My Masterpiece Citation II build

It's been a hell of a year. This is my story and the story of one of my greatest creations.

I started a small hobby business a couple of years ago. I named it Golden Path Audio.

If you wanted your vintage tube amp built to your dream specifications or If you wanted your vintage JBL or EPI speakers built and revoiced to modern "audiophile" standards (and didnt mind paying for it) I was the guy. And if you were really into your hobby, and had an amp or speaker design that you wanted built, I would be the guy crazy enough to help you tweak your design and build it for you.

I worked strictly by referal and word of mouth. I had more business than I could handle time wise and eventually turned it into a full time business.
Well, divorce is a hell of a thing. So now I have liquidated the business and am having to take it back to a hobby build here and there.

But I am keeping what is, in my opinion, a piece of art. It is what I call a "Harman Kardon Citation II Masterpiece" build. I am choosing to keep this particular amp for reason that I will probably never spend the time and effort to build another (and finding a buyer for an amp built up to this level and number of high end parts is difficult at best).

I tend not to post my builds as they are paid for and the owners may post them if they wish. But since this is my personal amp, I am posting it!

Ok. So I found that I needed an amplifier beyond question. To preface this let me say that In my opinion, this business is proabably 60% "psycho-acoustics". People constantly thow out internet puffery as if it was gospel. And more over the looks of a piece of equipment as well as brand names of the components made the most "difference" in the way a piece "sounded" to a customer.

Sooooo....That being said. I selected the Citation II as the base in which to create my end-all be-all amplifier to be beyond question. The output transformers are possibly the best I have ever heard. The circuit itself is a hot rod circuit and if built correctly, sounds transparent but with soul.

So I found a Citation that had literally been rusting away in a barn missing the bottom and various parts. The condition was so terrible that I didnt feel bad in the least about "butchering" it in honor of the greater Audio Gods. Here is what it looked like after being stripped.



And here is the chasis after applying a healthy dose of automotive body filler on the garage bench. I also took this time to fill the rear to fit a pair of Cardas binding posts for each channel as well as recessing and filling all of the screw heads holding in the RCA jacks and etc.
(you will also see the power supply cap board from another Citation build in this pic)



And here it is after shooting the chassis with Metalflake Black, baking the transformers with Leather-Krinkle black, adding a Zebra wood front plate trimed with chrome and finally adding an LED to show B+ power. While I had the chance I also added a set of test points on the side to that setting bias via multimeter would be easy to do. And since I wouldn't be caging the tubes, I filled and painted the holes on the opposite side of the chassis.





BUT! The real beauty of this amp is what lies beneath the chassis. I needed to make the interior beautiful and impressive to the point where a customer would be proud to have it used to demontrate another piece of equipment. So beauty was a priority along with sonic quality.
I started out knowing that the stock turret boards make it impossible to try different capacitor combinations without a ton of trouble and labor. So I decided to design and build my own set of turret boards. I built a set in which I could desolder and install new caps in a matter of minutes. There are also 20awg silver jumpers were laid as traces on the boards under the components as well.



I then realized that this same ease of capacitor swapping would also be very nice to have in the power supply as well. I found a type of cap for the voltage doubler that I love but are as rare as hens teeth so I won't bother with what they are. Otherwise the Mundorf MLytic do spectacular for the price. And BTW, that is some seriously clear coated Bass Boat metalflake red with capacitor clamps and tube mounts painted in a contrasting Inca Gold.



So I listened to every type of capacitor I could get my hands on. From the cheapest of orange drops to the very best of Teflon. And my favorite combination (that wasnt just dumb@ss expensive) is Mundorf Supreme on the .22uf side with Mundof Supreme Silver/oil on the .47uf side.
And as far as resistors go, I wanted the best of the best. So... obviously I am partial to Caddock and Kiwame, but there are are a few Riken and PRP thrown in here and there for good measure. Overkill and unneeded? Hell yeah! But I try and keep good old metal oxide resitors in specific parts of my amps too so you will see one or two on occasion.





Heat is an issue with this amp so I inverted the worst of the culprit resistors and repaced with Caddock and heatsinks above the board




I had to build a small board to house my choice of Telefunken diodes. You have to give kuddos to the Citation Master himself, Mr. McShane, as it is impossible to build one of these furry beasts without using an idea or two of his. His basic grounding scheme works pretty darn well.



And finally, it was all wired using a truck load of fine silver wire and teflon tubing.



