Who still owns MELOS tube gear?

I'm not sure what the PS-1 series is. Melo has many versions that are similar. I have a 2 Qty Melos MA220 Phono Stages one is a Plus Series in Silver the other is a Reference in black. I only have 1 power supply. Right now I'm running the black one which I restored and the parts alone cost over $250. I looked into building a power supply and did start obtaining some parts. I was having difficulty finding a dual voltage transformer. I seen a custom build power supply and it had 2 transformers rather then a dual voltage single the is in the power supply I have. I put the project on hold for now and also will sell the silver MA220 if anybody is interested. I was meaning to put it up for sale soon.
If I can be of any help let me know.
 
lorne said:
A LONG STORY SHORT
Melos was a sort of eccentric brand that was the brainchild of one man (AFAIK). But, he filled his production facility and lab with excellent people — some of whom relocated and continued for a time to service broken units after the Melos company went into receivership. They did so without engineering data, schematics and other drawings because all documents went as part of the receivership. Years later, these came up for auction. By chance I spotted this opportunity; I had the idea to bid on the collection. Alas, baby needed new shoes and so on, and I let it go. Now, it seems all the stuff is lost.

LET"S STICK TOGETHER ON AK
Info, data and repair/restoration solutions are very sparse and rare. But, as for those of us who love our Melos stuff, I think we'd go the extra bit to keep these pieces alive. I for one am a long way from being able to afford anything as good, better or more versatile than my GK 1+1 preamp.

I think we should identify and introduce ourselves and share information and solutions. I have some stuff regarding the GK preamp series scattered around AK that could be collated here. If I see there are a number of us interested, I'll do just that and hope that a common effort can begin to create a comprehensive resource.

Best .... Lorne
Click to expand...

So Lorne - I'm wondering if you had many takers for sharing info on your Melos GK 1+1. I have a GK-1, and have similar challenges finding much. I did, however, once catch up with designer Mark Porzilli, who shared a hand-drawn schematic and some cartridge loading specifics for the unit - the documents are actually from the 1+1. He also shared some fond recollections about the preamp, which was apparently a huge hit in Italy even if ignored here. Thus, if you're still in need of any such things, let me know.

Phenomenal preamp - utterly musical and makes my Maggies absolutely sing!

Tim
 
lorne said:
A LONG STORY SHORT
Melos was a sort of eccentric brand that was the brainchild of one man (AFAIK). But, he filled his production facility and lab with excellent people — some of whom relocated and continued for a time to service broken units after the Melos company went into receivership. They did so without engineering data, schematics and other drawings because all documents went as part of the receivership. Years later, these came up for auction. By chance I spotted this opportunity; I had the idea to bid on the collection. Alas, baby needed new shoes and so on, and I let it go. Now, it seems all the stuff is lost.

LET"S STICK TOGETHER ON AK
Info, data and repair/restoration solutions are very sparse and rare. But, as for those of us who love our Melos stuff, I think we'd go the extra bit to keep these pieces alive. I for one am a long way from being able to afford anything as good, better or more versatile than my GK 1+1 preamp.

I think we should identify and introduce ourselves and share information and solutions. I have some stuff regarding the GK preamp series scattered around AK that could be collated here. If I see there are a number of us interested, I'll do just that and hope that a common effort can begin to create a comprehensive resource.

Best .... Lorne
Click to expand...


Lorne
I am the one that bought Melos documents and boards. I still have all the folders and some bare boards. All the schematics were hand drawn . I have built one of the amp both point to point and on pc board. Yes there were no engineeing drawing just hand written materials and typed manuals.The docs for most of preamps are in collection.
Lets connect
 
zamboni99,
Do you have anything on the MA-111 that you could share with me? I cannot even find a user manual. Obviously any hand written notes, parts lists or anything about it would be really helpful. The unit that I own has been modified and I would love to know enough to understand what has been changed from the original design.

