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Need help with Sound Wright AG phono repair

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Posted on May 8, 2016 at 20:03:20
lactogenes
Audiophile

Posts: 104
Joined: May 3, 2016






Hi all, someone at the vinyl forum recommended to post this here too. I have a Sound Wright phono that developed a loud hum sound after some years of inactivity (coming back to vinyl)There's anyone here that knows someone that can service and/or modify this unit? The inside looks good but by no means I'm tech type of guy. Any feedback will be really appreciated!

 

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RE: Need help with Sound Wright AG phono repair, posted on May 8, 2016 at 22:23:21
Triode_Kingdom
Audiophile

Posts: 10047
Location: Central Texas
Joined: September 24, 2006
 The question needs to be asked first whether you're certain the problem is in the preamp. Headshell contacts and tonearm wiring can also cause hum issues. It's not unusual for owners to experience these problems when a TT sits for a few years. That's especially true if it's stored in a humid environment. (Is that rust I see on the screws in the preamp?) Anyway, if the problem is in the preamp, you need test gear to do it right. If you're not a tech/engineer, I would recommend having everything serviced.

 

RE: Need help with Sound Wright AG phono repair, posted on May 9, 2016 at 05:35:33
xaudiomanx
Audiophile

Posts: 3647
Joined: August 16, 2004
 That unit looks to be home built. I had his phono pre and it was all built on Hammond chassis. The unit is very prone to hum issues. Placement of the power supply chassis in reference to the preamp chassis and the type of interconnects also plays a role. Even with no hum the unit is not all tat quiet, which is the reason I sold mine.

 

RE: Need help with Sound Wright AG phono repair, posted on May 9, 2016 at 13:20:21
Iain42
Reviewer

Posts: 895
Location: Arcansaw
Joined: February 10, 2004
 I have a Wright AG Phono and it is quiet as a church mouse. No issues ever.




High sensitivity, wide dynamic range, low distortion, and smooth frequency response. Pwk

http://www.itishifi.com

 

I can help know a guy, posted on May 9, 2016 at 16:46:06
Mossback
Audiophile

Posts: 1871
Location: Washington, the State
Joined: November 17, 2001
 I knew George slightly he lived nearby. I have a Wright Sound phono and preamp that are keepers. I have owned a lot of his gear over the years. After he passed Brenda and some friends had a sale I got a bunch of his unused cases and other odds and ends as well.
There is a man who lives north of Seattle who worked with George and can repair your unit. I have his contact info please send me an email via audio asylum and I will give it to you.
Your unit looks normal underneath but not stock to me. I agree with the other guy it could be a prototype. George made a lot of one each and played around with ideas in that manner. The power cord and Auria caps are clearly not stock as well. George did not believe in "audiophile" caps and was very willing to share that point. ;^) That preamp is worth fixing up again one nice little unit.

 

Mossback and xaudiomanx this is not a common unit....., posted on May 9, 2016 at 17:15:47
lactogenes
Audiophile

Posts: 104
Joined: May 3, 2016
 the guy I got it from was a friend of Jennifer White Wolf-Crock, the story goes that after George finished the unit it was sent to Jenna Labs for a revision (you can tell by the power cord). This is the best phono I ever owned and by a long mark. Everything I had throw at it had sound marvelous from cheap Grados to Benz LP ebony. That's the reason I want to get it back to working order.
ps thanks guys much for your feedback!!

 

You are right about the phono is sort of a revised unit, posted on May 9, 2016 at 17:35:21
lactogenes
Audiophile

Posts: 104
Joined: May 3, 2016
 Thanks very much for your help I'll send my email address

 

Yep good eye! the phono was..., posted on May 9, 2016 at 17:43:35
lactogenes
Audiophile

Posts: 104
Joined: May 3, 2016
 somewhat modified for what I know. It was owned by the local Wright Sound dealer at the time. It was some kind of a special order, the "owner manual/instructions" were a sheet of paper hand written by Wright himself

 

RE: Yep good eye! the phono was..., posted on May 11, 2016 at 17:44:52
xaudiomanx
Audiophile

Posts: 3647
Joined: August 16, 2004
 I have owned many Wright pieces and all were always built very inexpensively on standard Hammond chassis. I didn't say they weren't built well but he did use mainstream parts. I spoke with him in detail when of course, he was alive(God rest his soul) and he was never into "boutique" parts. He always thought that expensive parts did reveal some good qualities but the expense wasn't worth it to him to get involved with unless the buyer specified that they wanted specific brands of parts and then he would adjust his pricing accordingly. He also felt that no matter what he used there were those that would change parts qualities anyway whether it needed it or not. He like John Wiesner(builder of the Arthur Loesch preamp) never believed in boutique parts and there were times I didn't either. I do believe SET amps reveal more sound changes that PP amps.

Also, I never knew there was ever a dealer for the Wright products. He always built to order. I do have a feeling the one you have was homebrew built. I also, have the schematic but I did promise George, at the time, that I would never share it with anybody unless it was to get it fixed.

 

RE: Yep good eye! the phono was..., posted on May 11, 2016 at 21:34:54
lactogenes
Audiophile

Posts: 104
Joined: May 3, 2016
 The guy I acquired the phono stage from, used to sell good quality audio gear in the mid 2000's in Puerto Rico, like Spendor, Quad, Plinius, Jenna labs, and Wright Sound as well. Nice guy very knowledgeable of classic music unfortunately he pass away some years ago. As far as I know the unit was modified at Jenna labs, he had a very good business relation with Jennifer. The only thing I got from him was a piece of paper handwritten by Mr.Wright(again I was told that too) with instruction and type of tubes that could be swapped in the phono unfortunately I lost the paper when moving! Xaudiomanx by any chance do you mind to share what kind of tubes can be replaced in the power supply? This thing used to sound so good that I ruled out the idea of replacing it for something else
Thanks!

 

RE: Yep good eye! the phono was..., posted on May 12, 2016 at 11:26:14
Kyle K
Audiophile

Posts: 174
Location: Mililani
Joined: November 6, 2000
 The Silver (Ag) series phono stages used diecast boxes with the white covers. That's what that unit looks like since it has 9-pin tubes (12AX7 I think) instead of the 7-pin 6ER5 that the standard series used. He switched to 12AX7 because the supply of 6ER5 was drying up and he said he found a way to get equivalent performance from lower transconductance tubes.

While George's earlier products did not use boutique parts (except perhaps for output transformers) he did use Hovland and Auricaps in some of his later units and eventually developed a preference for Auricaps because he felt they were more extended in the highs. George didn't always build to order and he did not build all of his products by himself. He had a few guys building for him that were paid by the piece. A friend's pair of WPA-3.5 have stickers on the bottom plates with a "built by __" line and it wasn't George who built them.

How do I know all this? Well, George's gear had a pretty big following in Hawaii and he visited Honolulu a couple of times, bringing with him samples of his latest products. A local dealer, Audio Direction, Ltd. hosted listening/discussion sessions for him and served as a dealer for his product line. Audio Direction closed late last year after the owner, Stewart Ono died. George was a prince of a guy. He had the kind of useful knowledge and experience that old-timers rely on and many book-smart techies don't seem to appreciate.

 

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