Classic hi-fi components

[Mike Reed]

I have just gleaned from preceding posts that there are three Koetsu Blacks, not two as I'd thought. The Original, the K and the current Goldline. I've seen a picture of what I think was the original (Ebay recently), fifteen years old. Did that and the K look similar, because the Goldline is quite distinctive c/f the Ebay one?

I was recently tempted by a (purportedly) low-hours Red Sig. on Ebay, but after Absolute Sounds had faxed Koetsu for the serial number date, they told me that it was issued before '93! Have they been going THAT long? Surely any cart. that old would either be shot or in its second or third incarnation.

After the easy access to serial numbers of Naim stuff, I find trying to work out Koetsu history a bit laborious, but am willing to learn!

[DSJR]

The sigs go back more than twenty years as I recall. Jimmy Hughes had an Onyx which he got cheap with the diamond missing. He had it VDH'd and it sounded superb. After six months he sent it back to Japan to be turned into a signature and it was ruined...

My KB dates to the early eighties and I think the second one was the Black S, of which we sold a few over the Troika (we didn't follow the religion too well, even then)...

[The Grand Wazoo]

I have just gleaned from preceding posts that there are three Koetsu Blacks, not two as I'd thought. The Original, the K and the current Goldline. I've seen a picture of what I think was the original (Ebay recently), fifteen years old. Did that and the K look similar, because the Goldline is quite distinctive c/f the Ebay one?

I was recently tempted by a (purportedly) low-hours Red Sig. on Ebay, but after Absolute Sounds had faxed Koetsu for the serial number date, they told me that it was issued before '93! Have they been going THAT long? Surely any cart. that old would either be shot or in its second or third incarnation.

My original Black was 2nd hand when I got it in June 1990 - 17 yrs ago! I don't think the previous owner used it too much, but he'd owned it for quite some time before me. I got some reasonable hrs out of it before I replaced it with the Black K. Koetsus do seem to last a lot longer than many other MC's - as documented by others as well as me.

My Black K had a 'gold line' on a chamfer around the bottom edge and a gold coloured plate on the body bottom (from which the cantilever emerges), just the same as my newer one has. But the original one I had doesn't have either of these. The body top was marked Koetsu Black K. The one I'm using now is marked Koestsu Black on the top.

However, I don't recall my current one being marketed as a 'Goldline'. I thought that was the name they gave the Black K in the US market (but I'm very happy to be corrected in any of my assumptions). At the time I got it I'm sure it was just referred to as a Black.

This is confusing, so I'll summarise........

Cartridge No 1 - 2nd hand 1990 Suspect it was new in early 80's as DSJR above
Koetsu Black - No gold feature line, black bottom plate, top marked Koetsu Black

Cartridge No. 2 - 2nd hand 1996
Koetsu Black K - Gold feature line, gold bottom plate, top marked Koetsu Black K

Catridge No. 3 - New 2004
Koetsu Black - Gold feature line, gold bottom plate, don't know what it's marked with (and I'm not going to look & lose its alignment for the sake of this debate!!)

Hope this helps (can't help thinking it'll make things worse though!)

[DSJR]

HiFi Choice, Issue 48, 1987

Koetsu Black K - Summary - Lab - Flat and smooth downtilted response 2db across the band (+/- 1db with occasional glitches). Outstanding separation over 45db 250 - 5K Hz.

Sound - Thought to be a considerable improvement on earlier version. Koetsu character but "lighter" and "faster". Panel less convinced, claiming bass muddling and excess, despite impressive scale and dynamics, together with a little "tizz" up top. Romantic and spacious presentation.


I'm wondering if the above was more a problem with the turntable and arm and I suspect this cartridge would perform better today!

I had no bass problem that I can remember with the few I sold with LP12's/Ittoks (and I think an Ekos but it's a long time ago). My own Black was very even tempered, with a brighter "fresher" balance than the original Red and Onyx I compared it with.

[trond kjetil]

I am awaiting this little fellow:



Thorens PR24 tube amp from the beginning of the sixties. EL84 tubes in the end.

It is on it's way from France to Norway these days

[Filterlab]

Love the French tags, very exclusivé!

[Rare Bird]

My QUAD 50E, One restored one not yet



The 50E has been produced from 1966 to 1983. The quantity that was sold counts up to 12.000. Although it shares the looks of a 303 it is a different amplifier.

The 303 was built from 1967 to 1985, numbers produced: 94.000. I own a early and a late version of the 50E.

The 50E has a regulated power supply for the driver stages and a well filtered supply for the output stages. A choke is very good in deleting HF rubbish. It is a technique from the tube era. The 50E will give 50W into almost any load, but not at the same time! In fact the power bandwidth concerning loads is relative small, it uses an output transformer instead of an output capacitor like the 303.

It is idiot proof though, it is funny, for professionals you design an idiot proof amplifier, for normal people.........well. There is an optional 600 ohm balanced input transformer. There also is an input potentiometer to cope with large voltage, 1966, input signals.

The output of a 50E consists of eight (4 x 17V and 4 x 8.5V)independend transformer outputs, you can combine these outputs in any way, as long as you keep Ohm's law in mind. Most people will use the 50E with the 17V output configuration. This means in fact six 17V windings in parallel. The 50D has a different output combination, it has only the four 25,5V windings (17V and 8,5v in series)! So compared to a 50E you will miss the important 17V (6 Ohm) option, you can rewire the 50D to this specification. In the 50D there is no option for placing an input transformer and the netsupply voltage must start at a minimum of 200V AC. Also the netconnector is an odd Cannon connector. The output connector is a 11 pin version of the 19 pin 50E connector.

Sections taken from a Quad blog save me babbling on.

[Marco]

Nice one, Andre. So what's your full system these days?

Marco.

[Barry]

Good work Andre!

What form did the restoration work take? I have three Quad 50E s in standby should the 405 go down. The 50E amps replace a pair of Quad II s I had (and used with a Quad 44, to answer a thread about mixing solid state gear with valve gear) for the same purpose.

Regards

[Rare Bird]

Nice one, Andre. So what's your full system these days?

Marco.

Hi
I change it like underpants

Micromega Stage 6 CDP
Audio Synthesis Passion Passive Pre
Albarry M408 power amps.

Sold my speakers but using some Mission floor standers i bought for the Telly for time being.

The Albarry's are sold, i'm going back to my old Quad sysyem when i get it completed..Bought a pair of Ferrograph 'S1' loudspeakers which i'm gonna pick up when i get back from abroad..