audiodon
Addicted Member
WopOnTour had gotten me interested in the early Harman Kardon integrated amps after I scored and turned over a 6BQ5 based Ballad. Sloober had a Ballad also. It's a fair performer.
But, have you ever had the fantasy or reality of going into your grandmother's garage and finally getting to look under the hood of that bulky old sedan she had with the pleasing exhaust burble?
Introducing a Hemi under the hood type integrated amp. The Harman Kardon A260 Chorale. I got it from a local guy. It sat in a wood case in a basement for years and he cleaned it up some but it would never look great.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=321702&d=1326131575
I bought it, tried it out, found it not unpleasing but unfocused and kind of squishy vintage sounding. It had a lot of big capacitors and I had some giveaways or removals laying around and ordered the rest I'd need from Jim McShane as part of another order.
Fast forward a month and I was painting transformers for another project and decided to do the transformers on this chorale also.
After almost completing a project for an AK friend, I found some idle time and pulled this one out. I decided to change the coupling caps. Then I noticed some burnt looking carbon film resistors near the output tubes. I replaced them. Then I found myself replacing every resistor I had to desolder a lug for a coupling cap on anyway.
After replacing the suspect coupling caps and trying it, I liked what I heard. It snapped into focus and had some muscle.
Next thing you know, I'd hand-matched and replaced almost every circuit resistor with a carbon film resistor. We're not talking a few resistors here, but upwards of 100. I found almost no resistors within spec. The minimum drift was 10%, with drift on some that had been repeatedly been exposed to heat being upwards of 50% of stated value, regardless of the 10% silver band on the resistor.
I just ordered most of the rest of the power supply parts to finish it off.
I have high expectations. I'm kind of hoping it's like an HK250 amp with a preamp attached.
I like the concept of having a switch that bypasses the tone controls.
But, have you ever had the fantasy or reality of going into your grandmother's garage and finally getting to look under the hood of that bulky old sedan she had with the pleasing exhaust burble?
Introducing a Hemi under the hood type integrated amp. The Harman Kardon A260 Chorale. I got it from a local guy. It sat in a wood case in a basement for years and he cleaned it up some but it would never look great.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=321702&d=1326131575
I bought it, tried it out, found it not unpleasing but unfocused and kind of squishy vintage sounding. It had a lot of big capacitors and I had some giveaways or removals laying around and ordered the rest I'd need from Jim McShane as part of another order.
Fast forward a month and I was painting transformers for another project and decided to do the transformers on this chorale also.
After almost completing a project for an AK friend, I found some idle time and pulled this one out. I decided to change the coupling caps. Then I noticed some burnt looking carbon film resistors near the output tubes. I replaced them. Then I found myself replacing every resistor I had to desolder a lug for a coupling cap on anyway.
After replacing the suspect coupling caps and trying it, I liked what I heard. It snapped into focus and had some muscle.
Next thing you know, I'd hand-matched and replaced almost every circuit resistor with a carbon film resistor. We're not talking a few resistors here, but upwards of 100. I found almost no resistors within spec. The minimum drift was 10%, with drift on some that had been repeatedly been exposed to heat being upwards of 50% of stated value, regardless of the 10% silver band on the resistor.
I just ordered most of the rest of the power supply parts to finish it off.
I have high expectations. I'm kind of hoping it's like an HK250 amp with a preamp attached.
I like the concept of having a switch that bypasses the tone controls.
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