My Father's Continuing Saga........

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

That's crazy for a little relay! I wonder WHY??

Jerry; that package I sent you? The guy working at the UPS store turned out to be an audio engineer?! He gave me his card and we talked vintage audio for a half hour. He's a recording studio engineer. He trades old high end vintage gear. And has a basement that rivals most vintage repair shops. He is also a member of AK and has over three thousand posts I think? That's what he told me. I said I wasn't a part of that group so I don't know much about it. But he was familiar with "flame linear" as he called it. I told him we have corrected that age old incorrectly placed moniker.........and so began the convo............. Let the world know White Oak my Phriends!!!!!

 

[jbeckva]

That's crazy for a little relay! I wonder WHY??

Jerry; that package I sent you? The guy working at the UPS store turned out to be an audio engineer?! He gave me his card and we talked vintage audio for a half hour. He's a recording studio engineer. He trades old high end vintage gear. And has a basement that rivals most vintage repair shops. He is also a member of AK and has over three thousand posts I think? That's what he told me. I said I wasn't a part of that group so I don't know much about it. But he was familiar with "flame linear" as he called it. I told him we have corrected that age old incorrectly placed moniker.........and so began the convo............. Let the world know White Oak my Phriends!!!!!

Did you have to waterboard him to get him to see the light?? heheh

Gotcha... shoot me a track number in PM so I know's when's it is coming... I'll pack up "now blackie" which was my silver FC 400, and we'll see how the old man likes it... and if that dratted hum monster is dead and gone.. (dang it better be.... )

 

[laatsch55]

Dave, what's his AK name?

 

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

I don't know his AK name Lee. It was his name with a bunch of numbers in it. And I forgot those. His name is David. (go fig.)

Jerry, would you believe it cost me the same amount to send you a box full of stuffing as it does to send a whole amp? On top of that, there is always a $6 surcharge because of your location? Where do you live? On an oil rig out in the ocean? LOL!! Seriously tho; tracking # PM sent..................

 

[jbeckva]

Ok Dave, here it comes Fedex
[h=2]798532145418[/h]I'll get it on the skid tomorrow. Snug as a bug in a cardboard dual ply box.. hehe.

 

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

Understood. Hopefully next Sunday I can roll out to my Dad's with it. Gonna be interesting............

 

[jbeckva]

Understood. Hopefully next Sunday I can roll out to my Dad's with it. Gonna be interesting............

Just put a bag over it's head.. treat it like a dime bag ho that it is...

(I still like that paint scheme. LOL)

 

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

It arrived. I have not had the chance to hook it up in my system yet. The fed-ex guys may have been rough in handling? The meters look to have fallen out of their bezel's. I will have to take it apart to see if the screw clamps for the meters were loose or what. I assume the Phase Linear caulk they put in at the plant, you took off during reconstruction? I see no traces of it thru the plastic lens.

just letting you know I gotz it! Thanks!

 

[jbeckva]

It arrived. I have not had the chance to hook it up in my system yet. The fed-ex guys may have been rough in handling? The meters look to have fallen out of their bezel's. I will have to take it apart to see if the screw clamps for the meters were loose or what. I assume the Phase Linear caulk they put in at the plant, you took off during reconstruction? I see no traces of it thru the plastic lens.

just letting you know I gotz it! Thanks!

They were held in by heat glue.. no clamps. If you can reseat 'em that should do it.

 

[laatsch55]

Jer, I think from now on I'm just gonna lay down a 1/4 inch bead of clear silicone all the way around it. Cure that shit for good..

 

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

I'm at the workbench now about to open it up trying to see what jarred loose. This is how it came out of the fed-ex box.

 

[jbeckva]

I'm at the workbench now about to open it up trying to see what jarred loose. This is how it came out of the fed-ex box.

View attachment 13529

Could be worse... Reseal the meters to the bezels after pushing them up and back into place, and that should do it. The reason why I "prefer" to omit the screw clamps is just "this" - I'd rather have just the meters loose than having them and the clamps rattling around, possibly hiding themselves until it's "too late" (kerpow.. heheh)...

Of course I do have to get better heat glue... that stuff I have now doesn't stick to metal worth a damn...

