[oldson]

just joined the HP8 "owners club".
listening for the 1st time tonight.
i estimate the amp to be 9-10 years old and i do have a few questions.
how long are the caps expected to last? (Jensen)
compared to my nearly new otl, the valves seem to move around a fare bit in their sockets. could this be an issue (does not appear to effect the sound).
sounds really good apart from a bit of hiss/hum when i crank up the vol with no music playing, is this normal with otc?
would a service at Icon be recommended (it was last done 5 yrs ago).

very happy with my purchase over all and certainly willing to pay for a service , should it be recommended.

for the 1st time i can enjoy my old d2000 on a tube amp, they sound a tad bloated on my otl.

 

[WorksUnit]

Hi, yes the valves do have a bit of a play in the sockets...
At least on mine, which is roughly the same vintage as yours.

 

[JerseyD]

Hi, yes the valves do have a bit of a play in the sockets...
At least on mine, which is roughly the same vintage as yours.

The CV181's that came with my HP8 did fit a bit loosely, but all of the NOS 6SN7's that I have tried fit snugly. (Sorry, I don't know about cap life expectancy.)

 

[Deleeh]

just joined the HP8 "owners club".
listening for the 1st time tonight.
i estimate the amp to be 9-10 years old and i do have a few questions.
how long are the caps expected to last? (Jensen)
compared to my nearly new otl, the valves seem to move around a fare bit in their sockets. could this be an issue (does not appear to effect the sound).
sounds really good apart from a bit of hiss/hum when i crank up the vol with no music playing, is this normal with otc?
would a service at Icon be recommended (it was last done 5 yrs ago).

very happy with my purchase over all and certainly willing to pay for a service , should it be recommended.

for the 1st time i can enjoy my old d2000 on a tube amp, they sound a tad bloated on my otl.

Hello,
I'm not quite sure, but the first signature versions had the Jensen paper in wax or oil.
This was discontinued so that the Mundorf SGO came in afterwards and is considered today's Signature.
Back to the Jensen, paper in wax/oil dries naturally.
It really depends on how often the amp was used.
If it was used frequently it makes sense.
If it was used less and the ambient temperature was always okay then it can last twice as long.
If everything still sounds good with new tubes, nothing distorts or there is no noise or harshness in the music itself, I wouldn't worry.
Other signs are things like if it sounds better after 1-2 hours than after a cold start plus 15 minutes, then you have to weigh up how much you are bothered by it and whether it bothers you.
This is typical for caps that are getting on in years, it doesn't necessarily sound bad but it takes time.
The problem with paper in wax is that the caps will eventually go up because they have dried out.

In the worst case, ask support where they can help you again, and if they agree to replace anything that looks suspicious, they will do it and replace it for an additional charge.
Sometimes it's not just the caps themselves that need replacing, sometimes it's resistors, wimas, electrolytic caps, etc. to get the amplifier to a normal value.
But they will also be able to answer your basic questions for now.

 

[JerseyD]

Just received my replacement "12AT7 CV455 KB/FB BRIMAR RARE TRIPLE MICA 1956 NOS VALVE/TUBE" from Langrex, after the original one I was sent was faulty.
Excellent service and understanding from Langrex. The new one is singing sweetly already, paired here with a pair of National Union Black Beauties 6SN7GT.

 

[YtseJamer]

One of my regrets in this hobby was selling my HP8 last year. So, recently, I reached out to Warren at Audiorcan to buy a new HP8 Signature. The pairing of this amp with the Atrium is simply outstanding! While I appreciate my WA3, the HP8 truly enhances the Atrium experience. I also want to give a shoutout to Warren, he's one of the best sellers I've had the privilege of dealing with!

 

[oldson]

just curious, which tubes have most influence on the sound, front or rear?

 

[G8torbyte]

One of my regrets in this hobby was selling my HP8 last year. So, recently, I reached out to Warren at Audiorcan to buy a new HP8 Signature. The pairing of this amp with the Atrium is simply outstanding! While I appreciate my WA3, the HP8 truly enhances the Atrium experience. I also want to give a shoutout to Warren, he's one of the best sellers I've had the privilege of dealing with!

