lpcollier
30-01-2022, 18:02
For sale as one lot, circa £1500:
Colin Wonfor TOCA SECA - Single Ended Class A Amplifier dual mono 50W?
Loudspeaker DIY design based on Lampizator P17 Endorphine open baffle
"Mother Trucker" DIY balanced power supply - needs repair/development
Collection of cables and spares
Those who have been on this forum for a while will remember James Coltart, otherwise known as Sovereign. He sadly passed away in 2017 leaving his widow with a listening room full of experimental, custom and DIY HiFi equipment. ( https://theartofsound.net/forum/member.php?7321-Sovereign)
To raise money for the family and to honour James' memory I spent 2018 and 2019 repairing, testing and selling the majority his collection to forum members and via eBay. COVID then hit and I had to shelve the project until now (I'm a dual-trained engineer and medical doctor and the latter took priority for obvious reasons). I've now had time to properly look at the centrepiece of James' collection and I'm now offering the amplifier and speakers for sale, together with a small collection of other parts and accessories.
Speakers
The speakers are based on the Lampizator P17 open baffle design. James had left them in the process of experimenting with different drivers and so the tweeters had been removed, and the crossovers were wired in a prototype point-point design. I've refitted the HF drivers and reverse engineered the crossover design as he left it and implemented it on tag board. The crossover design is "wrong" based on the P-17 page (http://lampizator.eu/speakers/projects/P17/Endorphine%20from%20Kingston%20Kitchen.html) but I've left it as I found it!
Some of the rubber washers are missing from the speaker mountings. There was a tear in the paper cone on one HF driver, which I have repaird, and there is also slight damage to the surround of one bass driver as pictured, otherwise all the drivers look fine. The cabinets are functional with castors on the bottom, and would make a great project for someone who enjoys cabinet finishing to upgrade the appearance.
Amplifier
The amplifier is a Colin Wonfor TOCA SECA Single Ended Class A, assembled by James with input from Colin. It's a dual mono design with the toroidal transformers stacked on top of each other. The heatsinks are huge. I believe that the circuit was modified with advice from Colin to increase the power output - I seem to remember 50W but this may not be correct. I had to do a bit of repair work to the incoming mains supply as I think this was hardwired at one point, but nothing else has been modified.
Performance
What you want to know is, how does it sound? To my ears, absolutely fantastic. I've tested it with Amazon Music HD on a Macbook Pro M1 with the headphone output running straight into the amplifier and everything wired up with budget interconnects. Despite the less than ideal setup, I've spent a very enjoyable afternoon listening to Kind of Blue and heard detail from the trumpets that I've never appreciated before. This system isn't really suitable for serious rock music, but the more jangly guitars of Sultans of Swing sound fantastic. My personal go-to test track is Hugh Masekela's Stimela on the live album Hope - this system blew my socks off with huge dynamics and again detail on the trumpets and vocals.
Other bits
Included in this sale is a collection of interconnects as pictured, some spare HF drivers, and a budget shelf unit. I'm also throwing in a large balanced power supply that appears to be faulty - it trips the RCD in my consumer unit when I plug it in.
The amp and speakers are available to audition in Maidstone, Kent. Anyone with a serious intention to buy is invited to come with their own source and preamp and spend as long as you like listening. I really only want to sell this as a complete lot as I'm very much at the end of my time and energy to work on this.
As far as pricing goes, anyone who's built their own system will appreciate the medium four figure sum that's gone into building this system over a number of years. It is complete, working and ready to plug into a suitable preamp right away. There's also a chance for someone with the relevant experience to build on this system to improve it sonically and aesthetically. As the forum requires a price, I'm going to start with circa £1500, let's talk...
Photos
Dropbox link to 30 high resolution photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lnkhcjfqkse2g5s/AACd28tASrgBkUDUrdgdNf66a?dl=0
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5438-copy.jpeg
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5440-copy.jpeg
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5467-copy.jpeg
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5454-copy.jpeg
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5470-copy.jpeg
Colin Wonfor TOCA SECA - Single Ended Class A Amplifier dual mono 50W?
