[Wes S]

Yeah, still available... the only trouble I've seen was with Woo amps where the circuit wasn't performing exactly as required for the 274b. It would flash bright on startup I think and potentially blow the filament. Not sure of the exact technical problem but it seemed to only be related to how Woo amps operated. For those amps it was recommended to use ER5U4G.

Other than that there was the quality control issues prior to Thomas taking over but he sorted all that out quite a while back now. The 274b & 274a are both listed on Elroy's website as well as being sold via the UK distributor. I'd imagine that will be the same in the US. Certainly haven't seen anything about them being pulled.

Got ya, and I believe Thomas is only selling direct now by the way. Perhaps some old distributors might still have some inventory, but I believe you have to buy straight from Thomas now. I have had the Elrog ER300B's in the past, so I am very familiar with Thomas and the amazing sound of his tubes, and I am sure the 274b is incredible.

Curious for reference, what version of Mullard GZ34 do you have?

I think it would be an interesting comparison between the ER274b and Phillips Holland GZ34, as I think those two are going for the same type of sound sig. . .linear, dynamic and open with textures galore.

 

[Toonartist]

Got ya, and I believe Thomas is only selling direct now by the way. Perhaps some old distributors might still have some inventory, but I believe you have to buy straight from Thomas now. I have had the Elrog ER300B's in the past, so I am very familiar with Thomas and the amazing sound of his tubes, and I am sure the 274b is incredible.

Curious for reference, what version of Mullard GZ34 do you have?

I think it would be an interesting comparison between the ER274b and Phillips Holland GZ34, as I think those two are going for the same type of sound sig. . .linear, dynamic and open with textures galore.

Just the standard GZ34 unfortunately. It would make for an interesting comparison.

A word that jumps to mind when I first heard the ER274b was expansive... the sound felt big. More balanced across the range so I guess more linear when compared to something like the Brimar 5R4GY that has great bass texture but not as extended as the ER274b. The 274b also has more weight that the standard GZ34. I would struggle using the GZ34 with Mullard EL38's as it felt a bit edgy... possibly smoother or sweeter highs for the Elrog. I wish I was better at describing these things with proper audio speak

If I'm listening to an acoustic guitar, after the string is plucked the sound would carry more with the ER274b. Other tubes felt like it cut the note short. You could feel the friction of a violin bow across strings more with the 274b and pickup on small movements of the artist as they move around. Perfect timbre, even with classical piano albums. I think what I like most is it just sounds more real. You can feel the resonance when they come down hard on the keys as the sound reverbs around the wooden frame.

 

[Wes S]

Just the standard GZ34 unfortunately. It would make for an interesting comparison.

A word that jumps to mind when I first heard the ER274b was expansive... the sound felt big. More balanced across the range so I guess more linear when compared to something like the Brimar 5R4GY that has great bass texture but not as extended as the ER274b. The 274b also has more weight that the standard GZ34. I would struggle using the GZ34 with Mullard EL38's as it felt a bit edgy... possibly smoother or sweeter highs for the Elrog. I wish I was better at describing these things with proper audio speak

If I'm listening to an acoustic guitar, after the string is plucked the sound would carry more with the ER274b. Other tubes felt like it cut the note short. You could feel the friction of a violin bow across strings more with the 274b and pickup on small movements of the artist as they move around. Perfect timbre, even with classical piano albums. I think what I like most is it just sounds more real. You can feel the resonance when they come down hard on the keys as the sound reverbs around the wooden frame.

I think you are doing a fantastic job of describing what you hear, and I appreciate the info.

 

[smodtactical]

What wire do you have available? 20awg is probably the most common size of hookup wire made. You could use 18awg for the output and rectifier tube heaters and 22awg for everything else

For what part of the circuit?

Can we use 18 awg or 20 awg for everything ?

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Can we use 18 awg or 20 awg for everything ?

If you're going to use one wire size for everything, I'd use 20AWG.

 

[Kdot]

Today the right channel on my aegis went out randomly , I tried swapping all the tubes and still no dice.

I just went through the tests at the end of the guide. All of the resistance ones were OK, but here are the voltage tests:
TP5 = 167 volts
TP6 = 200 volts
TP9 = 105 volts
TP10 = 190 volts
TP15 = 40 volts (What)
TP16 = 6 volts
TP17 = 1 volts
TP18 = 2 volts

Any ideas @L0rdGwyn ?

