Cage for a KEL 84 and simple upgrades.

[snodge]

Hi does anyone know if a cage is availble that sits on top of a KEL 84 chassis?

I have a very inquisitve cat!

As far as I am aware the amp is in standard trim. I have just fitted some NOS Mullard ECF 80's which has improved the sound. Are there any simple and cost effective upgrades?

Regards

David

[Phil Y]

Hello David,

I am afraid there is not a cage for the amp, if you really need one, it you would have to make it yourself.

Regarding upgrades, I am sure others will chip in but I would suggest the most cost effective would be to replace the orange coupling capacitors. There are many other things you can do but that is where I would start. After that the schottky heater mod (see upgrades and tweaks) and then possibly resistors.

Your only problem would be choosing which capacitors to buy as there are many makes/types at a huge range of prices. I recently fitted some Mundorf Zn caps in my KEL84 that I am very pleased with, but every one has their favourites and no one has tried them all in their own gear !

Regards, Phil.

[snodge]

Originally Posted by Phil Y

Hello David,

I am afraid there is not a cage for the amp, if you really need one, it you would have to make it yourself.

Regarding upgrades, I am sure others will chip in but I would suggest the most cost effective would be to replace the orange coupling capacitors. There are many other things you can do but that is where I would start. After that the schottky heater mod (see upgrades and tweaks) and then possibly resistors.

Your only problem would be choosing which capacitors to buy as there are many makes/types at a huge range of prices. I recently fitted some Mundorf Zn caps in my KEL84 that I am very pleased with, but every one has their favourites and no one has tried them all in their own gear !

Regards, Phil.

Phil thanks for the advice. I will try the mundorfs and heater mod.

I have had many valve amps over the years (Radford, Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, Woodside, Quad blah blah) This is the first that uses the ECF80/EL 84 set up. It's already a nice sounding amp (amazing for £200 s/h) but I am interested to see how far I can go without going mad.

Merry christmas

David

[Phil Y]

Hello again David,

Another I should have mentioned is the "shunt pot volume control" which again, is in the "upgrades and tweaks" section. This is simpler and cheaper than the heater mod but gives a worthwhile improvement in sound most people find.

Phil.

[snodge]

Originally Posted by Phil Y

Hello again David,

Another I should have mentioned is the "shunt pot volume control" which again, is in the "upgrades and tweaks" section. This is simpler and cheaper than the heater mod but gives a worthwhile improvement in sound most people find.

Phil.

Phil,

thanks for this. It looks like heater, feedback and volume pot mods are pretty simple.

The MK 3 version has different HT supply and coupling caps. I guess I could get mine changed mine to match these as well?

Rgds


David

[Phil Y]

Hi David,

I was not aware that there were any circuit changes with the latest version, but I may be wrong(mine is about 6 years old). I know the mains Tx was made bigger, but I think this was mainly to reduce mechanical noise that was a problem for some people. There are better HT and coupling caps available as part of the XL upgrade option, is that what you are thinking of ?
Someone else will have to help you with the exact spec. of the latest version.
Regarding the HT caps, I have fitted 2.2uF polypropylenes across mine rather than replace them.

I have not tried changing the feedback on mine so I can't comment on that.

Phil.

[snodge]

Originally Posted by Phil Y

Hi David,

I was not aware that there were any circuit changes with the latest version, but I may be wrong(mine is about 6 years old). I know the mains Tx was made bigger, but I think this was mainly to reduce mechanical noise that was a problem for some people. There are better HT and coupling caps available as part of the XL upgrade option, is that what you are thinking of ?
Someone else will have to help you with the exact spec. of the latest version.
Regarding the HT caps, I have fitted 2.2uF polypropylenes across mine rather than replace them.

I have not tried changing the feedback on mine so I can't comment on that.

Phil.

Yes the XL upgrade. I will let you know how I get on with the mods.

Thanks

David