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Re: Anyone hear the Heathkit W3A..

The Heathkit W1/2/3 are classic Williamson designs. W1 used a Peerless output transformer and 807's - triode wired on the earlier version and u/l on the later version. The W2 switched to TungSol 5881's with a Peerless output. The W3 is essentially the same as a W2 with the Acrosound A300 output transformer.

I have pairs of all three - despite the essentially identical circuit they sound suprisingly different. While I prefer the W1 overall, the W3's are the most common, and the Acrosound output transformer is very nice sounding.

I have to say that the W1/2/3 are some of my favorite vintage amps sonically. I'd warn you that bad transformers are common, and that most amps will need substantial rebuilding to work properly. I'd find out what was really done to "refurbish" the pair. Filter caps almost always need replacing (especially the axial caps under the power supply chassis). Resolder EVERY joint (these were often assembled by rank amateurs), replace all coupling caps and check all resistors for value. Check the fuse for correct values. Ohm out the output transformers, as u/l taps are occasionally bad.

The Russian 5881's sure look cheezy in these amps btw. The original TungSol's sound great and "look right". You'll obviously need 2 6SN7's and a 5V4 to complete each amplifier.

I can help you out with full assembly manuals if you end up with the amps.

- Gary



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