Thanks in advance!

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Today the right channel on my aegis went out randomly , I tried swapping all the tubes and still no dice.

I just went through the tests at the end of the guide. All of the resistance ones were OK, but here are the voltage tests:
TP5 = 167 volts
TP6 = 200 volts
TP9 = 105 volts
TP10 = 190 volts
TP15 = 40 volts (What)
TP16 = 6 volts
TP17 = 1 volts
TP18 = 2 volts

Any ideas @L0rdGwyn ?

Thanks in advance!

It's another failed 400V Jupiter Copper Foil cap. C4 is the bad cap, it's shorted. Don't leave the amp on, the right channel output tube is running at high current because of the short. I'd replace both caps. If you want to use Jupiter, go with the 600V version, or you could do the V-Caps I put as an alternative in the BOM. Or something else as long as it fits!

 

[Kdot]

It's another failed 400V Jupiter Copper Foil cap. C4 is the bad cap, it's shorted. Don't leave the amp on, the right channel output tube is running at high current because of the short. I'd replace both caps. If you want to use Jupiter, go with the 600V version, or you could do the V-Caps I put as an alternative in the BOM. Or something else as long as it fits!

That was what I was leaning toward, thanks for clarifying! Appreciate ya!

 

[L0rdGwyn]

That was what I was leaning toward, thanks for clarifying! Appreciate ya!

No problem. Bummer those caps aren't reliable, clearly they are not rated to 400V, Aegis comes nowhere near that...

Apologies in advance if this happens to anyone else.

 

[AnyDave]

No problem. Bummer those caps aren't reliable, clearly they are not rated to 400V, Aegis comes nowhere near that...

Apologies in advance if this happens to anyone else.

I may just proactively replace mine. It seems that their reliability issues are fairly significant.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I may just proactively replace mine. It seems that their reliability issues are fairly significant.

Well assuming some 30 or so DIY Aegises (I'm not certain of that number, ballpark), and four instances of this occurring, that's 4 out of 60 caps, around 7%. Two of the four cases arrived bad and the issue was seen at first turn on, two occurred after about a year. My feeling is most will be fine, but I can't say for certain.

 

[mattiastomas]

I may just proactively replace mine. It seems that their reliability issues are fairly significant.

I was just thinking this. Is it worth proactively replacing? Also how much work would be involved in replacing them? We would pretty much have to fully remove the board right?

 

[miter53]

I was just thinking this. Is it worth proactively replacing? Also how much work would be involved in replacing them? We would pretty much have to fully remove the board right?

I replaced my Jupiter caps with V-cap ODAMs. It does not require removing the board, just some de-soldering tools (solder sucker and braid). You can probably get away with just carefully heating each connection and gently pulling on the wire with needle nose pliers. It's really pretty easy.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I was just thinking this. Is it worth proactively replacing? Also how much work would be involved in replacing them? We would pretty much have to fully remove the board right?

You can do it without removing the board. Clips the leads of the caps and remove the body. Heat the solder pad of the leads with a soldering iron and gently pull the lead out with needle nose pliers. Key here is gently, don't pull hard, you don't want to damage the solder pad. Remove any excess solder on the pad with a soldering wick. Put the new caps in and solder from above. Make sure you clip any excess lead length from the new caps before you put them in so the lead doesn't go through the PCB and make contact with the chassis on the other side.

 

[mattiastomas]

I replaced my Jupiter caps with V-cap ODAMs. It does not require removing the board, just some de-soldering tools (solder sucker and braid). You can probably get away with just carefully heating each connection and gently pulling on the wire with needle nose pliers. It's really pretty easy.

Nice. Good to hear that you don’t have to remove the board. Curious did you notice any sonic differences after swapping the caps?

You can do it without removing the board. Clips the leads of the caps and remove the body. Heat the solder pad of the leads with a soldering iron and gently pull the lead out with needle nose pliers. Key here is gently, don't pull hard, you don't want to damage the solder pad. Remove any excess solder on the pad with a soldering wick. Put the new caps in and solder from above. Make sure you clip any excess lead length from the new caps before you put them in so the lead doesn't go through the PCB and make contact with the chassis on the other side.

Awesome thanks for the info. Although on the other hand kinda feel if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Since it’s easy to replace then should it fail then replace it
It’s about 10 months now that I’ve built the Aegis and so far everything is working well