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Scott Grammer

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Posts posted by Scott Grammer

  1. Hello, all. 

    I need suggestions about how to properly (so as not to do any damage) and thoroughly clean records made materials other than vinyl, such as 78's, one-off records made on old home or pro record lathes, certain transcription discs, etc. I want maximum cleaning as well as preservation of the disc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

     

    Scott.

  2. Hi. I work on vintage audio gear for a living, so I thought I'd try to give you a little more solid answers to your questions. As for the bulb going out, most likely it just burned out. There is a fuse for that lamp, however, but I doubt you'll find it blown. It's marked "Fm3" on the circuit board. You'll find three fuses on the main circuit board, two parallel to each other and one at a right angle to them. That one at a right angle is the fuse you're interested in. It's a 500mA (or 1/2 amp) fast-blow fuse. As for the meters not working, there's nothing in common between the lamp and the meters, and the meters are literally powered by the signal going to your speakers, so I'm at a loss as to why they would not work if the amp is playing. There are a pair of 47 microfarad capacitors in the meter circuits that, if they have become leaky enough, could cause the meters to stop working, but it seems unlikely. It may just be that you don't use enough amplifier power at your normal listening levels to make the meters swing.

     

    And that amp should be more than powerful enough for such sensitive speakers, unless you have a really large listening room and like to listen really, really loud. Still, if the amp has never been serviced, now would be a good time to take it to someone experienced with vintage audio gear and let them give it a check-up. And if you decide to check on that fuse, PLEASE unplug the unit from the AC power first.

     

    Scott.

    • Like 4
  3. On 10/16/2023 at 2:00 PM, OO1 said:

    -plenty of used D75A amps on Ebay

    Yes, I've been keeping an eye on those. I'm gathering all the service lit on the different models and I'm not sure exactly which one I want, but typically, a manufacturer's first try is the best, or one of the best, and later iterations are changes to keep the beancounters happy. Except, of course, when the changes are for stability or to cure issues not known until the amps were in the field.

     

    Scott.

    • Like 1
  4. On 10/16/2023 at 6:52 PM, Marvel said:

    @Scott Grammer  There are different versions of a bunch of these. If you want to have a look under the hood on the model Mark worked on, you can borrow it for a while. I'm currently using a Crown Xli800 with my Heresy IIs, which is overkill, so the D-45 is sitting quiet. Actually wouldn't hurt to have it looked at as one day I noticed a little lower volume. When I looked at the amped there were rad light on. I had a stray wire on the back of the speaker shorting the signal. Might be my imagination, but after fixing the short, it still didn't sound quite right.

     

    I just switched it out out figured I would put back in later to try it.

     

    Just let me know and I'll get it up to you.

     

    Bruce

    I'd like that. And maybe I can figure out what changed. The current limiting no doubt saved the amp, but things surely got hot in the process, and so values might have changed, or outputs may have been weakened. Next time you're coming my way, holler at me and we'll set a time for me to meet you at the shop.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Scott.

  5. 4 hours ago, hanksjim1 said:

    I have several D-75s.  I bought them for less than $150. each.  I have used them with khorns and lascalas...I don't think there is anything better for the price for heritage; dead silent, XLR inputs and gain control...perfect for bi-amping.  Yes my expensive tube stuff sounds better.

    Thanks. That's exactly what I was wondering about, noise with efficient speakers and of course sound quality compared to more upscale hi-fi amps. Oddly, I don't think I've ever repaired a D-75. I suspect, considering how many were sold, that this is because they don't break down; a big plus in my book.

  6. 1 hour ago, hanksjim1 said:

    Yes, Scott may be interested in reading about the D-45, the D-75's little brother, and the tweaks made to transform it into "the Duke" 

     

    I'll dig that up. I've seen the D-45 and the D-60. The 75 is the only one I've ever actually used, as a headphone amp in a studio years ago.

     

    Edit: I found a pdf of the thread through the link you provided, and it appears that much of the work done to create "The Duke" was recapping with better caps. This is certainly part of what I would want to do. There was also replacement of opamps for more slew rate, but as my hearing tops out at 13k anymore, I don't know if that would ever be audible to me. The caps will certainly be up for replacement, though.

  7. I have an opportunity to buy a Crown D-75 for a very reasonable price. It's clean, never been racked, but of course it's old, and probably needs a bit of freshening up. What do you think of the sound, especially with efficient speakers? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

  8. 2 hours ago, JohnA said:

    Here's a hint. 

     

    msg-43-0-95880000-1424364411_thumb.jpg

    I notice the horizontal braces in the mouth of the bass horn, to shore up the side panels. Almost 40 years ago, when I built clones of the LaScala bass cabs for use in a PA system, I noticed right away that these were needed. Adding them made a tremendous difference, and I think those in the picture are twice as thick as the ones I added.

  9. On 8/23/2023 at 10:31 PM, SHREDDERPM86 said:

    I was listening to music at a moderately low volume when I noticed one of my speakers cabinets faded and is dull/flat sounding now.

    I'm guessing you lost a tweeter diaphragm. Playing too loudly with too small an amp is a guaranteed way to make that happen with any speaker. Disconnect the tweeter from the speaker system, and use an ohm meter to measure its resistance. It should be 6-8 ohms. If it's way off, either way too low (less than say, 4 ohms) or way too high (more than say, 12 ohms), it will need to be replaced. Have a pro replace the diaphragm with the real deal, not a knockoff. Cheap replacement diaphragms sound like crap as a rule, and they often don't last long. Some won't even fit.

    • Like 1
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