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.
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. |
"We both use the KT88, more of less a direct equivalent of the 6550." My Cayin A88T came with 6550's, manual said could use KT88's, I tried them, prefer them. I had it re-biased eventually, I don't think it made any difference, perhaps prior owner got it with KT88's, changed to 6550's and never changed the bias. I see some amps, that use EL34's, and a physical switch in the back if you use the alternate ____ tube. My question: can you switch KT88's and 6550's in any amp that is made for either tube type? |
@elliottbnewcombjr Thank you. I have it connected to the Vandersteen 2C speakers now. It sounds really good with the Wiim Ultra streamer. Not as good as my main rig, but it was a LOT less expensive. Now, to figure out where to put it permanently. My wife wants to put it upstairs in the living room. |
