Futterman. Jump in? Or, not so fast...

I am jumping into this thread rather late.

I have had a pair of NYAL Futterman OTL3s since 1985, or for 38 years. For the first 20 years, they would go on the fritz every 5 to 6 years. Since Jon Specter, with George Kaye’s assistance, converted them to triode from pentode (still using the 6LF6 tubes [those are ’pentode’ tubes what do I know?]) some 15 years ago, they have been very stable, providing 130 watts into a 16 ohm load without once needing tube replacement.

Since it has been so long, I just days ago gave Jon the amps to go over. He said the tubes are now providing only 80 watts but otherwise show now signs of fritzing. I am having him replace them with NOS tubes anyway, and having him look for any caps that are so old that they are in danger of drying up completely, or can be replaced by something better.

As for ferrite beads, they are all over mine, but that was to ward off ham radio signals from taxicabs driving by (I lived on busy 3rd Avenue in NYC).

Jon claims that the amps have a bad rap: like any high end amp, they are sensitive to load. He says that they must be matched to the right speaker, and you need to check the bias and balance regularly, and that if you monitor them and use them properly, there are no issues, and especially with the new design that Jon and George came up with, see http://kayeaudiolabs.com/ NYAL/Futterman

As for number of hours, if I guesstimate that I listen for 15 hours a week x 52 weeks x 12 years, that's 9,360 hours, and they are still not done yet, I am 'retiring' them but marking them and saving them for a rainy day.

I think I have heard some of you complaining about not being able to find George Kaye but I just spoke to him the other day. He is still doing some builds and repairs but is mostly retired and focusing on performing and recording music.

If you have a pair of NYAL Futtermans, or any version of the Futtermans that need repair, Jon may be your guy, and you may want him to modify them as the mod lifted the performance, especially at the bottom end.

I am wondering what markusthenaimnut finally decided.

@unreceivedogma 

I decided to stick with my humble Quad 909. Simplicity and reliability and the ability to "set it and forget it" are important considerations.

I do appreciate that perhaps I was worrying unnecessarily about the Futtermans. But in any case I still enjoy my Quad 2905s. And now I'm also listening to Altec VOTTs via low powered triode monoblocks.

I really don’t understand why @atmasphere seems to start out with anything he has to say about Futtermans by trashing NYAL. Or is he not? Is it me? It sounds that way.

I have been planning on writing a short - or maybe not so short - memoir of my audio and vinyl-collecting journey, of which what I am about to share would be a part.

For now, just an update.

Jon spent a huge amount of time on my amps, from late August through early November. He had to have surgery on one hand from decades of professional guitar playing, so he’s slowed down. It was well worth the wait.

All 16 matched 6LF6 tubes (that were running at about 65% of their original strength) have been replaced with a new matched set NOS 6LF6 tubes. The dozens of photoflood caps, which were about 1/2” x 1”, not as atmasphere described, were replaced by three huge caps costing several hundred dollars each. The circuit board was re-etched where he detected corrosion.

I bought a second set of 18 (two backups) 6LF6 tubes to have on standby for 15 years from now. They go in the box with the other 90 tubes I have that range in quality from NOS to questionable.

One night, at around 2:30 in the morning, Jon calls me up (Jon still keeps musician’s hours, 😬). “Yes Jon, wassup, zzzzz?”

”Michael, you’re not gonna believe it. I found it!”

”Found what?”

”Julius made a mistake! I found it!”

”Really? 55+ years of people fiddling with this design and no one noticed until now? So, you’re going to fix it, yes?”

”😆, yes! You know how the bass in the Futtermans has always left a bit to be desired? Wait until you get these back!”

So, I got them back. Jon said to give them 200 hrs to break in, but the difference in speed, slam, and bottom was already clearly apparent.

I have now logged the first 200 hrs. One of the NOS tubes failed, but that’s what the two extra in the set are for.

The new sound, in a phrase, beyond superb. Rich, full, detailed, convincing, transparent (of course), especially on live recordings.

I’ve had them for 39 years. I’m 70. Hopefully they get me through to my 95th year. I’m optimistic, notwithstanding the heart surgery last year. Hopefully I still have hearing then.

They are driving a pair of Altec 604Cs with Mastering Lab crossovers (also upgraded by Jon), and I have added a Koetsu Leopard and a Pro-ject Tube Box D2 phono preamp.

See Harvey Gitmo Rosenberg “The Search for Musical Ecstasy (Book One: In the Home)” available on Amazon. There’s one left.

There is a pair of (search:) “NYAL Futterman OTL-1 - special version - OTL vacuum tube amplifier” for sale on eBay. I’m not associated with the seller, but I do know he worked for NYAL for many years as a salesperson.

theaudioatticvinylsundays.com

All 16 matched 6LF6 tubes (that were running at about 65% of their original strength) have been replaced with a new matched set NOS 6LF6 tubes. The dozens of photoflood caps, which were about 1/2” x 1”, not as atmasphere described,

@unreceivedogma That's probably because they were replaced. Harvey told me on the 'phone what part he originally used (Rubycon 600uf 360V photoflash cap). Because at the time Japanese customers didn't like seeing Japanese parts inside their amps, Harvey told me he stripped the plastic covers off of the photoflash parts to disguise their identity. You can see banks of them in the original photos of the amps.

This amp didn't have the covers peeled, as they were not going to Japan.

He even told me where he bought them surplus: Bill Godbout Electronics. Because they were surplus and also photoflash, they likely didn't last long in that application, so if your amps were still working then those parts were likely replaced a long time ago, hence the newer (and likely new when installed) parts were a lot smaller!

It was a good move to use a different cap in the power supply. Photoflash parts don't have good ripple current specs.

Now if you are wondering why I might sound like I was trashing NYAL, the use of a surplus part that was never going to hold up in its application even if new is a good example of why. It might be because I had a bit more of the inside story since Harvey took an interest in my activities and so told me things he wouldn't have told anyone else. But if you go back and look at my two prior posts, you'll see I make some suggestions and comments, such as this one; do you think this is a dig?

One thing you'll find with OTLs is that they rule the roost when it comes to transparency, speed and bandwidth. Its not subtle- its the sort of thing that you hear immediately. Keep in mind that the speaker choice is important- but if you have the the right speaker the combination can be good music quality that few audiophiles experience.