Thinking of Buying a Phase Linear 400
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twiiii
Lunatic Member
I remember when my SAE dealer started selling Phase Linear. It sound pretty nice, controlled woofers well and the highs were OK. That caused me to scratch my head. Then I head stories about the 400 and 700 wiping out great speakers and I just chalked up to over enthusiastic owners try to pin the slow moving meters over driving their speakers. But then we got some in for repair and the techs started criticizing them for taking to many short cuts in their assembly and wiring practices. We saw HF oscillation with some speakers, they didn't have any form of speaker protection circuitry that was effective. When they clipped they could be very nasty. But a lot of amps from that period. I always wondered about the HF's I heard. They weren't bad but they weren't great either. Thought SAE and Marantz amplifiers were better. Even my Crowns with their issues above 10 KHZ with impedances close to 4 ohms I thought sounded better most of the time. Te pricing was good, but I was unwilling to change. Until Mac came along with direct coupled amps, then I changed. I liked Power Guard it save a lot of my customers tons of money repairing amps and not blowing speakers, if matched up properly.
So if the amp has been restored and you stay away from over driving the amp and your speakers are rated for that kind of power go ahead and try it, But be fore warned. You step on the power throttle to hard and you are going to be out some money for not only speaker repairs but amplifier repairs. Speakers are more capable today than they were in the 60's and 70's. If you are using speakers from that period, don't blame me for not telling you to be very careful.
So if the amp has been restored and you stay away from over driving the amp and your speakers are rated for that kind of power go ahead and try it, But be fore warned. You step on the power throttle to hard and you are going to be out some money for not only speaker repairs but amplifier repairs. Speakers are more capable today than they were in the 60's and 70's. If you are using speakers from that period, don't blame me for not telling you to be very careful.
I'm running Warfedale E90s, so I think they'll be able to handle most of what this amp is putting out. After reading all these posts, I'm thinking of buying the protection circuit and the main filter caps. The amp I'm looking at is supposed to be working well, but I don't know if it has been restored yet. I plan to use it casually at first then down the road I want to buy the White oak board and swap that in. I'd love to buy a Mac but it's way out of my budget, and everything I've heard about the good Marantz from the 60s and 70s makes me want one, but none of them seem to have a big amp. The other issue is I'm trying to fit this whole thing in a stereo cabinet, so that leaves alot of the giant late 70s early 80s receivers out.
I have a top tier White Oak 700 series II built with all silver wiring and rev G Dual Mono control board. Matches perfectly with the Dual Mono Class A preamp I use. I crank daily to concert levels. Pure clean power and never an issue. I still have a early Dixon metered 4 fin version 400 bone stock and still gets plugged in and used. Its the last Aerosmith amp left that is stock out of the 26 700s, 700Bs and this lone 400 from Hanley Sound in Woburn, MA
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I was using those exact phase linears with Hanley in the mid 90s, Cambridge in those days. Always wanted one back then but they were out of my budget and I don't think Terry wanted to sell.
Last time I talked to Terry he wanted to sell me their Aerosmith EV speakers used with the amps. Terry is good people
The Altec speakers used at Woodstock are still at the Woburn building
I don’t know your budget, but McIntosh amps (over the long run) are less expensive than they seem. And they always put out more power than that stated. All of my Mac amps bench tested at 25-40% more power. They retain their resale value, are built like tanks, and generally require less maintenance.
Call Audio Classics in Vestal, NY. Explain your budget and situation. See what they can do for you. Their used equipment is guaranteed to meet spec. You might be pleasantly surprised at the deal you can make. In the end, a Mac amp might cost you less (or just a little more) and give you more pleasure and bang for your buck.
Call Audio Classics in Vestal, NY. Explain your budget and situation. See what they can do for you. Their used equipment is guaranteed to meet spec. You might be pleasantly surprised at the deal you can make. In the end, a Mac amp might cost you less (or just a little more) and give you more pleasure and bang for your buck.
damacman
Resident Psycho
My Gen1 PL400 was the first big amp I ever owned. It was fully rebuilt and on the Sale table at the local Mc dealer (like 1992). The big meters just pulled me in.
I used it to power the subwoofers in my living room system. She worked great for a few months. Came home one day to the misses telling me - I think I blew up your stereo. She was playing AC/DC, the amp let go, sent the rail voltage to the subs (they survived) and back up the RCAs to the preamp, a McIntosh MX110 - it didn't. The Mc dealer fixed both free as the amp was under the 90-day warranty. I traded the 400 for a Carver m500t shortly thereafter (which was anemic in comparison).
As others have said, at the very least get the speaker protection added and have the amp electrically restored.
I used it to power the subwoofers in my living room system. She worked great for a few months. Came home one day to the misses telling me - I think I blew up your stereo. She was playing AC/DC, the amp let go, sent the rail voltage to the subs (they survived) and back up the RCAs to the preamp, a McIntosh MX110 - it didn't. The Mc dealer fixed both free as the amp was under the 90-day warranty. I traded the 400 for a Carver m500t shortly thereafter (which was anemic in comparison).
As others have said, at the very least get the speaker protection added and have the amp electrically restored.
OP, there are a lot better amplifiers out there, especially these days. For the cost of a clean PL400, then the cost of all of the upgrades (which aren't really upgrades, but indeed shitcanning Bob's design for a better one), plus all the wait time, you could have just bought a nice new, or relatively new amplifier and just been enjoying the music.
The Wharfedale E series aren't exactly delicate, but if you torch a driver in them, you'll probably have a hard time replacing it.
A Phase Linear with White Oak driver boards, etc., is no longer a Phase Linear. It's a White Oak amplifier in a PL chassis. Not that that is a bad thing, I'm sure it's a great improvement in every way. But it's not a PL.
The Wharfedale E series aren't exactly delicate, but if you torch a driver in them, you'll probably have a hard time replacing it.
A Phase Linear with White Oak driver boards, etc., is no longer a Phase Linear. It's a White Oak amplifier in a PL chassis. Not that that is a bad thing, I'm sure it's a great improvement in every way. But it's not a PL.
JimL1
Active Member
Y
Yes Bob was evidentially a minimalist. He manufactured many amps with no power buttons including the small cube amp. I owned one once it has tons of power but when you push it you will blow it up as I did mine. Scary to plug them in and watch them spark. In time it will eat the plug in. Better to hook it up to a power bar and spare the sparks.
JimL1
Active Member
Yes I agree. Although many want one as a nostalgic piece. Can't fault them for that but when they blow they are catastrophic.