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What Amps did PWK Use?


Travis In Austin

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I saw a picture many moons ago that had PWK in it, with Khorns and an Adcom GFA 555, it made me laugh as I had my Khorns in 93 powered with an Adcom GFA limited edition 585 SS amp and knew I had something right.  My understanding is he admired the original Adcom SS and "made in the USA quality".....

 

I use Marantz gear with my Heritage and have for many years....Sauls not around but someone is doing it right IMO....:ph34r:

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I only worked there from 1976 to 1983, but I can verify that PWK used a number of different amps over the years...I can remember seeing at least two different set-ups in his home...over a period of two or three years...one of which was McIntosh amp and pre-amp.  He used the Empire Troubador 598 turntable, too...at least for awhile....and that was also used in the demo room out at the plant....at least for awhile.

The amps varied in the demo room at the plant office complex building (red brick), too...especially after they did the demo tape in three-channel.  For that they used a TASCAM equivalent to the Teac 3340 RTR, with a DBX unit in the loop.

Still more amps used in the lab...

Not sure which models, but, if memory serves me correctly, Saul Marantz actually built up some mono tube amps specifically FOR PWK to use way back when...not sure when that occurred or whatever happened to them...or even if they were used in his home, the lab, or whatever...but remember hearing about it somewhere.  I think maybe it was JH talking about it.

 

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From at least the mid 80's to the end of his life PWK used a Crown D75 to power the left/right Khorns and a BGW Model 100 to power a Belle center channel. I want to say he used a McIntosh C28 pre-amp at some point, but I don't recall seeing it by the mid-late 90's.  

 

I was probably the last person to go through the system and get it setup properly after he became too feeble to deal with it. I don't know what happened to that equipment after his death. He had a couple of really nice reel to reel machines, as well.

 

There was a Marantz 8b in the museum, but I don't know its history.  The model 7 pre-amp sat on a shelf in lab unit just a few years ago.  I remember hooking it up once a long time ago just to see if it still worked - but it had issues.    

 

Kerry

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17 hours ago, HDBRbuilder said:

If I remember correctly, in the demo room, that TASCAM replaced a Revox RTR...I also remember PWK having a Revox RTR at home in the 1970's.

 

Yes, the Tascam was the unit used for the slide/demo they had in the front office.  PWK had a Revox B77 at his house, which is probably the one you saw. I believe the other unit was a Tandberg.

 

Kerry

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On 12/14/2016 at 7:58 PM, dBspl said:

From at least the mid 80's to the end of his life PWK used a Crown D75 to power the left/right Khorns

 

I've found that Crown D-75As work quite well powering (in my case, bi-amping) everything but the TAD 4002s in my 5-speaker surround array (Jubilees, K-402-MEH, Cornwall surrounds--I use a First Watt F3 for the TADs).  I actually recommend the D-75As.  They have a very mild turn-off bump but that's their only real downside and these units fetch somewhere between $75-$200 on ebay and craigslist.  That's what I'd call a best buy.

 

Chris

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On Friday, December 16, 2016 at 6:29 AM, dBspl said:

 

Yes, the Tascam was the unit used for the slide/demo they had in the front office.  PWK had a Revox B77 at his house, which is probably the one you saw. I believe the other unit was a Tandberg.

 

Kerry

That's right...the unit the TASCAM replaced WAS a Tandberg...I had actually considered Tandberg when I made my purchase of a TEAC A2340R in 1975, while stationed in Italy....but those Tandberg quad machines seemed to be going back in for maintenance issues al too often, and I was able to pick up the TEAC for well under 500 bucks...so I went for it, instead.  I never regretted that decision, either.

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"In the beginning"...........he made his own amps.  The Brook was probably the first store-bought model, and then it was McIntosh, followed by Marantz.  He had several models of each of the latter two.  He also used a Radio Craftsman 400 at one point.  I believe it was Don Davis that said it was due to its "cost-effectiveness". When transistors came out he was slow to change, but eventually he did when he had enough of his own analysis done.  Crown and BGW were among them.  We have the shipping papers, correspondence (with the owners), manuals, and receipts for many of the early ones.

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A bit OT but PWK once recommended buying amps from a builder who had "integrity."  That is not very helpful though.

 

There was a story on the Internet at the inception of it,  by a fellow who was using electrical extension cords as speaker wire for his Marantz.  He said that one day the inevitable happened which I guess means that 120 volt mains were fed to the output terminals of the amp and (he said) "parts rained from the sky."  It could have been an event from 10 years or more, earlier.  

 

He brought it to the Marantz dealer for service.  This might have been in NYC.  Delay, delay, delay, no word.  So the fellow found the telephone listing for Saul Marantz and asked if he could help.  Saul apparently told him he'd take care of it.  Eventually the fellow went to the dealer to pick up the amp, repaired.  Per the story, the dealer man told him, "I don't know who you called or what you said but I never want to see you again."

 

My read is that Saul was one of those "integrity" guys. Back in those days Saul and Paul were big fish.  Still, the attitudes were that, "my name is on that unit." and every customer counts.  It is interesting to read that Saul and Paul corresponded.

 

 It make sense that Paul and Brook corresponded because they had a -K modification.  Probably this was to get bass down to 30 Hz.  I'll bet PWK designed the modification. So he's got to love Brook.and consider them to have integrity.

 

WMcD

 

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On 12/22/2016 at 8:50 PM, WMcD said:

A bit OT but PWK once recommended buying amps from a builder who had "integrity."  That is not very helpful though.

 

There was a story on the Internet at the inception of it,  by a fellow who was using electrical extension cords as speaker wire for his Marantz.  He said that one day the inevitable happened which I guess means that 120 volt mains were fed to the output terminals of the amp and (he said) "parts rained from the sky."  It could have been an event from 10 years or more, earlier.  

 

He brought it to the Marantz dealer for service.  This might have been in NYC.  Delay, delay, delay, no word.  So the fellow found the telephone listing for Saul Marantz and asked if he could help.  Saul apparently told him he'd take care of it.  Eventually the fellow went to the dealer to pick up the amp, repaired.  Per the story, the dealer man told him, "I don't know who you called or what you said but I never want to see you again."

 

My read is that Saul was one of those "integrity" guys. Back in those days Saul and Paul were big fish.  Still, the attitudes were that, "my name is on that unit." and every customer counts.  It is interesting to read that Saul and Paul corresponded.

 

 It make sense that Paul and Brook corresponded because they had a -K modification.  Probably this was to get bass down to 30 Hz.  I'll bet PWK designed the modification. So he's got to love Brook.and consider them to have integrity.

 

WMcD

 

 

I am in the middle of a modern Brook 12A clone builds. The only thing slowing me down is I am working on the aesthetics and layout but I have all the parts. Not sure if this is correct but I've read where other builders remove the .01uf input cap or the lower the value drastically.

 

iain

 

 

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