New PL400 Full WOPL Build
- Thread starter Hexis22
- Start date
Being a Old guy (Social Security recipient), I know what it's like to be on a budget but don't hurry yourself. The end result will astonish you and everybody else that sees your work. JB welded nuts will give it all away and if you have to sell because you are down, nobody will laugh and you'll get the extra $160 back.
You make a very good point and I'm slowly leaning towards that direction.
This project started off with a functional amp and a desire to update electrolytic caps. That quickly changed after opening it up and seeing all the 40 year old point to point construction and potential for marginal components due to age and thermals. I'm typically not one for doing things half assed.
Then I found this forum and started down the rabbit hole...
I told my father it would only be a few hundred in updates... Little did I know at that time and the rest is on me. However, this amp will end up in my system eventually.
This project started off with a functional amp and a desire to update electrolytic caps. That quickly changed after opening it up and seeing all the 40 year old point to point construction and potential for marginal components due to age and thermals. I'm typically not one for doing things half assed.
Then I found this forum and started down the rabbit hole...
I told my father it would only be a few hundred in updates... Little did I know at that time and the rest is on me. However, this amp will end up in my system eventually.
Hexis22,
It will all be worth the effort. I owned the first 700b that I WOPL'd since 1978, and one of the others since early 80's, so I was very familiar with the amp, how it sounded stock, and all of the nostalgia, and memories I had with them. The decision to go full complimentary, fully WOPL was difficult at first, because I just wanted the fully functional amplifier that I had in my youth. I did a lot of research into the work that Joe has done at White Oak. When I decided to finally pull the trigger, I went all out right away, fully gutted the 700b except for the transformer, and the meters. I did keep my faceplate and the original chassis, but as you can see in my pictures that is very cramped routing the wiring at the top and bottom of the chassis. The new chassis are heavier, and have extra room built in, as well as many other amenities. The design of the new chassis was based on the recommendations and experience we as builders had suggested.
I enjoyed the building with Joe's kit so much, that after I finished, I wanted to do another one and I had two more in the wings. The kits are so nice and so well thought out. As I built the first one, I knew that this WOPL'd amplifier was going to exceed my already high expectations......and it did !!!!
It puts a smile on my face so often, and I have a very large collection of vinyl. (59 years of collecting!) I hear things now in my vinyl, albums that I know every nuance and note on, that I had never heard before the WOPL update. I can't recommend the complete WOPL build more. It is an absolute joy to build, and when you turn it on, and listen to the music, you will truly understand what I mean when I say, it often puts a smile on my face. I was sold on the Dual Mono design and going fully complimentary. So well thought out. Your father will be very pleased, very pleased.
That's my 2 cents worth. I have built 3 of the 700b's. I would really enjoy building a 700 SII in the future.
Be forewarned though..................you can't build just one
. It's a very healthy addiction!!!!
It will all be worth the effort. I owned the first 700b that I WOPL'd since 1978, and one of the others since early 80's, so I was very familiar with the amp, how it sounded stock, and all of the nostalgia, and memories I had with them. The decision to go full complimentary, fully WOPL was difficult at first, because I just wanted the fully functional amplifier that I had in my youth. I did a lot of research into the work that Joe has done at White Oak. When I decided to finally pull the trigger, I went all out right away, fully gutted the 700b except for the transformer, and the meters. I did keep my faceplate and the original chassis, but as you can see in my pictures that is very cramped routing the wiring at the top and bottom of the chassis. The new chassis are heavier, and have extra room built in, as well as many other amenities. The design of the new chassis was based on the recommendations and experience we as builders had suggested.
I enjoyed the building with Joe's kit so much, that after I finished, I wanted to do another one and I had two more in the wings. The kits are so nice and so well thought out. As I built the first one, I knew that this WOPL'd amplifier was going to exceed my already high expectations......and it did !!!!
It puts a smile on my face so often, and I have a very large collection of vinyl. (59 years of collecting!) I hear things now in my vinyl, albums that I know every nuance and note on, that I had never heard before the WOPL update. I can't recommend the complete WOPL build more. It is an absolute joy to build, and when you turn it on, and listen to the music, you will truly understand what I mean when I say, it often puts a smile on my face. I was sold on the Dual Mono design and going fully complimentary. So well thought out. Your father will be very pleased, very pleased.
That's my 2 cents worth. I have built 3 of the 700b's. I would really enjoy building a 700 SII in the future.
Be forewarned though..................you can't build just one
. It's a very healthy addiction!!!!
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2022
- Messages
- 5,202
- Tagline
- music...the healer of souls...
run away....ruuunnn aaawwwaaay...
lol
its a deep rabbit hole!!!
there are a lot of us down here...
dont fret....i have upgraded 2 to wo....both 4 fins...
one i bought the new chassis...as my chassis was sub par...the one i am doing i retained the chassis...
its all good...
one thing i want to say....if you have one buddy helping he can give you ideas...
if you post your progress and work here...at least 20 buddies are watching....if each has a unique idea on the build...thats 20 improvements to your build...and each person watching has a wopl experience ..
just ask...post pics....lots of smarts here!!!
if you build it..they will come...
and help you out!!!!
lol
lol
its a deep rabbit hole!!!
there are a lot of us down here...
dont fret....i have upgraded 2 to wo....both 4 fins...
one i bought the new chassis...as my chassis was sub par...the one i am doing i retained the chassis...
its all good...
one thing i want to say....if you have one buddy helping he can give you ideas...
if you post your progress and work here...at least 20 buddies are watching....if each has a unique idea on the build...thats 20 improvements to your build...and each person watching has a wopl experience ..