Thanks in advance
 
zamboni99 said:
Lorne
I am the one that bought Melos documents and boards. I still have all the folders and some bare boards. All the schematics were hand drawn . I have built one of the amp both point to point and on pc board. Yes there were no engineeing drawing just hand written materials and typed manuals.The docs for most of preamps are in collection.
Lets connect
Click to expand...

I could use a skizmo for the MA-222 tube pre..... Let me know what you have and we can go from there.
 
@ zamboni99 ... so sorry I missed your post in Oct. 2020. I would have replied had I been aware of your news regarding some documents you have. Well ... so late ... but I'm replying now, am alert and waiting for any info and so on.

and ...

@ nonzero ... thanks for your interest. Let us hope that zamboni gets my message and responds. I have some bits and pieces that include drawings of my GK 1+1 rebuild.

A few things to report:

• I retubed my GK-1+1, more a precaution than anything else. It's hard to tell if I improved the sound, but the tubes I had in the unit were years and years old. Of course the replacements had not been treated with isotopic salts — or whatever that yellowish coating is on the the Melos treated originals.

• The subtraction of the R balance pots IMHO made a very excellent improvement. I continue to enjoy the modification every time I use the system. In a previous post, I explained the installation of Alps Blue, audio tapered pots. I positioned them in the same holes left by the balance pots. I had to change the wiring about, of course. The result was immediately evident for the better. Now this is not for everyone. A lot of people are not going to enjoy fiddling with two volumes pots. Me ... I. don't mind at all. The advantage is that you can finely tune the balance for all sorts of contingencies including one's room. The arrangement work better than a single pot that trades off one Chanel for another. Each adjustment is discrete for a respective channel. And yes, it's fiddley, but very much worth the effort. And the signal os not going through those resistors on the pots.

• Since I last wrote in, the big Sansui I was using for it's power amp section died. Even an ex-Sansui engineer. who has been my go-to technician for years could not repair it due to lack of available parts. (I gave it to him as a parts unit to cannibalize for at least the 'unobtainium' he'd installed over time.) Since then, I've used Trio (Kenwood) L-05M twinned monoblocs for power. These amps are excellent and fast, but they are just a bit too sharp and shrill. That's OK for metal rock and brass bands and stuff, but for Prokofiev, Fats Waller and Lady Day ... not so much. But, the ever versatile GK tames the sound. Digital media is very enjoyable as well. The GK is still my go to 30+ years on.

Lets hope we can reignite this thread, keep in touch and unite to keep our stuff alive. For what they are worth, if anyone needs my notes and stuff, I will put them up in this thread to help out. They may still be on this site somewhere, but the photo host may have scuttled them, or have them watermarked. And BTW: I'm not a techie ... just a stumbling hobbyist. I am rebuilding a Dynaco ST-70 that used to pair with the GK many years. ago.
 
lorne said:
@ zamboni99 ... so sorry I missed your post in Oct. 2020. I would have replied had I been aware of your news regarding some documents you have. Well ... so late ... but I'm replying now, am alert and waiting for any info and so on.

and ...

@ nonzero ... thanks for your interest. Let us hope that zamboni gets my message and responds. I have some bits and pieces that include drawings of my GK 1+1 rebuild.

A few things to report:

• I retubed my GK-1+1, more a precaution than anything else. It's hard to tell if I improved the sound, but the tubes I had in the unit were years and years old. Of course the replacements had not been treated with isotopic salts — or whatever that yellowish coating is on the the Melos treated originals.

• The subtraction of the R balance pots IMHO made a very excellent improvement. I continue to enjoy the modification every time I use the system. In a previous post, I explained the installation of Alps Blue, audio tapered pots. I positioned them in the same holes left by the balance pots. I had to change the wiring about, of course. The result was immediately evident for the better. Now this is not for everyone. A lot of people are not going to enjoy fiddling with two volumes pots. Me ... I. don't mind at all. The advantage is that you can finely tune the balance for all sorts of contingencies including one's room. The arrangement work better than a single pot that trades off one Chanel for another. Each adjustment is discrete for a respective channel. And yes, it's fiddley, but very much worth the effort. And the signal os not going through those resistors on the pots.

