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Tube amplifier MV3

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Photographs and description by Zoltan.
(Andrzej Żółtowski, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Mass-produced in the sixties by the East German company VEB Kligenthaller Harmonikawerke (later VERMONA) in Kligenthall, two inputs, microphone - instrumental amplifier MV3, despite the relatively small (12W) output power was extremely successful device in its class.

With the forming of the complete audio system, broadband loudspeaker, MV3 amplifier was the object of sighs and dreams of most chamber music groups, both amateur and professional, from those years because of an exceptionally dynamic and wonderfully "full" sound.

Tube Amplifier "MELOMAN 25"

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Grzegorz Makarewicz "gsmok"
Note: 12.02.2012r. added the original diagram of the amplifier

Tube amplifier produced by POLKAT Wroclaw. The design quite controversial when it comes to opinions of holders. Unfortunately, you have to say "let the veil of silence falls on the quality of its assembling". I think, that pictures presented below speak for themselves. I do not mean, of course the damages associated with the normal operation and storage of the amplifier, but the details of construction and the way they are performed by a "qualified" person with blacksmith skills. I think, the best summary of the amplifier can be opinion of Romek (Romekd) presented on TRIODA community:

"Implementation of this amplifier is a complete crap. Photos that have been posted in the Gallery does not provide the full splendor of the primitivism and mediocrity of it's mechanical structure. You simply have to see it with your own eyes, being careful not to hurt yourself during dismantling this technical "miracle". If today, a high school student of electronics want to give any kind of work and it would be done in mechanical terms like this amp, it would not be highly rated. I think that the spiral electric heater is a true masterpiece of grace and elegance when compared to this amp. In addition, electrical design prevents any upgrades and improvements, and the amplifier is characterized by a significant level of hum and noise.

But there is something surprising and magical in this design! First, that after 33 years since the production of this amp it still works, and the measurement of electrolytic capacitors shows their full capacity and overall efficiency (at least in the copy I own). The second is the fact that the properties of the sound of this amp especially when it comes to music reproduction in the low and mid tones (treble tones do not sound quite as good) are pretty decent, not to say that they are very good!

According to several people who listen to this amp, it sounds much better than the modern, recently manufactured home cinema receiver Sony "STR-DB930," which seems almost unbelievable.
It seems even more surprising, given the fact that the design principles of this amplifier are not correct, for example:

output transformer windings are not divided into sections - hence soprano leaves much to be desired, despite the fact that the core cross section of 17.4 cm². seems to be large enough for a 25W output power,
working of the output tubes in pentode mode and applying the typical TV tubes PL500, which will definitely have an impact on the level of harmonic distortion,
using PCB paths, not a twisted wires to provide filament voltages and thus perhaps 50Hz hum.

Going back to the look of this amp, I think that its appearance had an impact that the amplifiers in those days were not as popular as radio or television sets, which in some cases were a great interior decoration.
However, this amp, despite its primitiveness, inclined me to return to my interests in old devices and tube amps."

So, welcome to the photo gallery. Let's start with a few photographs covering the entire amplifier.

Front view (Fig. 1). The front panel and a wooden enclosure with ventilation holes in the form of narrow slots.

Fig. 1.

Take off the cover (this requires special "rubber", screwdrivers, help of two friends and a bit of sedatives), and here the amplifier interior presents in all its glory (Fig. 2). I must admit that it looks really impressive. Ordered structure. Input preamplifier section protected with the metal grille. Different copies of "MELOMAN" varied in construction details. I would like to quote here Romek's opinion again:

Tube amplifier Audio-Akustyka Auris

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Piotr Mason (HAIKU-AUDIO)

Tube amplifier named "Auris" was produced by Audio-Akustyka. According to the specification, it can work as a pentode or triode amplifier, in Push-pull or Single-ended mode, with or without a negative feedback, and in the mysterious "turbo" mode. The manufacturer does not allow peering into the housing due to the use of many "non-standard proprietary solutions". Time to break the seals and keep one's ear to the ground.

Tube amplifier 100 BIS

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Grzegorz "gsmok" Makarewicz, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (opracowanie z 13.07.2004r.)

After the PS-1 control unit, I became the proud owner of 100Bis tube amplifier. This amplifier and PS-1 control unit constitute an electroacoustic set. More specifically, the set includes two such amplifiers and one control unit. Amplifier, which is presented below is of excellent condition. The only apparent damage (except for scratches resulting mainly from improper storage) is a small loss of the plastic shield, which acts as an amplifier decorative front panel.

Tube amplifier "Mikrus PCL86"

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Grzegorz "gsmok" Makarewicz, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PCL86 electron tube belongs to a group called "TV tubes" - tubes used in TV sets produced in the last tube TV's. In general, the models produced in the late 70's and early 80's of last century were already mixed transistor-tube devices. A classic example of this TV was the "Libra" produced in the Warsaw Television Plant (WZT). With this design sentimental memories bind me, because I belonged to a group called. "assemblers" who, as the name suggests, were involved in assembling these TV's from parts obtained from "Bomis" (younger Internet users have a little search online to find out what it was).

Tube amplifier WR75

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Written by "Dziadek" This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

It is now fully functional copy, unfortunately without the original parts. As you can see, power amplifier uses:

the beautiful 6P3S tubes at output stage,
the 6N8 as a phase inverter,
the EF183 as microphone preamplifier and
EF80 as gramophone preamplifier.

As the result of long-term "residence" in the wet room, all the paper capacitors were "dead", and so the most of the resistors.

The QUAD II Amplifier

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Grzegorz "gsmok" Makarewicz, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The QUAD II tube amplifier was manufactured by a company with big traditions, as founded by Peter J. Walker in 1936, SP Fidelity Sound Systems, renamed later in the same year to the Acoustical Manufacturing Co. Ltd. The company was initially located in London, but after a bombing in 1941, was moved to Huntington. The name "Ouad" is an acronym for "Quality Unit Amplifier Domestic" and I must admit that the equipment bearing this name deserve to be called a high-quality audio equipment. The name "QUAD", used for many years only to manufactured products became so known in the market that in 1983 the company changed its name to QUAD Electroacoustics Ltd.

The QUAD 22 Control Unit

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Grzegorz "gsmok" Makarewicz, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

QUAD 22 preamp was designed to work with one (mono system) or two (stereo system) QUAD II amps. Its features, in particular, interchangeable external modules predestined it to act as an audio system control device. This has been reflected in the name of the device, which identifies them not as a typical preamp but the control unit (full, original name is "The Quad 22 Control Unit." Due to the fact that even the manual is common for QUAD 22 Control Unit and QUAD II amplifier, photographic presentation begins with a few shots of full audio system designed for stereo reproduction.

Stereo Tube Preamplifier JJ243

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Grzegorz "gsmok" Makarewicz, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This stereo tube preamplifier was produced by JJ Electronic. It is characterized by interesting colors reminiscent me Lotus cars competing in Formula 1 - a mixture of black and gold . I am a fan of Lotus team, so it's no surprise that I like this color combination. The only problem is the inability to take a picture in a way that surrounding objects are not reflected in the golden housing. It is presumed that one of the purposes underlying the company was to promote electron tubes produced by them (the preamplifier has as many as 8 tubes). This has been only partially successfull. Preamplifier certainly served the brand, but rather as an independent audio device, than the device equipped with tubes with JJ logo. In some copies, which I inspected I found tubes from other manufacturers.