Altec 711A Receiver

[jack6428]

I just got an Altec 711A 50 watt per channel Receiver.

Does anyone have any experience or comments on what I can expect?

I see it has several speaker outputs:

- Main R/L
- Remote R/L
- Center (just one phono jack)

What are the last two for and what channels of the amp do they work out of?

Are there any B or C suffix amps?

Thanks in advance,
Jack

[Todd W. White]

I use one everday in my office to play music through my Altec Model 6's - it's a nice sounding unit.

You have to be careful though - it has not protection for the output transistors, so DO NOT short it out or you'll blow them up!

The 711B had protection, but it didn't sound as good.

Run it gently and it will run for years.

I have the owner's manual - need a copy?

[jack6428]

Thanks for the help Todd.

I would really appreciate the manual -- buuuuuuuuuut, better make sure my wonderful $61 ebay purchase works. Right now it just sounds like the beginnings of a thunderstorm or maybe an ocean wave that doesn?t break. The item was advertised to work.

It?s been a long time since I have dealt with an amp this old so I?m not sure what to plug my CD player into. Choices seem to be phono, extra, or tape head. I tried all three (except ?extra? seems to have some kind of plug inside).

Any suggestions?

Jack

[jack6428]

Hello again.

One major mistake. I had the preamp output going to the Altec inputs. So I connected the CD output to the Altec inputs.

I now get the music superimposed on the same type distortion as described in my last post.

[Todd W. White]

You need to plug the CD player into the "Extra" inputs.

The manual has a full schematic and parts list with all of the component values - I would send it to Ira for repair. I'm pretty sure he has the manual, too.

- Todd

[jack6428]

I had to break open (they were obstructed inside) the ?Extra? inputs then plugged in the CD player and it now works. Surprised at how good it sounds.

Couple of observations and questions have come up.

The speaker lets out a short loud burst when the Receiver power switch is turned on, even with the volume turned down. Is this normal or can it be fixed?

My 711A is a light blue color. I noticed the 711A shown in the photos of the GPA Demo Room is woodgrained. What is the difference?

Is this 50wpc or 30?

Even though the Receiver sounds pretty good as-is, are there any caps that I should check for leakage anyway?

Thanks again for your advice.