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In Reply to: RE: Audio that relies on "inner beauty" posted by Bambi B on September 10, 2007 at 10:07:23
Pretty much any of the earlier EICO stuff was an 'acquired taste', esthetically.
Come to think of it, so was the 1960's Sherwood gear, including the S-2000 tuner in the photo above. I have to assume that the price of the Sherwood tuners (which are pretty marvy sounding, IMO) has been held down by their charming visage :-)
More in line with the original post, I would think that the Collins R-390 receiver would also have to qualify, even though it was never intended to be used, or considered as, hi-fi audio gear!
all the best,
mrh
Follow Ups:
Above> A lovely EICO HF-12 mono tube integrated amplifier. -When I see an orphan like this, I just want to scoop it up and give it the home and care it never had !
mhardy6647,Always a pleasure to hear from you. Yes, I should have included EICO in my original post. When a friend's mother passed away a few years ago she gave me an EICO HF-14. For those who don't know these, EICO made a series of mono and stereo integrated amplifiers using 12AX7s and 2-EL84 per channel for output- 12W or so. Many people are familiar with the HF-12, which looks like a half of your HF-81, and my HF-14 was apparently mainly a remodel in appearance- it has a very plain brushed silver face. The HF-14 does claim to have a higher output- I think it's stencilled to have either 14 or 18 Watts on the face, but it appears identical to the HF-12 internally- I wonder.
Though I've never tried it, I find this HF-14 to be a delightful object- simple and purposeful- and the styling is perfect for such a wonderfully simple design. I've forgotten, but doesn't the SICO use some special circuit- the "Mallard Shunt-Spark" is it? In fact, the HF-12/14 has so few parts, it's difficult to believe it's an integrated amp with a phono stage! The tubes in mine (3-12AX7, 2-EL84, EZ-81) are all EICO labelled Mullards. Nice that it has a tube rectifier. The EL84s are set at an angle in channels on the chassis to lower the profile. It's interesting as these old Mullard EL84s are either black glass or they have a gummy mollases coating inside. One quirky feature is the combination control that instead of being off-on/ volume is off-on/treble. Without even trying it, I've thought to find another and run then in parallel as dual mono with the trusty Dual 1019 turntable and perhaps a Fisher 100 tuner - a system just for my 78's, or even an EICO tuner. I like the older Fisher tuners also for their pleasantly straightforward styling.
And, mrh- for the rest of us it's a pity, but for you a boon- thanks to the glowing review in whatever it was, your HF-81 has become a $600 item whereas the EICO gear for so long were "sleepers" and very reasonable.
As EL84s are being made again, someone should reissue the HF-81- perhaps as a kit. The HF-12/14 at least are so simple I think even I could build a clone by copying. By all accounts- and the current prices, they must have a very pleasing sound.
MRH, are EICO transformers especially good? Can you buy replacements?
Cheers,Bambi B
and, yes, at least replacement power transformers for the HF-81 are available from the original supplier, Heyboer.
Not sure about the outputs.
The "better" EICO separates used really classic output iron from Acrosound and Chicago.
all the best,
mrh
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