Mirror Finish Paramount
- Thread starter Demsy
- Start date
Grainger49
New member
Those are quite beautiful. They remind me of some of the custom Paramours with mirror finish and mirror imaged, one reverse to the other.
Here is hoping that the voltage checks go well. That is a careful assembly and I expect it will.
Here is hoping that the voltage checks go well. That is a careful assembly and I expect it will.
Thanks Jamie and Grainger, I'm listening to the amps with much pleasure at the moment. Couldn't believe how much better the sound and clarity is. Low is more extended, more punch, mid and high are superb. Sound stage, imaging are also improved.
Hum pot adjusted and both are 0,002V, dead quiet. Voltages are all within the recommended numbers, except couldn't go lower adjusting the plate voltage of the 5670 tube, the trimpot has reached the maximum/minimum, on one amp. Luckily the voltage is only 5v above the calculated 153.3v. But will ask about it in the Paramount section.
It was fun watching the laser scriber writing on the plate, it took maybe only about 20 seconds per plate. It went lightning fast, preparation was way longer!
Hum pot adjusted and both are 0,002V, dead quiet. Voltages are all within the recommended numbers, except couldn't go lower adjusting the plate voltage of the 5670 tube, the trimpot has reached the maximum/minimum, on one amp. Luckily the voltage is only 5v above the calculated 153.3v. But will ask about it in the Paramount section.
It was fun watching the laser scriber writing on the plate, it took maybe only about 20 seconds per plate. It went lightning fast, preparation was way longer!
Mmmmm. Me likey.
You've probably explained this already, but where did you source the stainless plates? And did you swap from the stock aluminum post-build? If so, did you rebuild the power supply PC board? My original black hammer tone painted base plates are looking LAME. An overhaul is tempting, but the thought of separating that PC board has deterred me.
Anyway, love this look. Very nice.
Chris
Demsy said:
You've probably explained this already, but where did you source the stainless plates? And did you swap from the stock aluminum post-build? If so, did you rebuild the power supply PC board? My original black hammer tone painted base plates are looking LAME. An overhaul is tempting, but the thought of separating that PC board has deterred me.
Anyway, love this look. Very nice.
Chris
Brillo said:
If you really take your time, this can be done pretty reliably. The key is to have a good solder sucker and a very hot iron, as well as to never pry on the board. (Just wait till it will slide off on its own)
... The key is to have a good solder sucker and a very hot iron... (Just wait till it will slide off on its own)...
[/quote]
Roger that Paul. I'm growing to like my $4 solder sucker. Much better results than with overheating a solder wick.
So where can I get a pair of stainless plates fabricated? Does Front Panel Express have that option? (Suppose I could just look it up... So lazy anymore...)
Chris
[/quote]
Roger that Paul. I'm growing to like my $4 solder sucker. Much better results than with overheating a solder wick.
So where can I get a pair of stainless plates fabricated? Does Front Panel Express have that option? (Suppose I could just look it up... So lazy anymore...)
Chris
Thanks guys!
Brillo, don't use the small solder sucker for this job. I use a rather large sucker, the suction chamber alone is 6" long and the diameter is 1", total length is 12". The smaller sucker can't create enough vacuum for the job. Once you see the solder melts and flows, heat it for another 2-3 second, to make sure that the solder under the pcb also melts. I use a 45W iron with pencil tip, which I actually use for the whole building process right from the beginning. I also took many pictures before taking the parts apart and make sure that you have the original and 5 steps manual ready.
Most work was digitizing the drawing of the base plate, I use the Freehand software as it's the software the cutting machine uses. Enter the numbers and coordinates carefully, once ready print it out 1:1 and compare against the original plate. Modify the dimensions where needed, especially if you are using the supplied tube sockets. Often you need to slightly enlarge the hole using a file, no problem if it's aluminum plate, but s/s is very tough material.
Here in Jakarta we have workshops making the signage or the 3d lettering for sign board of shops out of stainless steel. Also workshops doing the custom jobs of elevator casing in the shopping malls. Often they have left overs and we can buy the sheets needed from them, in mirror, hair line or plain finish in various grades of s/s. I bought a piece of 30x60 cm, 304 grade for $30. And the cutting and scribing job cost me another $45. I'm sure that there are similar workshops in the US where you can buy left overs s/s sheets, just make sure that the plastic protection sheet is still on it to avoid scratches during further handling.
It took me about 8 hours to finish the conversion, but I really took the time to avoid making mistakes. With the help of the friendly masters in this forum, all went well the very first time. Thanks again PB and PJ for the lightning fast replies on my questions, appreciate it very much!
Brillo, don't use the small solder sucker for this job. I use a rather large sucker, the suction chamber alone is 6" long and the diameter is 1", total length is 12". The smaller sucker can't create enough vacuum for the job. Once you see the solder melts and flows, heat it for another 2-3 second, to make sure that the solder under the pcb also melts. I use a 45W iron with pencil tip, which I actually use for the whole building process right from the beginning. I also took many pictures before taking the parts apart and make sure that you have the original and 5 steps manual ready.
Most work was digitizing the drawing of the base plate, I use the Freehand software as it's the software the cutting machine uses. Enter the numbers and coordinates carefully, once ready print it out 1:1 and compare against the original plate. Modify the dimensions where needed, especially if you are using the supplied tube sockets. Often you need to slightly enlarge the hole using a file, no problem if it's aluminum plate, but s/s is very tough material.
Here in Jakarta we have workshops making the signage or the 3d lettering for sign board of shops out of stainless steel. Also workshops doing the custom jobs of elevator casing in the shopping malls. Often they have left overs and we can buy the sheets needed from them, in mirror, hair line or plain finish in various grades of s/s. I bought a piece of 30x60 cm, 304 grade for $30. And the cutting and scribing job cost me another $45. I'm sure that there are similar workshops in the US where you can buy left overs s/s sheets, just make sure that the plastic protection sheet is still on it to avoid scratches during further handling.
It took me about 8 hours to finish the conversion, but I really took the time to avoid making mistakes. With the help of the friendly masters in this forum, all went well the very first time. Thanks again PB and PJ for the lightning fast replies on my questions, appreciate it very much!
Brillo said:
FPE won't do steel, though they will do copper.
Your average local machine shop will able to handle milling some stainless.
Grainger49
New member
I'll make a guess. As poster Paully has changed from 300B to 2A3 to 45 output tubes the magic has increased as the power has dropped.
Of course you need speakers that do well with these powers.
Of course you need speakers that do well with these powers.
ALL212 said:
A friend of mine has a beautiful 2A3 power amp, I often listen to his system. Several times I brought his power amp home to listen to it through my speakers, I like the sound very much. And it also happened that I need to swap the base plate with the s/s one, replace the 47uF electrolytic with film cap and replace some signal wires. So I did it all at once and am very happy with the results, both the look and especially the sound.
