Hi Guys,

The “laziness" and the vintage ("warm") sound is preciously what attracts me to the BL 5000.

Martin and Frede are absolutely right about this.

It is, in a way like buying all new lighting for your home, going to intense blue-white LED’s with everything illuminated to the max and every shadow glaring at you….. or using old fashioned incandescent lighting offering a sublet, less “accurate” but infinitely more comfortable view.

As for Jacques keeping his all original amplifier, who can argue with that? I love the idea of an amplifier being exactly as it left the factory.

However, regardless that I am the non-expert in this group, when it comes time to replacing components, if the originals are available, it makes real sense to go for them. Otherwise, and I am speaking from REAL experience here, find an appropriate equivalent, not NOS.

I have read that some capacitors age gracefully and those might well be an exception. But with the remainder, using NOS is basically asking for trouble,

Jeff    

Of course Jeff, I was only talking about transistors. NOS caps don't make any sense at all, unless they are PIO or plastic.

Thank you very much for sharing your audio restoration knowledge with us Martin and Frede. I really appreciate it and will definitely put your suggestions to practice in my restorations.  

John

chartz wrote:

Of course Jeff, I was only talking about transistors. NOS caps don't make any sense at all, unless they are PIO or plastic.

Jacques,

I should have KNOWN that you knew the perils of using NOS capacitors. 🤒

Jeff

Ok, So the suggestion is to try some more to find the b-types? I have not found them at mouser, where I have ordered most of my components.

I guess I will have a deeper look around.

Simon Bring wrote:

Ok, So the suggestion is to try some more to find the b-types? I have not found them at mouser, where I have ordered most of my components.

I guess I will have a deeper look around.

Or...if the original ones aren't broke, don't replace them. Like Jacques, I don't usually replace the original active components like transistors and diodes if they aren't failing.

Reason I decided to replace them was because more than one person said earlier in this thread that it was good to replace them because they tend to fail / periodic noise. (fairchild transistors/black drop)

Simon Bring wrote:

Reason I decided to replace them was because more than one person said earlier in this thread that it was good to replace them because they tend to fail / periodic noise. (fairchild transistors/black drop)

I didnt find the B type either, and put in the C type, it has worked good since I finished the BL and the BM, running for hours on radio, playing records very loud for up to 3-4 hours (party) and no problems ever

sonavor wrote:

Or...if the original ones aren't broke, don't replace them. Like Jacques, I don't usually replace the original active components like transistors and diodes if they aren't failing.

There is actually a reason to replace at least small signal transistors.

This is noise performance of the product. Transistors more than 50years old are perhaps not the most noiseless parts you can get even with a noise specification.

The new produced parts will give a a higher performance of your product. I have messured the specifications of a Beolab 5000 with original small signal transistors (not broken) and with new B type small signal  replacements...................

Since then I replace the small signal parts.👍

/Frede