a tube amplifier repair technician

Bob Backert has modded 7 of my high end components, with outstanding results each time. Whether solid state, or tube, he gets the job done. My Conrad Johnson Premier 1B was taken to another level with his work. I will never part with it! . He is a true craftsman, artist and high level technician that I recommend without hesitation.

His contact information is:

Bob & Gary Backert
RHB Sound Dezign, LLC
152 Windsor Drive
Churchville, PA 18966
(215)355-0529
www.rhbsounddezign.com

I have just got this "crazy" idea.
Tell me if I am nuts.....but here you go:

My Vandersteen Quatros have a pair of amps build in them to drive the woofers. Do you think it would make any sense or difference if Bob (if he could and wanted to) try to modify the cheap mid-quality amps build in Quatros. I love Quatros but the bass is one of my only complaints. Bob's latest work on my mono-blocks was awesome but I have a feeling that some real wicked improvement can be gain if those amps were more dynamic, faster and more articulated.

If he could do what he did to my Cybers......oh man.....I am already getting a goosebumps.

The only question is, if I had to remove the amps myself or take the speakers to Bobs' place. Well, he might think that I am crazy .....

03-18-08: Mrjstark
The only question is, if I had to remove the amps myself or take the speakers to Bobs' place. Well, he might think that I am crazy .....

Well the only one who can really answer that question is Bob. Give him a call.

Cheers,
John

Well, I've had my BAT VK-75SE amp back from Bob for one week now, and only have about 14 hours on it, so I guess I should chime in here. I did just get off the phone with Bob, and I'll pretty much just sum up what I told him here. The most immediate difference that I noticed was in the bass, which went deeper and was better defined. Very impressive for a tube amp....or any amp really. The second impression that comes to mind is the speed/resolution/articulation improvement. Details that were before glossed over are now open for all to hear. Very exciting indeed.

The one nit that I had is that the amp seemed to lose a slight bit of warmth, or musicality. Bob said that this should return with another 75-150 hours of burn in for the caps/wires.

Overall I am very pleased with the modifications at this point in time, keep in mind that I only have 14 hours on the amp at the moment. The added bass and resolution are very amazing at this point in time. I look forward to letting the amp burn in more. At this point I would still highly recommend Bob's services.

For those interested, Bob did a mod on the input/driver tubes that supposedly takes the strain off of them and allows them to run in a more linear fashion. He also replaced the stock Belden input wire with gold plated silver wire, and replaced the coupling caps with V-Caps.
Total time, 23 days, total cost $1457.00, including taxes.

Cheers,
John

The truth is that V-Caps can take up to 200hrs to burn in(Teflon's like that). They are the most transparent caps out there after that. You can speed the process by playing a pink/brown/white noise signal(or plain old music) through the system(on "repeat"). Hook one speaker out of phase with the other and place them closely together, facing one another. That way most of the sound cancels out, and you're less likely to go nuts from the monotony. The sound will go through some strange changes before then, but the music will be there in spades afterward. Happy listening!