Tice Power Block Rebuild

Blue Shadow

Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
I picked up one of these Tice units a couple weeks ago. An oddly shaped unit that is a transformer to condition the electricity for the system.

Guy let it go free because he did not want to repair the mechanical damage and broken solder joints caused by the failure of the rubber isolation mounts used to mount the transformer in the cabinet. It is a large transformer, about 60 pounds:

Fortunately it looks like the damage was to the rear of the unit, pulling the wiring loose on the front but not damaging that end of the unit.

Since the unit will increase the voltage 10%, reduce the voltage 10% or supply the voltage as it comes in, with or without the capacitors in the circuit, it was not too difficult to use a meter to determine how the wiring should be hooked up. The fellow I got this unit from provided a pdf of the manual which showed how the switches should be set for these different outputs.

If this unit makes the system sound better, I will replace the outlets with something better than contractor grade units that allowed me to get this thing to work. This is how the rear looks now:

I guess other than listening to the system with the unit, the future changes to it are to replace the isolation mounts (lots available on-line), improve the connection at the switches (solder instead of crimp-ons) and improve the lights.

Right now the unit has two bulbs that have slightly different output levels but I would like to have an evenly lit meter. Runs on ~12 volts if there are any recommendations. The bulb mounts can be changed.

Here is a link to some info about this unit. http://hifishack.com/tice.php I have removed the Titan accessory pigtail as I don't know if I will find one of these to add to the Power Block. It is easily replaced.
 

Attachments

  • Tice-6.jpg
    Tice-6.jpg
    74.8 KB · Views: 107
  • Tice-1.jpg
    Tice-1.jpg
    88.6 KB · Views: 129
  • Tice-7.jpg
    Tice-7.jpg
    75.5 KB · Views: 116
  • Tice-10.jpg
    Tice-10.jpg
    73.3 KB · Views: 96
Last edited:
Nice work,,Do you have any clue what the VA rating on the transformer is ?:scratch2:
 
None whatsoever. It is a 15 amp unit, using 12ga wiring. The manual/brochure link mentions that adding the Titan will allow 20 amps. I have heard it is just another transformer with a cap or two. This allowing higher transients.

Thanks to two members here I found out the ground wire which was not connected in mine was connected in later units so I have done that, but only had 14 ga wire available for that. No worries, those contractor grade outlets are the limiting factor in my unit now. But they are new so a little DeOxit on each plug I use will make a nice contact until I find out if this unit is a keeper.

From the old reviews, it is a good thing to have and some (tube guys) have said "you can never have enough iron in your system" so I'm looking forward to using this unit. The demise of Tice Audio coincided with the plethora of power conditioning companies jumping into the mix so this unit is now not as good as the newer more expensive stuff, but I have one of these.
 
Thats about a 1.7KVA transformer..Should do the trick..:scratch2:
 
Nice score! The Power Block should solve any conditioning issues and is probably as good a soluton for eliminating any AC noise as newer units.
AK member dgwojo is the go-to guy for lamp replacement and should be able to supply a matching bulb set so you don't need to change the mounts.
Unless you're feeding large amps and your AC house line is rated at 20 amps, the Titan is probably not needed as you surmised. It would be cool to have though as it probably helps for transient spikes.
 
WOW, i had one of those and like yours, when i sold it the shiper threw it around and the tranny let loose... Wish i could help with wiring though can say back in the day i used the Tice with the Big Mombo VTL Triode KT90 (eight per side) monoblocks (225w each unit). The Tice solved the home fuse-blowing initial amp turn on and made my (then) system sound better than without filtering.

As yours if free, well worth a go for sure. FYI:Nowadays i swear by balanced power (Furman IT-1220).
 
I've been contacted about replacement mounts for the transformer in this unit. I don't know exactly which one I chose but the mounts use an ¼-20 nut and are 7/8" in diameter so maybe this one from McMasterCarr is the one I bought:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#9376k19/=nytvei

It is one of the ones listed on this page: http://www.mcmaster.com/#rubber-standoffs/=nytvd0

None of the ones listed have much shear strength so if the unit needs to be shipped, it is advised to remove the mounts and hard bolt the transformer to the chassis. The top, which also has isolation mounts, would need longer bolts to firmly affix that transformer in the unit for shipping.

Since I don't recall which mount I used, measure the ones in your unit as the height of the mount is critical being the bottom and top mounts to the chassis and one would probably like to put the top on the unit and have it fit properly. I don't have one of the broken mounts sitting around as close as I had the threaded metal end of one.

Anyone that gets a chance to measure the height of the mount, post that info and maybe the correct part number for future reference.
 
Yeah I own 4 power blocks and 2 Titans,1 power block in shipping was destroyed and I received a refund but was told to keep it rather than ship it back and another one works but makes music grainy and hopefully one day can find someone to tell me why.
My other 2 Power Block/ Titan combos work flawlessly and do what they were intended to do,once you use them you are hooked. I urge you to find a Titan,it elevates the experience 2 fold.The Titan holds 1800 watts of purified power which your equipment draws from.
With them in my system the soundstage increased or expanded horizontally by two feet above the speakers(Vandersteen 3 signatures) and the bass is more pronounced and taunt.
THE price for these used are a bargain @ 350 to 400 hundred for the combo and because the shipping costs will kill you look locally.
One of my best investments I made in my system.
 
Last edited:
I've been contacted about replacement mounts for the transformer in this unit. I don't know exactly which one I chose but the mounts use an ¼-20 nut and are 7/8" in diameter so maybe this one from McMasterCarr is the one I bought:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#9376k19/=nytvei

If that is,in fact,the correct item,you can get them at any motorcycle shop that services vintage British bikes. It's the same part used to rubber mount the mufflers,gas tank and the cylinder head-stay on a Norton Commando. Norton part # is: 06-0622. I believe the threads on this item are 1/4-28 (fine) instead of 1/4-20 (coarse):rflmao:
 
Back
Top Bottom