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EL-84 Push Pull console yank, which caps will contribute most to sound quality?

angelaudio said:
Funny thing to note though is that the power tube that looked like it was gassy is simply lacking a chrome/smoked glass top unlike the other three,
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OK, so the rectifier may be good if it was just dust on the outside, but I still say the power tube is bad.

If it has been gassy (basically at atmosphere) for decades, the getter flash will start to dissolve. I'm sure it had getter flash, and I'm sure a tube tester will show it as gassy. You may see tiny bits of oxidized/crystalized (white) getter flash that are now loose the tube (although bits of filament coating can look similar.)

Here's a cool video showing them flash the getter when a tube is made: (No affiliation or recommendation of any particular vendor.)


A pair of EL84/6BQ5's in Push-Pull is rated for 17W (each channel). Some amps are a little less in reality, some push them harder. From the looks of the amp as a whole, and particularly the OPT's, it doesn't look like they are attempting to get a whole lot of horsepower out of them -- and of course that's a good thing. Once it's up and running properly, some voltage measurements will tell you how hard they are pushing them.
 
Those power figures are plate to plate, and trafo efficiency is somewhere in the 80% range. 12-14 watts at the speaker terminal is about what can be expected.
 
trainbuftony said:
This looks to be better than your typical monkey wards comsole.
I'd start by changing the cathode bias caps, the power supply electrolytics and checking all the resistors for drift.
I like those little tag strips they make for a very neat and professional looking bottom side.
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I guess that as this console was made by Capital Records, it was probably a limited edition production for their record dealers or for exclusive sale through their record shops.
The EMI elliptical drivers used in the speakers that came with this are highly regarded. Overall components choice doesn't seem to be of the "bean counters rule here" type.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...onsole-pull-capitol-records-model-936.948592/

Regards,
 
analogadict said:
I guess that as this console was made by Capital Records, it was probably a limited edition production for their record dealers or for exclusive sale through their record shops.
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I believe you're right about limited production etc however I'm pretty sure Capitol Records outsourced the equipment build along with the cabinetry. As to who I have no idea.
 
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kind of curious who the OEM was. I'm sure you're right and it wasn't built by Capitol in-house but they had someone make it. It doesn't look like anything I remember seeing before but that doesn't mean a whole lot.
 
It would be very simple and inexpensive to replace the cap can and all of the individual caps under the hood, and that’s what I would do if I was wanting to keep and use this unit.
 
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