Loudspeaker DIY design based on Lampizator P17 Endorphine open baffle
"Mother Trucker" DIY balanced power supply - needs repair/development
Collection of cables and spares
Those who have been on this forum for a while will remember James Coltart, otherwise known as Sovereign. He sadly passed away in 2017 leaving his widow with a listening room full of experimental, custom and DIY HiFi equipment. ( https://theartofsound.net/forum/member.php?7321-Sovereign)
To raise money for the family and to honour James' memory I spent 2018 and 2019 repairing, testing and selling the majority his collection to forum members and via eBay. COVID then hit and I had to shelve the project until now (I'm a dual-trained engineer and medical doctor and the latter took priority for obvious reasons). I've now had time to properly look at the centrepiece of James' collection and I'm now offering the amplifier and speakers for sale, together with a small collection of other parts and accessories.
Speakers
The speakers are based on the Lampizator P17 open baffle design. James had left them in the process of experimenting with different drivers and so the tweeters had been removed, and the crossovers were wired in a prototype point-point design. I've refitted the HF drivers and reverse engineered the crossover design as he left it and implemented it on tag board. The crossover design is "wrong" based on the P-17 page (http://lampizator.eu/speakers/projects/P17/Endorphine%20from%20Kingston%20Kitchen.html) but I've left it as I found it!
Some of the rubber washers are missing from the speaker mountings. There was a tear in the paper cone on one HF driver, which I have repaird, and there is also slight damage to the surround of one bass driver as pictured, otherwise all the drivers look fine. The cabinets are functional with castors on the bottom, and would make a great project for someone who enjoys cabinet finishing to upgrade the appearance.
Amplifier
The amplifier is a Colin Wonfor TOCA SECA Single Ended Class A, assembled by James with input from Colin. It's a dual mono design with the toroidal transformers stacked on top of each other. The heatsinks are huge. I believe that the circuit was modified with advice from Colin to increase the power output - I seem to remember 50W but this may not be correct. I had to do a bit of repair work to the incoming mains supply as I think this was hardwired at one point, but nothing else has been modified.
Performance
What you want to know is, how does it sound? To my ears, absolutely fantastic. I've tested it with Amazon Music HD on a Macbook Pro M1 with the headphone output running straight into the amplifier and everything wired up with budget interconnects. Despite the less than ideal setup, I've spent a very enjoyable afternoon listening to Kind of Blue and heard detail from the trumpets that I've never appreciated before. This system isn't really suitable for serious rock music, but the more jangly guitars of Sultans of Swing sound fantastic. My personal go-to test track is Hugh Masekela's Stimela on the live album Hope - this system blew my socks off with huge dynamics and again detail on the trumpets and vocals.
Other bits
Included in this sale is a collection of interconnects as pictured, some spare HF drivers, and a budget shelf unit. I'm also throwing in a large balanced power supply that appears to be faulty - it trips the RCD in my consumer unit when I plug it in.
The amp and speakers are available to audition in Maidstone, Kent. Anyone with a serious intention to buy is invited to come with their own source and preamp and spend as long as you like listening. I really only want to sell this as a complete lot as I'm very much at the end of my time and energy to work on this.
As far as pricing goes, anyone who's built their own system will appreciate the medium four figure sum that's gone into building this system over a number of years. It is complete, working and ready to plug into a suitable preamp right away. There's also a chance for someone with the relevant experience to build on this system to improve it sonically and aesthetically. As the forum requires a price, I'm going to start with circa £1500, let's talk...
Photos
Dropbox link to 30 high resolution photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lnkhcjfqkse2g5s/AACd28tASrgBkUDUrdgdNf66a?dl=0
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5438-copy.jpeg
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5440-copy.jpeg
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5467-copy.jpeg
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5454-copy.jpeg
http://brighterlouder.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_5470-copy.jpeg