Dual 1218 Turntable Restoration

The 1218 is a very nice turntable, the little brother to the venerable Dual 1219. It’s one of my personal favourites (I’ve owned two of them). It’s also one of the most complex turntables ever made. There’s literally hundreds of parts inside. All vintage ...Read More

The Xtreme Electronics Lab

Qualified electronics technologist with 20 years experience offering repairs, restoration and modifications for audiophile components, turntables, tube and solid state amplifiers, tuners and radios, DACs, digital devices and computers. Fast turnaround and 30-day warranty on all work. Specializing in Marantz, Harman Kardon, Dynaco, Luxman, ...Read More

Marantz 3300 Preamp Restoration

This excellent specimen of the Marantz 3300 solid-state preamp came to us from a very good customer here in Toronto. Although in good shape both electronically and cosmetically, there were some issues that needed remedy. For starters, the preamp kept cutting in and out, ...Read More

Sansui AU-6600 Amplifier Restoration

Our client Mark bought us this fine example of the very excellent Sansui AU-series of solid state integrated amps.  He purchased this as a teenager – he’s been the only owner – and wanted a full restoration, just like when walked out of Fairview ...Read More

Eico ST-40 Integrated Tube Amp Restoration

Here’s a few pictures of a restoration I did in October for our customer in Belleville. He requested a full restoration, not only to recap, but also remedy some of the problems with the amp. I must say, we were pleasantly surprised with the ...Read More

The Audio File: Filter Capacitors 101

As far as replacing the electrolytic filter capacitors in audio power supplies, I have three different approaches. All electrolytic capacitors have a limited lifespan — it’s a tradeoff between longevity and physical size — electrolytics have a smaller footprint than comparably rated film caps. ...Read More

Knight KB-85 amplifier refurb

The Knight KB-85 amplifier was perhaps one of the best sounding kit amps ever made. <Click on any picture for detailed view==> Duncan McAllister spent a year to completely restore this vintage tube amplifier to its former glory. The unit is based on the ...Read More

24-bit 192-KHz AK4396 DAC

Popular in the DIY realm, these high-resolution digital to analog converter (DAC) boards are perfect for translating HD music tracks on your computer transport to standard analog audio inputs. Although the board is called the Mini 2496, it can handle 24 bits at up ...Read More

Clone the Neumann U47 microphone

Favoured by artists like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, the venerable Neumann U47 studio microphone ushered in a new era of music recording and broadcast. Pictured here is the studio condenser microphone that I converted from transistorized to tube operation. <Click on ...Read More

DIY headphone amp packs a punch

Ah, nothing like the sweet sound of good headphones, up close and personal with the best of both worlds – a 12AU7 tube front end with dual IRF510 power MOSFETs as the drivers. Elegant sound that packs a punch, and it runs on 12 ...Read More