• Since I last wrote in, the big Sansui I was using for it's power amp section died. Even an ex-Sansui engineer. who has been my go-to technician for years could not repair it due to lack of available parts. (I gave it to him as a parts unit to cannibalize for at least the 'unobtainium' he'd installed over time.) Since then, I've used Trio (Kenwood) L-05M twinned monoblocs for power. These amps are excellent and fast, but they are just a bit too sharp and shrill. That's OK for metal rock and brass bands and stuff, but for Prokofiev, Fats Waller and Lady Day ... not so much. But, the ever versatile GK tames the sound. Digital media is very enjoyable as well. The GK is still my go to 30+ years on.

Lets hope we can reignite this thread, keep in touch and unite to keep our stuff alive. For what they are worth, if anyone needs my notes and stuff, I will put them up in this thread to help out. They may still be on this site somewhere, but the photo host may have scuttled them, or have them watermarked. And BTW: I'm not a techie ... just a stumbling hobbyist. I am rebuilding a Dynaco ST-70 that used to pair with the GK many years. ago.
Click to expand...

So is there any info around here on the MA-222???
 
i been seein a lot of melos pop up on hifi shark (usally USAM) lately. always curious. glad to read this thread.
 
If anybody is interested, I received a reply from the former Melos engineer and he has access to the schematics and stuff (Schematics are $100). They told me that they even have new power supplies ($500) so there must be some parts and stuff available. I already gutted mine and replaced it already so I don't have a need for that stuff. I have no affiliation with these guys and it took them 8 months to reply but apparently they are in business (Kinda).... PM me if you want the contact info and I'll pass it on to you. Maybe we should do a group buy and get some skizmo's that we were all searching for and then share them????
 
bonzoro said:
If anybody is interested, I received a reply from the former Melos engineer and he has access to the schematics and stuff (Schematics are $100). They told me that they even have new power supplies ($500) so there must be some parts and stuff available. I already gutted mine and replaced it already so I don't have a need for that stuff. I have no affiliation with these guys and it took them 8 months to reply but apparently they are in business (Kinda).... PM me if you want the contact info and I'll pass it on to you. Maybe we should do a group buy and get some skizmo's that we were all searching for and then share them????
Click to expand...
WOW ... who would've thunk!! Very surprising after all these years! Thanks for the heads-up bonzoro.
As for the schematic: all I have ever come up with is a handmade drawing that is really difficult to read. I think it came up on an AK thread. I'd really like the schematics, But $100? And in Japanese yen, the currency I have to use, that's a real bomb to pay. I'm on a very restrictive budget. I dunno if it's "cheating" or what, but I'd be interested in a group buy for the docs, cuz I'm not going to get them any other way.
As for the PS: they were not all the same. Who knows what the schematics will cover? The ones with two transformers are not channel 'separates'. That type comes in a rectangular box. There is another type that is in a squarish case. Mine is the former. I rebuilt it without schematics. I substituted some flash caps with regular, bog standard electrolytic types. I sort of guessed at some diodes. And with some advice from an engineer, I added a much huger heat sink to a transistor.
I think I was cooking the PS cuz the mains supply here in Miyagi prefecture is at 50 Hz — not 60Hz. All Japanese electrical stuff is designed to run either at 50 or 60 Hz. The current varies depending on where you live. I use a step-up transformer. I also added a large fan and venturi on a DIY made hood. It has run very cool for years — even on a 50Hz mains supply.
And while I'm here, I may as well pass on a tip. Those damn resistor gain pots bugged me for years. The previous owners (over 3 decades ago) got Melos himself to replace them, but I never liked them. So one day I pulled them and the volume pot out. I wired in two Alps 127? Blues instead. Then blanked out one hole with a USA "Indian Head" dime. I love it the way I can fine tune the balance with two pots!
If anyone has any idea on obtaining stuff, I'd like to be a part of the venture.

