My twenty-five-year-old Linn AV-5105 needs service, so I bought an NAD C298 as a 'temporary' replacement. So far I am liking it. I recalibrated my surround system, since the NAD surely doesn't have precisely the same gain as the Linn. The only downside is that the automatic signal-based power on takes much longer than the Linn, so I usually have to rewind the audio to hear what I missed. When the Linn gets back from repair - assuming that it is fixed - I'll have to decide which amp to use and what to do with the spare. It's always good to have a spare stereo amplifier, though!
Wadia 8 for cost of shipping and lunch money. Supposedly needs expensive repair but what do I have to loose.
Get a simple chip amp or transistor plate amp, and add power supply.
Not much north of $200, enough for most users at home, and add pre amp / selector section.
Not much north of $200, enough for most users at home, and add pre amp / selector section.
Hi limono,
I've been holding my tongue so far. Not impressed by Linn, they do not release service information and Canadians had to return equipment to ... SCOTLAND for service. From equipment I have seen, nothing special but seriously overpriced. Their tables are a great example of price running way out ahead of performance and quality.
I've been holding my tongue so far. Not impressed by Linn, they do not release service information and Canadians had to return equipment to ... SCOTLAND for service. From equipment I have seen, nothing special but seriously overpriced. Their tables are a great example of price running way out ahead of performance and quality.
I've owned Linn, and am not happy about it. The build quality is not up to the prices they get for their stuff. (One of the many reasons I went DIY for preamp, phono-pre and amplification.)
I think it sounds good and in UK , Europe it may be worth its price, but Linn's philosophy is " it failed? Get a new one " They are not alone in this so it's hard to single them out. I can't afford it here and buying broken and trying to repair only works with their stuff from 90's. Lp12 is a nice table if one likes it's character. I do and I regret selling two I had along the time. I wanted to try something else and there seem to be steady supply of cheap examples popping everywhere. Not anymore and spending $1.500 for a really old clunker is a different story.
I bought me some Motorola 2N6517s (100 of them) from Electronic Goldmine. People on Ebay are trying to retire on what they are charging (or at least asking) for them. I'll be using them in a scheme to disable a folded cascode tube diff stage while the pesky input tubes warm up, so that the grids for the output stage don't get subjected to ridiculous voltages while they warm up. This will be a setup with a folded cascode differential input stage using 8GC7 directly driving a pair of 6V6 (actually 6P1S) outputs. Output iron will be Hammond 1650E - ugly, but functional. I'll be doing some juggling to set up the bias for the output stage, as the screen voltage is very non-standard, dictated by the DC-DC converter I'm using to power the amp from a 24V/5A switching adapter.
Last 2N6517’s I got were from Digikey, back when they were active (and cheap - a loooong time ago, back when the 2SC5200 first appeared for about a buck and a half - they were on the same order). I ran out a few years ago, and had to go to KSP44 - when the MPSA42 wouldn’t quite do the voltage. Will KSP44 not work? They are about $20 per hundred. Or were your surplus parts cheap compared to that?
I got what was available that would withstand the voltage - 350V rating vs. 300V B+. I may have some actual MPSA44s, but they are likely under a ton of junk and I can't be bothered to turn the place upside down looking for them.
I have found a lot of the stuff in the "thrift" stores is overpriced, or has necessary bits missing. Sounds like you made a nice score, though.
Bought a 55-200mm ED VR lens for $100 to replace the $60 70-300mm I stupidly broke wrestling off a sunshade ring. Have to rush to get sports pics of the kids as the winter season winds down.
Bought a few Aliex things to finally set up a spare tire in the Vette this summer. Not trivial as the Vette is designed for run-flats and comes with nothing emergency-related as stock, not even a way to anchor heavy items in the hatch area. Have both 17" and 18" Caddy spares to hog out to fit around the Vette hub.
Bought a few Aliex things to finally set up a spare tire in the Vette this summer. Not trivial as the Vette is designed for run-flats and comes with nothing emergency-related as stock, not even a way to anchor heavy items in the hatch area. Have both 17" and 18" Caddy spares to hog out to fit around the Vette hub.
The other day? A pair of Celestion 12” full rangers. An impulse buy when looking for a power supply at PE. Thinking about projects months, perhaps years down the road.
Today? Forty 20 foot 2X10’s. My Barndo build site was dry, so I took the opportunity to take out a load of 24 big PA speaker cabinets. I had the truck and trailer, so went to the lumber yard 30 miles south. They had the 20 footers in stock, so I got as many as the trailer would take. Still wanted to fish tail on washboard pavement with 4 feet sticking out the back and not enough tongue weight. Would do 65 if smooth but the 18-wheeler traffic has wrecked the highways. I need 20 more in the short term for the shop and another 60 for the main house, but I’ll get them about 30 at a time as needed. Forty was a bridge too far. Can only put so many of those suckers up in a weekend (And that’s next weekends project as I’ll arrange a helper).
Today? Forty 20 foot 2X10’s. My Barndo build site was dry, so I took the opportunity to take out a load of 24 big PA speaker cabinets. I had the truck and trailer, so went to the lumber yard 30 miles south. They had the 20 footers in stock, so I got as many as the trailer would take. Still wanted to fish tail on washboard pavement with 4 feet sticking out the back and not enough tongue weight. Would do 65 if smooth but the 18-wheeler traffic has wrecked the highways. I need 20 more in the short term for the shop and another 60 for the main house, but I’ll get them about 30 at a time as needed. Forty was a bridge too far. Can only put so many of those suckers up in a weekend (And that’s next weekends project as I’ll arrange a helper).
I put down earnest money on a house. DOes that count?
I have been busy fixing up my present one and hoping on moving this spring. My son sent me a link to a ranch style house on 3 acres on the 12th of Feb, that looked interesting. Two walk-throughs and I decided to go for it. Looks like electronic projects will be off the table for a while longer.
I have been busy fixing up my present one and hoping on moving this spring. My son sent me a link to a ranch style house on 3 acres on the 12th of Feb, that looked interesting. Two walk-throughs and I decided to go for it. Looks like electronic projects will be off the table for a while longer.
Hmmm, as for me, just odds and ends on Aliex. Some of those cheap blue adjustable regulator boards, 2 with LED display, 2 blind. A PCIe card that mounts both M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe cards for my old pre-UEFI workstation. Noticed there are these new cheap breed of USB powered DLSR battery chargers so bought one. Bought a Molten basketball for the 11yr old; I know Aliex is full of Molten fakes but the lower end indoor/outdoor ones look legit, I wouldn't be surprised if they are what is being faked into the higher end models.
Decided after a lot of considerations to buy a SuZuki Swift. Prices on preowned cars in Sweden has skyrocketed. But got a good deal. The Swift felt almost new but lacking a lot of the "extras".
