BLAH BLAH Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 Hi @PaulTB I am so partial to a good light show with an Amp spesh a valver...and spesh the treatment you have given to your McChanson Super Angel, KT170 SuperSilkt SET... Here is a picture of my customized solid state Sansui AU-222 where I decided to give it a different case colour...a rich burgundy red...and topped it off with a hidden bottom green LED strip that illuminated the bottom of the case when the AMP was turned on! Just summit out of left field! 2
PaulTB Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 Hi Blah Blah and thanks for the compliments. Love the green LED! The top of my Angel is actually highly polished copper! I thought about chrome butI wanted something a little warmer to match the wood. In hindsight, it would have been SO much easier to just hand off to a chrome plating service! Anyway, see pics 5 2
dwbasement Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 Love the copper top plate. How does it fix to the chassis? So did you do the top plate and give it to Eric to use or you modified the whole thing after you got the amp? 1
dan-m9 Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 @PaulTB Wow congrats mate, hands down the best looking McChanson amp out there by far!! 1
PaulTB Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 Hi Dennis, I built the chassis using Aluminium top and bottom plate, see pics. I then gave to Eric who worked his electrical magic. Once I had the amp I then created a template of the component positions and cut out of copper. Then polished, and polished…. And polished! It sits on spacers screwed into the alu plate, and easily removed. It will be interesting to see how it colours as I haven’t coated it yet. I tried but the lacquer I used created spots on the metal. Which I had to remove, and then RE-polish I think I’ll need to give the Angel some regular love and a polish every 6 months or so. 3 2 1
BLAH BLAH Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) Ahhh copper top plate...even better! Kudos to you for going out and obtaining summit different...we'll done! Edited June 13, 2023 by BLAH BLAH
Nickelle Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) 37 minutes ago, PaulTB said: Hi Dennis, I built the chassis using Aluminium top and bottom plate, see pics. I then gave to Eric who worked his electrical magic. Once I had the amp I then created a template of the component positions and cut out of copper. Then polished, and polished…. And polished! It sits on spacers screwed into the alu plate, and easily removed. It will be interesting to see how it colours as I haven’t coated it yet. I tried but the lacquer I used created spots on the metal. Which I had to remove, and then RE-polish I think I’ll need to give the Angel some regular love and a polish every 6 months or so. I restore 17th & 18th century brass lantern clocks and once I have polished the brass I spray with a clear lacquer to stop tarnishing which happens either by handling or the air itself will tarnish it. It took me years to find the best spray, I found there is a huge variety but only ONE worked best for me. Clock I restored circa 1750 made in London by George Clarke for the Ottoman Empire, hence the dial markings, very original, I bought this clock online from a guy in Turkey it arrived in bits. Nick Edited June 13, 2023 by Nickelle 1 1
PaulTB Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 Hi Nickelle, Thanks for the advice…… but actually naming the spray would be REALLY useful 1 1
PaulTB Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 Hi Odyssey, The chassis was made by me! The wood is Camphor Laurel. I got a nice charcuterie board out of it as well 4 1
PaulTB Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 And yes! I know, the inputs are, according to standard protocol, the wrong way round
Nickelle Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 11 minutes ago, PaulTB said: Hi Nickelle, Thanks for the advice…… but actually naming the spray would be REALLY useful It’s down the garden in my shed, I cannot remember the name, I’ll post tomorrow if that’s ok. 1
BLAH BLAH Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) 8 minutes ago, PaulTB said: Hi Odyssey, The chassis was made by me! The wood is Camphor Laurel. I got a nice charcuterie board out of it as well Love the dare that went into this design...kudos... I'd love one in bird's eye maple! Edited June 13, 2023 by BLAH BLAH
dwbasement Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 11 minutes ago, PaulTB said: Hi Odyssey, The chassis was made by me! The wood is Camphor Laurel. I got a nice charcuterie board out of it as well Nice work, Paul. I think the timber chassis with the copper plate made a prefect match. 1
PaulTB Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 Thanks Dennis, I’ll be rehousing my Musical Fidelity Amps next. Pre + 2 x Power, in the remaining Camphor Laurel with Chrome top plates. They only came in black in 1989! And Blah Blah, I was thinking of going Burr Walnut…. But always liked the camphor laurel. And the walnut is less forgiving! 1
