My buddy bought this amp online from a guy on the east coast. From all the google searching and forum searching I have done. I have found that a Chinese company made integrated amps like mine. One of these amp was called the bewitched 6550 you can see at this link. http://lampizator.eu/amplifiers/china/bewitch 6550/bewitch.html and TrueHarmonix 6550 as reviewed here. https://6moons.com/audioreviews/trueharmonix2/6550.html.
Mine is not an integrated amp. Had a flat silver faceplate that I took off because it was bent. You can see two of the inputs on mine are covered with black tape. I am wondering if some other company made amps only off of the integrated platform? Could i turn mine into an integrated one? The guy my buddy bought it from said he got it from a very small company that made custom amps. trying to find any information i can.
Thanks
Mine is not an integrated amp. Had a flat silver faceplate that I took off because it was bent. You can see two of the inputs on mine are covered with black tape. I am wondering if some other company made amps only off of the integrated platform? Could i turn mine into an integrated one? The guy my buddy bought it from said he got it from a very small company that made custom amps. trying to find any information i can.
Thanks
To me an integrated amp was always one that had a phone stage included. However in today's perverted market simply adding one or more inputs plus a selector switch to choose between them magically upgrades it to integrated. Anyway, after taking a good look at yours and the Bewitch and TrueHarmonix, yours looks like a modified version of one or the other. Meaning someone removed the controls and extra input jacks and installed a different front panel. Not very hard to do. Could you make it an integrated amp like the others? I suspect yes. You would have to add the missing jacks and controls (selector & volume) and the needed wiring. It appears it was left without an on/off switch.
BTW, I recognize the isolation pads under your amplifier platform and believe me the blue ones are way superior.
BTW, I recognize the isolation pads under your amplifier platform and believe me the blue ones are way superior.
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What do you want the integrated amp to do?
Multiple inputs?
Enough gain to be able to use lower voltage output signal sources?
A moving magnet phono cartridge input?
Your amplifier probably can put out lots of power.
Depending on your speakers sensitivity, they may require a lot less power than the amplifier's maximum power.
Some power amplifiers (looks like that is what you have) can work with a CD player and a passive volume control.
A CD player with a recorded CD that is full scale on the DAC will put out enough voltage to make most power amplifiers go into clipping.
Some FM tuners, AM tuners, some tape recorders, some TV sets do not have as much voltage out as the CD player.
Then, you may need a Line Level Preamp to get enough signal for the power amplifier.
A moving magnet phono cartridge requires not only more gain than a line level preamp, it requires the RIAA equalization.
A moving coil phono cartridge requires more gain than a moving magnet phono cartridge, and again needs RIAA equalization.
Think of the above as a system. No one item works properly in the system, without regard to the rest of the items in the system, and their individual specifications.
Just my opinions.
Multiple inputs?
Enough gain to be able to use lower voltage output signal sources?
A moving magnet phono cartridge input?
Your amplifier probably can put out lots of power.
Depending on your speakers sensitivity, they may require a lot less power than the amplifier's maximum power.
Some power amplifiers (looks like that is what you have) can work with a CD player and a passive volume control.
A CD player with a recorded CD that is full scale on the DAC will put out enough voltage to make most power amplifiers go into clipping.
Some FM tuners, AM tuners, some tape recorders, some TV sets do not have as much voltage out as the CD player.
Then, you may need a Line Level Preamp to get enough signal for the power amplifier.
A moving magnet phono cartridge requires not only more gain than a line level preamp, it requires the RIAA equalization.
A moving coil phono cartridge requires more gain than a moving magnet phono cartridge, and again needs RIAA equalization.
Think of the above as a system. No one item works properly in the system, without regard to the rest of the items in the system, and their individual specifications.
Just my opinions.
Looks like the Lampizator Bewitch modified to remove the volume and selector switches to be only a power amp. If someone claims that was a custom amp, they didn't do much work, except to remove those components and make some minor changes to the circuit. You could put the RCA jacks, selector switch and volume control back in. The problem is that they changed the input tube from a 6SL7 to a 6SN7 so it probably doesn't have enough gain to be an integrated any more and probably needs a preamp with a healthy output.
Looks like a nice amp. Add a preamp and enjoy it.
Looks like a nice amp. Add a preamp and enjoy it.
Thanks to everyone that replayed. I guess I should have been prescriptive. Not looking for generals about tube amps and DIY them. As I have messed with alot of them and currently have three listening rooms full of equipment. I am looking for information around these specific amps. Is anyone familiar with a company or person that modded these kits.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Well, you did ask if you could turn it into an integrated amp and I think you got some answers along those lines. As for who took a Lampizator and modified it, I don't know the answer to that.
The problem getting an amp "from a very small company that made custom amps" is that you're not likely to find anyone who knows much more about it than you do, especially if it comes from China. If the amp is similar to the ones in links you posted, it would be 2 x 6550 in cathode bias. As someone who works on Leslie amps that use 6550s in cathode bias, 40 Watts is about what you can get, maybe 45. I don't see a bias adjustment on yours, but I suppose it could have non-adjustable fixed bias.
You may just have to get under the hood and sketch out the circuit. I've had to do that before on obscure gear. At least it's just a tube power amp, which means it can't be that complicated. An afternoon's work. Interesting hybrid tube/solid state rectifier bridge on one of those schematics. You don't see those that often. At least I don't.
Or maybe try to contact the makers of the other amps you posted about. See if they recognize their work or know anything.
You could probably install a volume control and a selector switch, which would essentially add a passive preamp to the front end.
You may just have to get under the hood and sketch out the circuit. I've had to do that before on obscure gear. At least it's just a tube power amp, which means it can't be that complicated. An afternoon's work. Interesting hybrid tube/solid state rectifier bridge on one of those schematics. You don't see those that often. At least I don't.
Or maybe try to contact the makers of the other amps you posted about. See if they recognize their work or know anything.
You could probably install a volume control and a selector switch, which would essentially add a passive preamp to the front end.
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