1000W Valve (tube) Amplifier

[AgentOrange]

Found this youtube video whilst browsing another forum. It's a phillips EL6471 1000w Amp. Kinda scary to look at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3_-2fUm6y0&feature=related

 

[reggaenaut]

It looks like one of those humongous tube amplifiers which were used by some reggae promoters.

 

[chadnliz]

Is that blue light a gizmo for eye candy?

 

[Scuzzer]

That one is very cool however I've always had a soft spot for this single ended beast.

It has a 4200 volt power supply and 150 watts of triode output. I read somewhere that he had a Chernobyl type meltdown one time and the thing burned through the floors until it hit his concrete basement.

The guy that built it lives in my hometown, I've got to find a way to meet him someday.

 

[electronjohn]

Visual proof that 866s are THE THING for hi-power rectification.

 

[Splatter Pak]

That thing could give the VTL Wotan a run for its money...

 

[Stereoholic]

Is that blue light a gizmo for eye candy?

Nope- they're mercury vapor rectifier tubes used in the power supply (I think).

 

[SoCal Sam]

I can't tell...is that monster mono? I think I will need two of them and a new circuit box to drive them.

 

[similost]

THis video made the rounds around here before.. You are not hearing the actual amp in this video.. From the original poster of the video..

In this video a second amplifier is connected, the 1kW amp works in a load resistor (I´ve mentioned that in the "Toccata video", forgot it doing here).

 

[kevzep]

THis video made the rounds around here before.. You are not hearing the actual amp in this video.. From the original poster of the video..

In this video a second amplifier is connected, the 1kW amp works in a load resistor (I´ve mentioned that in the "Toccata video", forgot it doing here).

Yeah no way.like to see a speaker handle that sort of power playing that organ recital.
Very impressive, and yes I believe also those 6 tubes are mercury vapour rectifiers...............
Of course I want one, but maybe not the powerbill................and recones.

 

[kevzep]

Who would like to fill me in on this amplifier..............someone here will know the lowdown on it.
Why was there a 1000watt audio amplifier in 1955, what was it designed for where did they use them, and for goodness sake, what speakers did they plug into that bohemoth.........for starters, I want to know more.
Im curious..........very curious.

 

[similost]

Just because it's an amplifier doesn't mean it was used to reproduce sound. Doing a little searching around, I found a PDF that evidently mentions the amp in it, but you have to purchase the PDF in order to read the text.

It is a discussion about moving a granular bed for filtration. Remember a lot of shaker tables actually use amplifiers. I have a feeling this amp was used in some sort of industrial application.

I have a feeling it probably doesn't do a very good job of reproducing music due to the range of trannys....

Here's what I found, but when you take the link, it only gives a snip and information about the PDF..

Moving granular bed filtration with electrostatic enhancement for ...
by CAP Zevenhoven - 1993 - Cited by 6 - Related articles
The AC voltages were generated using a sinewave signal generator (Wavetek 132), an amplifier (Philips EL 6471, I WA) and a transformer (Siemens, max. ...

 

[GordonW]

The other usual purpose of such an amplifier, would be public address. Ostensibly, such an amp could have powered the entire complement of speakers for a train station or a sports arena, through a transformer-coupled 70-volt-line array.

I know that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway used to have a solid-state "analog" to this... one Crown D1200 apparently powered all the PA speakers, through miles of 70 volt transformer-coupled wiring. 1200 watts into 8 ohm load, something stupid like close to 10000 watts at one ohm. This amp isn't quite that big, but of course, there's a lot of venues that are (and were) much smaller than Indy...

BTW: Here's a modern implementation of a 1000 watt tube amplifier:

http://www.chambonino.com/construct/const9.html

Four 813s (each pair easily capable of 650 watts). Should be able to chug along at 1000 watts without breaking much of a sweat. However, everyone AROUND it will likely be sweating, because these suckers belch some HEAT...

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[whoaru99]

I heard about the Indy speedway too, but the version I heard was that they used Crown MA10,000.

You see them for sale every now and then. Unfortunately, they're set up for 208V 3-phase so unless you have a converter or live in an industrial park, not practical. However, at the right price, I'd probably snag one just because...

I particularly like this part from the cut sheet. "Eighty rugged 250-watt ouput transistors are used with eight 150-watt driver devices...". Heck, the thing has a beefier driver stage than the outputs of many other amps. One could probably get something similar from AE Techron, but it wouldn't have the MA10,000 moniker.

 

[theophile]

To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee:

That ain't a tube......This is a tube.

 

[vincei]

That is one scary video if you ask me, the combo of the tubes pulsating and the organ music, erieeeeeeeee. I can see the phantom of the opera playing this in the 20's or 30's. I'm gonna have nightmares about that amp now.

 

[BrocLuno]

Fun ...

Nope- they're mercury vapor rectifier tubes used in the power supply (I think).

Ditto - when I was in NOAA, we used to drop by the VLF (very low freq) AM marine ship to shore stations when there was still AM Marine Band used commercially. They had Mercury vapor rectifiers in their own caged rooms that lit up like a full boogie war zone. Blue Purple flash is a dead give away. OBTW - they were pushing 15K watts and could ramp to 50K in emergencies - all tubes. Yeah - Marconi and RCA Marine

 

[Mchaz]

Incredible amp!

Thanks for posting. I heard that piece performed live by an organ student about a year ago, and forgot the name of it. Now, thanks to your post, I've rediscovered it.

Widor Toccata - 5th Organ Symphony

Ahh, wonderful.

 

[Apreggiator]

Light up those (six) mercury vapor rectifier tubes!

P.s. these beasts should be most common here in the Netherlands (because Philips is synonymous the city of Eindhoven), but my assumption is that only a handful were built? And next to this 1KW model there were more powerful models as well. If anyone has more or better history please do share!
P.p.s attempts to build a homage to this beast or these kind of beast more than welcome too.
P.p.p.s Need to build 3 phase power into my next kitchen anyway..

 

[theophile]

15 year zombie thread re-awakening.