just ask...post pics....lots of smarts here!!!
if you build it..they will come...
and help you out!!!!
lol
For all the bells and whistles, $1000 buys you the best amp and by doing the work yourself and not half assing, as you said, you save SO MUCH MONEY that you can't afford NOT to get it all. For $1000 and your labor, the unknowing public could only dream of getting an amp for this price. I wasn't even looking for PL amps when I stumbled on to a members post several years ago and now, I look back and can't count the number of builds in my picture folder. I was making good money at the time and bought an amp and did the full blown upgrade (I dabbled with the old control boards but quickly ditched that idea) and 8 years later, I'm still dazzled by the performance of these amps when fully upgraded. I guess you could say I'm addicted. I have an amp sitting here that I haven't touched yet and IT'S KILLING ME..... I said it was going to set here for future plans but I don't know how long I can hold out
Let it be known though, as mentioned by a few builders here, it's NOT wife friendly and you'll find yourself searching the world wide web for more candidates to transform. Have fun, take your time, and kiss the credit card goodbye. Not many can build just one..... When you wake up one day and you have to look for an electrician to upgrade your wiring in the house to keep up with supplying your amps with juice, it's too late....... You're hooked. "Power To The People"!!!! Welcome to the Phoenix website and warm up the soldering iron. As Dennis does, so will I (my pics are not as exciting, but nearly as pretty), here is a WOPL Babe for you.
Let it be known though, as mentioned by a few builders here, it's NOT wife friendly and you'll find yourself searching the world wide web for more candidates to transform. Have fun, take your time, and kiss the credit card goodbye. Not many can build just one..... When you wake up one day and you have to look for an electrician to upgrade your wiring in the house to keep up with supplying your amps with juice, it's too late....... You're hooked. "Power To The People"!!!! Welcome to the Phoenix website and warm up the soldering iron. As Dennis does, so will I (my pics are not as exciting, but nearly as pretty), here is a WOPL Babe for you.
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2022
- Messages
- 5,202
- Tagline
- music...the healer of souls...
For all the bells and whistles, $1000 buys you the best amp and by doing the work yourself and not half assing, as you said, you save SO MUCH MONEY that you can't afford NOT to get it all. For $1000 and your labor, the unknowing public could only dream of getting an amp for this price. I wasn't even looking for PL amps when I stumbled on to a members post several years ago and now, I look back and can't count the number of builds in my picture folder. I was making good money at the time and bought an amp and did the full blown upgrade (I dabbled with the old control boards but quickly ditched that idea) and 8 years later, I'm still dazzled by the performance of these amps when fully upgraded. I guess you could say I'm addicted. I have an amp sitting here that I haven't touched yet and IT'S KILLING ME..... I said it was going to set here for future plans but I don't know how long I can hold out
Let it be known though, as mentioned by a few builders here, it's NOT wife friendly and you'll find yourself searching the world wide web for more candidates to transform. Have fun, take your time, and kiss the credit card goodbye. Not many can build just one..... When you wake up one day and you have to look for an electrician to upgrade your wiring in the house to keep up with supplying your amps with juice, it's too late....... You're hooked. "Power To The People"!!!! Welcome to the Phoenix website and warm up the soldering iron. As Dennis does, so will I (my pics are not as exciting, but nearly as pretty), here is a WOPL Babe for you.
View attachment 73630
Let it be known though, as mentioned by a few builders here, it's NOT wife friendly and you'll find yourself searching the world wide web for more candidates to transform. Have fun, take your time, and kiss the credit card goodbye. Not many can build just one..... When you wake up one day and you have to look for an electrician to upgrade your wiring in the house to keep up with supplying your amps with juice, it's too late....... You're hooked. "Power To The People"!!!! Welcome to the Phoenix website and warm up the soldering iron. As Dennis does, so will I (my pics are not as exciting, but nearly as pretty), here is a WOPL Babe for you.
View attachment 73630
maybe you could paint your truck or some
woofer cabinets that color!!!
lol
That is a gorgeous looking amp!
Green is a little much for me, but the black handles and knobs look fantastic.
As you mentioned previously, I'm already casually searching for my next project and haven't even finished this one.
Fortunately the wife enjoys music as much as I do, just at a lower volume...
As far as the new upgraded chassis, it's not that I need to save additional money, it's just me trying to justify that I'm a responsible parent while putting two kids through college. When it comes to hobbies, I more often than not go way overboard.
Case in point, I've been riding motorcycles my whole life and I eventually ended up racing, even at 57 years old.
2011 Ducati 848
Green is a little much for me, but the black handles and knobs look fantastic.
As you mentioned previously, I'm already casually searching for my next project and haven't even finished this one.
Fortunately the wife enjoys music as much as I do, just at a lower volume...
As far as the new upgraded chassis, it's not that I need to save additional money, it's just me trying to justify that I'm a responsible parent while putting two kids through college. When it comes to hobbies, I more often than not go way overboard.
Case in point, I've been riding motorcycles my whole life and I eventually ended up racing, even at 57 years old.
2011 Ducati 848
Thank you both for the feedback.
I'm taking my time with the very high quality components and assembly. Everything I have read about quality and detailed assembly instructions are absolutely true and then some.
It has been an absolute joy working on this to date.
Backplane PEM nut soldering is next...
I'm taking my time with the very high quality components and assembly. Everything I have read about quality and detailed assembly instructions are absolutely true and then some.
It has been an absolute joy working on this to date.
Backplane PEM nut soldering is next...