June 10th, 2002- Suddenly, two weeks ago, one of the Leak failed. It began to do an audible noise, like a pulse. I took the amplifer to Amptek and there Jorge Bueno and his team began to check all the circuit. They checked all the passive elements, feedback, etc,etc, but nothing was found. When the amplifier was connected to an oscilloscope we clearly saw that the noise was a 50 hz noise coming from the power supply. So, we thougth that the cause of the noise, after checking all the components, could be only two things: the output transformer or a completely stupid thing. Well, it was a really stupid problem. A wire! A wire running from the output transformer to the tube anode that was in the wrong place. Only moving away a little the cable the noise dissapeared. Do you realize how important is a good cable and a good cabling? When working with classic amplifers the best thing you can do before connecting the unit is to take the amp to an expert technician in order to do a complete checking, even if you buy the amps from a specialized shop.
After fixing the problem I took the amps to my home and there I listened to the music again. The audition only took an hour and I spent more of this time trying to see if the noise was audible. Nothing. Only say that it is amazing how good a good classic amplifier can sound. I'm also surprised to see how such a little tube can deliver this sound. That's the reason why somebody called the EL84 "A baby with bite". It's incredible that these tubes in a 40 years old amplfier with only 12 watts of power output can deliver this sound. What I listened was very good. It's to soon to say more. I'm working on it.
August 19th, 2002-During these holidays I have been listening again to these amplifiers. Now I understand why Haden Boardman (one of the most important vintage audio experts in the UK, formerly writer at Hi-Fi World and now with Audio Classics) believes that these amplifiers are so good. Hi-Fi World also believes that they are very good and so they have been listing these amps in their vintage favourites section for years. Its amazing what 12 watts and a pair of EL84 can do. Incredible bass and sweet mid and treble. I would say that even better than Quad II in bass response. And they're cheaper than the Quad combos (22+II). A great finding.