What do you know about a WESTERN ELECTRIC 86-A amp ??


I have a all original W/E 86a amplifier, I would like to find out what people know about these amps and there sound quality .......Mine has all original W/E tubes  .....THANKS

autospec

Showing 1 response by lynn_olson

Modifying it (by replacing capacitors) will destroy its value, so don’t touch anything, including the wiring (WE wire is highly prized by collectors).

The most famous WE collectors are in Tokyo and South Korea, so I guess that’s where it would fetch the highest price. I would not listen to it, out of concern for capacitor failure, which would burn up the irreplaceable power transformer.

The sonics of this kind of amplifier are very strongly affected by the parts within ... transformers and caps especially ... and these 1930’s parts use technologies that are no longer in use, and cannot be exactly replicated today. A part that visually matches the 85-year-old original will not sound the same, and collectors know that.