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I enjoyed the Pilot 260 exchanges recently.Take the oportunity to try the Pilot with a passive preamp and a smooth CD source.
Please let me know what you think.
Follow Ups:
Hi Al,
I'm running mine now directly from a McIntosh MCD7007 CD player (with built-in volume control). Pretty darn nice! Very quiet, altho my speakers aren't all that efficient. Terrific dynamic range. Solid bass--one of its most impressive features. I really like cello's and string bass instruments on it. One of the best darn vintage amps I've tried, although I confess to a strong recency bias: the latest conquest is the best ever!I think the midrange is sweet and full, and musical. It has a lot more detail than I expected based on reviews out of the far East. I thought it would be a lot more syrupy, but it's pretty incisive. Does justice to broad sweeping symphonies and is really nice on female vocalists, and small combo/jazz pieces. It doesn't seem to have quite the rhythm and drive that would make it good on rock music, but it's not bad. The upper end seems a little reticent, but that varies with tube choices, plus the Mac CD player isn't the latest thing in resolving high frequency information on discs.
I haven't sampled as many amps as you, but I've had some of the best (McIntosh, Marantz, Citation, Dynaco, Fisher) and this ranks right in there, and is better than most. It's a keeper!
I've been trying different 12AU7 input tubes which makes a big difference in the amp. 12AX7 drivers, less so (at least for the 3 different varieties I've tried). And output tubes make a big difference too.
Unfortunately, the power transformer is running very hot, so I may need to replace the can caps. Did you have to do this with yours? If so, were you able to source equivalents for the Astron multi-section caps?
I'm no big fan of electrolytics, and was thinking of substituting a big motor-run oil cap for the final cap, and blackgates for the others. This will allow me to stay within 10-15% of the original parts values to preserve the circuit design, and the great sound. If I hate it, I can always go back, but it will be fun to try.
Everything makes a difference... we'll see if this is a net improvement or not. I'll keep you posted.
My SA-260 power transformer runs pretty hot, too. Mine had many of the e-lytics replaced (underneath) already when I bought it. I didn't check if all had been replaced.Perhaps it runs fairly hot normally? I can keep my hand on it for only about five seconds.
Yes, mine is painful to touch too. I have no idea what normal in this amp is. In other amps I've owned, that's too hot and usually a sign that one or more cap isn't doing its job.
I have set mine up to run on 117 volts and I use a variac with it.I am sorry I failed to mention this.
I do this on pretty much all tube amps except homebuilts where I have control over PS design. Most old amp run nice and cool at 115vac.
The amp produces plenty of heat but I can not get to it right now to check. It is in rotation but not able to be checked right now.Sorry
I just put my ammeter in line with the power transformer and idled the amp on my test bench for 3.5 hours. The meter stayed at 1.64 amps the entire time. The power transformer was quite hot, but was not drawing excessive current, so I guess it just runs this way normally.I'm wondering whether this amp might be a good candidate for keeping a whisper fan running on it?
Any thoughts?
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