Yes, Warren and Don are a pleasure to work with. I recently shipped them my stock HP-8 to upgrade to the Mundorf capacitors and replace some parts starting to fail. They quickly responded to my questions and made the repairs within a few days. I'll be receiving it back this coming week and looking forward to having it paired again to my ZMFs.

 

[WorksUnit]

just curious, which tubes have most influence on the sound, front or rear?

I have had good results just changing the front tube.
Others back in the earlier days of the thread found some combination of changing both really worthwhile.
Guess it depends on how much you can invest.

 

[WorksUnit]

Yes, Warren and Don are a pleasure to work with. I recently shipped them my stock HP-8 to upgrade to the Mundorf capacitors and replace some parts starting to fail. They quickly responded to my questions and made the repairs within a few days. I'll be receiving it back this coming week and looking forward to having it paired again to my ZMFs.

I just started the same process today with an Icon Audio approved shop.
( The local place I mentioned earlier in the thread had some issues in sourcing Mundorf apparently )
Any insight on the what to look out for based on your experience would be appreciated

One of my regrets in this hobby was selling my HP8 last year. So, recently, I reached out to Warren at Audiorcan to buy a new HP8 Signature. The pairing of this amp with the Atrium is simply outstanding! While I appreciate my WA3, the HP8 truly enhances the Atrium experience. I also want to give a shoutout to Warren, he's one of the best sellers I've had the privilege of dealing with!

Atrium was favourite ZMF at canjam. Those look great together..

 

[G8torbyte]

I just started the same process today with an Icon Audio approved shop.
( The local place I mentioned earlier in the thread had some issues in sourcing Mundorf apparently )
Any insight on the what to look out for based on your experience would be appreciated

Sure, when I reached out to Warren at the Audioarcan shop in Canada it was to help troubleshoot a low frequency hum I was having with the HP-8 that I mentioned earlier in this thread. At the same time I requested to go ahead and upgrade to the Signature-Mundorf capacitors. I did not ask for Signature tubes since I already have other compatible ones. He advised to send it in and add a written request for an assessment/repair to inform Customs because I was shipping from the US. His technician performed bench tests and found a few other components that needed replacement. They advised sending tubes with the HP-8 you would likely use the most so they can do the final burn-in test if you do not want the Signature tubes.

 

[WorksUnit]

they advised sending tubes with the HP-8 you would likely use the most

Same response I just had.
Any appreciable difference in the hum when using the stereo/mono switch?

 

[G8torbyte]

Same response I just had.
Any appreciable difference in the hum when using the stereo/mono switch?

No, it was a steady low frequency hum that did not change with the volume dial or mono/stereo switch. It only increased with the impedance switch going from low to high. It was likely associated with the internal power component as I noticed it would level off after a few seconds on powering up the amp. Another member here mentioned a similar issue and had a capacitor replaced for the power supply: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/icon-audio-hp8-mp-3.492604/page-82#post-17755355
I bought the HP-8 used so I figured it could use a tune-up.

 

[jonathan c]

One of my regrets in this hobby was selling my HP8 last year. So, recently, I reached out to Warren at Audiorcan to buy a new HP8 Signature. The pairing of this amp with the Atrium is simply outstanding! While I appreciate my WA3, the HP8 truly enhances the Atrium experience. I also want to give a shoutout to Warren, he's one of the best sellers I've had the privilege of dealing with!

Beautiful looking, beautiful sounding! By the experience conferred upon me - via ownership of Atrium & HP Signature - you are pronounced amp & headphone!!

 

[jonathan c]

One of my regrets in this hobby was selling my HP8 last year. So, recently, I reached out to Warren at Audiorcan to buy a new HP8 Signature. The pairing of this amp with the Atrium is simply outstanding! While I appreciate my WA3, the HP8 truly enhances the Atrium experience. I also want to give a shoutout to Warren, he's one of the best sellers I've had the privilege of dealing with!

Welcome back, YJ: .... return of the prodigal prodigious amp!!