Thoughts on lesser-known European brands? (Vieta, specifically)

[AlanInSitges]

I've been wanting a Scott amp for quite a while now, but in my market even the few really rough unrestored ones are going for 1000€ and more. So I've been playing the waiting game. I can't help but notice, though, that other amps are cheap and plentiful - there are a couple of clean and complete Vieta A217s near me for around 200€. It's a Spanish brand made here in Barcelona, schematic and service data easily available and it looks to be a pretty standard amp of that era with 12AX7s and EL84s with a cathodyne phase inverter and pretty beefy output transformers. Styling-wise I don't generally care for European stuff of this era but these look like maybe they were a knockoff of a HK design and I quite like it. There seem to be plenty of guides to restoring them online and it looks like a really easy recap - plenty of room under that chassis.

Of course anything is going to need to be gone through before I use it or can judge performance, so buying one is going to be a crapshoot. What's the conventional wisdom around these things? Conventional circuit design plus beefy transformers it's probably going to sound OK I'm guessing...is getting Scott-level performance a fantasy? What should I consider before taking the plunge?

 

[Dswankey]

.. there are a couple of clean and complete Vieta A217s near me for around 200€. It's a Spanish brand made here in Barcelona, schematic and service data easily available and it looks to be a pretty standard amp of that era with 12AX7s and EL84s What should I consider before taking the plunge?

Have you considered console pulls? I ask because the Grundig NF20 is a console amp that based on previous threads I've read gets a lot of praise.

Made in Germany so I'm guessing they might be more available in Europe or in your case Catalonia

NF20 Ampl/Mixer Grundig Radio-Vertrieb, RVF, Radiowerke; Fürth |Radiomuseum.org

NF20 Ampl/Mixer Grundig Radio-Vertrieb, RVF, Radiowerke; Fürth/, build 1965/1966, 15 pictures, 1 schematics, 6 tubes, Germany, semiconductors, Audio Amplifier

www.radiomuseum.org

 

[Dswankey]

I did a little research on the Vieta A217, looks like a neat little amp and seeing as they're plentiful and local to you that might be a good direction to go. One thing you wouldn't have to worry about is shipping

Amplificador Vieta Stereo A-217 Ampl/Mixer Vieta Audio | Radiomuseum

Amplificador Vieta Stereo A-217 Ampl/Mixer Vieta Audio Electrónica S.A.; Barcelona, build 1960 ?, 4 pictures, 18 schematics, 10 tubes, Spain, semiconductors

www.radiomuseum.org

Vieta A217 Integrated Tube Amplifier

Hi Tube Amplifier lovers I have a lovely Spanish amplifier in for a service. Siemens tubes all over the place and beautiful point to point wiring. I took some photos that I would like to share with you: I like the symmetrical layout... Excuse the low lighting in this photo :-[ We have...

www.avforums.co.za

 

[AlanInSitges]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm going to go pick up the one that is nearby and give it a change. I'll post back with some photos and results.

 

[zackthedog]

Could be a gem. 25 years ago folks thought Eico amps were junk. ;-)

 

[gadget73]

Looks like a reasonable design, and the transformers aren't teeny. Its reasonably hard to make a truly bad EL84 amp, most of it really depends on the output transformers. There would probably be a few small tweaks I'd do but nothing major, mostly just stuff to make it a little more user friendly in the modern era. Inside layout looks clean and tidy, tons of room to work in there so it would be an easy rebuild.

 

[Mr Boochie]

I've been wanting a Scott amp for quite a while now, but in my market even the few really rough unrestored ones are going for 1000€ and more. So I've been playing the waiting game. I can't help but notice, though, that other amps are cheap and plentiful - there are a couple of clean and complete Vieta A217s near me for around 200€. It's a Spanish brand made here in Barcelona, schematic and service data easily available and it looks to be a pretty standard amp of that era with 12AX7s and EL84s with a cathodyne phase inverter and pretty beefy output transformers. Styling-wise I don't generally care for European stuff of this era but these look like maybe they were a knockoff of a HK design and I quite like it. There seem to be plenty of guides to restoring them online and it looks like a really easy recap - plenty of room under that chassis.

