Sutton's Phase Linear, White Oak 500

[laatsch55]

Sutton's 400 arrived today. I gotta say I have NEVER HAD AN AMP PACKED AS WELL AS THIS ONE!!!!!!!!! Sutton ---that guy needs some props man---BEAUTIFUL job of packing an amp for shipment. Faceplate near flawless. It'll be simply gorgeous when it leaves here!!

 

[laatsch55]

ya did good Sutton.

 

[ksrigg]

Hey, I'm glad it made it to you and I'll pass on the good words about the packing. I hope I got a nice one. Sometimes it's tough to tell form the pics on the Bay. This will replace the one I had in school, and the 700B will replace the one I WANTED to have in school. I think bi-amping with the White Oaked Laatsched up PL's ought to be pure perfection....or closer than I have been to it in years. Gotta dig the Unity Speaks and the Altecs out for a test drive. I know I can bi-amp the Unity but not sure about the Altecs. I'm sure I can, I'll just have to take the crossover out and see what is going on.

Anticipation......an ti ci pa a tion

 

[laatsch55]

Sutton, Do you want matching rack handles on this one??

 

[laatsch55]

Our own Don Imlay (wattsabundant) is supplying the DC ptotect for this baby. Should be lot handier than the ampslabs, these go right on the speaker posts and run off the primary 120, so no extra tranny, cap, BR, etc. It'll be the first time for using them, looking forward to giving them a try. He also has the same thing for the 700's but I think he was out at the moment. Maybe he'll chime in here and let us know, Don??

 

[ksrigg]

Not really. If it has the original bolts and isn't too scratched up around the bolts, I think it wiil be fine. I doubt either amp will move much one they are in place in the cabinet.. I'd say they will be home.

 

[laatsch55]

OK, factory faceplate bolts it is.

 

[ksrigg]

Unless you feel it would look better.

It is up to you Lee, you're like the Bob Carver of today to me.

You be the judge. I'm just recapturing youth with these amps. Nah, not really, or with all my amp purchasing, I'd be about 11 years old now, or maye ever not born yet. It's a f****** disease I'll tell you, and my wife will agree. SERIOUSLY, she thinks I am nuts.

What did you think about my piles of gear? Do you think I should sell it off, keep a sample of each and sell the rest or what? I know, send it all to you? I think I'll start selling today. Beginning with the Quicksilver 8417 monoblocks.. What do you think I should ask? I have an early pair with consecutive serial numbers, and the bias meter, and cages, all in really good shape. Then I'll move on to the Fisher 400 CX-II. It should bring a pretty penny..if the faceplate wasn't bent in the corner...

 

[speakerman1]

You can diminish the scratches. Take something dull and push the metal back in the scratch. A spoon works good. I forget what it is called; but I have done it a bunch.

Larry

 

[laatsch55]

I forget what it is called; but I have done it a bunch.



Now that helps.

to be mentioned in the same YEAR as Bob is cool, he is quite a hand, a lot of stories he HASN"T told I'd like to hear. the rack handle question was like " Would you like fries with that too?"

 

[laatsch55]

DUDE I HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT DROOL SINCE I SAW YOUR STASH OF GEAR. Like whenever Nando posts a pic, aw jeez.....................

 

[ksrigg]

As I posted in the PL/ White Oak 1000 thread, what do you think of adding a really quiet (or from the heatsink purchase) fan inside or outside the PL amps to keep them a little cooler? I have read that some sound guys used to put dry ice on tops of PL stacks to keep them cool, and that heat was responsible for some of the failures of PL amps? I don't know, and am just offering it up as a suggestion. I do run the dogs%^& out of an amp for hours on end..

 

[laatsch55]

Then a fan should be standard equipment.

 

[ksrigg]

I'll be the guinia pig for a Joe designed fan on the 1000 and the 500, and be more than happy pay for the fans and your time and efforts..and report back about them. I want to construct cabinets for them both, and eventually add a second pair of the amps, so each has a beautiful mate in the rack, and then it is "goodbye Bryston". I'll have two 4B and two 7B ST amps. This should more than pay for the new and better PL 1000 and 500's....

I have been listening to some of the other amps out in the building, and the McIntosh amps sound amazingly good, much better than a Harman Kardon Citation 19, but both are bettered by the Luxman M-2000. It just sounds better by a pretty good margin. I'll bet the Lux, with replaced caps, resistors, and anything else which might be out of tolerence, would be outstanding. Word is, the Luxman M-4000 blows the M-2000 out of the water, but I'm sure none of these amps will compete with the totally upgraded Phase Linear amps.

The McIntosh amps are MC2125's and probably are full of things which could be repalced, improving their sound as well. I really need to look at all my old gear and consider selling most of it, and repalcing with PL..The darn things are getting to be scarce though, and people who have them are very proud of them, and want too much money for them.

 

[mlucitt]

I can verify by experience that heat does not kill the PL amps. There are two 160* F (I think) thermostats on the transistor wall that disconnect main power when either of them open (redundant backup). This is a very robust and reliable component and they typically have 100,000 MTBF cycles. Unless someone has removed them or bypassed them, you amp will not die of heatstroke.

Now, if a single output device shorts it will take the amplifier down and it may generate heat, but heat will probably not be the root cause.

My $0.02...

P.S. Rigg, you and I are as far apart as two people can be and still both be in the state of VA. I am near Leesburg.

Mark

 

[ksrigg]

Thanks for the information. I really thought heat might be a very real problem, but if they usually don't get to 160 degrees then there would not be a problem. Plus I'll probably not be running the amp at extreme volume for extended periods of time anyway. I just keep going back to my experiences in school withmy PL taking out speakers and having to go back for service. It was the only reason (although a necessary one) for selling the amp. It's one of the few I have sold and not merely kept...

Virginia is a much larger state than most people realize. I went to school in Ashland, and went to Virginia Beach and it's hard to believe you can travel west for six or seven hours and still be in Virginia...Leesburg....famous Civil War battle

 

[stuwee]

Hey Sutton, here's what I would do, sell the four Brystons, they have a strong following and they are nice amps, you should a nice price for them. I could help ya with a 3rd party ad on Polk or Steve Hoffman forums, since they know me there.

I'd keep the Luxman and those MC2125's, put some money into them on a refurb, keep that as stock as possible with higher quality caps...etc...those are gold in the bank Classic toptier gear . Just my 2 nickels.

And I'd sell on that Rotel too, it's nice but not in the same league as the other stuff you got.

 

[ksrigg]

Sounds like a plan to me. I do want to eventually have two Phase 400's and two Phase 700B's running in the place of the two 4B's and two 7B's. They are built like a tank and have been pretty bulletproof.I'd like to put the two Rotels in the mix based on my recent listening tests, but I guess the MC2125's would sound much better with some new caps and other upgrades. I just don't know who could rebuild the Macs...or the Lux, plus I think the M-4000 betters the M-2000 based on what I have read, but don't know. The M-2000 could sound pretty damn good if it were reworked...

 

[laatsch55]

Got some spec's on the Lux's? I'd like a crack at em when the time comes.

 

[ksrigg]

The service manual and owner's manual can be found here, or at some other sites on the web. I downloaded the service manual form the first site and can email it to you if and when you want me to, Lee. It's all Greek to me, but I know you would understand it. I do think mine is starting to sound a little distorted at full power, but it sounds pretty darn good up to that point. If this is going in the rack with Phase Linears, I'll have to have another M-2000 as well as another PL 400 and 700B. Gotta have symmetry..


http://www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/ ... M2000.html
OR
http://www.hifiengine.com/manuals/luxman/m-2000.shtml