Antique Labs Hurricane DT

Thank you for this info. I appreciated it.
Ted

Consider a mod with Scott Frankland, San Jose, CA, to deal with your Hurricane-fuse problem. It appears the original editions were prone to blowing fuses and/or resisters (a design problem) and bad parts (a quality control problem). ASL fixed the latter over time but the former kept occuring enough regularly that many 'Cane owners gave up and moved onto less troublesome amps. In fact mine are second hand and now four years in my system. I LOVE my Hurricanes and they are designated heirlooms for my youngest son. However, Scott Frankland, a well known Bay Area audio engineer-designer, suggested replacing all my resisters, installing a new fuse set, replace some diodes, and upgrade the two rotary switches for the tube adjustments. Otherwise, he told me to expect to blow a resister about every 7-13 months. The prospects of lugging these 70 pound beasts back and forth between San Jose and San Francisco once a year was not appetitizing so I had Scott do the modifications 3 years ago and there hasn't been nary a problem since. I think I'll have to do a post "How Many Hurricane Owners Left?" as I see many long time 'Cane owners move on. Me? I love my system of: Hurricanes, ARC LS 26 tube preamp, PS Audio phono stage (modded), VPI Scoutmaster, Grado Reference cartridge, PS Audio Premier Power Regenerator, Aerial 6 floor speakers, and Cardas Golden Cross interconnects, and plan to keep them together for a loong time. I hope you can enjoy your 'Canes long enough to build a satisfying system around it as I have. Enjoy the music.

Thank you Jwong for the thoughtful suggestions. Unfortunately I live in the greater N.York area and shipping these amps to the West coast for mods is a task I am not looking forward to. Also unfortunate is the fact that N.York has so few tech men to do the work unless one wants to spend a fortune, I believe and been warned that they charge the most expensive prices in the country.
Anyway,I contacted the Canadian importer of the amps and he suggested to try Slow Blow fuses instead of Fast Blow that I have been using from the beginning. I also changed all output KT-88 tubes. After these changes the amps work like a dream, I had forgotten what improvement new tubes can do to the sound, even if they are the same low quality kind as the ones these amps came with. A big problem that I believe contibutes to the failing of the low quality resistors, tube sockets and most other parts is HEAT!, these amps generate so much of it I can keep my living room warm in the winter. I have placed 2 small fans infront of each monoblock and even though they are somewhat audible in very low volume music they do an excellent job keeping the amps cool. A friend of mine who bought the same amps but had them placed under a cabinet had all kinds of tube and other part failures that made him get rid of the 'Canes in disgust before he realized that his problem had mainly been their placement which generated excess amounts of part wearing heat.
I use the excellent "Rhea" tubed phono stage which I'll keep for ever, and the same cartridge as you do, but I also have a second tonearm on my custom made TT with a low output Grado Master, for a change to a more subtle and detailed sound.
I hope this is the beginning of a long period without the problems I had in the past.
Thanks again.
Ted

I still have mine, going on 7 years, but yes, Mine do still blow resistors. I think the suggestion of Tosh was also to put in 2 ohm resistors. I have an appointment with my electronics repair guy, who's in Middletown, CT. He's terrific with the amps, and kept a pair for quite a while because just when he thought the amp was working correctly, it would start making some sound. When I got it back, it was completely quiet, but there was still one socket that wouldn't bias easily. It blew a couple of weeks ago. Back for repair! By the way, only the amp I use on my left channel has problems: the one on the right channel just smiles benevolently every time it sees me, and does its job without complaint.
Frankly, I don't care. If one has a functional pair of these, I don't see that much to complain about. It's a killer amp, but I can hear people saying, but its highs are a little rolled off, or such-and-such has better bass. I don't listen for "bass" or treble, I listen to hearts and souls. The amps play music with the soul of a poet, and can crunch you like the Hammer of Thor. Their dynamic contrast range is completely --ugh, that word --- awesome. Their noise floor is divine, and even if this pair fails, I'll just buy another. I'd love better highs, but I honestly sometime wonder what others have heard that sounds more like an actual orchestra playing in real - and continous - space. The only other amp I had that was completely continous in its sound was my Jadis Defy 7 amp, and the Hurricanes, while not as rich sounding (on brass), still generate in me an emotional reaction I refuse to give up. They're staying. If not this pair, then another.