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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
dekay's avatar
dekay
6,215 posts
 

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

 

elliottbnewcombjr
7,818 posts
 

@dekay 

please post a link to a better one, thanks

dekay's avatar
dekay
6,215 posts
 

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

elliottbnewcombjr
7,818 posts
 

I once ordered a vice/anvil from Harbor Freight. Based on the price I thought it was a small one. A big dam box arrived, holy crap it was a full size workbench vice/anvil.

16 lbs gives me an indication it is a beast compared to others. Like I say, Amazon, free returns, bet you keep it.

sls883 OP
1,062 posts
 

The voltage was off on the variac (by about 5 volts).  I checked it with a volt meter and figured out where I needed to be on the dial to go from 50V to 100V.  I went through that process as recommended by Lew Johnson.  I then cleaned the tubes and adjusted the bias on the tubes per the owner's manual.

Lew also suggested starting with cheap speakers, just in case.  I hooked it up to my old B&W 302 speakers.  I'm using a Wiim Ultra as a streamer/preamp.  So far, everything works and it sounds great.  Those little B&W are dang good for cheap speaker from the 90s....

I'm letting it cool down and it will make the swap over to the Vandersteen 2C speakers. 

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