Wes_in_VA
Super Member
I'm looking for some input from my tube lovin' brethren on what to do here:
My BIL gave me these Eico HF20s a while back and I fell in love with them. I used them as monoblocks for a while by pulling the V2 tube and that worked great. In my quest for sonic bliss I wanted more, so I sent them off to Stu at Eico Builders and asked him to convert them to true monoblocks and remove all the un-needed stuff. Also, upgrade the speaker connections to 5 way posts and install better RCA jacks.
I put some cash into that, about $400 IIRC so not tons, but a nice chunk. Got them back and they were really superb, but that only lasted for about a month. At that time one of the power transformers died. Back they went. Stu fixed them up and took care of me. I was happy with how we handled it.
Now, though, one of them has developed a pretty severe 60hZ hum. I can't remember at the moment whether it's the same one that had the transformer issue but I think it is.
My question is this: Do I try to get these fixed, and if so, will a knowledgeable tube tech be able to work on them without a schematic of the changes that Stu made? It's all point to point wiring, so I'd think so,l but I know nothing about working on tube amps. I had a local guy look at these when I had the first issue since I really didn't want to lose them for a month while they got fixed. He gave them back to me because they had been modded.
If I decide to divest myself of them, are people going to be interested in modded units with no schematic? I am NOT asking for advice on value and don't want to discuss that at all. I can figure that out myself if I know how much difficulty there will be with the mods for someone who buys them.
I'd appreciate anything you guys have to offer.
My BIL gave me these Eico HF20s a while back and I fell in love with them. I used them as monoblocks for a while by pulling the V2 tube and that worked great. In my quest for sonic bliss I wanted more, so I sent them off to Stu at Eico Builders and asked him to convert them to true monoblocks and remove all the un-needed stuff. Also, upgrade the speaker connections to 5 way posts and install better RCA jacks.
I put some cash into that, about $400 IIRC so not tons, but a nice chunk. Got them back and they were really superb, but that only lasted for about a month. At that time one of the power transformers died. Back they went. Stu fixed them up and took care of me. I was happy with how we handled it.
Now, though, one of them has developed a pretty severe 60hZ hum. I can't remember at the moment whether it's the same one that had the transformer issue but I think it is.
My question is this: Do I try to get these fixed, and if so, will a knowledgeable tube tech be able to work on them without a schematic of the changes that Stu made? It's all point to point wiring, so I'd think so,l but I know nothing about working on tube amps. I had a local guy look at these when I had the first issue since I really didn't want to lose them for a month while they got fixed. He gave them back to me because they had been modded.
If I decide to divest myself of them, are people going to be interested in modded units with no schematic? I am NOT asking for advice on value and don't want to discuss that at all. I can figure that out myself if I know how much difficulty there will be with the mods for someone who buys them.
I'd appreciate anything you guys have to offer.