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Hi all! Well, I wanted everyone to know that the Mastersound has been home for a week now and I'm blown away! John S. aka deafbykhorns who not only repaired the Mastersound but also did a couple of minor mods, returned the Mastersound to me sounding better now than it did 21 years ago when I bought it new. Both frequency extremes are now extended with sparkling, crystal-clear treble and bass that's taut & deeper. While that SET midrange glory and soundstage width, height, and depth are as they've always been!
John who's very good at downplaying just how talented he is at what he does has given me back an amplifier that now at age 67 I expect will be with me until I die. Until I found John I expected I would have to sell the Mastersound for parts, but now I have an amplifier I just can't part with. I do have some good news to end this post with, John told me in a couple of years he's going to retire, and when he does he wants to build and repair amps as a "business". All I can say is there's going to be a lot of very lucky people in the Duval County area of Florida when that day arrives. Finally I want to thank everyone who encouraged me to hold on and keep looking for someone to repair the Mastersound and I want to thank John S. again for doing so...
Thetubeguy1954 (Tom)
Central Florida Audio Society -- SETriodes Group -- Space Coast Audio Society
Full-range/Wide-range Drivers --- Front & Back-Loaded Horns --- High Sensitivity Speakers
Follow Ups:
Well according to John S. aka deafbykhorns my amp had the following issues:
1) 5 bad cathode resistors (parallel 620ohm) at the 845.
2) 4 resistor way out of spec (various plate and bias)
3) Bad caps at 10v supply.
4) Some leaky cathode caps at the input tubes.
You can check out the photo to see the parallel 620 ohm resistors John removed and what he replaced them with. I hope John responds to this because I forget what the minor mods he did were...
Thetubeguy1954 (Tom)
Central Florida Audio Society -- SETriodes Group -- Space Coast Audio Society
Full-range/Wide-range Drivers --- Front & Back-Loaded Horns --- High Sensitivity Speakers
Hey, Tom! How're you doing? Glad to hear you're back in business!
I made a fair number of system changes here, and boy am I loving these Odeons!
Hi Todd,
I am loving mine still too!!! Great speakers. I have some friends that have the newest models from Odeon and those are really amazing...but pricey.
I could never have afforded these had I not run into a once in a lifetime fire sale price on these.speakers.In other news, you had told me that the Odeons would make every change apparent. Over time, I've switched most of the wiring over to Synergistic Research stuff. I picked up some very good deals on biwire speaker cables and interconnects, all with active shield. There are also two sets of Chinchilla MKII. I then recently pickedup a SR power cable with active shield, and when I installed it on the preamp, it was like a layer of grunge was stripped away that I didn't even know was there. I had tried aftermarket cords on preamps before without ever hearing much of a change. Not this time... I never would have believed it.
Edits: 05/18/21
Yes, they are kind of a microscope to the sound...can be great or...
I am using NBS power cables as they work very well in allowing max transparency in the system.
For interconnects though I use Boenicke audio RCAs that are made from wire by LessLoss (from Lithuania). This is really great stuff that really allows the soundstage to develop naturally.
AFAIK, you and I are the only two Odeon La Boheme owners active on the internet. I have a few friends that are Odeon owners (one guy just had his model 38.2s upgraded with the parts from their new top of the line Carnegie!) but they all own the 3-way models.
I also used to own a pair of bookshelf Orfeos and a pair of Rigolettos. BTW, the new Rigoletto is really superb...I heard it on a trip to the Odeon factory (in Germany) back in March. Awesome stuff there as the designer (Axel Gersdorf) really knows his stuff.
I have a second system that is built around a Supravox full-range driver with a horn/compression driver sitting on top. It is full active with two DACs and two amps...pretty neat play toy.
Anyway, glad to hear you still lover your speakers. I honestly haven't heard anything short of megamoney that could convince me to switch.
Todd, thanks for the kind words! Which model Odeons did you get again? I've made a few changes myself. I added a Don Sachs Custom SP14 preamp, Reference 3A Taksim speakers, and a few wires including ICs and power cords!
And you Todd, what changes did you make?
Thetubeguy1954 (Tom)
Central Florida Audio Society -- SETriodes Group -- Space Coast Audio Society
Full-range/Wide-range Drivers --- Front & Back-Loaded Horns --- High Sensitivity Speakers
I still have the La Bohemes and KR Audio Antares that morricab kindly steered me to, but pretty much everything else is different. There are too many changes to list them all here, but I guess the highlights would be switching the CJ preamp out for a Von Gaylord LAD-L2 and the ACI Force subs for a stereo pair of SVS SB-4000s, plus addition of two 20-amp dedicated circuits and replacement of all of the cabling. A Directstream Jr. now does digital duty. The cumulative total is pretty amazing. Frankly, I never expected to be playing in this sandbox, but picking up those Odeons is what made everything else possible.I'll drop you an email with the details. I think I owe you one anyway.
Edits: 05/15/21
not sure how but I missed your May 8th post Tom ...
congrats on the Mastersound resurrection! AND the new gear!
that's some quality wattage you've got back in the cottage
it's great hearing some good news where a plan comes together!
best regards,
Thanks for such kind words River! I cannot tell you how happy I am to have the Mastersound back again! The sonics are so improved that last Saturday night when I was listening to Chris Botti play his trumpet,, and I literally got goosebumps!
I'm 67, and I've been involved in this audio " hobby " since Sunday, February 9, 1964, when I was had just turned 10 the month before and I heard "The Beatles" play on The Ed Sullivan Show. I was furious with the girls constantly screaming, but I became an instant audiophile and music lover that night.
The point I'm getting at is this I don't get goosebumps easily and I never expected to get them when listening to my own system, but that's how good John S's work is and those minor mods he made, make the Mastersound sound amazing...
Thetubeguy1954 (Tom)
Central Florida Audio Society -- SETriodes Group -- Space Coast Audio Society
Full-range/Wide-range Drivers --- Front & Back-Loaded Horns --- High Sensitivity Speakers
a good tube amp with a good layout is damn near future proof so long as good tubes cab be had, and you've got that plus excellent ascetics
sounds as if you made nice choices for the preamp & peripherals too
synergy isn't just a good thing it's really the only thing!
best regards,
Just a thought; Those look like two 10 watt cement resistors in his fingers. It also looks like 25 watt aluminum resistors in the amp. The aluminum resistors are not mounted so they need to be derated. Typically, an unmounted 25 watt aluminum resistor is approx. a 9 watt resistor. Two 10 watt resistors in parallel are equivalent to a 20 watt resistor.
It may not be an issue depending on the dissipation in circuit.
Those old sand resistors were 25w each, parallel, unmounted.
The replacements are 1-50watt, unmounted. Look at the circuit and the original thread. Bias is typically set at 15v across those resistors (at idle) so do the math. These resistors don't see much current until it gets cranked up. Another words, they don't need to be mounted.
I guess someone else fingers are a poor measuring guide and perspective doesn't help.
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