The Grand Wazoo
25-11-2012, 20:44
A couple of decades ago, I bought a very sad and neglected (you could say knackered) Radford STA15 power amp. I used it for quite a long time, both on its own and as a mid-range amp in bi- and tri- amp set ups. I had some work done on it – capacitors replaced and such-like and soon afterwards, it started to play up a bit. It went into a box for a house move and barely emerged again for years.
Shiny! .......now.
http://imageshack.us/a/img231/4468/dscf5461d.jpg
Earlier this year, the folks from Radford Revival started to produce their own versions of the STA15 and STA25 models and very nice they look too. I learned that they were making parts available and this is what galvanised me into action to get the old lady back into working order along with a major cosmetic and structural spruce-up.
Anthony (TD) had been doing some work on my Audio Research preamp and it needed picking up, so it seemed sensible to drop the Radford off with him at the same time. Plans were made and some parts were ordered from Radford Revival. I chose a new base-plate, feet, a pair of stainless steel valve runners already loaded up with valve and phono sockets and a pair of stainless handles and flashes too.
That was back in August but Anthony finished the work some weeks ago and I really didn't want to trust the amp to a courier. The first plan to get it back into my sweaty mitts fell through, so yesterday we drove down to collect it.
Three hundred and forty odd miles there and back, a piece of cake, right?
Rain, wind, floods, closed roads, diversions and idiots who shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel all disagreed with that point of view! We set off at 8:45 yesterday morning, stopped for some fuel & a bite to eat on the way down, spent an hour and a half or so chatting over coffee with Anthony and back on the road again. Almost exactly twelve hours later – at 8:30 pm, we pulled in back at home, having done many more miles due to road closures and with plenty of those at very reduced speeds due to conditions.
Anyway, back home with a newly spiffed up Radford and it was time to give it a go. Hastily placed in a temporary position on a shelf below the GyroDec. The usual Mark Levinson power amps were taken out of circuit and it was wired up between the Audio Research SP8 and the Mirage M3Si speakers. It's never been used with these speakers, so I didn't really know what to expect.
Just stick it on a shelf & plug it in - you've been waiting years for this!
http://imageshack.us/a/img829/3032/dscf5474xd.jpg
Well!
We spent the entire evening and several hours of the early morning playing record after record, CD after CD with big stupid grins on our faces. There were many, many, 'I can't believe what I just heard' moments. At one point, the words “Is there any point in keeping the Mark Levinsons” were heard to be uttered.
Many members here will know that I love the Radfords and have been banging on about how good the STA15 is, since forever but what we heard last night, and what we've been hearing all day today has to be a really serious endorsement for a 22 wpc amp that's almost fifty years old.
It's also a testament to Anthony that he can turn something which I always used to describe as a bag of spanners back into what is, I'm sure, better sounding than it was when it left the factory. Not only that, but isn't it great that he agreed to take the job on at all?
So, I'd like to make a very public vote of thanks to Anthony Matthews at Tube Distinctions - Anthony, thanks so much - you're an absolute star.
Last, but not least, the folks at Radford Revival – if they weren't offering hardware and chassis parts for sale that are so meticulously faithful to the originals, my amp would still look like that bag of spanners.
Several people have pointed out the prices that STA15's have been fetching of late, and that maybe I should cash it in. Oh no, this amp's going nowhere – that was never part of the plan. It'll be used and loved by the whole family. So the old girl lives on – and may she do so for at least another forty odd years!
Unfortunately, I didn't take any 'before pictures, but there are some 'during' and 'after' ones for you to take a peek at. (I hope Anthony won't mind me showing the ones he took).
http://imageshack.us/a/img855/6960/newboard.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img402/4667/assembled.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img100/4130/testpft.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img831/3599/bottomke.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img819/9064/dscf5466r.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img689/8784/dscf5463e.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img845/4750/dscf5465.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img818/3296/dscf5468j.jpg
Shiny! .......now.
http://imageshack.us/a/img231/4468/dscf5461d.jpg
Earlier this year, the folks from Radford Revival started to produce their own versions of the STA15 and STA25 models and very nice they look too. I learned that they were making parts available and this is what galvanised me into action to get the old lady back into working order along with a major cosmetic and structural spruce-up.
Anthony (TD) had been doing some work on my Audio Research preamp and it needed picking up, so it seemed sensible to drop the Radford off with him at the same time. Plans were made and some parts were ordered from Radford Revival. I chose a new base-plate, feet, a pair of stainless steel valve runners already loaded up with valve and phono sockets and a pair of stainless handles and flashes too.
That was back in August but Anthony finished the work some weeks ago and I really didn't want to trust the amp to a courier. The first plan to get it back into my sweaty mitts fell through, so yesterday we drove down to collect it.
Three hundred and forty odd miles there and back, a piece of cake, right?
Rain, wind, floods, closed roads, diversions and idiots who shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel all disagreed with that point of view! We set off at 8:45 yesterday morning, stopped for some fuel & a bite to eat on the way down, spent an hour and a half or so chatting over coffee with Anthony and back on the road again. Almost exactly twelve hours later – at 8:30 pm, we pulled in back at home, having done many more miles due to road closures and with plenty of those at very reduced speeds due to conditions.
Anyway, back home with a newly spiffed up Radford and it was time to give it a go. Hastily placed in a temporary position on a shelf below the GyroDec. The usual Mark Levinson power amps were taken out of circuit and it was wired up between the Audio Research SP8 and the Mirage M3Si speakers. It's never been used with these speakers, so I didn't really know what to expect.
Just stick it on a shelf & plug it in - you've been waiting years for this!
http://imageshack.us/a/img829/3032/dscf5474xd.jpg
Well!
We spent the entire evening and several hours of the early morning playing record after record, CD after CD with big stupid grins on our faces. There were many, many, 'I can't believe what I just heard' moments. At one point, the words “Is there any point in keeping the Mark Levinsons” were heard to be uttered.
Many members here will know that I love the Radfords and have been banging on about how good the STA15 is, since forever but what we heard last night, and what we've been hearing all day today has to be a really serious endorsement for a 22 wpc amp that's almost fifty years old.
It's also a testament to Anthony that he can turn something which I always used to describe as a bag of spanners back into what is, I'm sure, better sounding than it was when it left the factory. Not only that, but isn't it great that he agreed to take the job on at all?
So, I'd like to make a very public vote of thanks to Anthony Matthews at Tube Distinctions - Anthony, thanks so much - you're an absolute star.
Last, but not least, the folks at Radford Revival – if they weren't offering hardware and chassis parts for sale that are so meticulously faithful to the originals, my amp would still look like that bag of spanners.
Several people have pointed out the prices that STA15's have been fetching of late, and that maybe I should cash it in. Oh no, this amp's going nowhere – that was never part of the plan. It'll be used and loved by the whole family. So the old girl lives on – and may she do so for at least another forty odd years!
Unfortunately, I didn't take any 'before pictures, but there are some 'during' and 'after' ones for you to take a peek at. (I hope Anthony won't mind me showing the ones he took).
http://imageshack.us/a/img855/6960/newboard.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img402/4667/assembled.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img100/4130/testpft.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img831/3599/bottomke.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img819/9064/dscf5466r.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img689/8784/dscf5463e.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img845/4750/dscf5465.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img818/3296/dscf5468j.jpg