sea"! As concerns the end caps of trannies and chokes of the 45 amp, I decided to leave them alone, as this gives a nice "vintage" look to the construction. Max, If importing from the USA, you are expected to pay 18% VAT plus 6% import duty on the CIF price. It is best, here, to use the postal service for shipping as courriers charge you also clearance fees, which might be quite high... EICO UPDATE: The thing worked! And I will have to join the HF-81 lovers, by saying that in terms of timbre correctness and general spectral equilibrium the amp is a little gem. Some problems, though, were apparent in the clarity and definition departments. Problems which, I believe, will be quite minimised once I proceed to the normal maintenance needed by this 40+ year old gentleman: i.e. testing and eventual changing of tubes, cap replacements, contact cleaning and eventual rewiring etc. I will be back after some time, given the fact that (according to my humble opinion...) whatever changes in (any...) equipement should be performed one by one. This is the only way, if one wants to enhance performance, without impairing the particular sonic characteristics of the amp.

Hi Wolfram, Yes it was fast, beyond expectation. I have paid USD 88 for Air Parcel post with insurance and the thing (shipped on 23/7) came yesterday to my door by courrier service. Apparently the seller discovered that prices were the same. Up to now, communication with the seller has been first class but, as they say, the "proof is in the pudding" i.e. the amp has also to work properly! If not, I will have to trace the faults and this could be anything, from a no cost cap to a busted output trans! Anyway, this situation will raise the cost of the item (in terms of manhours spent and eventual cost of spares - provided you find them...) and will also create - difficult to resolve - problems with the seller. So, let's touch wood, at least for the moment... You see, some years ago I bought from Ebay a tube tester which was advertised as OK, but had serious faults. It took me about 6 months (with the help of friends plus some hard to find spares) to rebuild it, with the seller disappearing into thin air... Only hope that this time my luck will close its circle! Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Well guys, today was the day! First, after a rather long RD & building period, my 45-VT52-SV811-3 amp sent some veery promising sounds into my cornerhorns. All is not perfection, though: The thing (all 40kg of it!!!) has to break in a bit and - in the meantime - I will also have to debug a faint 100Hz hum that still finds its way into the speakers. The hum cannot be heard at the listening position but, still, it has to be eliminated. Then, I will have to fine-tune the amp by "playing" with some capacitor types and values and - finally - I promise you a full description with the necessary listening impressions. Second, I did receive my HF-81. Although I did not listen to it (as I have to build adaptors for the speaker terminals), I opened it up and was quite happy to notice that it's a very well built (probably by the factory) item with all original EICO - made by Mullard tubes. The transformers look perfectly OK and I would say that cosmetics are what the vendor claimed, i.e. 85%. Not bad at all! Next week, when back from a business trip, I will test the tubes and the amp as such, before giving it its first listen. Let's hope for the best... Bye for now,

Hi, CV 4003-4's are extremely reliable, have a very balanced sound but - and this applies to all tubes - their performance could be circuit dependent. Unfortunately, the only way to know is to try them! ------------------ Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Thanks everybody, As I am now finishing a dual mono 45-VT52-SV811/3 amp (I will post photos, construction details as well as my impressions soon...), well...the bug wouldn't let me in peace! So - having a variety of EL84's at my disposal - I began gathering material, planning a PSE unit, using these tubes, as my next year's project. Having read Kelly's and other people's pages on the HF-81, I was of course intrigued by this little beast, although not ready to pay the extravagant prices asked (+ shipping, import duties etc). But at a starting price of USD305 (still unbelievable how this happened, considering the fact that - normally - everybody bids at auction's end...),I think I might have secured myself a nice restoration project for those winter nights to come! Do I expect it to sound better than SET's? Oh, no! It will sound different and, after all, a good amp is always a good amp! Notwithstanding the fact that this particular one, has already been elevated into a piece of Hi-Fi history... Cheers, Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Well guys, I am the (happy?) owner! As the auction was to end at 4AM my time, I bid USD 400 (my very maximum for this piece at the state of "cleanliness" the photographs showed...), at 11PM and went to bed, quite sure to be outbid in the morning. You can imagine my amazement, when I discovered that I was actually the last bidder at USD 305! More when I receive the amp... Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Andy, You can also try Squash balls (even old ones will do...). You use the whole balls which, in my opinion, work better than the tennis ones and are less obtrusive. And, yes, they will also do the trick under transistor equipement... Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Hi again! Although I had edited my previous message right away, the link will still guide you to the incorrectTextwww.platterplus.com. Please go to: http://www.platterpus.com Another excellent site: http://www.tacet.de/ and also: http://www2.vinylvendors.com/VinylVendors/ and http://www.sundazed.com/ Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

You can also try: http://www.platterpus.com Cheers, Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm This message has been edited by arco on 05-22-2002 at 01:05 AM

