If you have a variac, it’d be prudent to turn it on at somewhat lower voltage, and let the caps reform for a while at a lower voltage before gradually increasing the voltage. It's not a bad idea to use a dim bulb tester also if you have one....easy enough to make.
Congrats on a couple of great finds!
Went to buy Vandersteen 2C speakers and came home with a conrad-johnson Premier 11A.
I found a great deal on a pair of Vandersteen 2C speakers with Sound Anchor stands. I didn’t need them, but they are identical to a pair that I had back in the 90s. While I was there, the seller mentioned that he had an amp that he wanted to sell. It was on a shelf in a basement collecting dust. The price was right, so I bought it. He said there are about 40 hours on the tubes. Hopefully, the caps are ok. I’m thinking I’ll try a Wiim Ultra streamer with volume control just to see if everything works. I have old preamps by NAD and Rotel, but they aren't good ones.
Is there anything special that I should do before firing up the old girl? This is my first tube amplifier.
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@knotscott Thank you for the reply. I don't have a variac, but I see that one can be bought for around $60. Would it be worth that? I'm not sure how long it had been sitting unused, but the dust was pretty thick. The owner said it worked fine when he put it away, but he also said that it took several hours of warm up before it sounded it's best. Is that normal for a tube amp?
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@slaw thank you. I'm anxious to get it set up. I need some banana to spade adapters and help carrying the Vandersteens into the house. |
Most tube amps sound good within a few minutes, even though they may improve some for an hour or so. Your call if it's worth investing in a variac for one use....do you know anyone with one, or do you know a tech? Might be worth having a pro look at it....it's a well regarded amp. Maybe someone who's more tech savvy than me will have some suggestions. The good news is that it's not all that old by vintage tube amp standards. . If you get a variac and fire it up, be sure to put a load on the outputs. |
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