Heathkit amps?

[Anthony Hinton]

I'm considering trying a tube amp. I've never listened to one before, but I keep hearing about how nice they sound.

I only have a budget of about $600 or so to try to pick one up. Looking around here and on the bay I've found a Heathkit aa-121, It looks to be in good shape, 40 watts per.

Are the Heathkit amps worth fooling with? I know the wattage is low, but do you think they will drive my sda-srs's to a decent listening level?

Here's a link to the amp: http://www.ebay.com/itm/350707885376...84.m1423.l2649

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Anthony

[Face]

I have one of them, but it no longer works. I replaced all capacitors, checked all resistors, but it still has issues. It did sound nice when it worked. :(

[sucks2beme]

Heathkit amps are showing their age. If it hasn't been updated, be careful.
Too many price them the same as restored amps. And there's the cost of
replacing the tubes. So think along the line of changing out power section tubes
every 3 years or so, depending on usage.
There is a Dynaco st-70 on Audiogon that has been updated.
You could also haunt the flea market. Good amps show up there all the time.
There's one there now, but most likely too small to get the job done.
Pay attention to where it's located. You really don't want to ship a tube amp
if you can pick it up.

[Polkie2009]

Definitely hang out here Anthony,keep checking the CP flea market. Tube amps pop up for sale every so often among CP members and I bet you'll get a better deal here too.

[SDA1C]

Be ware of what you buy used. Doesn't take but a bump in shipping for the whole thing to go to poop.

In my opinion if you want to find out about tubes buy it new, don't take someone else's cast off unless you both know and trust them completely. I would say it isn't worth the risk. I would also try to listen to any tube amp before I bought it.

[Anthony Hinton]

Alright, Well, I can't afford new, so I guess I should keep an eye out here and maybe craigslist and find something local that I can go audition.

[SDA1C]

I only mean to say be damned careful. I have been looking for a suitable candidate for the last 6 months and have learned not all are created equal, regardless of owner perception and or sticker price.

[Anthony Hinton]

I only mean to say be damned careful. I have been looking for a suitable candidate for the last 6 months and have learned not all are created equal, regardless of owner perception and or sticker price.

Do you have any suggestions on shipping? Tubes in, tubes out? I would assume tubes out with each individually wrapped?

[txcoastal1]

Tubes out individually wrapped placed in separate box...box can be put same shipping as long amp is also 100% secure...package get rolled around more than the wheel

[Polkie2009]

I would agree with you Anthony, tubes out , packed individually in the packing they came in new or equivalent. Then wrapped more in bubblewrap or foam,then double boxed with sufficient foam etc... between the 2 boxes. May be overkill, but hopefully the tubes would get to you without damage. Maybe others here who have shipped tubes before can chime in on their tips for packing tubes.

[larry777]

A Heathkit AA-151 just got listed on Canada's Canuck Audio Mart site for $300. It uses EL-84 output tubes and is 40 watts per channel. An e-mail or call would give you more details about the amp condition etc. It may be worth a shot to gather more information. A good way to ship tubes is to wrap them and place inside plastic pipe tubes cut to proper length ( Black water pipes ) slightly bigger than the tubes themselves. The solid walls will add very good protection to the tubes in transit.

[Anthony Hinton]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate all the good info.

I actually spoke to and negotiated a deal with the gentleman with the Dynaco on Audiogon. He is going to upgrade/change a couple of things for me and ship it. He seems to be very knowledgeable, and has assured me that the tubes will be removed and it will be packed well. Fingers crossed, we'll see.

Now, next question. I want to run this amp with the same speakers that I use on my SC-25 receiver (which will also be my pre). I know of speaker selector switch boxes, but is there a source selector switch to run the same speakers?

[Anthony Hinton]

Can you use a speaker selector switch backwards? Does anyone make a lossless speaker switch? What about making, like a fancy patch board with patch cords, and high end connectors? Does any one make a no-loss connector? In high end rc cars we had "Deans" connectors that had less resistance through the connection then through an equal length of wire.