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.
@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. |
Using a Variac is a great idea. Might also be a good idea to have the tubes tested before cranking up the Variac.You'll find out if there are tubes that need replacement and also how long it will be before the good measuring tubes go bad. It is a bit difficult to find a tube tester. A local electronics repair shop may have one. Replacing the tubes will give you a fresh start. I'm not sure if there are any electrolytic capacitors in the circuit. Since this amp is about 30 years old, those caps could be aged out. The non-electrolytics are probably OK. It's also good to do a visual inspection inside especially the tubes. Do any have a grey coating? Or a crack in the glass bottle. Or not fully engaged into the socket. |