AND a 'Q' @ bonzoro (and any other Melos owner): did you fry your PS? Even at the proper current ( 60Hz) they ran very hot — or at least mine did! (At 50Hz the fiberglass board was scorched!)
 
lorne said:
WOW ... who would've thunk!! Very surprising after all these years! Thanks for the heads-up bonzoro.
As for the schematic: all I have ever come up with is a handmade drawing that is really difficult to read. I think it came up on an AK thread. I'd really like the schematics, But $100? And in Japanese yen, the currency I have to use, that's a real bomb to pay. I'm on a very restrictive budget. I dunno if it's "cheating" or what, but I'd be interested in a group buy for the docs, cuz I'm not going to get them any other way.
As for the PS: they were not all the same. Who knows what the schematics will cover? The ones with two transformers are not channel 'separates'. That type comes in a rectangular box. There is another type that is in a squarish case. Mine is the former. I rebuilt it without schematics. I substituted some flash caps with regular, bog standard electrolytic types. I sort of guessed at some diodes. And with some advice from an engineer, I added a much huger heat sink to a transistor.
I think I was cooking the PS cuz the mains supply here in Miyagi prefecture is at 50 Hz — not 60Hz. All Japanese electrical stuff is designed to run either at 50 or 60 Hz. The current varies depending on where you live. I use a step-up transformer. I also added a large fan and venturi on a DIY made hood. It has run very cool for years — even on a 50Hz mains supply.
And while I'm here, I may as well pass on a tip. Those damn resistor gain pots bugged me for years. The previous owners (over 3 decades ago) got Melos himself to replace them, but I never liked them. So one day I pulled them and the volume pot out. I wired in two Alps 127? Blues instead. Then blanked out one hole with a USA "Indian Head" dime. I love it the way I can fine tune the balance with two pots!
If anyone has any idea on obtaining stuff, I'd like to be a part of the venture.

AND a 'Q' @ bonzoro (and any other Melos owner): did you fry your PS? Even at the proper current ( 60Hz) they ran very hot — or at least mine did! (At 50Hz the fiberglass board was scorched!)
Click to expand...

My Ma-222 was given to me and the power supply was fried and the previous tech messed up the preamp and wired the one power supply channel that worked to both left and right side of the preamp box. I gutted it and built my own power supplies and wired them to the preamp so I have no AC in the pre box. It works great and sounds great but the cheap relays that came from china suck. I'm getting some good ones and I'm also putting in sockets so they are easy to remove if I have to do some repairs.
 
I guess it depends on what $100 gives us. I have a MA-111 and would like a schematic but suspect that there are iterations. Not sure I want to spend anything unless I know it is going to be covered. Now, for $100 for all the Melos gear, then maybe we can talk.
 
lorne said:
This sounds like the GK1+1. The 1+1 model had a larger power supply module than the GK-1. The difference is visibly obvious just by comparing the size and shape of the power supply chassis. In the next few weeks, I am going to open mine up (once again). I will photo the daylights out of it to give you a hand in rewiring — if you are interested. Also, someone's hand-drawn schematic (shown below) may help you too.

Moreover —but I stand to be corrected — I do not believe that the GK-1+1 is dual mono. I totally rebuilt a GK-1+1 power supply module years ago — without a schematic. As incompetent as I am, nothing I remember about the layout suggested it was 'twin mono'. It simply has two transformers instead of the GK-1's single transformer. It is often said to be twin mono, but I don't think so.

The unaltered factory power module ran hot enough fry eggs. I rebuilt mine after opening it up and finding charred parts and burns in the board. On the advice of a professional, I added much larger heat sinks on some transistors and a regulator. I hugely increased the power rating of some resistors by using ceramic types. I lifted some stuff off the board. And I wired part of the module point-to-point instead of using the overstressed traces! Also, I added a fan on a new top cover while leaving the ends (where the transformers are) open to air and exhaust. I can heat the room with it.

