This is for a vintage Eico model HF-20 mono tube amplifier which uses a pair of 6L6 output tubes. It has various EQ curves for correctly playing various brands of 78 RPM records. It weighs approximately 23 lbs. It has NOT been tested, and will require restoration before use (new capacitors at a minimum). It appears to be complete, and original inside. You will receive the amplifier shown.
Eico HF-87 stereo amplifier that will require 4x EL34, 2x 6SN7GT and one 12AX7 tubes. No tubes or cage are included. This unit is stamped by Eico on the underside of the chassis so it leads one to believe this unit was factory built. I see capacitors and resistors were replaced sometime in the past and a surge protector was added. I used my spare tubes to test and it sounds great, no hum. This weighs 31 lbs.
Eico HF-81 Vintage Integrated Tube Amplifier – Fully Rebuilt. General: The Eico HF-81 is a classic example of an excellent sounding 1960′s integrated tube amplifier. This vintage beauty has a full tube preamp and power amp delivering up to 14W of warm tube power. This is a rather rare combination for an integrated amp, as most are a hybrid designs with a solid state preamp a tube amp (or vice-versa) like the McIntosh MA230, MAC1500, etc. We were truly impressed at the sound quality of this piece during long-term testing on our test rig. In particular we thought vocals sounded fantastic, especially period correct Elvis and Sinatra. This particular HF-81 was completely overhauled before arriving into our shop and performed excellent in all of our bench and long-term listing tests. This HF-81 will come to you with a reprinted manual and a custom made dust cover. SkyFi Cosmetic Notes: This piece received a cosmetic overhaul at some point in the past. All chassis parts were repainted. The transformers were painted as well. It also appears as though all new hardware was installed. The manual is a reprinted copy. No silkscreen in present on the rear panel, but we’ll provide a printed diagram with all of the input labels and tube locations. SkyFi Technical Notes: This unit came to us having already undergone an extensive electronic restoration. Here is a rough outline of what we picked up on during our testing and review process. This unit was fully recapped including a new CE multi-section can, axial electrolytics, a mix of film and PIO coupling caps, and select mica capacitors. Select resistors replaced, modern three prong power cord added, SEP/COM Switch removed from circuit, a power switch was added to the rear panel, and a phono grounding lug was installed. Tube Notes: The rectifier tubes are current production Electro Harmonix. The output tubes are Groove Tubes EL84, the 12AX7s are a mix of Sovtek and GE, the 12AU7s are Sylvania. Both channels tested clean to about 9W into 8 ohms, both channels driven. The only electronic issue that we identified was a channel imbalance in the volume control. We opted to replace the volume control with an Alps “Blue Velvet” control. The channel balance of the volume control is now excellent. Slight drift in the balance control, however, results in the need for the balance control to be shifted just slightly to the left of center for ideal performance. Ownership: Second Owner Connections: RCA, Speaker bidning posts. Ground screw down terminal General Sound: Smooth, uncolored, undistorted natural and clean Cosmetic Condition: 8/10 = Very Good. Excellent front faceplate, one minor flaw on chassis side or top. Working Condition: Working perfectly and tested in our lab and listening room. Included: Unit, manual, and power cord. Packing: Will be packed using our highly developed in-house process and custom packing materials. Specs: Tube Complement: Four ECC83/12AX7 Four EL84/6BQ5 Two EZ81. Maximum output power: 14 WPC (11.5 dBW) continuous into rated load. Frequency response (at 1 W into 8 ohms): 10 Hz – 100 kHz, ±0.5 dB. Tone control range: ±15 dB at 50 Hz and 10 kHz. IM distortion (60 Hz and 6 kHz at 4:1): 2% at 14 W, 0.05% at 5 W. Sensitivity (input for 14 W): Moving Magnet Phono 4mV Tape head 2mV Mic 5mV Aux and Tuners 500mV. Speaker Connections: 4, 8, 16, 32 ohms. Dimensions: 15″ (385mm) W 4-3/4″ (120mm) H 10-1/2 (270mm) D Weight: 24 lbs. Testing Process: We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure that there are no signs of heat stress or damage. Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect resistors and other passive components for signs of overheating. If tube arcing has occurred in the past we can usually spot discoloration on the output tube sockets. On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR. If the amplifier passes visual inspection, we move on to a full test of all of the tubes. We use a modern Amplitrex AT-1000 Professional Tube Tester which is capable of testing both emission and Gm with a high degree of accuracy. We document the results of each tube and replace any weak or suspect tubes before proceeding. When we power on tube amplifiers for the first time we usually use a variac and current limited AC supply and slowly raise the voltage up to nominal mains level while monitoring plate, screen, filament, and negative bias supply voltages where applicable. If everything is in order we feed a low level test signal into the amplifier’s input and monitor its output on an oscilloscope across an 8 ohm dummy load. At this point we are just looking to verify basic function and confirm that the output transformers are not damaged. Once we have verified that the amplifier is safe to operate, we connected it to full mains power. For cathode biased amps we monitor the plate to cathode voltage to determine if the output tubes are operating in a safe range. Once the output section is verified we move onto bench evaluation. We start by feeding the input of the amplifier with a low level 1 KHz test signal, slowly increasing its amplitude while monitoring the amplifier’s output on an oscilloscope for signs of noise, clipping, distortion, or improper channel balance. We continue increasing the signal level until the amplifier reaches clipping. At this point we take an output power measurement and compare it to the spec sheet