Mike, As I have found out, tube prices are more or less the same over the Internet, at least when you buy from reputable sellers. And I say reputable because, regarding coveted tubes (Mullards, Telefunkens etc...) there is a whole industry of "phony" items going on. So you might pay less for a quartet of EL84's, just to discover (or not, for that matter) that you bought chinese tubes with the adequate silk screening! Fortunately, there are also some physical characteristics attached to the tubes: Regarding original Mullards, for example, there must always be two small protrusions at the top of the tubes. This has to do with the specific machines Mullard used and can also be observed on the tubes made by Matshshita in Japan (Mullard sold them the tube making machinery!). If you cannot, finally, find appropriate Mullards my opinion is that you should try the PHILIPS ECG ones. Rather cheap, much easier to find and not bad at all! Good Luck, Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Hi everybody, As you apparently all know, PWK passed away on May 5, shortly after celebrating his 98th birthday (March 2002). As a last farewell to the man whose speaker designs put so much thrill in our lives, I urge you to visit www.mrspaulwklipsch.com, where you can find - among other things - information on his long awaited official biography. May the ground that covers him be light, Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Hi everybody, I actually spend almost all my free time in the planning and building of a no-holds barred 45-VT52-SV811/3A amp. Wish me luck! Always wanted to see what 1,5W of triode power could do to horns, especially combined to parallel feed OPT's. Will post extensive description with photos once the project is finished. See you, Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

My dear Max, Your latest addition is simply gorgeous! My warmest congratulations and very best wishes to your family. May good health, happiness and luck be with all of you, for many happy years to come. Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Yes, its plywood all right and to me it looked soft and cheap when I first saw it. Nothing to do with the hard high quality plywood used for building boats... And then, I read a story about someone who actually rebuilt the speakers (not an easy job at all!) using this marine spec plywood. Result: The sound was not as good as before. Apparently they didn't cut corners at Klipsch regarding the choice of materials. Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

quote: Originally posted by maxg: Almost forgot...well actually I did forget...I got the K6 Head too: Details at http://www.e-dizain.de/project/en/k6.html cheers all Max, is that you? Only joking... Have a very nice time with "paleo-HiFi" !!! Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Oh No! I knew big power triodes existed, but what about a current build 150W/ch amp with a 4200V PS and 400W plate dissipation? Just go to http://www.teresaudio.com/haven/ and visit Orey Block's system (under: Friends Systems). I just wonder what kind of speakers he is driving... Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm This message has been edited by arco on 03-14-2002 at 02:55 AM

One of the things most UPS's do is to smoothen the AC sinewave by reforming it. Only problem is that they do so on the cheap (computers don't mind about that...) and the end result is still full of nasties, tending to affect music reproducing systems. The idea is not bad per se but, to implement it correctly, you must go all the way and build something ressembling a power amp. PS AUDIO makes such power conditioners. Never put my hands on any of those, although they have an excellent reputation (with prices to match). Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm This message has been edited by arco on 03-12-2002 at 07:57 AM

Hi Max, I will try to reply to your questions: 1) Your current, as you say, is stable (at least during the auditioning hours). This is very good. You might want to see what happens with AC at the nominal 230V, but I would not bother much. You are a lucky man, not only for the stability of your current, but also because of the fact that the functioning of the other appliances in your home does not impede your auditioning with clicks, pops etc. I can say I am also lucky concerning this last one. But my AC variations range from 200-235V. Not nice! 2) This is, generally, a good thing to do: Spike protectors (especially when combined with voltage regulators) usually enhance the image quality of a TV, lower significantly computer repair bills and can litteraly "save" refrigerators. If you have one on your stereo, though, try to remove it and see what happens. I hope you are lucky, once again! 3) An isolation transformer is very different from a UPS (which, by the way, is one of the least recommended things to use with stereo systems!). When, as you say, you get acquainted with your new sound, you will have to try one and see for yourself. Welcome to the club you "crypto-vinyl" fan! Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm This message has been edited by arco on 03-12-2002 at 04:45 AM

