Mark embarks on the path of complete WOPLness

Way to go Mark. It's been an interesting trip. You have way more patience and knowledge than I. Do not think I would ever undertake the mission. Kudos to you! Great job!
 
So now you know why the Denon ended up in the lottery....
 
It's big enough...does it have one of those supermagnets??
 
laatsch55 said:
It's big enough...does it have one of those supermagnets??
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I do not think it is classified as a supermagnet Lee but it is built to pick up some pretty big bolts, the transistors are nothing to it.
 
Have you messed with those magnets that warn--" DO NOT get your fingers between two of these!!".....?
 
We seem to be following a familiar pattern, the guy fires his WOPL up for the first time and..........he's AWOL......
 
Gepetto said:
Front of amp face down on the bench, great magnetic tool and a good sense of feel and they drop right in. The first 2 factors are key.
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I found that out, best to let gravity keep them in rough position and "fiddle" them into the sockets. The last row practically fell into place except for the last one.

Fishoz said:
Way to go Mark. It's been an interesting trip. You have way more patience and knowledge than I. Do not think I would ever undertake the mission. Kudos to you! Great job!
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I probably have less common sense than you to tackle this project. Actually, it wasn't difficult, but it was confusing. After the weeds were figured out it went smoothly.

laatsch55 said:
So now you know why the Denon ended up in the lottery....
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The difference is night and day. First record played was Joy Division's Closer, the track "Heart And Soul." Opens with a heavy bass line. Flawless performance.

laatsch55 said:
We seem to be following a familiar pattern, the guy fires his WOPL up for the first time and..........he's AWOL......
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I stopped spinning records around 3:30, never completing a whole album side- just playing selected tracks. This isn't a hi-fi: it's a supreme-fi! Did you really think I'd have my face glued to my monitor with that jewel powered up and ready to pump? I still haven't put the front faceplate on yet- running it naked- first from fulfilled anxiousness, but later from an unwillingness to turn it off.

It's a whole new amp! I never tried it out when it was delivered, so I have no idea what it sounded like when it was pre-modified. I bought it for the purpose of doing the upgrades as well as replace an underpowered amp.
 
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That's good news to hear you are enjoying your amp, Mark. I liked reading your posts and watching your videos within this thread. Any chance of a future video, once you remount the faceplate on the PL, of a record being played?

Nando.
 
Way to go, Mark. You persevered and got it done. I wish I could do what you have done. WOPLing one of these is a very tough job for those of us who have no electrical background. It is extremely hard to do, and I know what it feels like to have to ask if every single move you are making is correct, and after bothering those in the know, sometimes even the answer is mystifying. That is why I only built one WOPL. I felt that I had bothered Lee, and Joe and others to the point that I felt like a 5 year old asking questions that to them were elementary. With your videos, maybe the process will be a little more understandable to other wantaWOPL folks. It has to be a wonderful feeling knowing that YOU built the amp. Every resistor, and every cap and diode....YOU did it... Way to go, man..and thanks to Joe and Lee and Jer and all the other people who have helped those of us who have attempted one of these. Thank you guys.....and Joe, you are a genius...
 
ksrigg said:
Way to go, Mark. You persevered and got it done. I wish I could do what you have done. WOPLing one of these is a very tough job for those of us who have no electrical background. It is extremely hard to do, and I know what it feels like to have to ask if every single move you are making is correct, and after bothering those in the know, sometimes even the answer is mystifying. That is why I only built one WOPL. I felt that I had bothered Lee, and Joe and others to the point that I felt like a 5 year old asking questions that to them were elementary. With your videos, maybe the process will be a little more understandable to other wantaWOPL folks. It has to be a wonderful feeling knowing that YOU built the amp. Every resistor, and every cap and diode....YOU did it... Way to go, man..and thanks to Joe and Lee and Jer and all the other people who have helped those of us who have attempted one of these. Thank you guys.....and Joe, you are a genius...
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Again- I cant in honesty take more credit than I'm due. I didn't invent the circuit boards- I just assembled and installed. Yeah, it was some work on my part, some of the instructions were confusing, but keeping a clear head and looking at Nelson's posts and photos were a huge help. Although I didn't always understand the answers I got to my questions, they made sense after I thought about them for a few minutes. Thanks for the quick responses to the questions, too...

I'd like to tackle a 700 one of these days...

Elite-ist said:
That's good news to hear you are enjoying your amp, Mark. I liked reading your posts and watching your videos within this thread. Any chance of a future video, once you remount the faceplate on the PL, of a record being played?

Nando.
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In the works. Paring 100 minutes of video into something watchable. The microphone on the cheapo camera I have really doesn't capture the sound well, though. A sidenote: The right channel LED meter was a little flaky and dropped out intermittently, but since it was all torn down I replace a capacitor on the meter board, fixed the problem.
 
A stock 400Pl actually sounds worse than that Denon.
 
laatsch55 said:
A stock 400Pl actually sounds worse than that Denon.
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I've not heard a stock 400 but the two stock 700's I've had both sounded considerably better than the Denon POA2200 and 2400's that I owned. My stock 700's were not out of spec or sick though like many old PL's out there. I'd rather have a stock PL any day.
 
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