Lovely looking amps, Tom.
How about a photo of the whole system?
Very interesting using EL34 as drivers! - must admit I'd be tempted to try some 6CA7 or KT77, would they work in the circuit OK?
Lovely looking amps, Tom.
How about a photo of the whole system?
Very interesting using EL34 as drivers! - must admit I'd be tempted to try some 6CA7 or KT77, would they work in the circuit OK?
6CA7 is a direct equivalent I think I so should be ok. I asked about 5881 as I have some here but was told EL34 type only which may rule out KT77 - I need to ask.
As luck would have it I’ve just packed up the EAR 912 ... a bulb went (out of four) inthe VU meters and I’ve been told it has to go back for replacement as unit - this was surprising, EAR are very quick and very fairly priced for this sort of thing but still a bit of a pain. I’ll take pics when it’s back though my DAC is also away at the minute for modification.
Cool look forward to it
Congratulations on your purchase I am sure they will give many hours of Joy, I know the amps in question pretty well they are a highly musical amp and actually have a good amount of drive. I found the mullard el34 seemed to suit them best being extremely sweet but seemed to give the amp a great sense of body. I might some spare I could try and dig out for you to try out. I owned the mighty Wavac SH-833 many years back in 2005, long story but managed to get a pair in singapore that were preowned, fine amplifier indeed a bit laid back for my system at the time. I sometimes wish I kept on to them but they were a little complex and had some reliability issues. I really liked the RCA 833 valve very spacious sounding the GE had greta midrange but lacked the slam of the RCA. Congratulations once again seeing them made me smile.
They are a great amp for the money for sure sound for pound they offer alot, the first generation mullards are best with the metal collor around the base, the brown base ones were a bit lacked bass weight and made the amps a bit too soft for my liking. The wavacs were great in many regards I still remember the midrange being magical, I could never get on with the bass overall and on some material they did not integrate so well. I still wish I had them now, as am sure I could have got them to work if i tried harder. I actually got the Gakuoh to replace them that suited my system at the time. I have to always try and restrict myself as I always end up with multiple amps, pre amps and turntables as each bit of kit has its plus and minuses nothing is perfect but have to always choose the bit of kit that makes you smile at the end of the day.
Great write up...enjoyed that...
Not sure about cooling fan at base, unless the contact base below main valve is susceptible to over heating? i say that cos, as we all know, heat rises, and by the looks of things..there are no air vents at the top of that perspex cage...just a few mil below base...maybe that provides a constant temp throughout the valve..push air up then forcing it through lower vents...I knew that Chianti was dodgy...????
Two things really first the big tube really doesn’t get hot if you think it’s consuming/dissipating 100w that’s the same as the old brightest rated lightbulb - and it’s a huge area to dissipate from. Second the cage is open at the back. :)
In all my trawling through the German audio web I didn’t find a single report of overheating - which is about what I’d expect from my own experience. My suspicion is that it’s a bit of belt and braces from their German creator.
Wow, that really is a statement valve ...not envious....at all