Holy Crap!

[wordherder62]

Well, FedEx showed up today with the newest toy. A Bogen RP-60 tube receiver. So, after some putzing around to figure out a workable ground for the TT, I'm just amazed at how great this sounds.

I think, for now, I've found the sound I'm looking for--the one I've been hearing in my head. And, with a rainy weekend forecast here in Georgia, we've got lots of listening ahead. I think I've just gotten it good and hot!

Richard

 

[similost]

I keep hearing people rave lately about Bogen. Seems they may be going up in price before long if some of us around here keep talking about them.... Glad to hear a nother happy Bogen user.. Damn I can't wait to get mine fired up.. .

 

[jwrosenthal]

I picked one up last August. It sounded fantastic aside of the nasty hum I had from a bad power supply cap. I had my tech re-work it and it is now quiet. It sat for a couple weeks in my basement when ironically my Fisher 500c blew-up (also a power supply cap..hmm). I swapped the Bogen for the Fisher, and it is doing the heavy lifting for now. It is not a Fisher (tuner isn't as powerful, lacks the deep punch, and dynamic soundstage), but it is pretty darn good for what it is. Although my output tubes tested as marginal, so that may have something to do with my impression (my Fisher has brand new EH's which I LOVE). I have heard the bogens 7355's (unobtanium) are a very easy rewire to a 6L6, so I may look into that and see how this little sucker sounds with pefect tubes. Mine RP-60 is naked and I would love a factory cabinet for it, but they are rarer than hens-teeth. My wife actually prefers the Bogen over the Fisher not for the sound, but because it's sooo pretty!

I have the schematic for it somewhere so if you need it, I can dig it up.


James R.

 

[wordherder62]

!

I have the schematic for it somewhere so if you need it, I can dig it up.

James R.

If you can find it that would be great. I don't "need" it but it's always better to have it and not need it than to really need it and not have it!

My tubes are the original Bogen 7355 and they seem to be going strong still. I've found some 7355s here and there and that's next on my list to get at least another quad as a back up pair. Good thing is that the rewire seems to be a possibility to switch to a more available tube if that time comes.

Fisher remains on my list someday but I'm pretty pleased with what showed up today. The cabinet would be nice but it does have that cool Ginza at night look going on with close to 20 tubes going in there! I'm loving the sound of it now and, when the money comes back around, I might consider having somebody refresh it with new caps and the like to bring it up to snuff and perhaps get rid of the last of the hum in the phone section. I'm also curious about the other contingent of tubes in there as to whether some tube rolling in select places would add anything to the sound. There are tubes aplenty in here but I'm sure many are for tuner functions.

Richard

 

[jwrosenthal]

19 tubes last I counted!! Mine came with Mullard 12AX7's (Bogen made in England) in the phono stage, and they are glorious. I prefer them to the Tele's in my Fisher. I loved the Mullards so much that I ordered a matched, low noise, low microphonic pair of the new re-issue Mullards from Tube Depot for my Fisher and they are outstanding!! They are a bit brighter than the originals, but they still have that warm, lush sound. Considering how easy it is to get at those tubes in the Bogen, there is not reason not to play with them.

James R.

 

[wordherder62]

19 tubes last I counted!! Mine came with Mullard 12AX7's (Bogen made in England) in the phono stage, and they are glorious. I prefer them to the Tele's in my Fisher. I loved the Mullards so much that I ordered a matched, low noise, low microphonic pair of the new re-issue Mullards from Tube Depot for my Fisher and they are outstanding!! They are a bit brighter than the originals, but they still have that warm, lush sound. Considering how easy it is to get at those tubes in the Bogen, there is not reason not to play with them.

James R.

Tell me about it. I love the sound on this so far. I'm thinking about taking the covers off all the tubes just so I can see all the glow from this thing! As far as I can tell, everything in here is a Bogen branded tube still. Remarkable life on most of these though I know some of the applications allow for long tube life. I just have to learn enough to figure out where to experiment in here at at this point. But you're right about accessibility. Everything is a straight shot in terms of getting at the tubes.

Richard

 

[jwrosenthal]

The most noticable will be the line stage and phono tubes...no sense messing with the tuner tubes, which as you assumed, many are for the tuner. All the 12AX7's that are branded by Bogen are probably Mullards (with exception being the output tubes which I believe GE was the only mfgr. of 7355). 2 of those Mullards are worth more than I paid for my entire RP-60. In terms of rolling...there are several new 12AX7's out there that are cheap enough to give a try. The Mullards I bought are great, and I have heard good things about the Tung-Sol's. I had a pair of JJ's and they were...decent, but nothing spectaular.

For vintage, take your pick!! But vintage 12AX7's are getting very pricey....plus, if you do indeed have Mullards (they say made in England), then the only rival is teh Telefunken.

The best analogy I heard was that the Telefunken is a akin to a tall, slender, leggy Scandanavian blonde, and the Mullard is like a volupscious, buxom smoldering British brunette..both are just as appealing with very different assets.

James R.

 

[Old_Tech]

No idea

I had a bogen PA back in 1969 I had no idea people were still using Bogen Amps.
sorry, clueless sometimes..ara:

 

[jwrosenthal]

I had a bogen PA back in 1969 I had no idea people were still using Bogen Amps.
sorry, clueless sometimes..ara:

Apparently Bogen made a run at hi-fi for only a couple of years in the late 50's-early 60's. They did a line of intergrated amps and recievers with gold paceplates. They used the basic HK chassis design, and even used the same 7355 output tubes which is why they are so hard to get...all the HK nuts out there hoard them.

I guess Bogen realized that the hi-fi market at the time was over saturated and they were better off sticking with PA systems...smart move as they could have gone the way of HH Scott or Fisher.

James R.

 

[wordherder62]

Ummm, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

Nice! I'm sure this is just how Ray is supposed to sound on Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Smooth, warm and right there in the middle of the room.

I'm enjoying this receiver. I can see why the HK folks are so crazy about the 7355-driven amps now. This has a great sound to it and it's cool to hear music from the time when the amp was made played on what is essentially period equipment as I have KLH Model 17s as the speakers. (I guess the Technics is the only piece out of its element here! Maybe I need an old Thorens or Garrard?)

It looks like everything in here, tube-wise, is the original Bogen stuff so I'm guessing I'll not come up with much improvement over the Mullards there. I might look for the Telefunkens, though. Can you tell me which ones are the line stage and phono tubes by their position in the amp? As noted, there are 19 tubes in this baby! Or are pretty much all of the 12AX7 positions for line stage and phone pre-amp purposes?

And, I guess, I need to get me a back-up quad of 7355s to have in reserve.

Thanks,
Richard

 

[Ohighway]

I picked up a couple of Bogen Do-70 EL-34 monoblocks a few years ago. They're supposed to be geared towards hi-fi use.. At some point I'll go thru these and get them running.