Zarathustra
Active Member
Audire Philosophy part:
"Since our inception in 1971..."
Did not know that. Julius started before Nelson Pass (1974) and Mark Levinson (1972)!
Audire Audio Components
- Thread starter Bostown
- Start date
"Since our inception in 1971..."
Did not know that. Julius started before Nelson Pass (1974) and Mark Levinson (1972)!
Hellbelly
New Member
Hello AudioKarma Audire Thread Folks,
I've been hoarding Audire gear since my early college days in the mid 80's. Last count, 13 pieces. It is getting to the point where I need to have some of the gear worked on / troubleshooted / restored or upgraded. I have a very competent audio repair guy, but he has now mentioned multiple times that wiring diagrams / schematics would help keep the costs down. I am desperately searching for schematics for the Audire 2, Otez and Parlando amps. Any help out there would be most appreciated. I love the performance and obscurity of all of this gear and wish that Julius had positioned someone to take over his business, even just for parts & service. Regards, Drew Kohl in Flagstaff, AZ
I've been hoarding Audire gear since my early college days in the mid 80's. Last count, 13 pieces. It is getting to the point where I need to have some of the gear worked on / troubleshooted / restored or upgraded. I have a very competent audio repair guy, but he has now mentioned multiple times that wiring diagrams / schematics would help keep the costs down. I am desperately searching for schematics for the Audire 2, Otez and Parlando amps. Any help out there would be most appreciated. I love the performance and obscurity of all of this gear and wish that Julius had positioned someone to take over his business, even just for parts & service. Regards, Drew Kohl in Flagstaff, AZ
moebuster
Super Member
Had my tech work his magic on the pre.bass restored.
moebuster
Super Member
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The diffet 1/1a is not an easy piece to work on, especially without schematics. It's a fairly advanced, fully DC coupled and FET input design that was ahead of it's time. As the brochure mentions, no trim pots were used to set balance or bias. The problem with using fixed resistors for this as Julius did, is that transistor specs can drift over time. Bias can possibly increase, overheating and killing transistors, similarly with the DC balance. I have seen repairs done by Julius where transistors were replaced and resistor values adjusted commensurately. Also, watch out because when any problems arise, DC can be sent straight to the outputs up to the rail voltage. This could kill fancy DC power amps or at least give you a hearty scare when the protection circuit of that amp desperately tries to track that assault. The circuit traces are delicate! This is not a piece to trust in the hands of an amateur tech.
It is worth it to keep them going though; It has an excellent transparent and airy quality with some signature JFET cream.
It is worth it to keep them going though; It has an excellent transparent and airy quality with some signature JFET cream.
I concur with everything you've described, @rjb5191. My Andante is even more complex, being a true dual mono design, with mirror image boards mounted on a central aluminum chassis panel. There are no op amps - it's a completely discreet design, DC-coupled - with lots of super-matched dual JFETs. It does have offset voltage trimpots, which is a really good thing, because over time, several of the dual JFETs had drifted, causing very high DC that destroyed my brother's Otez when he owned the preamp. There are no trimpots for bias, unlike, for example, my Spectral using MOSFETs.
And yes, those circuit traces are delicate. Very easy to destroy or at least, lift off the substrate. It is also very easy to damage the JFET current sources, or the differential JFETs. There is no schematic available online that I was ever able to find. It took me months to get that thing working properly, and only after replacing several dual JFETs, a few resistors, and of course, replacing all of the electrolytic caps. Unfortunately, the modular Clarostat volume and tone controls are long unavailable, though there is a company that claims they have the parts to make the pots, at a cost of $250 each. I've drilled out the rivets, cleaned and lubricated the left channel pot, and have gotten a couple of years of use out of it, but I'll have to adapt a different pot in the near future, which won't be easy because it is board-mounted, with a long shaft extending through the chassis.
When my brother owned it, Julius had to repair and adjust it several times. Clearly, components were drifting even 25 years ago, and one failure resulted in Julius replacing one of the boards, which actually had a slightly different tone circuit component value selection. The last repair Julius performed was towards the end of his life, and the condition of the soldering showed he was having more difficulty with the work. My brother was one of Julius' first and most dedicated customers, and for whom Julius designed a special pair of his panel speakers, as I've previously described.
During my ownership, I've had to open it up twice to adjust offset. It's now waiting for me to replace the phono section dual JFETs, which are exhibiting the same signs of drift as the others in the circuit several years ago. Fortunately, I have enough to replace all of them, as well as other JFETs and BJTs, and even a spare transformer. It is clearly showing its age and temperamental nature of the circuit and components, but sounds incredible when working properly. The line stage is crisp and clear, the phono stage is very clean and articulate. I have yet to measure it with my more sensitive distortion analysis instruments, but it performed well with my test gear from the same era. When working properly, it's easily in the top 3 of our many good preamps.
And yes, those circuit traces are delicate. Very easy to destroy or at least, lift off the substrate. It is also very easy to damage the JFET current sources, or the differential JFETs. There is no schematic available online that I was ever able to find. It took me months to get that thing working properly, and only after replacing several dual JFETs, a few resistors, and of course, replacing all of the electrolytic caps. Unfortunately, the modular Clarostat volume and tone controls are long unavailable, though there is a company that claims they have the parts to make the pots, at a cost of $250 each. I've drilled out the rivets, cleaned and lubricated the left channel pot, and have gotten a couple of years of use out of it, but I'll have to adapt a different pot in the near future, which won't be easy because it is board-mounted, with a long shaft extending through the chassis.
When my brother owned it, Julius had to repair and adjust it several times. Clearly, components were drifting even 25 years ago, and one failure resulted in Julius replacing one of the boards, which actually had a slightly different tone circuit component value selection. The last repair Julius performed was towards the end of his life, and the condition of the soldering showed he was having more difficulty with the work. My brother was one of Julius' first and most dedicated customers, and for whom Julius designed a special pair of his panel speakers, as I've previously described.
During my ownership, I've had to open it up twice to adjust offset. It's now waiting for me to replace the phono section dual JFETs, which are exhibiting the same signs of drift as the others in the circuit several years ago. Fortunately, I have enough to replace all of them, as well as other JFETs and BJTs, and even a spare transformer. It is clearly showing its age and temperamental nature of the circuit and components, but sounds incredible when working properly. The line stage is crisp and clear, the phono stage is very clean and articulate. I have yet to measure it with my more sensitive distortion analysis instruments, but it performed well with my test gear from the same era. When working properly, it's easily in the top 3 of our many good preamps.
I sent you a private message regarding a DM700. Thanks!
Hello all,
Very early Audire / Julius fan. I have a collection of mostly disabled Audire pieces. Legatos, Forte, Noble, Cresendo, Diffets, Image 1, maybe 10+ pieces. A few prototypes, sub, preamps. Id like to find a repair person for a Noble set. or even a Forte. Most I just need to let go. Anyone interested? Ill get some photos. Been my systems for a long time. Very happy to hear from any Audire fan. You sound like you knew Julius. I knew him since I was about 10 yo. Im old now.
Welcome Audire 2!
I know of no one specializing in Audire repair.
I for one, would be interested in any remnants of your collection there.
I have a couple Audire pieces, but wouldn't mind having others.
Some Audire schematics here :
www.diyaudio.com
Audire USA Amplifier Schematics
Gentlemen, for reasons of historical interest and sake of completeness let me offer some Audire schematic diagrams here. The company owner Julius Siksnius died some time ago and can no longer be asked. I did repairs for the local distributor and we received the schematics by letter or Fax -...