Jensen or Mundorf coupling capacitors?

[Formerly YB-2]

Wow!! And to think I was very happy with MGIIIAs being driven by 42wpc of tube power. My introduction to Maggies those many years ago was with a McIntosh MC2055. 50wpc. Horses for courses. Good luck with your SLP-98P. Intermittent problems can be a bear to find/fix.

[timm]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

Wow!! And to think I was very happy with MGIIIAs being driven by 42wpc of tube power. My introduction to Maggies those many years ago was with a McIntosh MC2055. 50wpc. Horses for courses. Good luck with your SLP-98P. Intermittent problems can be a bear to find/fix.

Well the intermittency of it all has become quite consistent. I can get the pre to send a hum to my speakers every time - once the unit is well warmed up....which to me indicates a problem with the unit - and nothing else.... (how could it work fine for an hour - then start having an issue) ... So we will see how it goes... it arrived today at Cary... I want them to just take their time with it...

Back to the amp -- yes - this amp - although I am sure there are some better - I just wonder whether 'bang for buck' would be worth it to move. It gives a very spacious sound - a touch on the warm side of neutral - and with the Cary at the front end - gets a little bit more body and space.... I don't think it is the last word in detail - but, it is very musical.... BTW, getting the Cary direct coupled was a winner for me.... as long as I can get it to work ok with the phono section active... ..... It just 'feels' broken right now - and it bothers me....

[decooney]

Originally Posted by timm

...It just 'feels' broken right now - and it bothers me....

I asked an inside contact friend at Cary about your preamp to see if anything could be shared. Apparently they were going to start on it a few days ago. Here is what I heard, "will test with his new Mullard tubes as well as the original house tubes. But this sounds like it may be the culprit. New tubes can be bad too".

Did you get any word back yet? Was it the tubes or something else?

[timm]

Ha Decooney - you have inside info.

They replicated the issue with their tube. I knew they thought I was 'that customer'. Lol. So- it was non tube related. And I had told them it occurred with two different sets of tubes. I can understand why they might have thought that as they probably forgot that point.

I believe I am finding out tomorrow. I was told they found the issue and were letting it run. Just glad they found it.

And btw - thanks for checking for me. It is appreciated.

[decooney]

Originally Posted by timm

Ha Decooney - you have inside info.

They replicated the issue with their tube. I knew they thought I was 'that customer'. Lol. So- it was non tube related. And I had told them it occurred with two different sets of tubes. I can understand why they might have thought that as they probably forgot that point.

I believe I am finding out tomorrow. I was told they found the issue and were letting it run. Just glad they found it.

And btw - thanks for checking for me. It is appreciated.

I was kinda mentioning there is a group of us watching to see how this turns out, and hoping for the best after a return back to the shop. My interest was not only in hoping you'd get it fixed but also keeping an eye out to see if the skills and customer service is still "there". Important to know, and a key factor for many of us who may be deciding to continue with CA or not. It's good to learn they found the root cause. I bet it will be nice to get it back and finally be able to start enjoying it when you do. Almost home...

[vegaracer1]

Originally Posted by decooney

I was kinda mentioning there is a group of us watching to see how this turns out, and hoping for the best after a return back to the shop. My interest was not only in hoping you'd get it fixed but also keeping an eye out to see if the skills and customer service is still "there". Important to know, and a key factor for many of us who may be deciding to continue with CA or not. It's good to learn they found the root cause. I bet it will be nice to get it back and finally be able to start enjoying it when you do. Almost home... [emoji106]

+1

[timm]

Originally Posted by decooney

I was kinda mentioning there is a group of us watching to see how this turns out, and hoping for the best after a return back to the shop. My interest was not only in hoping you'd get it fixed but also keeping an eye out to see if the skills and customer service is still "there". Important to know, and a key factor for many of us who may be deciding to continue with CA or not. It's good to learn they found the root cause. I bet it will be nice to get it back and finally be able to start enjoying it when you do. Almost home...

For sure. If things come back nice - I'll be more than happy to report back on that.

[timm]

Hi all... The good, bad , and ugly...

I wanted to report back on where we are at... After doing some analysis the Cary techs think the issue is in the power supply on my slp98p... As you know - I sent it in with a blown fuse initially in the PS .... the issue was not identified at that point - so I had mods done since it was in there anyway - essentially to save on shipping.... Well that didn't quite work out how I had planned - as it came back and started blowing fuses still - 5 in two weeks.... A hum was then noticed in the mid panel of my maggies - and I initially thought possibly a ground loop , bad interconnect etc... but after awhile figured it was still indeed the unit..... The hum would occur after 1 hour of play... However, oddly enough, did not occur thru the speakers with the tubes out of the phono stage with the linestage playing. In my notes to them I asked whether the power supply should hum as loudly as it was.... and I think this odd question may have helped. In my ill informed opinion I thought it was either the power supply or a solder issue somewhere in the phono stage since things seemed to rear their ugly head after 1 hr warm up...

Mods initially done months ago were direct coupled and hexfred/diode mod to the (ahem) power supply originally....Along with some larger output caps (I think I've got that all correct...)

This go around:
I believe Cary replaced a bridge rectifier as well as the transformer - along with I believe some diodes.... I have been told it is running quiet now - both the unit as well as the power supply.... They discounted the cost by 380 dollars (4 hours of the 7 hours of labor) and paid for shipping back to me considering my troubles.... but still overall cost was fairly steep at 451.... Which I will deal with if everything is working swimmingly when it gets here - hopefully on Friday..... All mods were left in place (I asked.. )

[Formerly YB-2]

Keep us posted. The SLP-98P is still on the radar for my 'small' system.

[timm]

Yes. I will for sure. The 98 is a great little pre in my opinion. This issue popped up on me and I am hoping we are at the end of the road there. if we are good - time for some new 6sn7 tubes so I can take the pre a bit further.