Good price for PL 700 II ?

Schmurpy

Schmurpy

Journeyman
Joined
Apr 9, 2021
Messages
79
Location
La Center Wa
Tagline
If it isn't broke, fix it until it is.
The title says it all, lol.

Found one in excellent condition, and would like to know what a fair price for it would be?
 
Pictures?
Was it dropped off a cliff or shrinkwrapped in an attic for 45 years?
 
I may have paid a bit more than I should have for my 700, but it was a time when I had a clear credit card and one appeared on fleabay that met my criteria as “good.” Knowing in advance that I’d gut that sucker out anyway, all I wanted were a good transformer, heat sinks, and a pretty face. It was listed as good and working, but when cracked open it had some really funky issues and evidence of being “repaired.” Probably the stupidest thing was that a wire to the binding post was wrapped around the tip, but cold soldered! A nicely soldered loop of wire, but the solder didn’t flow to the metal of the tip. Amazing what “professionally serviced” means these days!
 
I'm just too afraid of using mine. It was OK in the rock'n'roll PA old days, when the budget was there to repair and replace, but for home use, I just can't afford the risk of one letting go. Been through that. Majorly expensive speaker repairs afterwards, and I do my own, but try and source vintage JBL recone kits. Near impossible downunder. My 700 II has been reworked about 4 years ago, but it hasn't been fired up since just after. Only got about 6 months use, before I found something else to play with, and even then, I changed again and am happy with just my old Valve amp @ 7 WRMS/Ch. Next week I'm thinking about hooking up my equally rated T-Amp for a while. Those things are great if you're happy with sub 90dB listening and hooked up to efficient speakers. The hardest trick, is how quiet can you go and still have everything in the soundfield sounding just perfect. I can get it to just above the sound of a pin drop. But of course, background noise has to be zero. It's only then that you begin to realise how much noise things make. eg., the clock ticking on the wall, the fridge, the neighbours tv, etc. etc...
When it comes to listening to music quietly, it's a whole new world down there....
I'm pouring bourbons. Anyone else want one?
 
Consider that the PL700 Series II originally sold for almost $900 in 1978 and it 1980, it was $1000. That was more than the $1 a watt that Bob Carver originally envisioned, but the Series II is a much better amplifier than the original PL700.

If the sale price is between $700 and $1000, you are buying an amplifier that has held its price for 42 years. Fairly rare in consumer electronics.
 
pennysdad said:
I'm just too afraid of using mine. It was OK in the rock'n'roll PA old days, when the budget was there to repair and replace, but for home use, I just can't afford the risk of one letting go. Been through that. Majorly expensive speaker repairs afterwards, and I do my own, but try and source vintage JBL recone kits. Near impossible downunder. My 700 II has been reworked about 4 years ago, but it hasn't been fired up since just after. Only got about 6 months use, before I found something else to play with, and even then, I changed again and am happy with just my old Valve amp @ 7 WRMS/Ch. Next week I'm thinking about hooking up my equally rated T-Amp for a while. Those things are great if you're happy with sub 90dB listening and hooked up to efficient speakers. The hardest trick, is how quiet can you go and still have everything in the soundfield sounding just perfect. I can get it to just above the sound of a pin drop. But of course, background noise has to be zero. It's only then that you begin to realise how much noise things make. eg., the clock ticking on the wall, the fridge, the neighbours tv, etc. etc...
When it comes to listening to music quietly, it's a whole new world down there....
I'm pouring bourbons. Anyone else want one?
Click to expand...
What do you mean by "letting go"? Does the WOPL upgrade solve this letting go issue?

I have offers on two PL 700 II units accepted for $500 each.
 
An unrestored Phase Linear is a ticking time bomb. You just don't know how long the fuse is!

Unless you are planning on doing some work on it first I wouldn't be hooking it up to any speakers you cherish.

There's not much left of the original if you WOPL it....pretty much only the chassis and transformer. But....if you do the conversion you will not be disappointed.
 
Both of my 400s are fully WOPLed meaning the only thing original to them is the transformer, chassis, face plate, analog meters, heat sinks. All the "guts" get replaced with Joe's excellent WOA products and Don's fail safe Watts Abundant D.C. Protect board. Visit the websites to learn more.
The 700 Pro that is now in the mail and on its way to me may well sit on a shelf unused until it's fully upgraded along with a new WOA chassis. Need to check out the back wall, storage caps, etc. At the minimum it will need Don's DCP board and Joe's control board, that's a minimum requirement.
Don't take a chance on a old amp sending DC voltage to your expensive speakers and or burning down your house. Lots of info on this forum about how to proceed.
 
George S. said:
Both of my 400s are fully WOPLed meaning the only thing original to them is the transformer, chassis, face plate, analog meters, heat sinks. All the "guts" get replaced with Joe's excellent WOA products and Don's fail safe Watts Abundant D.C. Protect board. Visit the websites to learn more.
The 700 Pro that is now in the mail and on its way to me may well sit on a shelf unused until it's fully upgraded along with a new WOA chassis. Need to check out the back wall, storage caps, etc. At the minimum it will need Don's DCP board and Joe's control board, that's a minimum requirement.
Don't take a chance on a old amp sending DC voltage to your expensive speakers and or burning down your house. Lots of info on this forum about how to proceed.
Click to expand...
Wait a sec..... Did you just win the that 700 pro on fleabay?
 
Yes, I knew you were looking at it because you posted something about it the other day. Normally I wouldn't bid against another forum member, but you can see from that other thread that I and others have been interested in these amps for many months. I think there will be many more of these listed as I count 16 in the photo, and hopefully the price will come down.
 
George S. said:
Yes, I knew you were looking at it because you posted something about it the other day. Normally I wouldn't bid against another forum member, but you can see from that other thread that I and others have been interested in these amps for many months. I think there will be many more of these listed as I count 16 in the photo, and hopefully the price will come down.
Click to expand...
No worries man:cool:
 
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