805s with a little magnavox 6303 amp. my new toy.

[Phil-G]

I've always wanted to try a tube amp. and i starting looking at these 6300 series magnavox amps.
so i went ahead and got this one. The seller sent me an offer that seemed reasonable. Vintage- Magnavox Stereo Hifi Tube Amplifier Amp 9303-00 El84 6bq5 | eBay
these seem harmless enough. at least the tubes won't kill me to replace. unless they kill me when i change them.


i want to use them with my 805/288 horns. or with some of my other smaller speakers. right now I'm using Ashly amps with the 828/515GHPs and the 3154 subs. they're AB amps. But the amp I'm using for the 805/288s now is an Ashley 2075 which is a class D. i don't think it sounds all that great. so this is why i wanted a small tube amp.

[gearfreak]

Nifty. What's the expected wattage? So it's an active setup, what are the XO details? (perhaps they are fluid)

I'm using 3x 9442's at the moment. Overkill, but it's stable enough and will stay whilst I iron out other details.

[BillWojo]

Those things are VERY dangerous to mess with, I'll get to that part in a minute.
Before you power it up, see what work has been done. Looks like the coupling caps may have been replaced on the bottom but I can't tell if the can cap on top has been replaced.
If it has original tubes good chances are that they will still be fine. The EL84 tubes may well be Mullards, if they have soot in them send them to me for immediate disposal. Just kidding, smokey Mullards are great.
There is a sticky on the tube forum on AK, here is the link.

More Fun With Magnavox: The 9300 Series | Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

Everything you ever wanted to know about that series of amp.
Ok, now the dangerous part, you have just purchased a gateway drug, tubes on Altec's is like crack to a drug addict. The rabbit hole your entering has no exit. Welcome

BillWojo

[Phil-G]

Those things are VERY dangerous to mess with, I'll get to that part in a minute.
Before you power it up, see what work has been done. Looks like the coupling caps may have been replaced on the bottom but I can't tell if the can cap on top has been replaced.
If it has original tubes good chances are that they will still be fine. The EL84 tubes may well be Mullards, if they have soot in them send them to me for immediate disposal. Just kidding, smokey Mullards are great.
There is a sticky on the tube forum on AK, here is the link.

More Fun With Magnavox: The 9300 Series | Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

Everything you ever wanted to know about that series of amp.
Ok, now the dangerous part, you have just purchased a gateway drug, tubes on Altec's is like crack to a drug addict. The rabbit hole your entering has no exit. Welcome

BillWojo

i'm still reading the fun with Magnavox thread. a lot of information there, especially if you have no experience with tube amps.

[Phil-G]

Those things are VERY dangerous to mess with, I'll get to that part in a minute.
Before you power it up, see what work has been done. Looks like the coupling caps may have been replaced on the bottom but I can't tell if the can cap on top has been replaced.
If it has original tubes good chances are that they will still be fine. The EL84 tubes may well be Mullards, if they have soot in them send them to me for immediate disposal. Just kidding, smokey Mullards are great.
There is a sticky on the tube forum on AK, here is the link.

More Fun With Magnavox: The 9300 Series | Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

Everything you ever wanted to know about that series of amp.
Ok, now the dangerous part, you have just purchased a gateway drug, tubes on Altec's is like crack to a drug addict. The rabbit hole your entering has no exit. Welcome

BillWojo

with the exception of the 2 6eu7 preamps, theres not a single matching tube in the bunch. lol no smokey Mullards. for now I'm just going to get a set of JJs and if the set sounds ok, then i might get a set phillips if i can find them cheap.
i found the AK thread, these seem like practical mods and thats how i'm going to proceed with it. after i get my semiconductors together. any 9300 amp cap and resistor lists out there?

i really just want to hear what the horns sound like with a tube amp. but i'm most likely going back to SS, just not a class D amp. they just start losing it when the music gets complicated. i hear strange screech sounds.

[LOUDER]

OK, I'm a idiot, what do you mean by rolling tubes ? Only had one tube amp and it burned my fingers and shocked me almost to death as a young idiot. But sounded heavenly on my first ALTEC 603.

[oface1]

OK, I'm a idiot, what do you mean by rolling tubes ? Only had one tube amp and it burned my fingers and shocked me almost to death as a young idiot. But sounded heavenly on my first ALTEC 603.

Rolling tubes = swapping different types/brands of tube to find a sound profile you might like......

[Phil-G]

Nifty. What's the expected wattage?

it says it's rated for about 15 watts. But i hear tube watts are kinda rated like dog years.

So it's an active setup, what are the XO details? (perhaps they are fluid)

I've been using a behringer DCX2496 running as a 3way i set the crossover points at 80 1000. so the 805s start out at 1000hz

I'm using 3x 9442's at the moment. Overkill, but it's stable enough and will stay whilst I iron out other details.

do you want one more? its an SA,,,, free. pay the postage. if your close enough you can pick up 2 9444As while your here.

[Elitopus1]

I ran my living room setup off a little EL84 RCA console amp for a couple years. Yes they sound great with Altecs. I was running mine with full range speakers with passive xovers, so my only complaint was it didn’t get loud enough. But since you’re just running your HF with tubes it should get plenty loud.

Now you just need to pickup a vintage Hickok tube tester, pickup a bunch of tubes and start tube rolling
I found a good source for tubes is old organs that people are throwing away

[gearfreak]

...
I found a good source for tubes is old organs that people are throwing away...

or a Cordovox! Should be a pic here. Something really tells me I should'a saved Uncle Stanley's Cordovox. Thank you Uncle Stanley.

...but the Ampeg I got out of the trade owed me nothing by the time it was passed on.

- - - Updated - - -

... do you want one more? its an SA,,,, free. pay the postage. if your close enough you can pick up 2 9444As while your here. ...

So generous to offer thanks! I'll pm you. I would not mind having another to swap in while I work on another.