vman71 Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 It looks great, better than any HF-81 that I've ever seen and I'm sure that it sounds great. The price though, is pretty high up there... http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1178351487 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 I saw that too...amazing...don't let Craig see that...he is freshening my HF-81 in a couple months...yiiiikes! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vman71 Posted March 6, 2007 Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 Bill, You better lock in your rate now. [] Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Sam Kim certainly straightened up a lot of wires. It barely looks like an EICO anymore at all. But I hope anyone at audiogon who is considering buying this unit reads Stereophile's measurements by John Atkinson: http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/606eico/index4.html Although some aspects of its measured performance were okaythe fairlylow output impedances, the mainly second-harmonic nature of itsdistortion signature, the honest power ratingthe EICO HF-81's poorlow- and high-frequency linearity, its under-performing phono stage,and the idiosyncratic nature of its tone controls leave me scratchingmy head about why so many audiophiles regard it as one of thebest-sounding amplifiers of the "Golden Age."John Atkinson I'm assuming that Sam Kim improved the stock HF-81, but who knows. Bill, if you ever thought of selling yours, there's no better time than when an ultra-expensive unit is being advertised! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 I saw that too...amazing...don't let Craig see that...he is freshening my HF-81 in a couple months...yiiiikes! Bill Yea your bill will be $2500 LOL!! I bet that amp sounds nothing even remotely similar to a original HF-81. The same can be said for the modified Scott amplifiers from Maple Shade audio. The Maple Shades sound very much like a modern Joilda with a bit better iron. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchist Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 OK. Where are the power supply caps and the rectifiers? It appears he installed solid state recification and went to a whole different power supply setup. "Kept the original circuit?" I don't think so... I don't know it can even be called an Eico HF-81 anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Sam Kim certainly straightened up a lot of wires. It barely looks like an EICO anymore at all. But I hope anyone at audiogon who is considering buying this unit reads Stereophile's measurements by John Atkinson: http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/606eico/index4.html Although some aspects of its measured performance were okaythe fairly low output impedances, the mainly second-harmonic nature of its distortion signature, the honest power ratingthe EICO HF-81's poor low- and high-frequency linearity, its under-performing phono stage, and the idiosyncratic nature of its tone controls leave me scratching my head about why so many audiophiles regard it as one of the best-sounding amplifiers of the "Golden Age."John Atkinson I'm assuming that Sam Kim improved the stock HF-81, but who knows. Bill, if you ever thought of selling yours, there's no better time than when an ultra-expensive unit is being advertised! My Scott LK-48 (NOS Valves update and new power transformer would eat the Eico for lunch. I would be more than happy to sell it for half the price of the Eico listed. What dumb pricing you can find for this passion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Keep in mind, though, Rick, this is just the asking price. It looks like the guy who wrote the review did dump a total of close to $2000 in it, though. I'm not sure where the extra thousand added value came from--maybe for the trouble of writing the ad on audiogon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Well, even allowing for the $2900 to be paid in Canadian dollars, it is still the priciest HF-81 I've ever seen advertised. I don't think it would even sell for a grand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 .....check out the neat gold plated hardware at the rear of that thing.......very nice looking, but $$$ for an old fixed up integrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 I won't be selling my EICO HF-81... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 That is why I am willing to sell my LK-48 for half price. No gold plated connectors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vman71 Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 Second that! My Eico HF-81 isn't going anywhere. The rebuild/refresh of my HF-81 from Craig/NOSValves was priceless. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 you are REALLY getting me psyched for mine getting the spa treatment from Craig...I would love to hear what you had done or upgraded...sweeeeeeeet. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 The Eico HF-81 has reached a new high I think the seller has reached a new high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vman71 Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 Craig did his usual magic...replacement of out of spec parts and anything else that he felt needed to be changed out or cleaned up and/or resoldered. I know that he replaced some electrolytic caps, coupling caps, resistors, etc. The previous owner had also put in some Russian oil caps and some other replacement parts. Once I got it back from Craig, I slowly replaced the tubes that came with it with the following (which made it sound even better): - Matching quad of early 60's Amperex EL84 output tubes - Matching pair of early 60's Telefunken (long, smooth plate) 12AX7 tubes - Matching pair of early 60's Bugle Boy 12AU7 tubes - Matching pair of NOS RCA 6CA4 rectifier tubes I do have a couple of spare pairs of tubes that I will be selling (just haven't got around to posting): - Matching pair of early 60's RCA 6189 triple mica black plates (6189 is an American sub for the 12AU7) - these are supposed to be very rare - Matching pair of NOS RCA 6CA4 rectifier tubes I plan on refitting it with an IEC outlet and putting in some binding posts to allow for bigger and thicker spades. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vman71 Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 The Eico HF-81 has reached a new high I think the seller has reached a new high. True that! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I have never heard the Eico HF-81, but I would put my previously sold (Colonial Hoo you out there?) Scott 299 w/NOSValves rebuild (his 2nd if I'm not mistaken in 2001) up against it, and bet it sounds better during vinyl playback. Those 299's sure do have a sweet phono stage in them! Anybody out there got both and care to comment? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Yea your bill will be $2500 LOL!! I bet that amp sounds nothing even remotely similar to a original HF-81. The same can be said for the modified Scott amplifiers from Maple Shade audio. The Maple Shades sound very much like a modern Joilda with a bit better iron. Craig Boy, talk about damning with faint praise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Yea your bill will be $2500 LOL!! I bet that amp sounds nothing even remotely similar to a original HF-81. The same can be said for the modified Scott amplifiers from Maple Shade audio. The Maple Shades sound very much like a modern Joilda with a bit better iron. Craig Boy, talk about damning with faint praise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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