Baldwin 40 watt Mono Blocks get Getchellfied!

I have a pair of the 6L6 PPP Baldwins like yours and also the 6V6 PPP version. I have been waiting for your report on the details of the build and results before I start in on mine. Are you still planning to do a post on the completed amps?

Thanks,

Steve
 
I'm not the genius behind the rebuild on these (Thespeakerdude8
, who started the thread over a year ago is) only the end user that gets to take them home and enjoy 'em.

Sadly I haven't gotten alot of time to play them but I can say these are some of the best sounding amps I've heard. The detailing in the mids & highs is absurd, right down to the decay of a piano note or pluck of a guitar string. I was surprised by the bass that these can produce, not something I'd expect from tubes. My preamp doesn't have tone controls nor needs them. In fact, my speakers (some home built towers) sound much brighter and almost too bright to the point I may go in and changed out resistors on the tweeters to pull them down some.

I have an old set of early '80's Klipsch Heresy's I've recapped I hooked up to my Denon solid state system and almost pulled immediately as I couldn't stand how they sounded (that's another thread)... no bass, mids & highs sounded ok but not stellar, almost muted. On the tubes its a different story. Highs & mids are very detailed almost too much (not sure if I'm hitting the limits of the drivers, they're showing the limits of the recordings probably a little of both). In fact on the tubes, the Heresys even hint that they do have a set of balls and hint at some deep bass. They have detailed & solid bass, much more so than the solid state stuff but still have the usualy Heresy complaint of lack of low end. It was enough to impress me and decide to keep the Heresys around.

My only complaint (and that's not saying much as its not really a complaint) on these other than the fact they're space heaters is the input sensitivity. These replace an older set of '20 watters' that utilize the older input Thespeakerdude8 references. I had to find a preamp with a hot enough output that you could almost run an arc welder off of (30v @ 10db gain). I think I fried the input of an EQ I was using. I had hoped with the newer preamp circuit & doubling the output tubes I'd have more useable power. There is more power and a bit more output but I still need to use the high gain output on my preamp (one is the 30v, the other is a 10v 0db gain I believe.) The nice part about these is unlike the less power amps these replace, these have a good power reserve and don't run out of power like the other ones did occasionally. I had them driving some fairly inefficient speakers and they'd top out on some loud crescendos in some music passages, but not very often.

Overall I'm happy with them. Bobby had A-B'd these with some other tube amps he had and while some of the lower powered ones played as loud as these, they didn't have near the rich sound or detailing the Baldwins do.
 
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I'd love to see pictures of the completed amps. I'm guessing I'm not the only one. :yes:

cubdog
 
Sorry, been busy with other stuff. I had these amps attached to a some maple boards. I dig out some old walnut and made new bases. These are about 3/4" thick. I have some 1" thick slabs I would like to use but I'm not sure there would be enough clearance on the shelf they sit on. The shelves are fixed in a built in unit and can't be moved. I also want to get some tags made with the Baldwin logo & amp model & s/n.
 

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Yep, thanks for the follow-up pictures. That's some beautiful work there.
In the upskirt photo, what are those copper coily things?
 
May I have some info please.

Hi Battradio,

I have a pair of the 6L6 PPP and the 6V6 PPP Baldwins. I need to do some work on them and have been waiting/hoping you would write a post about the changes you made and the results. Maybe even post a schematic.

What can I get for bandwidth with the stock OPTs? Are they suitable for full range or only low end? My office and home systems are bi-amped.

Steve
 
Finally getting around to the finishing touches on the amps including a solid 1" thick walnut base (old wood, when 1" meant 1" and not 3/4") with some custom brass name plates.



 
Yet another awesome rebuild job by BG. I need to have him bring over a set of Ampex mono blocks to try out with my gear as I don't currently have any tube equipment.
 
Het everyone, I just wanted to subscribe to this thread.

I recently picked up a pair of these and want to do a build just like Thespeakerdude and bre's dad. I'm horribly inexperienced and hopefully I'll be able to pick your brains as I go.

Here's the thread I started before I realized this one existed.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=647226

Thanks!

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=647226

P.S. Are the pictures in this thread working for everyone? I just see X icons.
 
I actually have two of these as well. I take it that you are using them with the Jolida preamp? As in, you cant use them without a pre amp. Sorry, I know this seems like a complete beginner question.
 
Hello Guys. Im resurrecting the thread again as I am in the process of rebuilding my pair of monoblocks just like what bre's dad have with 12ax7 inverters. I hope speaker dude will will see this as i need help with the voltages. I'm also using a bucking transformer to get the voltage where it needs to be.

On my amps with the original un modded power supply, Im reading 390v on the plates , 385v at the screens and 32v at the cathodes of the 6l6 power tubes and 240v at the plates of the 12ax7 tubes. The voltages on the schematic says that the 6l6 needs to have 390v at the plate, 300v at the screens, and at 26v at the cathodes and 170v at the plate of the 12ax7. DO I need to adjust the power supply to follow the voltages on the schematic? attach is the modified schematic traced from my amps as the schematic is from the 6sl7 version. By the way, the amps sounds very very nice.

thanks
 

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:lurk:

I like to see what others have done to these amps. I have two of them that don't look real pretty at all, but they sound good. I replaced all the caps, installed a better electrical connector, added input and output jacks, changed a couple of resistors, installed aa bucking transformer, and they get some play now and then. They don't meet the Wife Acceptance Factor because of their looks, so they aren't out all the time.
 
I have one on the bench now that I have not recapped, added a RCA input jack, removed some wiring, connected a test speaker and brought it up on the variac. I am using a computer for source and a realistic bookshelf speaker and the gain seems a little low. I plan on using them with a Dynaco PAS preamplifier. I have read through all the threads regarding them. I wanted to give them a try with the original baldwin circuit before I make any decisions regarding modifications. My voltages are a little high on the 6l6 screens(383 volts instead of the 300 volts shown on the schematics). Do you recall what you ended up with on the screen voltage of the 6L6?
 

s-petersen Scott Subscriber

I also have a pair waiting in the wings, I am thinking of converting them to 6550's or KT-120's

are you thinking of a quad of 6550's like Batradios? This is where I would eventually like to end up.
 
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