Dave in Nashville Posted September 14, 2002 Share Posted September 14, 2002 It didn't take long....there's another '81 for sale on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381087200 Register your guess/estimate on the final sale price. Will it break the $600 barrier? Will it fall short? How well can we judge the market? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted September 20, 2002 Share Posted September 20, 2002 This one only sold for $305. So maybe it's time to get back into the HF81 hunt? Was this one a more realistic price? So I got the following feedback from someone who is more a radio tube guy than an hifi guy. The Dynaco's seem to be more like $6-800. Would they be better? "EICO was not exacltly "high end" I'd shoot for a Dynaco or Dynakit, or maybe even a Heathkit "Williamson" amp" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted September 20, 2002 Share Posted September 20, 2002 kjohnsonhp, take the listed companies and there products as a hole and the guy is dead on !!!!! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 As a "hole" yes... but I found the EICO integrated FAR better than the Dynaco integrated (SCA-35) and the EICO EL-34 amps better then the Dynaco EL-34 amps counterparts, especially the monoblocks and even the 87/89 stereo amps. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arco Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyKubicki Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Congratulations Aristidis! It will be good to have another set of ears judge this little intriguing beast. BTW, if you need to make room for it, just send anything you want in my direction. ------------------ Andy 78 Khorns w/ALK (20' apart!) Audire Difet 3 Preamp Adcom GFA 535 II NAD 4130 Tuner Marantz CD 63SE Pioneer DV 434s>c> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 arco, congrats looks like you snatched a nice one and at half price to boot !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanJ Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Very good deal!!! This is about what it is worth I think. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Well, when one goes from very high resolution SET 2A3, 300B, 45 to the EICO integrated, you must enact the willing suspension of disbelief. It will surely not replace your Hovland - SET combo. On the other hand, it is about the most musical $300 full amp you can find. Well, that beast is totally bone stock from the looks of it. You will need to extract your trusty Weller sooner or later (hopefully just a bit later although all bets are off after). There are different sounds between units and the skill comes in wrangling the most from your example. I have two, and prefer one over the other. Unfortunately, you will be dealing with the power conversion and the extra hassle here. Points will be received if you can dazzle your audio-Fiend club compatriots with what you CAN get from an ugly brown $300 box. No, it aint perfection but what fun for the money. May the massive shipping distance be kind... kh Phono Linn Sondek LP-12 Valhalla / Linn Basic Plus / Sumiko Blue Point CD Player Rega Planet Preamp Cary Audio SLP-70 w/Phono Modified Amplifier Welborne Labs 2A3 Moondog Monoblocks Cable DIYCable Superlative / Twisted Cross Connect Speaker 1977 Klipsch Cornwall I w/Alnico & Type B Crossover Links system one online / alternate components / Asylum Listing f>s> This message has been edited by mobile homeless on 09-21-2002 at 10:02 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arco Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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