How did you get into valves?
 

"Patrick Turner" wrote in message
...


You either like em or dismiss them.

But this issue of reliablity crops up time and time again.
But most SS amps will need a fix sooner or later like all boxes full of
electronics costing a grand or two.

My 1982 Phillips tele has needed 3 fixes worth an average of $100 each
since I
bought it
in 1982. It now needs fix no 4, and it lies dormant and useless since it
went phut
again before the last
olympics. I am better off without the brain interference of TV.

**My 1968 Marantz Model Eighteen Receiver has been operating every day, in
my workshop, since 1978 (dunno about it's history prior to that), with only
one fix. I allowed it to operate into a damaged speaker for about 30 mins,
before it carked it. Except for the CRO (a tube, I might add) it has not
missed a beat, since the last service (ca; 1985).



I fix amps for a living, and the shed is often cluttered with SS amps
whose output
stages have fused.
Then there is the constant stream of noise faults, intermittent drop outs,
and switch failures. Nothing lasts forever.
There are constant phone calls for service for 3 in 1 stereo systems where
the
complexity is fragile and the CD player mechanisms give up or malfunction.
I try to avoid fixing them, since owners don't like paying much.

An ARC SP8 preamp came in the other day. In 1/2 an hour I was able to
check
the whole circuit out easily. One half of a 12AX7 had stopped working.
I just plugged another in, and it should last 20 years.

**Or not. Most tubes go microphonic after awhile.


Many of the ancient amps made by Quad, leak etc have fragile output
transformers. These are indeed expensive to rewind to the original spec,
so its
better
tp replace the OPTs with something made recently, because the quality of
the old
OPTs
wasn't very good.

There was no active protection fitted to old amps so they
would sometimes sustain a fused OPT winding if a tube decided to
run red hot and saturated with say 300 mA instead of the usual
bias current of 50 mA. This wasn't enough to cause a fuse to blow.
This was often caused by loose grid connections or stuffed coupling caps.

Old gear needs all the caps and resistors changed, and all the plug
and socket joints tightened up.

There are many Quad II amps still being used after 50 years.

I have never seen a faulty switch in a Quad 22 control unit, but
I have seen plenty of rotten carbon comp resistors and lousy
Hunts caps.

**The power switch on the 22 is a notorious problem. I've serviced at least
three, in my memory. The resistors are a real problem, of course, in any
product of that vintage.


I wonder how many average quality SS amps made now will still be in
service in
2054?

**My Marantz Model Eighteen will be (except for the CRO). Same deal with my
regular audio equipment. One of my amps dates back to 1978 and is not only
still working fine, but it still sounds better than most contemporary
products.


Will anyone be carrying the workshop manuals then?

**They'll be on the web (along with everything else). Almost nothing that is
published today, will be lost.

Will anyone be able to fix anything or have the spare parts?

**Possibly not. Tubes will be real hard to get in 2054. Real, REAL hard.

Will anyone need to fix it?

**Probably not. Assuming the planet does not get destroyed within the next
50 years, future developments will probably ensure that amplifiers will be
completely disposable items.


Maybe there won't be any need for audio visual equipments except a brain
implant
device to convey it all by RF digital signals to suit our brains own
digital
signals.

**A very real probability. I recall sci-fi novel which suggested such a
thing.


( I assume there will be people with brains, but since I see a few about
now without a brain, there will always be samples where there is room for
what would be a manufactured improvement).

Perhaps far more breathtaking experiences can be sold to folks to pipe
directly
to the brain cells.

Maybe we won't need a PC either.

**That is a given. PCs are an interim step.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

How did you get into valves?
 

"Keith G" wrote in message
...

Two visitors this afternoon who dragged themselves to mine (from
Nottingham, no less) to hear my Triode amp wre obviously deeply impressed
and asked me 'How did you get into valves, then?

Answer: Easy - I tried dozens of ss amps and none of them hit the mark.
The minute I swapped a Parasound 5 channel arc welder (HC1205A ??) for a
valve amp, I never looked back!

That's two kids in their 20's into valves *already* - one to get a triode
amp next week and the other sometime in the near future!


Hi Keith,

I have always been surprised by the number of people who seem to have
only a passing interest in audio,but are completely taken aback when
they hear a good valve system.

Like many in this group, I grew up with valves (my Dad had a Leak TL12) and
later Quad II's which were passed on to me. When I went to Decca, just at
the end of the valve era, I learned to appreciate Radford STA 25 and
STA100 amplifiers

Like most of us, I followed the trend and changed to a SS amp in the 70's.
I remained brand faithful and bought a SS Radford, the ZD200 at 100Wpc into
8 Ohms. I still have the receipt. It cost me the magnificient sum of £245
plus VAT.That was a lot of money back then!!
Luckily, I put my valve amps in the attic.
One day feeling nostalgic, I dug out the STA25, only to find that
I preferred its interpretation of the music.

A few years ago, I set up a 50W valve amp in a 24 track digital
audio post production suite where I worked, just to see what the
reaction would be. After a month, I took it away, and producers
and clients began to ask after it, so I had no choice but to take
it back there. It stayed in situ for 5 years, the service dept added
it to their list of equipment to be measured and maintained,
and the company happily paid for a new set of valves every
1000 hrs:-)

The suite was fitted out for Dolby surround to picture on digi Beta, with
LR monitoring driven by SS Amcrons, (with a bandwidth approaching the
proverbial DC to daylight, and THD 0.001% or something amazing)
These remained with their power switches in the OFF position
for those five years. Without exception clients preferred the valve amp.
A quad of EL34's take some beating:-)

Iain

How did you get into valves?
 

