An old Forte' model 3 made new


 This is an odd topic just because what I will be discussing is an old Forte' model 3 power amp that has been completely rebuilt and designed differently than the original. Years ago, it started with a loud popping noise in one channel. That was enough to take a look inside. I found out that this model uses a chip for the input and the chip had a reputation for this problem. When looking inside the unit, I decided it was time to change out the power caps, replace the bias setting pot, and hope for the best. Shortly thereafter, I knew that I was in over my head, and looked for a tech out there that would be of assistance. Almost by accident, I ran into John Dee, a former engineer at Sudgen? audio located in Europe. Point being John was just the right person for the job. It took a long time to complete the project due to personal reasons, but now the amp is up and running in my system. John converted it to class A bias, and also reduced the number of output transistors. Probably close to all the transistors were changed out due to catastrophic failure (you can thank me for that). A better diode bridge was installed, faster caps replace throughout, and numerous other parts I am sure were dealt with as well. Since my speakers are quite efficient at about 94 db, I had John set the bias for a mere 20 watts class A. It sports a damping factor of 600, has a much faster rise time, and electrolytic caps were all bypassed with Wima caps IIRC. The sound? Well, as expected the bass is to die for, the midrange has power that makes the music 'right there', and truthfully, I do have the hearing to give an honest opinion of the treble, but I feel that it is a bit light. I suppose that I could rig up an adapter and use headphones, giving me the chance at hearing more accurately what the signature of the amp is. Probably sometime soon, I will do that. I just felt that this sort of project is more common amongst some of us and would like to hear your impressions of said projects.
128x1284krowme
Overall, I was never disappointed by the Forte' amps that I had owned. And yes, a 15 amp circuit is fine. Make sure that you have a good grade AC outlet at least though. Just today, as I was working in the museum, I attempted to use an old outlet that had no grip to it. There is nothing worse, and nothing easier to fix. just my experience talking.
HA! Had one of those myself. Just because you can, it doesn't hurt to clean the AC cord prongs and maybe even use a little Caig protectant. Believe me, I don't want to open a big can of worms here about cables, connections and the rest, but just to be as reasonable as possible with little effort of your own brings piece of mind. Good luck.
 The main fuse is 8 amps, fast blow......  As far as the current capability of the Amp Output, I doubt that it is 60 amps. Lucky if it were as much as 30-40 amps. Each channel does have 10 or 12 Toshiba transistors though. Leads me to think that the current capability is high. Sorry that I can't provide better info than this.