Of course anything is going to need to be gone through before I use it or can judge performance, so buying one is going to be a crapshoot. What's the conventional wisdom around these things? Conventional circuit design plus beefy transformers it's probably going to sound OK I'm guessing...is getting Scott-level performance a fantasy? What should I consider before taking the plunge?

Found this link. True point-to-point circuitry. Very nice.

https://www.avforums.co.za/threads/vieta-a217-integrated-tube-amplifier.44628/

 

[Dswankey]

@Mr Boochie

I saw that thread too, based in South Africa so here's hoping the one the OP picks up in Espana also has those Siemens tubes in it

 

[trainbuftony]

Yeah, a good push pull EL84 amp is all anyone really needs in life. This one is different in that it comes from a lesser known brand (at least to those of us in the USA) but probably has more in common with American 6bq5 amps than we realize... My money is on it sounding really nice after a complete overhaul.
Like Gadget said, you really have to do something big to make an EL84 push pull amp sound bad.
Congratulations.

 

[Lavane]

The first tube amp I messed with qas a 6BQ5 PP console amp. And I didn't get it right, but it still sounded good. I agree you have to really mess one up bad to have them sound bad. Earlier this year I dusted that old amp off and went back through it. I had bodged it pretty bad originally. And it still made nice music.

 

[ceylon]

ive been fantasizing about a lector phono amp for a coupla years.

 

[AlanInSitges]

I agree with the other assessments here, for 200€ how bad can it be? Cosmetically it's about an 8 or so. I'll post details once I have it in hand.

 

[gadget73]

the other thing I like from what I see in pics, it sure looks like those are mostly carbon film type resistors, and the caps look like a mix of polystyrene and and "mustard" film caps, both of which are fairly reliable and high quality parts from the era. They may very well still be in good operating shape, so restoration would be minimal.

 

[AlanInSitges]

Well, I pulled the trigger. As it happens the cheapest one in the country was also the closest to me so I went and picked it up. The guy lived in an old house that was wall-to-wall hoarded with old electronics, mostly 60s-70s European components and speakers. I could have easily brought a truckload home for cheap but fought the urge. I have a feeling it will still be there if I change my mind.

The amp was playing when I got there, but I didn't spend any time listening to it. The case is in great shape for the most part. Inside...not quite as nice. There's a lot of surface rust on the chassis, someone did a hacky recap back in the 80s, and that quartet of Siemens EL84s mentioned in the thread linked above were, well...6P14s, one of which has almost zero emission. The GZ34 is a Telefunken replacement and all the other tubes are the Siemens originals. All of them test strong.

I swapped out the dead 6P14 for another used one I had lying around, and powered it up. It's got quite a bit of filter hum, the controls are all dirty, but it works, so I know the expensive stuff is all OK. Build quality is pretty impressive, big-ass transformers, carefully dressed wires, good quality components, heavy-guage steel, etc.

I really like the aesthetic of this amp, and I'd like to restore it to a high level. As far as the repair goes, I know what I'm doing, but I'm not very experienced with European gear, and not at all when it comes to cosmetic stuff. So I have a few questions:

• What's the conventional wisdom on those mustard caps? I spot-checked some for leakage (especially on the grid of that dead output tube) and they seem to be fine. Replace or no?
• Any reason to replace that bridge rectifier in the bias supply? I believe it is silicon.
• What's the best way to clean up the chassis? I've seen other threads mention using Simple Green, but we don't have that here, and I suspect this rust is more advanced than that anyway.
• The knobs are solid aluminum, and are quite filthy. What's the best way to clean them up? Can I soak them like plastic knobs, or not a good idea?
• Wondering about adding binding posts, and thought about drilling out the rivets holding in those terminal strips, and bolting a steel plate with binding posts connected to the 8-ohm taps in its place. I really don't want to cut it up.
• Aside from replacing all the electrolytics, cleaning controls and switches, replacing output tubes, and then the general physical cleaning and polishing, is there anything else I should plan on?

Thanks for any advice!

Reminds me of a Citation amp, for some reason. Compared to other European stuff of the era, I think it's quite a looker.


Back Panel


Chassis and transformers


Rusty Chassis


Gross Knobs

 

[ceylon]

looks good. happy listening buddy!