of the amplifier to verify proper performance. We finish off the bench evaluation with a 1 KHz square wave check and a 20 Hz to 20 KHz sine sweep to assess the amplifier’s frequency response characteristics. This battery of tests will usually reveal if the amplifier has any issues that need further attention. Before the device leaves the bench we perform a listening test with actual music using a variety of preferred test tracks. Our benches are outfitted with familiar monitor speakers which help us identify inconsistencies that will not always show up on our test gear. The main things that we are listening for are hum or noise with no signal present, proper center image, clicks, pops, or any other obvious undesirable audio characteristics. If the unit passes all of these tests it is moved to our long term testing rig where we simulate real word operating conditions for 6-8 hours minimum. For tube amps we like to run this test at least twice. This allows us to monitor the unit for signs of thermal runaway or intermittent issues that only crop up when it has fully come up to temperature. We find this step to be essential, especially for vintage units. Please note we are not a repair shop and only restore what we own. SkyFi Audio – Curators of Vintage Audio Gear. If we don’t have the original packaging, we use heavy-duty double-ply corrugated boxes with custom made to your item SealedAir Instapak expanding foam custom inserts. In many cases this has proven to be better than the original packaging! We also use high quality fiber reinforced tape to seal our packages. We have too many items for sale and it’s nearly impossible to keep track of offers outside of the official system. Our items are available for pick-up. No additional information at this time. You might also like. Dynavector 10×3 High-Output MC Phono Cartridge. Music Reference RM-5 MK II Tube Preamplifier with Phono. WyWires Silver Series Phono Interconnects – 5 Pin DIN w/ XLR Connectors – 4ft. Music Reference RM-9 Tube Amplifier With EL34′s.
Eico HF-20 Tube Amplifier (2 monoblock included) tested – works but needs replacement of capacitors and some work. Transformers work quietly and do not heat up.
EICO HF-12 tube mono amplifier. Recapped, mostly original or at least vintage tubes. At this writing, I have several other HF-12′s for sale, if you’re looking for a stereo pair. I live in Scappoose Oregon-approximately a half-hour out of Portland. Problems are few, and I’m very pro-active about solving any that might crop up. Please examine the pictures carefully. They are part of the description. This is NOT a new component. As such, it does not come with any guarantee– implied or written. Vintage audio equipment is sensitive and does not travel particularly well. So in rare instances, that which was working 100% at my house may require adjustment or servicing before working equally well at yours. Most on-line sales of vintage electronics happen under these exact same conditions-but I just wanted to point this out so there are no misunderstandings or disappointments. But please understand: I simply clicked a box making this available to International buyers. Here are a couple that my International customers have successfully used in the past and have a good reputation: Nippon Express USA or U. Both are located in San Pedro, CA. Contact info is available on-line. I’m looking forward to doing business with you and earning more of it in the future. I absolutely LOVE this stuff, and you will find me to be a reasonable, fair-minded person to deal with.
This amp has been gone through, and all issues (and known issues) addressed. Internal capacitors have all been replaced, pots cleaned, and brought back to factory specs. Please refer to pictures for the condition. It is not perfect, but a very nice clean unit. The flash in a couple of pictures made the face look different. This is diode rectified now, so there is no need for the ez81 tubes anymore. You can put some in, but they will just glow. The sound is simply incredible. When you first turn it on, it sounds like a very good tube amp. Something my old audio research D125 could never do. After this amp warms up for about 15 minutes, it really opens up. I put about 8 hrs on it yesterday. I was so enthralled by the sound that I kept throwing cd after cd at it. I was halfway through Nora Jones at 2am. When the wife came downstairs and said, TURN IT OFF. She really knows how to knock me off my cloud. I know this is not a brute on power, but I ran it to my polk RTA-12B speakers. These are power-hungry speakers, and the eico brought them to the edge of my spl max. This is well over my wifes level, but I did wake her up. With the volume at max, there is no hiss or hum or any distortion while playing. The sound this set amp delivers is amazing. The soundstage is wide with a depth that you want from a good tube amp. HF is absolutely crystal clear with lush mids. The bass is extremely impressive for the wpc. This amp provided a nice punch with a powerful low end from the polks. Vocals, brass, guitar, and piano are all there. It sounds like you are in the recording studio. Miles Davis, Coltrane, B. This is a very special amplifier, not nearly the power of my Mac 275, but it does so many things right. Some amps you turn on to listen while you work or get stuff done. This one makes you stop dead in your tracks, sit down, and close your eyes. I wish I still had my old klipsch chorus ii speakers. I rolled some different tubes in this amp, so some pictured are different now. This will be packed very well and insured, so it will arrive safe.
Good overall condition, some areas could be touched up, please see photos for cosmetics. I did clean up the top a bit, was very dusty from sitting – likely for 40+ years. Great project amplifier – service/restore it and tube it… Good guitar conversion project, or pair it with your other HF-20 and make it stereo! VERY HEAVY – will be double boxed and packed right.
Since it is a used item, it is in good condition overall, although there are some damages and stains. Size: W305 x H100 x D220. International Buyers – Please Note. Thank you for your understanding.