Dared Preamp on the way - Tubes are here

Stew

I've been acquiring parts over the last several weeks:

Now I just need the Dared SL-2000a to go with it! Ordered it yesterday. Should be here in a week or so.

cdn5003

I got that preamp recently and am loving it. I have a pair of Siemens ecc81's just like those also. They were a significant upgrade from the stock tubes. You should be ready to rock with those items.

What rectifier is that? I am using an RCA 5Y3GT right now and might be looking to upgrade. I'm waiting on a pair of Sylvania Gold 12AT7WA's to try out here this weekend. It should be fun to see how different they sound, be it better or worse.

george daniel

sweet-- enjoy.

quadzilla

cdn5003 wrote: »

What rectifier is that?

Brimar 5Z4G

cubdog

Congratulations on your new toy!

cubdog

Stew

I got the tracking info today and it should be here Thursday. Thanks to all who have posted their experiences with the Dared! I've enjoyed following the various threads and can't wait to hear for myself!

As quadzilla stated, the rectifier is a Brimar 5Z4G. The "early" Brimar 5Z4G's seem to be a favorite around here. This one is NOS from the 1960's. Hopefully that qualifies as "early."

Stew

Everything you guys said about this little jewel is true!:cool:

My initial impressions:

Stock tubes - Sounds surprisingly good for stock tubes. A little rolled off on the highs.
Siemens ecc81's - Punch, air, sparkle - lovin these!
Brimar 5Z4G - More authority, let there be tone!

This thing rocks!

My only complaint so far - I let my daughters listen to their Selena Gomez CD and I can't pry them away from it.

Stew

Post 8 reported.

CSM41

Congrats! Gotta love this little preamp.

Stew

Thanks. The more I listen, the more I like!

My next project is to replace the input caps with Auricaps. George - You mentioned in your mod thread that you were able to partially remove the board to gain access to the solder joints. How much fun am I going to have partially removing the board??

george daniel

Stew wrote: »

Thanks. The more I listen, the more I like!

My next project is to replace the input caps with Auricaps. George - You mentioned in your mod thread that you were able to partially remove the board to gain access to the solder joints. How much fun am I going to have partially removing the board??

he,he,, it's not too bad if you take your time and move slowly,,IIRRC, you will have to remove the front,rear and volume knob,to gain acess to the solder joints,,just remember that real estate is at a premium,but once you finish,you'll be glad that you did.Post some pic's when you start please.Good luck.

heiney9

You can see here in the photo of mine where the Auricaps are, they are easy to install. I assume you have "generic" caps in the same position. You shouldn't have to pull the boards for the input caps. To replace the output caps, (4 square yellow Carli caps in my version) you will need to pull the boards.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?117770-Holy-Grail&p=1608547&viewfull=1#post1608547

george daniel

I removed the board in mine because of close quarters,,Brock is right,,you do not necessarily have to remove the board for input caps--output coupling caps are a different story,,sorry if I mislead anyone--rock on

Stew

Thanks George and Brock. I'm planning to replace input caps over Christmas. Will post pics. I may get brave and try output caps later.

Stew

I opened the Dared last night and found two smaller yellow capacitors (0.22 uF) and two larger yellow capacitors (1 uF). The 0.22 uF's are the input capacitors but I was expecting four of the 1 uF output caps based on George's modification thread. Any thoughts?

I'll have to gain access to the back of the board to replace any of these so I'll wait and replace input and output caps at the same time. If I'm correct that there are only two output caps, it'll be a much easier fit. Any thoughts about using Auricaps for both input and output.

It looks remotely possible to disassemble the unit as follows:
1) Remove wooden face plate to gain access to set screw underneath
2) Remove front end cap (with volume knob) and rear end cap (with input/output connections)
3) Remove screws from circuit boards and wires from choke
4) Remove wooden side panels (so screws don't protrude and snag something)
5) Slide the whole works out of the chassis.

George, how far did you have to disassemble it? How do the above steps compare with your experience?

heiney9

Those blue caps next to the 1 uF are probably the other two output caps. I've seen both types (Yellow Carli and Blue??) used as output caps. Might just be using up parts on hand.

I see your input caps are actually soldered to the board rather than across the tube socket terminals. Makes changing them a tad more labor intensive.

Can you read the value on the blue caps next to the Yellow output caps? I bet they are 1uF also.

H9

Stew

Thanks H9. I'll open it back up next week and take a look.

Stew

George - I just found your directions for dissasembly in post 24 here:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?121405-The-Dared-SL-2000-modification-thread

It looks like it wasn't necessary to remove the side panels or wires from the choke. Are the remaining wires long enough that the board slides out the front of the chassis?

george daniel

nope--IIRC after removing the front and loosing the rear,,and the volume knob,limited acess to the board is gained and you can remove and replace the caps.let me look at my previous post/thread to see if I remember anything more.I can say that after doing it once,,the second time is much easier,lol.It's not that bad,,just takr your time.What kind of caps are you going to use?Reason I ask,,I have 4 spare Obligatto's (1uF)

Stew

George - I appreciate the offer but I'm leaning toward auricaps for both input and output caps. Thanks for the encouragement. Santa is bringing me a new work bench and this will be a good project to break it in.

heiney9

You will need to figure out the real estate situation carefully for the Auricaps at the input. You'll need to figure out space for 4 pieces and they are larger than what's in there. I'm sure you already know that. Please document and post in case I ever get around to doing it.

H9

Stew

H9 - It looks like the Auricaps are slightly smaller than the Obbligato's that George used so I'm going to attempt to copy his tricks. It may be a little while before I have time to tackle this but I will document and post.

Stew