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An Eico HF-81 brought back from the dead

specialidiot

specialidiot

Break Glass, Smoke Lucky
I'll dig up the original condition and restoration photos tomorrow, but I'm really excited to show off the finished product.

The poor guy's cabinet pieces were bashed in, there was a 1/2" layer of crud all over it, and electrically there were all kinds of things wrong with it. The builder of the kit wouldn't have passed remedial soldering and pretty much all of the tubes were shot. I replaced nearly all of the caps and several resistors with top of the line stuff per Jim McShane's recommendation.

It still wasn't right when I was done so I enlisted AK newcomer and Eico list (yahoogroups) wizard dcgillespie to figure it out. It came back singing!

Well the power tranny had developed a nasty buzz that I couldn't tame, so I actually found the OEM replacement and swapped it out.

Finally, I called on our resident master craftsman ejfud for cabinet work. Gary fashioned a new box from 3/8" birch ply and veneered it in teak. I cleaned up the top grille and painted it with gold engine enamel. Then I boiled the front face plate in a baking soda solution in order to remove the old lacquer, polished it up, and added a nice coat of satin lacquer.

Tonight it all came together at Gary's house and I'm very pleased! Thanks to everyone who had a hand in this, we saved one!

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That is one of the very few amps that is on my short list to get my ears on. I have heard so many good things about the HF-81 that I am about to the point of just buying one off ebay.

This one came out VERY nice; excellent work fellas! :thmbsp:
 
Looks wonderful. It must sound great also. I picked up an HF-85 for a pittance, now I can't imagine life without it. I paid $100 locally, they go for $350/400 on Ebay. People have certainly discovered Eico.

I am curious about the RIAA circuit. How does it sound, and what did you to to upgrade it?
 
I just opened an email from Gary. Among other things discussed, he attached a pic of your finished Eico.

I told him the same thing I'm going to tell you now. That's gotta be the prettiest HF-81 I have ever seen :yes:

Very nice work guys!

RC
 
I don't think I've ever seen an EICO remotely close to that level of craft.

Outstanding work, truly one of the best if not the best HF-81 extant.
 
cooljjay said:
Very nice, I like the cabinet, wish I could find one for my HF-85.
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gogofast said:
never seen a cabinet like that.
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It's a one of a kind custom build by Gary. I dropped off the amp chassis and a sheet of plywood, and that's what he came up with. It fits like a glove, and he even found a nice way of incorporating the top grille without cutting it.

poppachubby said:
Looks wonderful. It must sound great also. I picked up an HF-85 for a pittance, now I can't imagine life without it. I paid $100 locally, they go for $350/400 on Ebay. People have certainly discovered Eico.

I am curious about the RIAA circuit. How does it sound, and what did you to to upgrade it?
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Current Audiogon listings range from $650 to $799. Mine was slightly less than the $350 you cite, and I have a fair investment in replacement parts including caps, tubes, and the Heyboer power transformer.

There are a lot of web sites extolling the HF-81 and a glowing review on Stereophile. I have to say that I can't disagree with it.

Regarding the phono stage, it is nice and quiet but I've yet to connect a worthy turntable to it so I really can't definitively comment on the sound. There are a few new caps in the circuit and I can get you those types and values when I get home this evening.

EDIT: I was surprised to find that Eico uses a 12AX7 in the phono stage as opposed to a 7025 or other low noise tube. I currently have 12AX7LPS Sovteks in all positions, but I have a nice assortment of 'AX7s to roll into the phono stage.

Also.... are you related to the real popa chubby? ;)

soundmotor said:
I don't think I've ever seen an EICO remotely close to that level of craft.

Outstanding work, truly one of the best if not the best HF-81 extant.
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I think Gary did a very nice job recreating the essence of the original Eico while putting his own spin on it.
 
Here are a couple of early pictures....

I had already used a soft paint brush to get most of the crud out...

eico01.jpg


Here you can see the wood face plate it came with....

eico05.jpg


A shot of the guts after replacing the caps and critical power supply resistors

eico12.jpg
 
Oh, My, Lord! That is absolutely gorgeous! Will you be teaming it up with your Cornwalls? It's a killer combo, trust me.
 
ekmanning5 said:
Oh, My, Lord! That is absolutely gorgeous! Will you be teaming it up with your Cornwalls? It's a killer combo, trust me.
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Right now I have the A25's on the Eico and Cornwalls with my SET 45. But I have a neat switch so I can use both amps with both speakers.

I had the Eico sitting nude in my system for the last month and believe it or not, it seems to like the Diatones quite a bit.

I also came across a thread that mentioned Ohm Walsh 2's... I happen to have a pair so I'm going to try them too.
 
Looks good!!
While tube amps can be a royal PIA to work on.
The final results are almost always worth the trouble, IMO!

Steve
 
specialidiot said:
Right now I have the A25's on the Eico and Cornwalls with my SET 45. But I have a neat switch so I can use both amps with both speakers.

I had the Eico sitting nude in my system for the last month and believe it or not, it seems to like the Diatones quite a bit.

I also came across a thread that mentioned Ohm Walsh 2's... I happen to have a pair so I'm going to try them too.
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When I first got my Eico, before it was restored (and it kicked ass then, too), I ran it with Dynaco A-25s. Nothing wrong with that pairing either.
 
I bought a restored one from Agon for $600. I ran the numbers and it made more sense than spending $350 - $500 on a restoration candidate. I would have restored it myself if I could have found one for less.

Mine has the aftermarket power transformer, the stock one is apparently something that usually breaks. The faceplate and the side plates were painted black, I feel compelled to go back to the original brown color.

It sounds nice with my Fortes, although my listening area isn't anywhere near perfect and it's hard to tell a huge difference between it and my upgraded Dynaco.
 
Most special of idiots,

My HF85 had all rebadged Mullards 5 x 12AX7 and the 6X4 rectifier. The line stages sound unbelievably quiet. The phono stage sounds like crap all around. I have my Creek into the line stage. Keep us posted on the RIAA developments.

Dan Nicotera, who is a Yahoo Eico mod, will be doing some work for me as he lives locally. His handle is Tubes200.

BTW, I had Sound Dynamics 1200 SMT hooked up, which sounded great. I almost cried when I put the Dynaco A25's in. I can say they haven't sounded this good with anything else I have mated them to.

Shameless Photo Opp...

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I had the pleasure of helping Jeff get the amp proper straighten out and operating correctly. But the work he did and vision he had for the final product produced stunning results!

Originally, the unit had significant issues in both channels, but not due to Jeff's recap work. One of his new replacement caps was actually shorted (a cathode bypass) from new, and there were some other issues that a scope and test gear made quick work of.

After the service work, the unit easily met all Eico specifications for power, distortion, gain , etc., and should serve him well for years to come.

Great job Jeff! If that isn't a model restoration to strive for, I don't know what is!!

Dave
 
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