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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. 

sls883
sls883 OP
1,055 posts
 

@knotscott @kevemaher thank you for replies. 

I’m in KC. 

The tubes look excellent.  I was told that the amp was retubed and the owner only put maybe 40 hours on them. None of them have a gray coating. 

I’m OK with buying a variac, but I’m not sure what to get. Below is a link to one that puts out higher amperage than the $60 model that I mentioned.  Would this work? 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07JV8ZCG8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3GRIWLFOYL9K2&psc=1

If Google is correct, the amp has premium polypropylene capacitors. 

sls883 OP
1,055 posts
 

Not sure if this will work, but below is a link to photos. 

 

https://photobucket.com/share/a82604ef-7eb0-4b7a-bfd5-73b401495ae6

knotscott's avatar
knotscott
1,385 posts
 

@sls883 Either of those variacs should be fine.  

The amp and the tubes look really good in the pic. 

sls883 OP
1,055 posts
 

@knotscott cool.  I ordered the better model of variac.  I figure it might have more uses should I ever need it for something else.

At what voltage should I start?  How slowly do I increase voltage? 

emergingsoul
1,528 posts
 

Send it to CJ. I have a CJ preamp and I really like talking to the guy who owns the place and unfortunately I can't remember his name. I have had no problems with the preamp I purchased three or four years ago. Construct

At least you'll be assured someone who knows what they're doing is taking a look.

 

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