Which Eico do you guys love?

[Bill Haywood]

A friend of mine had a old mono Eico that weighed a ton. With no cage with the vacuum tubes glowing. I remember it sounding sweet. It has been over 40 yrs. but I have never forgot.
An Eico is on my wish list and would make for a fun rebuild. Question mono or stereo?

 

[sKiZo]

I picked up a nice little HF12a mono a while back to add a center channel to my classic quad. Mostly because it fit the space I had available (it's the silver face next to the table) but with a minor restoration and new tubes, the beastie really sings. Just got done with a session in fact ...

Main thing to consider is a lot of them were a "Willamston" design which is prone to hum. You can usually tune that out with a lot of patience and quality matched tubes.

 

[FB night]

I have experience with the hf-81, hf-86, hf-87, st-70 and st-40. The 86 and 87 are amp only, but with level adjustments, the 81, 70 and 40 are integrated with preamps. All would be worth the effort to restore and listen to. Have a Classic Series 2080 integrated downstairs I would like to restore someday also.

 

[sKiZo]

Also worth noting, I understand some of the "standard" inputs of the day (like tape head?) can be converted fairly easily to today's line level if you need a more flexible pre.

 

[vendo81]

I've owned a HF87 and HF89 and both were wonderful amplifiers. I added a small power supply to the HF87 as it originally used bias voltage from one channels output tubes to run tube filaments. Strange money saving design. Still have a HF87. Had a pair of HF60's many years ago that had a very nice sound but I traded them when I bought the HF87 and later the HF89. The HF85 is a good sounding preamp with just a few mods. Their volume controls are often bad. The ST70 is one of the finest integrated amplifiers I've heard. They are often overlooked as many don't like their style.

Most have a reputation for sounding good as Eico used quality transformers. All I mentioned except for the HF60 are stereo.

 

[TBL_HK]

I've owned a HF87 and HF89 and both were wonderful amplifiers. I added a small power supply to the HF87 as it originally used bias voltage from one channels output tubes to run tube filaments. Strange money saving design. Still have a HF87. Had a pair of HF60's many years ago that had a very nice sound but I traded them when I bought the HF87 and later the HF89.

I own an HF87 to which I added a choke and it sounds quite undistinguishable from my three Matantz 8b. At one third to one fourth the cost of 8b, the HF87 is a great thing.

Terence

 

[Ohighway]

For me it's the HF-20.

Back around 1996-97 I was searching for some replacement tubes for a couple old radios. A fellow at work told me he didn't have any tubes, but he did have an old tube amp he'd give me if I wanted it. It was a clean working Eico HF-20 he'd built long ago.

That amp got the vintage audio bug rolling for me.

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[silversport]

HF-81 and HFT-92 AM/FM monaural (but MPX available)...paired with Klipsch Quartets currently...

Bill

 

[Bill Haywood]

Their is a H-87 on EBay. Guy said it has some mods and it works. So far bidding is up to 350. Very tempted but just gonna watch.

 

[vendo81]

I own an HF87 to which I added a choke and it sounds quite undistinguishable from my three Matantz 8b. At one third to one fourth the cost of 8b, the HF87 is a great thing.

Terence

Yep. That's why my perfectly good working 8 and 8b are on shelves and the HF87 is in the house. The HF87 is an exceptional amplifier.

 

[maxhifi]

Cortina 3070... Sounds good (though admittedly not like their tube stuff), and was my first foray into fixing transistor amplifiers and learning how they work.

 

[IPAMAN]

I just got a hf-81 restored and I like it as well as my Scott el84s. Next up to acquire as some have suggested is a hf-87. I also have singles of hf-30s and 35s but they need mates and restoration.

 

[Delta17]

I have only heard the HF-12. I love it. That with a single ADC 303AX is how I hear my I-pod. It owes me nothing, sounds warm, smooth, and delicious. It also throws great light on the wall though the mesh top.

Would like to hear some other models.

 

[TBL_HK]

My HF87 makes me think of my Marantz 8b all the time. AB tests revealed favourable results to the HF87.

Terence

 

[RS Steve]

I own two HF-87's that I'm in the process of restoring, but I also own a Eico 2080 integrated amplifier that is super nice sounding.

 

[curtisls87]

I'm new to AK, and this is my first post. I have 3 HF-30 power amps. I used to run two of them in my study and really liked the sound of those parallel push-pull EL84 output tubes. Right now, they are sitting in the garage, awaiting rebuilding. There are only 3 projects in front of them.

 

[Rockyhill]

I have an opportunity to acquire an Eico ST70, likely unrestored. What degree of work is needed to get it functional? I found this mod info:

http://tronola.com/ST-70A_mods_package.pdf

 

[tubeactive]

I have great appreciation for the HF-85 stereo preamp. Its versatility includes three "low level" (high gain) inputs, marked Mic, Tape and Phono. It is one of a very few preamps which gives two choices of outputs, one with only one stage of gain after the phono; another output choice after two gain/tone control stages. The HF-85 Tape Output includes the Volume controls ! The Eico HF-81, their first integrated amp and one of the first five stereo amps, also deserves accolades for numerous reasons. The HF-81 has its Tape Out including the Volume control and Tone controls. The intention was to enable tape recordings with "enhanced" to your liking dubs. BTW, the soon to be available Lafayette KT-600, designed by Stu Hegeman (of later HK Citation fame), also arranged the Tape Out to include the volume, tone and filters...The HF-81 preamp circuit is very similar to the HF-85...

Since the HF-85 phono stage is coupled to the tapped volume controls, these "loudness" taps can simply be repurposed to provide a High Cut/Scratch filter, instead of the useless from the factory, loudness switch. Being closely coupled to the phono stage, this mod makes a very accurate sounding scratch filter, free from the usual phase shifting of certain frequencies, caused by adding more coupling caps and/or another gain stage to the mix. Thus, this arrangement sounds like a "fast" and "dynamic" phono preamp, even when using my scratch filter.

As if this was not enough, these early Eico units include a high gain, Tape input, originally designed to accommodate Tape Heads from tape decks which didn't include preamps. Considering that most tape decks have included preamps since the early 1960s, this Tape Head input can easily be converted into another phono input. Furthermore, since Eico cleverly included Tape EQ switches on the front panels, marked 3 3/4 and 7 1/2, this Tape arrangement can be retrofitted with two Phono playback EQ circuits. For the serious record collectors, having various phono EQ switching for early mono discs is a serious benefit. The Mic input can also be converted into a Phono input.

For hard-core stereo fanatics, enabling these "extra" inputs as phono inputs can be very sonically rewarding. If you were simply wondering what different parts or circuitry sound like, experimenting with different cap and resistor types, as well as parts' values, this preamp can be a joy to work with...

 

[shelly_d]

Cortina 3070... Sounds good (though admittedly not like their tube stuff), and was my first foray into fixing transistor amplifiers and learning how they work.

+1. This was my first amp back in 68 or 69. Built as a kit and sounded fabulous, even if it was a low powered amp. I gave it to my brother when I needed to upgrade when I got my big 3 way Phillips speakers.

 

[vendo81]

I've mentioned the HF87 and HF89 as my favorites but the ST70 that a friend has sounds wonderful. Many people have robbed the ST70's of their quality transformers for stereo amplifier projects. Eico used proven designs and great transformers which made most of their kits a notch above others. I don't really remember listening to an Eico amplifier that sounded bad.