Help on ancient Audionics CC-2s

Hi there folks, old Audionics hand here.

First off, replace all electrolytic caps, both large and small. Electrolytics have a finite lifetime, and modern ones are more compact, more reliable, and quite a lot better sonically. The CC-2 was designed in 1977, after all. We used the best we could get then, but they are horrible by modern standards. Something as basic as Nichicons are far better.

I have mixed feelings about using bridge mode. There’s no free lunch here ... you get twice the voltage, but only half the current. In other words, that 8-ohm speaker now looks like a 4-ohm speaker to each section of the amplifier. Worse, a 4-ohm speaker now looks like a 2-ohm speaker, and I can guarantee you that the CC-2 will not like that one bit. If you want 2 channels with total separation, just use two amps with one half silent (short the input on the unused channels).

If memory serves, there are some blue tantalum caps in the signal path. Those are very undesirable sonically, but in our defense, nothing was published on cap sonics back then. If there’s room, replace them with modern film caps.

@rwwear Thank you very much for posting this! I, too, owned an Audionics CC-2 and the BT-2 preamplifier that I enjoyed for more than twenty years before the CC-2 died one day in a spark and puff of smoke when I turned it on. Even though I lived in a high-tech town at the time (Ann Arbor, MI) there was no one who could bring it back to life.

Your post inspired my recollection of more treasured memories from my early audio days. Audionics first came to my attention in a review of the CC-2 published in Volume 1, Number 5 of The Audio Critic, a very influential (and controversial) journal during its day. There still has never been another like it. For any who might be interested the entire library of TAC may be downloaded free at:  Downloads (biline.ca)  

The Audio Critic remains a worthy read, entertaining and highly educational with some of the first published writings on issues that continue to rage today.

Objectivists vs Subjectivists anyone? Measurements? Questionable and highly suspicious commercial media reviews? Start here. Also, uniquely valuable are the many letters and interviews from and with some of the founding technologists in this field, some of the true OGs!

Thank you again!

A few years ago, I walked into a Boulder camera store and saw a pocket book documenting a "Classic Camera Series - Nikon FE2". Hey, I bought that camera new, a month after Nikon introduced it! Not only that, it was my *second* SLR, after my 1963 vintage Pentax Spotmatic finally quit working after twenty good years.

Well, if the camera was a "classic", what does that make me?

Thanks for the kind words sargonicuse.

I still have one CC-2. It is disassembled at this time. I sold the best one one to Marty. They do sound better in mono given the right speakers. I often used mine with Mirage MI's with good results. Alas my Citation 2's in mono and my Krell bettered them.

If Marty is around, Hello. How are the amps performing these days?

Correction to my post above. Picked up the 2nd CC-2 on 6-13-24 NOT 6-13-23. And so far I love them bridged driving my 6 Ohm, nominal impedance Martin Logan EM ESLs.