Salem. I've been talking with Craig at nosvalves but wouldn't mind something closer so I don't have to ship the amp and pre-amp that far. On another note, does anyone have suggestions as to what I should do to get them up to spec? I want to use these as the mains in my system so I want to do this right and considering the price I got them for, I can spend a bit and still be way ahead.
Jon:
I live in Portland and have an 8B, and my advice would be (if you don't want to send all the way across the country to Terry DeWick) to send them to Craig. You'll get some of the highest-quality work possible, and most importantly, it'll be done by someone who properly appreciates and respects the equipment. You really can't ask for much more than that!
As to what to have done in the 8B, I'd have the old rectifiers replaced with diodes, and then have them make certain that all of the electrolytic capacitors in the bias and power supply are still good. (Personally, at 50+ years old, I'd replace them all, but that's a personal choice. It's reasonably likely that a few will be tending toward failure at this age.) Have them replace the parts that are out of spec with new pieces that are comparable (I'm sure Craig will have some suggestions), and then make certain that the voltages are correct at the various test points. Basically, you want the 8B to be electrically reconditioned to an optimal standard, but **not** hot-rodded.
And I'd suggest the same sort of treatment with the 7C pre... for my Mac C20, I had Terry DeWick give it a thorough once-over including cleaning and re-capping, but no serious modifications-- the C20 and the 7C preamps sing quite nicely on their own, and the best way to appreciate them is to let the benefits of the original circuit design shine through.
As for packing the units for shipping, the important thing is to immobilize the units in their respective boxes (through the use of cardboard inserts, sturdy padding, etc.), and then put that box into a larger padded outer box for shipping purposes. You may think that such double-boxing is overkill, but believe me, you'll sleep better knowing that your units stand a decent chance of arriving intact!
Anyway, that's my $0.02... congrats on your find!!
- Kevin