DMax Posted June 20, 2023 Posted June 20, 2023 (edited) Listening to this baby now again after a long while away from it and wow to the sweet sweet midrange and wide soundstage... So delicious Please excuse the dust and messy desk. Edited June 20, 2023 by DMax 6 2
DMax Posted June 20, 2023 Posted June 20, 2023 (edited) On 12/06/2023 at 9:31 PM, PaulTB said: Introducing the McChanson Super Angel, KT170 SuperSilkt SET. Finally finished! The amp has been singing for a few months now, but getting the final touches have taken a bit longer. The top plate had to be designed and cut precisely, and polishing it was fun. Started at 120 grit up to 10.000! And that’s before the polishing! The first front plate had McChanson cut out but the lettering was too big. So I went for the ‘less is more’ option and had the “Super Angel’ (very nervously) Laser engraved after polishing. Trial and error with the LEDs lighting up the McChanson cut out, settled on an LED strip and diffuser which Eric kindly swapped. The LED has a dimmer pot. In the first pic the backlight looks really bright, but that’s just the iphone. The second pic is more realistic, and the backlight glows at the same level as the valves. I might paint the power switch rose gold to suit, or could go with black knobs….. ? I guess as with all Eric’s amps, she is still running in but am delighted with the sound. Swapped out the Sylvania 6AS7s for GE GEA7s which I found a bit brighter. And I’m looking forward to rolling all of the tubes over the next few years. So glad I met Eric. He had produced a beautiful sounding amp, and I am delighted with the final outcome which I think is a piece of art! Wow.. Definitely the most professional looking McChanson amp ever made! Love the name plate. So glad to see a formal professionally made McChanson brand name on Eric's amp! Beautiful! And I'm sure it sounds just as beautiful as it looks! Love the McChanson amp sound. Edited June 20, 2023 by DMax 1
PaulTB Posted June 21, 2023 Posted June 21, 2023 Thanks DMax, Yes, everyone loving the name plate! Eric is remarkably humble, he produces these wonderful amps but no name on them! I guess he doesn’t feel the need. And yes, sounds wonderful. Now the amp is finished I will be rolling the tubes for the next few years, in between polishing! 1
DMax Posted June 21, 2023 Posted June 21, 2023 3 minutes ago, PaulTB said: Thanks DMax, Yes, everyone loving the name plate! Eric is remarkably humble, he produces these wonderful amps but no name on them! I guess he doesn’t feel the need. And yes, sounds wonderful. Now the amp is finished I will be rolling the tubes for the next few years, in between polishing! Or even better, have him build you a few more amps with different designs and tubes. Gotta keep him busy to prevent him going into early retirement. LOL.
Nickelle Posted June 21, 2023 Posted June 21, 2023 22 minutes ago, DMax said: Or even better, have him build you a few more amps with different designs and tubes. Gotta keep him busy to prevent him going into early retirement. LOL. Eric is soooo busy right now he won’t be taking early retirement just yet 1
Odyssey Posted June 21, 2023 Posted June 21, 2023 3 hours ago, Nickelle said: Eric is soooo busy right now he won’t be taking early retirement just yet That's right. He has about 10 orders outstanding on Ultimate. Doing a comparison on 3 different builds of Ultimate. 1
Crakers Posted June 22, 2023 Posted June 22, 2023 @Odyssey What are the differences and which do you prefer ?
DMax Posted June 22, 2023 Posted June 22, 2023 17 hours ago, Odyssey said: That's right. He has about 10 orders outstanding on Ultimate. Doing a comparison on 3 different builds of Ultimate. Love the wooden chasis looks
Odyssey Posted June 22, 2023 Posted June 22, 2023 2 minutes ago, Crakers said: @Odyssey What are the differences and which do you prefer ? There are not that much differences tonally. They are more alike than different. 3) sound smoother and more refined to my ears and hence my fav. It is also my amp. These amps can slam and punch. Vibrant and dynamic. Very engaging tone. All 3 amps are extremely quiet even with sensitive Grado headphones. With no music playing, zero noise. Can use a wide variety of driver and power tubes. Drives all the headphones that I've tried very well. They are ZMF Aeolous, Focal Celestee, Focal Clear OG, Susvara, HD800, HD650, HiFiMan Audivina, Grado RS1X, Hemp, 325x, GH1. Even drive my Sennheiser Momentum I/E buds without any noise. Amp is rated at 3w into 4ohms and drives efficient speakers at nearfield or moderate volume. Let me just list what each of the amp has:- 1) Left Ultimate: timE O/P transformers, Mundorf S/G/O caps, Mundorf solder, upgraded sockets, ALPS blue velvet volume pot. 2) Middle silver Ultimate (basic model - $1450):- timeE O/P transformers, Russian k40y-9 caps, everything else stock standard. 3) Right Ultimate ($2700):- Silke O/P transformers, Mundorf S/G/O caps, Mundorf solder, upgraded sockets, ALPS blue velvet volume pot. 1
Odyssey Posted June 22, 2023 Posted June 22, 2023 7 minutes ago, DMax said: Love the wooden chasis looks Should be the same wooden chassis as your mini 300b amp. Quality of wood is very good. Smooth and nice grain. No 2 chassis are the same.
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