Max, Power conditioners are used for three reasons: 1) To keep stable (at a certain, selectable, point) a non stable AC voltage. This is achieved via a transformer with multiple secondaries associated to a special detecting circuit. APC offers a number of models, here. Some people are happy and some (like me...) not so happy with the results. 2) To protect your equipment from surges, spikes and other nasty things associated with AC current. Relevant circuits are included into most commercial P.C. packages (like Tice and the like), as well into simpler power distribution units (from Monster and others). It might work, but - as I have discovered - usually robs the music of its dynamics. 3) To isolate the system from the high frequency hush AC current carries, especially in urban areas. For this, you only have to use a big (say, 3kVA) 1/1 transformer between the wall outlet and your power distribution unit. This is the solution that works for me giving a "blacker" background as well as a cleaner overall presentation. One must be careful, though, not to mix analog and digital into the same power distribution unit. For digital you can do the same thing, using a smaller (say, 500-600VA transformer. Can you plug power amps into the big one? Well, it depends on the particular amps. Mine benefit from it, but some others clearly prefer to "see" the infinite resistance the power company offers. As always, try and decide for yourself... Regarding, finally, vinyl: I can see you coming, earlier than I thought I would! Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Worst case scenario? Rather a best case scenario, I would think, as there is no such thing as "the perfect amp". Judicious choices have to be made, though, according to a lot of factors: Personal preferences, type of music you hear most, technical limitations (room, speaker compatibility etc) and - of course - wife acceptance!!! Now, DIYers have an additional reason for exploring new things. That is because of the fact, that planning and building a new item can be almost as mind enhancing, as listening to the final result. Which, by the way, can be altered and perfected for a long time after. As it happens with the market itself, I am a "software driven" type of person. That is, I own a record playing rig because I also own a lot of vinyl records, gathered all over the years. Clicks and pops are an integral part of this type of music reproduction and, to my experience, can be minimised but not avoided. When I listen for e.g. to Lou Reed's "Berlin", bought at the beginning of the 70's and played since on number of turntables, yes I hear clicks & pops. I still think, though, that music communicates better through this record than through any of the CD remasterings I have heard through the years. Would I buy a record player, if I were Max? Probably not...Most music actually is on CD and, although there is still much vinyl out there, I would find it a bit disconcerting to start a vinyl collection in the year 2002! And SACD? You may ask...Well, I have listened to it but not in a "controlled" environment, such as my own system. Maybe Max can organise, as he said, an audition. Still, two things annoy me, for the time being: 1) It's impossible to use external DAC's (and I am convinced that the built-in DAC in the expensive SONY is not up to Hi-End expectations, at least when playing normal CD's) and 2) Not enough available software to justify the purchase of the necessary hardware... Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Yes, I would have also liked the speakers 20ft apart (and with a Belle center to match!) but I only have 13ft to play with! That said and - given the fact that the KH's are on false marble corners - I could have turned them in a way as to face exactly the sweet spot. Most people say that this is the correct way to set-up the speakers, after all... Well, I tried that all right but I did not like the results at all. The sound became more "in your face" with even a trace of this midrange harshness the KH's are often accused. Finally, the truth of timbre (very important for me) took a rather serious slap in the face. As a result, the speakers returned to the normal room corners. Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Yep. Kurt Strain's amp is one of my candidates and its the one needing the 8 oil caps. I have already being in contact with Kurt who has not built a tube rectified version, but he has been told that TR does sound better. Of course it does! The only amplifier topology I know where solid state diodes might be a better bet, is push pull in AB. He recommends the classic 5U4G, but I think I will also try a couple of TV damper diodes like the 6AU4GTA's (If I choose to build this amp, that is). The other candidate is Roscoe Primrose's 45 amp, as finalized by Phil Sieg. A similar philosophy design, although with less caps in the PS. Still have to look closer at it, though. Like you, I want to use oils mostly driven by instinct. As for the rest, yes, the BG's are marvelous but they need about 300+ hours to form and - then - daily operation, if one wants to preserve the "magic". Fortunately, Cerafines are still available... Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Hi, I am actually planning to build a SE amp using the Type 45 tube (Less is more, as they say!). Problem is: If I choose to install oil caps in the power supply, the thing will become eh...enormous! Enormous, because I need 8 x 50uF/500V jobbies measuring 2.5" dia.x 4.6" height each. If somebody has any relevant experience and thinks it's really worth it, please share. If not, things will return to normal with the installation of the usual 100uF/100uF@500V Cerafines... Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm

Couldn't agree more with you Mobile... 1) Discussing capacitors and the like (even amps!), we tend sometimes to disregard the fact that each and every choice is finally made in the context of a system (room included). I personally love good paper in oils but too much of a good thing is...too much. So, if I use PIO's in my tube amps I try to give them this little "political correctness" they need by using more conventional types in my crossovers and so on. As this is always done within a specific system (notwithstanding personal preferences...), I very well understand that the mileage of other people may vary. I quite preferred the hovland, for example, when driving transistors. But then, I am a person who quite likes oriental sweets, but drinks his coffee sugarless! Subsequently, ole Max (as you use to say!) could eventually take a soldering iron and a bunch of capacitors and experiment to his heart's content, until he finds his own personal bliss. And, as usual, luck always tend to smile to the adventurous! 2) The system must always be "up to snuff". This - according to my reading of the expression - has mainly to do with the achievement of the basic synergies between the components and also with the room. In a different siyuation, why bother with fine tuning issues such as capacitor choices? 3) Those who say that tube SE amps lack frequency extension, dynamics, attack etc usually fall - according to my book - into 2 categories: The first one is populated by people who just repeat "things they heard". They never put it that way, but if you try to discuss the issue with them, you quickly understand that they do not even know how an OPT looks like. The second category gathers all those people (and they are many...) who have never heard these amps drive the kind of loads, for which they were designed for. Example: I once tried to drive a pair of AERIAL 10T's with an AUDIO NOTE MEISHU (300B SE, 9w/ch). The amp drove the beasts to nice levels, the mids were gorgeous but it just couldn't "wake them up" dynamically. If this was my one and only experience, I would be myself a convinced and cheerful power advocate. 4)Tomorrow (unless a force majeure situation arises...) our friend Max will have a taste of his specified valves, horns & vinyl concoction. Let's see what he thinks. Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm This message has been edited by arco on 03-06-2002 at 12:34 PM