jt1stcav Posted June 25, 2004 Author Share Posted June 25, 2004 1962 Magnavox 6BQ5 Class-A SE stereo power amplifier (approximately 2 watts per channel, non ultra-linear, with 2004 Ei Elite EL84EG gold pin output tubes; 2003 Electro-Harmonix 12AX7EH driver; NOS '50s Sylvania 5U4G rectifier, all new capacitors and resistors, in-line fuse, power switch, and power AC cord.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 I will send you some reasonably strong vintage 12AX7's for NOTHING if you get rid of that russian driver tube. I have a few 12AX7's I can spare. PM if interested. How does that BEZ pre-amp push that little Magnavox? Do you seem to have plenty of gain using that pre-amp? Gotta love those gas regulators..... That rectifier has some big ol' cathodes. Curious as hell to hear that combination on Cornwalls, it's gotta be a unique sound. I never used a tube pre-amp, just a stepped attenuator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 Wow, what a saga. Thanks for sharing it. I like your current setup. Your photography is on a par with Chops. Edwin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted June 26, 2004 Author Share Posted June 26, 2004 Thanks, edwinr...I taught him everything I know! Mike, you've been PM'd! The matchup of my brother's Magnavox with my BEZ SRPP preamp is amazing! It's 2 or 3 watts of power is clean, accurate, dynamic, and extremely smooth, with tight bass punch that's amazingly fast. Gain control with my line stage pre is superb...with the volume knob set at noon, it's almost too loud to listen to, and with absolutely no clipping (but I'm sure I'm reaching peak response with little or no headroom left). This is a great hiss-free combination IMO. And those gas regulators are cool, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 11, 2004 Author Share Posted July 11, 2004 It's here, my BEZ Model T3B has finally arrived! Best of all, it also works! More news to follow...stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 All good things come to those that wait! Glad to hear it jt, can't wait to hear how it sounds after all this rigamarole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 14, 2004 Author Share Posted July 14, 2004 From what I've heard so far, I'm impressed. But I haven't had a chance to really audition the sonics of this amp yet, plus with new Chinese tubes that haven't been totally burned in, it'll need time to reach its peak. Hopefully this weekend I'll get the chance, and a review will soon follow for those interested. I can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrdmedford Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Exceptional pictures here. Loved the Radio and the wire bundling discipline! Sometimes downsizing is part of a new phase of discovery. I am a former yuppie. Before the economy imploded, I owned B&W 801s with dual Counterpoint NPS-200 amps, Audio Research LS-22 preamp and Cal Tempest CD. Seeing the writing on the wall, I liquidated and downsized my entire life. Today, my finances are sustainable and my life is good: I have time for things, I dont work 80 hrs a week to sustain a life of paying for things just beyond reach. Perhaps the greatest liberation and step forward into musical enjoyment was buying a pair of used $400 Klipsch and building an 845 amp on my own time. The commercial audio literature would have NEVER pointed out to me that a mass-market HiFi vendor and a 5W amp would bring me happiness. -- Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 18, 2004 Author Share Posted July 18, 2004 Jim, you're one of the lucky ones...I had to wait for a major catastrophe before seeing "the writing on the wall", but you caught your situation well in time to continue to live the good life, albeit a bit simpler! Like your smaller system (I can relate). Bet it sounds fantastic with your DIY tube amp and Reference Klipsch. I don't even miss my old system anymore...simple can be better, especially in our case. From 350 watts down to 8; who woulda thunkit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 18, 2004 Author Share Posted July 18, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 18, 2004 Author Share Posted July 18, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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lynnm Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 Nice looking amps Jim ! What is the tube complement and have you any comments re: How they sound ? What is the function of the switch on the chassis ? I realise these questions are likely addressed in your earlier posts but........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 18, 2004 Author Share Posted July 18, 2004 My system is finally complete (for the time being, anyway...heh)! It arrived in a sturdy carton filled with molded styrofoam that protected the amp from the jouncing aboard ship, and an apparent drop due to the slightly bent chassis (you can see little ripples around the screwheads underneath where the metal gave in to the sudden stop!) and the gain control pot (the pot sits slightly to an angle; the shaft lists back a few degrees, causing the new polished brass knob not to sit perpendicular to the chassis' top plate). Despite the slight cosmetic flaws due to whatever drop it received, the amp and it's new Chinese and Russian tubes were obviously well protected and made it through its journey from Hong Kong virtually unscathed. After unpacking and hooking it up to my preamp, I flipped the toggle switch fearing the worst, and lo 'n' behold the tubes slowly lit up! I gradually turned up both the gain on the amp and the 23-stepped attenuator on the pre, and there was absolutely no hiss or buzz coming from the horns...really! As I begun Norah Jones' latest CD, there was actual music being heard! But not the so-called SET magic I've heard so many others talk about. Vocals were well balanced and imaging spot on, but Norah's voice was somewhat nasaly sounding and thin, I imagine due to the stock tubes needing to be broken in thoroughly. The Shuguang 300BC output tubes are probably the least expensive model from the Chinese manufacturer, but they seem to be well built IMO and will have to do for the time being. The 5U4G is a late model Chinese military rectifier, but I replaced it with the NOS '50s Sylvania (green print) 5U4G from the Magnavox. The driver tubes are new Russian 6K7 metal tubes (very utilitarian), so I popped in NOS '50s 6J7GT equivalents I bought for $4.00 each from www.vacuumtubes.net here in Gainsville; they're a matched pair but from different brands (RCA and Raytheon), but they look almost identicle! I have on order a pair of matched RCAs from Brent Jessee, and I may look for NOS 6J7Gs or the Mullard red-painted EF37A (if the price is right). The Model T3B still has many hours to burn in, but since the NOS tubes were rolled in, this SET has really begun to blossom. Even in it's early break-in stage, there's a presence and clarity to the music I've never experienced before with even the venerable SS McIntosh MC250 (still my favorite amplifer), and this $550 BEZ is definately not the be-all end-all in 300B SET amplification. I'm sure a solder-slingin' DIYer could mod the hell outta this power amp and make it worthy of SETs costing 3 times as much, but to my new-to-tubes ears, I can definately see (and hear) why many audiophiles make the switch to vacuum tubes (either SET or PP...they both sound sweet to me). I'll report more on the overall sonic characteristics later on once I do some more tube rolling and the amp's innards have had some time to settle in. But after all I've been through these past 8 months in trying to get that valve sound for my system, in the end it was definately worth the wait. It's amazing that 70 year old 300B topology and circuit design can still sound so fresh and new in today's digital age of musical reproduction! I'm stoked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 "I'm stoked!" That's great to hear Jim!!!!!!!! Now relax and enjoy! Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrop Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 Great news! Does your face hurt from smiling yet? Can't wait to hear the full report after burn in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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