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lafayette LA-240 SE el84 integrated

Jcricket

Jcricket

not someday, but today
Subscriber
Hey Folks,
I just bought a Lafayette LA-240 SE integrated. The OPT's looked interesting to me. The faceplate look fairly decent too. I'll post more pics and info after I get the unit.

Anyone here have an opinion on the LA240?
 

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Those look like Olson OPTs, a popular higher end brand in Asia. Hard to say though without more pics.
 
here are two more pics form the ad
 

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I see those Lafayette amps on epay all the time and I believe they usually have little transformers on them. I wonder if the "SE" means they were a special edition with better transformers. Anyway they do look like the transformers that Harry Olson imported back in the 1960s. Those transformers were an OEM product and I don't know if they were made by Sansui or Hashimoto.
 
Agreed. They usually have smaller OPT's. These are huge for an el84. I added the SE, I do not think that is listed anywhere on the amp. I was trying to say single ended. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Sansui I believe is highly regarded, correct? I am not familiar with Hashimoto. Are they considered to be quality transformers?
 
Yes Hashimoto are considered to be quality transformers..

Those do look interesting there.... :scratch2:
 
It still looks nice. Those potted OPTs are different from the pics of the same amp elsewhere. Some grey caps that will need to be checked replaced, but the control post look easy to work on.
 
Jcricket said:
I was mistaken. This unit is a PP tube amp. Just an FYI
Click to expand...

PP, huh? I wonder if they're made by the same people who made the ones on the Armaco (a.k.a. Calrad) AP15 amp I used to have... I do know there was a Knight version of the AP15, too...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
GordonW said:
PP, huh? I wonder if they're made by the same people who made the ones on the Armaco (a.k.a. Calrad) AP15 amp I used to have... I do know there was a Knight version of the AP15, too...

Regards,
Gordon.
Click to expand...

Yeah it is PP. It is kind of goofy on how they situated the tubes. The ones shown between the transformers are actually for one channel , then in the picture above the transformer on the left is the other channel.
It threw me too. I bought it thinking it was SE. Oh, well. it will be fun to mess with and see how it sounds.
 
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There is a Lafayette LA-240 on epay right now with the same output transfomers. The seller says the early versions had the potted transformers.
 
I got my unit today. Cosmetically it is in vg condition. Functionally, it may be fatally broken. The volume pot I think is beyond repair. I tried cleaning it several times. I haven't pulled it and taken it apart yet, but it does not work. It is a dual gang, separate control, 500k with a 50k loudness tap. I can get one channel to come in and work at one spot. It is very loud. The other channel I can get it to drop in an out as I move the pot. I cannot find a spot where the unit will stay on with both channels running. :thumbsdn:

Can anyone share a tip on how to revitalize a pretty dead pot? If not, this unit is bound to be turned into a stand alone amp. I would really hate to do this, but I may have no choice.
 
Jcricket said:
I got my unit today. Cosmetically it is in vg condition. Functionally, it may be fatally broken. The volume pot I think is beyond repair. I tried cleaning it several times. I haven't pulled it and taken it apart yet, but it does not work. It is a dual gang, separate control, 500k with a 50k loudness tap. I can get one channel to come in and work at one spot. It is very loud. The other channel I can get it to drop in an out as I move the pot. I cannot find a spot where the unit will stay on with both channels running. :thumbsdn:

Can anyone share a tip on how to revitalize a pretty dead pot? If not, this unit is bound to be turned into a stand alone amp. I would really hate to do this, but I may have no choice.
Click to expand...

You can take it apart, and see if it's broken, maybe bend the wiper(s) a little tighter...
Dual 500K pot shouldn't be too hard to find, you can wire it in, without the Loudness switch...

Regards,
John
 
Put any DeOxit into the pot and work it back on forth? Replace the pot? I would imagine you could just convert it to a single 500k pot...

I had a LA-224. Great potted output transformers as well. Were not marked Olson. Tango?
 
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