"Iain M Churches" wrote in message
...

"Keith G" wrote in message
...

Two visitors this afternoon who dragged themselves to mine (from
Nottingham, no less) to hear my Triode amp wre obviously deeply impressed
and asked me 'How did you get into valves, then?

Answer: Easy - I tried dozens of ss amps and none of them hit the mark.
The minute I swapped a Parasound 5 channel arc welder (HC1205A ??) for a
valve amp, I never looked back!

That's two kids in their 20's into valves *already* - one to get a triode
amp next week and the other sometime in the near future!


Hi Keith,

I have always been surprised by the number of people who seem to have
only a passing interest in audio,but are completely taken aback when
they hear a good valve system.

Like many in this group, I grew up with valves (my Dad had a Leak TL12)
and
later Quad II's which were passed on to me. When I went to Decca, just at
the end of the valve era, I learned to appreciate Radford STA 25 and
STA100 amplifiers

Like most of us, I followed the trend and changed to a SS amp in the 70's.
I remained brand faithful and bought a SS Radford, the ZD200 at 100Wpc
into
8 Ohms. I still have the receipt. It cost me the magnificient sum of £245
plus VAT.That was a lot of money back then!!
Luckily, I put my valve amps in the attic.
One day feeling nostalgic, I dug out the STA25, only to find that
I preferred its interpretation of the music.


What I wonder is, will 'youngsters' who are discovering valves today ever go
back to ss??

My own son used a 'loaner/gift' valve amp from me for over a year and loved
it, but he was quite happy to go back to a Technics (his 'favourite brand'
for 2 channel hifi gear) ss amp and has no further interest in valves, it
seems.... (??? :-)


A few years ago, I set up a 50W valve amp in a 24 track digital
audio post production suite where I worked, just to see what the
reaction would be. After a month, I took it away, and producers
and clients began to ask after it, so I had no choice but to take
it back there. It stayed in situ for 5 years, the service dept added
it to their list of equipment to be measured and maintained,
and the company happily paid for a new set of valves every
1000 hrs:-)

The suite was fitted out for Dolby surround to picture on digi Beta, with
LR monitoring driven by SS Amcrons, (with a bandwidth approaching the
proverbial DC to daylight, and THD 0.001% or something amazing)
These remained with their power switches in the OFF position
for those five years.


:-)


Without exception clients preferred the valve amp.
A quad of EL34's take some beating:-)


Yes, as I am in the process of discovering!

I had wondered about EL34s for quite a while - ever since I was sent a set
in error (s/h/b EL84s for the above mentioned amp) and decided to keep them
anyway. I had often read/heard that they were a bit hard/harsh/clangy and
were best suited to guitar amps. But I also kept seeing them used in
'impressive' Illustrious Names amps in the comix and had often wondered what
it was all about.

I was about to build an EL34 amp myself, when I saw the cheap Chinese/German
amps on eBay and grabbed one at about half the price of the parts. My
favourite supplier, Phil Ramsey of http://www.bluebellaudio.com/, seems to
have lost the plot a bit lately**, so I thought I'd short-circuit
proceedings and give one a go and scratch the 'chinese valve amp curiosity'
itch at the same time! :-)

(I grabbed another one to 'butcher' at a later date, in any case....)

With the Chinese power valves replaced with JJ-Teslas (important) and the
driver/splitters replaced with (allegedly) NOS Mullards (not so important, I
suspect) and fronting it up with my EAR Line Stage, this 'cheapy chinky' has
turned into a snarling monster which is spanking a pair of B&W DM2As all
over the place atm!! (Damn near as much grip as Rob's 100wpc Beard P100, I
suspect!!)

(I reckon to give Phil North a damn good scare with it sometime next week,
at any rate!! ;-)



**Mid-life crisis, I suspect....!!! :-)

How did you get into valves?
 

"Keith G" wrote in message
...

"JustMe" wrote in message
...

"Keith G" wrote in message
...

Two visitors this afternoon who dragged themselves to mine (from
Nottingham,
no less) to hear my Triode amp wre obviously deeply impressed and asked
me
'How did you get into valves, then?

Answer: Easy - I tried dozens of ss amps and none of them hit the mark.
The
minute I swapped a Parasound 5 channel arc welder (HC1205A ??) for a
valve
amp, I never looked back!

That's two kids in their 20's into valves *already* - one to get a
triode
amp next week and the other sometime in the near future!

Ya hafta larf!!

:-)

Where are you based, Keith?



Eaton Ford, St Neots, Cambs

(Chav Central, UK :-)

See:

http://www.chavtowns.co.uk/modules.p...=print&sid=369





Hey Keith,

I used to go fishing on the river ouse just near there.
Am in Australia now, brought my Copland and Castles with me (couldn't bear
to part withy them).

Steve

How did you get into valves?
 

"Steve Batt" wrote


Where are you based, Keith?



Eaton Ford, St Neots, Cambs

(Chav Central, UK :-)

See:

http://www.chavtowns.co.uk/modules.p...=print&sid=369





Hey Keith,

I used to go fishing on the river ouse just near there.


It's 'Dragon Boat' racing these days.....


Am in Australia now, brought my Copland and Castles with me (couldn't bear
to part withy them).


:-)