So is my amp WAY over done? Yes, and that was the point of this particular build.

But I do have to say I have never heard this amplifers equal. The other 3 Citations I have built sounded spectacular... but didn't manage to match the performance of my Masterpiece Citation.

Thanks for your time.

:drool::drool::drool:
:ntwrthy::ntwrthy::ntwrthy:

Absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!

Superb rebuild. :drool: :ntwrthy: Nice pics, too! :thmbsp:
Thanks for sharing it.

Sorry to hear about the divorce and the demise of your audio business. I hope things improve for you, from here.

Thank you Arkay, for the sentiment.

The funny thing about the demise of my business is that I wont have to work near as hard now. Going back to my 9-5 engineering job will give me a lot more time to enjoy my projects and builds. Working for yourself means spending a lot of nights and weekends busting your hump.

Ya know......I think this choice of amps was GREAT! I know a lot of people appreciate the old HKs.....but IMHO, they really are under-rated. It took me a long time to come around to that school of thought! I too share the woes of divorce (#2).....followed by job loss.....so most of my 'buying' days are OVER! But, I still have a few old pieces of iron around...a few ST-70s, a set of MC-40s, a half a dozen MkIIs and IIIs, and even some nice Heathkits. My pride and joy 'used' to me a set of ASL Explorer 805s, but then I got to thinkin'......just what's up with these HK amps? And, after a great deal of research, I finally decided it was time to own one. Of course, about that time my employer decided to file bankruptcy.....so my hopes for a Citation II went down the drain. But....along came a V.....and I decided to buy the thing in spite of my economic woes. Here's the rub: I've yet to plug it in! In all the Chaos of divorce, job loss, and now the need to sell my house.....the poor HK is just sitting! I know it's not a II.....but I think I'm gonna love it.....some day! Until then....it's under a blanket, with a new set of SED 6L6s...which are supposed to be able to take the plate voltage! I also matched up a nice set of driver tubes.....and it's all there just waiting. With my luck....I'm not gonna say it....I'd probably 'jinx' myself! Let's just say I hope I live long enough to enjoy this amp. And...perhaps you can offer a few pointers for me for when that day comes! Beautiful job on your II.....makes me wanna post my last ST-70. Powder-coated chassis, custom tranny covers in metalic silver, and a chrome plated cage! I even used cloth covered wire for all the connections. Topped it off with old brown-base tubes on White Porcelain sockets! Stunning to look at....and it sounds as good as any ST-70.....but, still....it's 'just' and ST-70. Oh well........I shoulda put all that effort into the HK.....if I'd had it then! Happy Holidays! Tom D.

Beautiful workmanship in every aspect of that HK build.Do you attribute the superior sound reproduction to your selection of caps and resistors in your build?Did you modify the circuit ?What is the major improvement(s) over a stock,or even rebuilt HK?Very nice! Enjoy the fruits of your skill and labor.
Dave

Just beautiful!

that is just a thing of beauty! i am so jealous of those of you with the know how and skills to do work like this.

Truly...

...a masterpiece ! :thmbsp:

Very nice refurb. :tresbon:

One has to hear one to fully understand your enthusiasm. Overkill, hell no.

Only the best for these brutes.


Steve

Well done....

Bravo my friend, bravo! :tresbon:

GoldenPath said:

It's been a hell of a year. ...
To preface this let me say that In my opinion, this business is proabably 60% "psycho-acoustics". People constantly thow out internet puffery as if it was gospel. And more over the looks of a piece of equipment as well as brand names of the components made the most "difference" in the way a piece "sounded" to a customer.

Sooooo....That being said. ...

Click to expand...

Well spoken Mate! I am in that same camp.

But I absolutely will say that you have done a wonderful job and it looks stunning. One can have a good sounding workhorse. But you have a very nice looking piece of art... that works well, no doubt as well.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your work...

Truly a labor of love.

The WOW factor is really there. A truly beyond beautiful rebuild (which is an understatement beyond understatements).

Very well done indeed! :thmbsp:

I am speechless :drool::drool::drool:! Your masterpiece is awsome!!! Enjoy every line of your post.

That's one great looking amp! Excellent workmanship! :thmbsp:

Only thing I would add would be a custom name plate on the front with 'The Deuce' on it

Cheers

Lar

Hi, GoldenPath! Your restoration job is simply awesome!

I heard Citation II have very low distortion figures, especially at low power. Did you made any measurements of finished amp, and spectrum analysis after tube rolling cycle?