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.
I reached out to Lew Johnson. Below is his reply:
Probably not a bad idea to bring it up gradually on a variac. The audio capacitors (polypropylene and polystyrene) don't need forming, but there are a some electrolytics in the supporting circuits (heaters, bias adjustment indicators) that might benefit. I'd do this without tubes installed - maybe start around 50V AC, gradually bring it up to about 100V. Then shut down, install tubes and run it normally. |
Elliot: I prefer not wasting money on crap that does not perform to spec (read the 1-3 star reviews on the variacs noted). Quality NOS variacs by General Radio and General Electric are plentiful in the same price range as the 2 noted Chinese variacs. I do purchase inexpensive Chinese goods like sponges, rechargeable LED lights, disposable batteries, greeting cards et cetera but not items intended for reliability/long term use. We still have USA plastic litter boxes that are in good shape @ 30+ years old (the made in China boxes rarely last longer than a year).
DeKay
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Let's see if this list (HiFiShark) shows up (I searched eBay before). I've owned a few General Radio's and one made in Japan which were accurate. I added an outlet to the GT's, but the Japanese unit was all set to go (think it was either Archer or Radio Shack). https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=variac
DeKay |