I can't stress this enough — change the heat management in ANY GK -1+1! I am not the only one to have noticed this! (I made drawings of the stock power supply board, and I photoed my rebuild and mods. All this is on AK archived threads.)

I've already written that I pulled the balance switches and changed the wiring. I replaced the volume pot with a twin Alps "Blue" A 100K. This week, I ordered two Alps single pots that I will use to give me balance control again. [ALPS RK27111 single pot A100 logarithmic audio taper]. The balance switches and the external power supply units were, IMHO, the two big PITA's in regards to this design. All the tube types are available. At least two of the three types were used in TV's, and they seem to last a long time.

Do not be confused by the tube complement. The GK-1 and GK- 1+1 came with different tube complements. (This can be argued, and it has been discussed this way and that — just sayin', they came different.) The hand-drawn (but difficult to read) rendition of the schematic for a 1+1 model (right channel only) bears this out. Again, as noted above, I can't remember where this drawing came from. I cannot vouch for its accuracy, but I have used it for minor stuff, and so far so good.

One more thing ... if you are not used to these rigs. There are capacitors on the board that only LOOK like they are electroytics, but are in fact some sort of plastic cap that is cased in a metal cylinder.

I kinda wish there was a bottom plate so we don't have to lift the whole board to do more radical stuff!

GK-1+1 main board only, right channel onlyView attachment 1482010
Click to expand...

+1 for comments on the PS. Many, many moons ago, I had both units. The 1+1 was sure a nice upgrade over the GK1.
The other thing Melos was quite at the forefront on was the use of multiple bypass caps at several stages. Believe that was one of the first units I had seen that on.
 
There was a group of Pittsburgh, PA people that collected Melos gear 10+ years ago.
 
Hi, I do have a Melos 200 + amplifier which is not working, an electronic engineer friend of mine is trying to repair, but without schematics is always a shot in the dark… @bonzoro do you also have schematics for these units?
 
Ghuet said:
Hi, I do have a Melos 200 + amplifier which is not working, an electronic engineer friend of mine is trying to repair, but without schematics is always a shot in the dark… @bonzoro do you also have schematics for these units?
Click to expand...


Here is the info I got after waiting for 6 months and I am not affiliated, getting kick-backs or even claim to know this guy so you are on your own but apparently this guy is in touch with the old Melos owner and I guess he has a way to get the skizmos BUT, They aint free, nor cheap which is why I built my own Power Supply and Preamp boards. Here is the email I got from him.


From: Afrose Amlani <afrosea@me.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 8, 2024 1:06 PM

Subject: Melos 222 amps
Click to expand...

Dear Perry. New message from Mark. He had found a way to get you schematics for the power supply at $100 and even a new supply at $500.

William
Click to expand...
 
Years ago, I rebuilt a GK 2+2's power supply myself without schematics or any specs. It can be done.

The owner of a local electronics store did a quick calculation and said a heatsink needed to be much bigger and he sold me the part. (I think it was on a regulator.) On an other component, I added a chunk of copper and thermal paste to manage more heat. I lifted some of the circuit off the board and hard-wired the parts. Then I stuck a fan on a new hood I made for it. I guess bringing the preamp to Japan and to Tohoku's regional 50 Hz (100 VDC) was over heating the PS. It runs cool now.

If I can do it, anyone can.

Maybe I am all wet, but leaving a legacy of electronics with no parts, no schematics are access to any documentation unless one pays big is in my opinion a bit rich. I remember when apparently the library of the Melos technical documents went up for auction — as part of a bankruptcy settlement — or so I understood at the time. I'm just a rather incompetent hobbyist, but I seriously considered making a bid. That must have been over 25 years ago.
 
Hey everyone. I have a pair of SE-75's that I would sell. They are the best sounding amps I've ever owned, and that says a lot.
 
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