[S Clark]

Bill has certainly raised the Dynaco profile here on the AC, but are there any Eico fans here besides myself?

[gbeard]

I rebuilt an HF-86 and it is a killer little amp! 

[S Clark]

Hey Gary,
I have an ST-70 that get little use in the back bedroom.  Until I got my Dodd preamp, it was the best sound in the house.  For some reason, I have collected several little HF-12's over the years.  When right, they are a very nice 12 watt amp.  Occasionally, I'll get the bug and hook two of the up for several days.  I need to go through a couple of them and rebuild them as they are not in good shape.

When you rebuilt your HF86, what did you do?

Scott

[Atlplasma]

I just finished recapping my father's kit-built ST-70 and have been playing it for the last few days. It's been a pleasurable experience all around.

Steve

[gbeard]

Scott,

Sorry I missed your reply.

I had Jim McShane help me put together an inexpensive package of rebuild parts. I also put new RCA connectors in the front and a new power cord. Along with that, I purchased some fairly decent tubes. I did do a couple things that now mean it is not a stock vintage piece--namely repainting and trying to change the speaker terminals (which didn't work out too well). It was my first DIY project, so I learned a lot. It may not look all that great, but it sounds wonderful.

Happy New Year!
Gary

[JohnR]

I still have an HF-87 and a pair of HF-30s. The HF-30s are the ones that use the two little triode tubes in the front end instead of the dual one (12DW7?). I'm not sure how rare they are but I know it took me a while to find them.

I've also had an HF-86, an HF-89, and a pair of HF-60s. I also had a pair of the little funky mono integrated ... forget the name. And bought an HF-81 back when they were the best thing since sliced bread, turned out to be a dud, I still have the OPTs though...

I was thinking of selling the 87 and the 30s... talk me out of it?

Say, some of us guys oughtta update the wikipedia page on Eico:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eico

[S Clark]

John,
I'm curious about your comment that the HF-81 was a dud.  I have a pair of HF-12's (basically two mono versions of the HF-81) that are very musical on efficient, full range speakers.  There are thing I like about them, at times, over my Moscode amp and Dodd preamp.  What did you find lacking?

Scott

[JohnR]

Oh, I just meant that it didn't work.

Integrated amps are too hard to fix, I stuck to power amps after that

[Atlplasma]

This is a bit off topic, but I'm wondering if anyone has used spade adapters on their vintage units. My speaker wire is a fairly heavy gauge, so I was considering buying some adapters off Ebay. Any opinions on using these things?

[ltr317]

This is a bit off topic, but I'm wondering if anyone has used spade adapters on their vintage units. My speaker wire is a fairly heavy gauge, so I was considering buying some adapters off Ebay. Any opinions on using these things?

I bought some off ebay from a Hong Kong vendor.  They look nice but the ends are too thin and break off easily.  Also, when you tighten the speaker screw the soft metal on the adpater spreads and loosens the screw over time.

[Atlplasma]

This is a bit off topic, but I'm wondering if anyone has used spade adapters on their vintage units. My speaker wire is a fairly heavy gauge, so I was considering buying some adapters off Ebay. Any opinions on using these things?

I bought some off ebay from a Hong Kong vendor.  They look nice but the ends are too thin and break off easily.  Also, when you tighten the speaker screw the soft metal on the adpater spreads and loosens the screw over time.


Did they look like this? These seem pretty beefy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/16x-Adapter-Fisher-Mcintosh-Eico-Amp-Banana-Plug-SPADE_W0QQitemZ280294595247QQihZ018QQcategoryZ32838QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[ltr317]

This is a bit off topic, but I'm wondering if anyone has used spade adapters on their vintage units. My speaker wire is a fairly heavy gauge, so I was considering buying some adapters off Ebay. Any opinions on using these things?

I bought some off ebay from a Hong Kong vendor.  They look nice but the ends are too thin and break off easily.  Also, when you tighten the speaker screw the soft metal on the adpater spreads and loosens the screw over time.


Did they look like this? These seem pretty beefy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/16x-Adapter-Fisher-Mcintosh-Eico-Amp-Banana-Plug-SPADE_W0QQitemZ280294595247QQihZ018QQcategoryZ32838QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Yes.  Look at the two prongs. They break easily.

[S Clark]

I am using a set on my Knight amp.  So far, so good.  They are a bit flexible, but bananas fit snug and make good contact.  I've been using them for about 6 months.

[Atlplasma]

Another question for Eico owners. Has anyone tried the modifying the loudness switch? There's a how-to at http://home.netcarrier.com/~rstevens/st-40.html.

[S Clark]

Yes, I have the Steven's mod on my ST-70.  I recommend it.

[Atlplasma]

Noticed someone selling an Eico 2536 for $50 on Craig's List (Oahu). In case anyone is interested, it's at http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/ele/979271881.html.

Steve

[Flyquail56]

Bill has certainly raise the Dynaco profile here on the AC, but are there any Eico fans here besides myself?

I have used modified Dynaco tube gear for 30+ years, but acquired a nice Eico HF-81 about two years ago. I now use the Eico more than anything else. If it had a better phono stage, I would probably use it exclusively.

Best regards,
Mike

[Atlplasma]

This is a bit off topic, but I'm wondering if anyone has used spade adapters on their vintage units. My speaker wire is a fairly heavy gauge, so I was considering buying some adapters off Ebay. Any opinions on using these things?

Just an update on the spade adapters. I bought a set and installed them on my Eico ST-70. So far so good, but I was a little nervous about the spacing on these things. To avoid something unfortunate happening, I inserted a small peel and stick bumper between each set of adapters. That way they are held apart even if something tucks on the speaker wire.

[BrassEar]

I am thinking about trying an Eico HF-81 on my OB Emerald Physics clones. Now that I have pretty much decided to go passive, I think these babies are close to 98-99 db efficient. I figure the HF-81 should drive them easily. About the only reason I hesitate is that I am using two small powered subs and there is no pre out on the HF-81 so I would have to take it from the speaker outs at high level.

The last time I heard the Eico HF-81 on a pair of Quad 63s I nearly was in disbelief. Piano tracks sounded so good I almost cried. 

[Atlplasma]

I guess you've read the Stereophile review:

http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/606eico/

Have you updated or modified your unit?

These mods sound interesting:

http://home.earthlink.net/~eico_hf81/eico_hf81_mods.htm

I'd like to acquire an HF-81, but they've become pretty expensive.