davis419b Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I recently bought a set of ElectroVoice Marquis speakers mainly just because I loved their appearance. The guy had a Electro-Tone S-1515 tube amp for a few dollars more so I took it. It has EL-84 Power tubes,EZ-81 Rectifier tube and ECC-83 Preamp tube. It seems to work fine but since this is my first tube amp I am wanting to research it. It has double controls on each knob and I am not sure how that works. I am also looking for a missing knob. Your help and info will be greatly apprecieated. I am also attatching some pictures. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davis419b Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 another pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davis419b Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 third pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davis419b Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 last pic I have others but I thought these would get the ball rolling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 double controsl would be one set of controls for each channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Don, From your pics, it looks like you have the CD player plugged into the phono inputs. That wouldn't work very well, and the eq would be totally off. If you can't find a replacement knob that is exact, I would get a replecement pair and move the volume set onto the bass controls. That way the bass and treble would match and new ones could go on the volume. With an EZ81 rectifier, you won't get much power out of the EL84s, but should work pretty nicely. You would do well to get amp gone over and have, at the very least, the power supply caps replaced. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davis419b Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 Hey Bruce, Thanks for the reply and advice. The only other imputs are marked tuner, is that going to work for the cd player ? Which tube would you replace the EX81 with ? I am posting some more pics. Can you tell me which parts are the power supply caps. I am in way over my head on this amp as I know nothing about tube amps ! Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davis419b Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 pic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clipped and Shorn Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I suspect that merely changing the rectifier tube to get more power may be an oversimplification of the situation. The experts will chime in momentarily I am sure. It is a cute little amp and those output tubes can sound very good indeed. Some minor upgrading and or replacing of caps if needed and I am sure you will get mucho enjoyment from this little rig. This amp may perhaps be single-ended which would also be kind of cool. Have you tried the tuner-in instead of the phono-in for your CD player, that should sound better I would think? Simple enough rig that you could possibly learn to make some little upgrades yourself. I only see three maybe four larger caps in the whole thing and a few small ones around the switches. One is a multi cap, that is the aluminum cylinder mounted on top of the chassis along with the tubes. That would be for the power supply for sure. The other aluminum looking cap under the chassis may also be power supply. There are those on this forum who could tell you a lot more just from those pictures. Do you have a tuner or a phono? What does it sound like at this point? Do you know if it was already worked on? Maybe it doesn't need anything yet. Just use it as is until you need or want to do something with it. Didn't the ad for this say it sounded great? c&s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davis419b Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 c&s If you look at some of the first pictures I posted it shows there are only 4 imputs ,2 phono and 2 tuner. I have only tried the phono so far. I do not have just a tuner just receivers,amps,preamps and phono. I also have only listened to it on the Electro Voice speakers. There was a fella here today picking up some Khorns I sold sold him who is into tubes. He really liked the little amp. He said all exept the rectifier looked like new tubes and the sockets they plug into looked new. I am going to try this amp out on some Heresy speakers tomorrow. If they sound good I will keep moving it up to bigger and bigger speakers until I get to the Khorns. I am almost afraid to do that because I read alot of signatures here on the forum that say Khorns and Tubes. I only 3 months ago got hooked on 70 receivers. (sansui,marantz,pioneer) The thought of already getting hooked on tubes is spookey ! The ad did say the amp sounded great. I went to clean the bass, treble and volume controls and they were cleaner than most of the 70,s equipment. The amp & the speaker produced a different sound than I am used to, I liked it. Well see what the klispch sound like and what the experts say. I am really looking forward to hearing what Thebes has to say. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 c&s I am really looking forward to hearing what Thebes has to say. Don Me too, since I never know what I'm about to say. First off, yes, use the tuner, it's something called a "line stage", just envision the Rocketts dancing in unison. The phono stage has something called RIAA equalization built in, think of Rio during carnival. Bad mojo, but not fatal, to use the phono for your cd player. It's a good thing you've got Klipsch cause there probably ain't more than 10 to 15 watts of power there. Hard to tell from pics if those aluminum cans are original or new. Yup those are capacitors, if original and long since out the special juice that gets your toes tapping. There's a couple of other caps in there and they should probably also be replaced. I guess if they all look newer, cleaner, shinier than all the other the other stuff in there, they have been replaced but I can't tell from the pics. The idea is that electrolytics wear out over time, resistors can too but usually are more reliable, As far as tubes, the larger they are the sooner they wear out but without a tester there is no way to find out. I have two tester and you can send them to me or many other on this forum who have same. Then there is the power issue. These guys were made to use with 117 volts coming from the wall. Guess what, you are probably getting about 122 volts from your wall so that may affect something called "bias" if your amp even has such a thing (could be "fixed" or "variable", I still don't know the difference). Turn the lights out and closely watch the outside edges of the plates (those are the tall pieces of metal in the middle of the tube. If you see a red glow forming on those edges turn it off and put it on a shelf. I have learned, with mucho help from my two gurus to sorta, kinda rejuvenate this stuff. But you are getting bad advice when people say just replace the caps and be done with it. I like El84 tube amps, sweet and detailed. I think the best thing to do is enjoy it until it breaks and then send it to Craig for a rebuild. Know this though, at present you probably aren't getting the best of what this thing can show you, but don't spend a lot of money because those outputs transformer (the two smaller ones) probably aren't the best. Remind me to send The Twins buy to look over your amp. Gently clean the dirt off the tubes and twist them slowly under a light. Watch their lips get moist. The Twins have a very strong reaction to tubes. I guess it's because I told them they were made out diamonds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davis419b Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hey Thebes, Quote: Remind me to send The Twins buy to look over your amp. Gently clean the dirt off the tubes and twist them slowly under a light. Watch their lips get moist. The Twins have a very strong reaction to tubes. I guess it's because I told them they were made out diamonds. You are so funny !! Thanks for all the info, it helps alot. I have tried the amp on the Electro Voice speakers and it sounds pretty good. Almost has a reverb sound to it, not sure why. I just took it as a nostalgia thing. I tried it on my heresys and quartets this morning but they didnt seem to like it. There was very little bass being produced which is my favorite part of the music. For now I guess the amp and ElectroVoice speakers will stay in my bedroom where it sounds the best. Do you think the twins will come there for a listen ? They can do what ever they want with the tubes if I can watch ! I will play around with this amp some more. I must find some info so I can get new parts and try to improve the sound. Thanks, Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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