 

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

Yeah it's the missing meter clamps and heat glue adhesion issue that caused it. I think the combination of the two works ok. Frankly I think PL never used enough. SOME models I have seen more used. But not one without the other. That part I agree with. And yeah, if you prefer NO meter clamps; then let's silicone the hell outa it baby!

Pic1-example of meter clampage AND silicone PL used
Pic2-reset the meters in bezels on the 400
Pic3-silicone the hell outa it baby!

Well I know I can't use the amp until the meter's are back in place, so I DO have to fix it. I went with Lee's suggestion and siliconed them all around. Since I do not have the clamps. I doubt they will go ANYWHERE this time! Hopefully you are ok with this Jer. It might suck though when you want to change out face plates. But currently I don't have another solution. I will let the silicone set up today; and put things back together tomorrow. Problem solved.

 

[jbeckva]

That works! Yeah I just don't like those clamps... I've had if where if they are overtightened they actually make the needles bind, but if I didn't tighten them they would come loose.

 

[laatsch55]

Just a shitty system all the way around..

 

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

The Saga Concludes.

Okay. Here is the result. And by the way I forgot my camera so I used my crappy cell phone to take any pics. Bad quality but you get the gist.

I finished hooking up his PL 400's. I still need to see if anybody has any NON-smoked lenses/meters I can trade. His last one at the bottom has them and I'm just looking for a matching set.

I took the WOAPL down there and swapped out the amps back and forth. He said he CAN hear a difference. But not a $400-$500 difference. He also said the mids were a bit harsh. But overall it sounded better than stock. Yet STILL NOT better than his Carver M-500t's.

And so the saga has finally ended. If it were up to him; and money be no object; he'd replace all the PL's with Carver's magnetic field amps. Or some Rotel amps he KEEPS talking about.

I have always thought my fathers musical tonalities (if that's even a word), were always FLAT. Muddied, buried, being squashed as it were. Everything he listens to and the way he does; is just plain FLAT. The world itself does not sound the same in ONE OCTAVE. It has HIGHS and LOWS, and he turns all that off. The result is something that just sounds smushed. So I'd bet he'd hate ANY horns. Soooooooo I can only assume that the brighter sounding white oak PL (in my ears) of course would make him think it was harsh.

Personally, I thought it brought out detail in the musical instruments that was not present in the stock version. It's THERE. I can hear it. But to a man his age with limited funds, AND the amount of amps........ he said you have to consider that he has FOUR, and would have to fully comp them all to have the appropriate sound. And even doing one is out of his price range. He'd just assume replace them with Carver's for that cost. So there we have it.

Jerry, I have not tested it here at home. I have just had little time thanks to demanding work hours. And my system being apart right now. As soon as I get it together, I will send the amp back to you.

Below, some bad cell phone photo's. For now; this is what he will be set with. Thanks for letting me borrow it! At least I can't say I didn't try? Peace!

-PLP

 

[premiumplus]

Dave,
Well, I know what you're going through. I've tried to share good hifi with people over the years, and sometimes it falls on deaf ears, as it were. I guess the bottom line is that if your father is happy with what he has, he's happy...and that's a good thing. I guess.

 

[Northwinds]

You know, I didn't use tone controls at all when Blackie was here. She ripped butt and probably a lot of the meters getting loose was me running her hot and heavy all the time before she went to a little quieter life with Jer

I still don't use tone controls with either FC Sally or the Big Bitch 700B. I have been using a eq for a little bit now with just slight adjustment to certain frequenicies. The WOPL sounds great nude or maybe with just a skimpy nighty on. I never use the eq with Sally, the Big Ho seems to benefit from just a touch of equalization

 

[Northwinds]

Dave,
Well, I know what you're going through. I've tried to share good hifi with people over the years, and sometimes it falls on deaf ears, as it were. I guess the bottom line is that if your father is happy with what he has, he's happy...and that's a good thing. I guess.

Having 4 PL400s is killer no matter what! He earned his mancard long ago!!!!

 

[jbeckva]

Having 4 PL400s is killer no matter what! He earned his mancard long ago!!!!

Should be getting the MJ's soon Ron and I'll knock yours out. It will go quick. Yeah Dave everyone has different tastes, no doubt! Shoot a tracking number when you have it heading back this way, eh?