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    6550 or KT88 for a VTL MB450

    May be a moot point for a while as Russian new production tubes are essentially unobtainum at the moment. FWIW, I ran the winged C 6550 in my MB450s for a long time, then switched to the Gold Lion KT88s. Don’t frankly recall much difference. I’ve a set of new production Tung-Sol 6550 that I...
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    Upgrading Genesis II's

    Yes, that was recommended to me and done about 10 years ago. I did not notice any broken spiders then.
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    Upgrading Genesis II's

    My speakers are 200, in fact right at the boundary of 200/201. They have the bohlender midrange and taller amp ….. but the brown woofers. The replacement woofers are electronically compatible but physically slightly larger. This meant either rerouting the hole (very messy) or face mounting. I’m...
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    Upgrading Genesis II's

    I replaced them with the newer ribbed aluminum drivers sourced from Gary.
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    Upgrading Genesis II's

    Mine still ‘looked’ like new, but a number of them had sagged slightly such that there was some rubbing. Surrounds still fine, but a couple of the spiders had broken and I’d been babying them for a while. Dog spit up on the back of the right speaker, which I did not notice, put the amp into...
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    Upgrading Genesis II's

    Agreed, still a superb set of speakers. Mine have recently required replacement of the woofers since brown ones were 25 years old. Now I have 201s LOL.
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    Genesis 200 'Updgrade'

    It’s been a while since I read (and even posted to) the G2 thread …. Probably should give it a re-read. Memory ain’t what it’s used to be. I think upgrades are good. In my many years of owning the G200, about the only upgrade was replacing the woofer servo cables. Sounded better, but the big...
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    Genesis 200 'Updgrade'

    Curious what other ‘upgrades’ you plan for your 200s after recapping the amp? Do folks have a view on whether the passive crossover in the base of the mid/tweeter panels need recapping. I inspect mine periodically and they appear fine. I have always assumed that the absence of heat means a much...
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    Genesis 200 'Updgrade'

    George Meyer AV in LA has worked on a few of these at least (they have one of mine at the moment). Perhaps they could offer an opinion. Believe this amp was originally made by Cullen Circuits. They're closed now, and I lost track of Rick Cullen.
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    Genesis 200 Feet

    I had to drill the holes. Seem to recall the base/plinth is MDF (though it could also be particle board). Either way. easy to drill and thick enough that you don't need to worry about going into the cabinet. Drill the hole, tap in the threaded 'grommet' and then screw in the spike. I used an...
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    Replacing Rubber Woofer Surround

    Thanks for the quick reply. Long ago I routed everything below 30 hz to a set of your subwoofers ..... mainly to try to reduce W&T on the 8" woofers. Presumably if the spiders were cracked I'd hear that?
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    Replacing Rubber Woofer Surround

    At the risk of asking an unanswerable question: how long should i expect the rubber surrounds to last on the older brown 200 woofers? I'm generally OCD about inspecting these speakers which are now over 25 years old. I did think about rotating the bass drivers 180 degrees a few years ago, but...
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    Genesis 200 Feet

    Panels are front heavy, so they will forward lean on carpets. Easy enough to install a set of aftermarket spikes ..... that is what I did with both the panels and woofer columns on my 200/201. Also helps to keep any dampness out of the MDF base (mine are in a basement).
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    Amp Kaputzkee

    One of my G2000 amps developed a nasty buzz. Still 'works' but clearly a problem. Took it to my local 'hi-end' amp guy (same one as in 2016). He replaced a bunch of caps in the power supply and now back to being good as new ..... well, maybe good as old. Once again, very happy to have a good amp...
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    Upgrading Genesis II's

    At the time, $15K seemed like a lot .... but I think in retrospect I got a pretty good deal. The ‘problem’ of course is that things deteriorate over time regardless of the level of care they receive. The BG ribbons in mine started making funny noises so I had them rebuilt .... just a few months...
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    Upgrading Genesis II's

    20K AUD ($15K USD) seems like a lot for a 30 plus year old system. I paid less than that for my gently used 200/201 system 16 years ago. Systems like that work great ..... until they don’t. I’ve bought up spares where I can, but there are certain things that when they go I’m the proud owner of...
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    Remembering Arnie Nudell (1937-2017) founder of high-end audio

    I have a trio of VTL-MB450 Series II - one each for right, center and left. Woofer columns are slightly inside the panels - probably not ideal, but a concession to room dimensions. As I get older, I find my ears less capable of noticing small differences - mainly why I never had the VTL upgrade...
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    Remembering Arnie Nudell (1937-2017) founder of high-end audio

    Sure .... I‘ve always referred to them as 200/201 because they were bought by their first owner as the 200 was transitioning to the 201. They have the 200 woofer columns but the BG midrange and the tall, round front amp of the 201. I‘ve owned them since 2001. I also bought a single 501 and...
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    Remembering Arnie Nudell (1937-2017) founder of high-end audio

    I’ve owned four main speaker pair systems in my lifetime. A set of AR12 bought in high school and killed in college (NOT a good party speaker - tweeters would blow if you looked at them wrong). Then it was all Nudell after that beginning with the oddly shaped Infinity RS2.5, through the superb...
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    Upgrade/repair for Genesis 500, Genesis 501 and Genesis APM-1

    I have both 500 and a 501 at home (though about to sell the 500s since I don‘t use them anymore). None of them have holes in the base like that. FWIW, the current amp replacement in the 501 has worked like a charm. I’m simply an idiot when it cones to electronics, so while the old amp ‘might‘...
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    Genesis & Gary at the Hong Kong Show 2018

    Boy, those speakers look nice .....
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    Used Genesis 300 - Should I buy

    I've owned a set of 200 speakers since they were about two years old, so I know that they have been maintained, upgraded when necessary and I have acquired key spares of things like the base amplifier. Unless somebody were just about giving them away, I'd not buy into a 20 year olds speaker...
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    Remembering Arnie Nudell (1937-2017) founder of high-end audio

    One of the true industry giants .... RiP Been a huge influence on my speaker journey. Infinity RS2.5 1980-1992; RS1b 1992-1997; Genesis 201 1997 - present.
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    Future proofing .....

    ..... In the sense that I've bought a lot of expensive gear over the years, much from manufacturers that are either long out of business or under different ownership, that I'd like to keep running. Read an interesting article in Stereophile today (yes, I still read magazines ..... drive a Model...
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    Series 2 Midrange

    Many thanks.
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    Series 2 Midrange

    Hi Gary, happy new year. I am curious what you are using for midrange in the new series 2 speakers? Did you buy up a bunch of BG drivers or is it a brand new design of your own? I think you had said it was the latter. BG drivers are fine on my G201 for now, but always trying to work through...
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    Amp Kaputzkee

    Appears that it was just a bad relay, so am hopeful for more years on the old girl. Most helpful to have a good amp tech locally. Thanks for you assistance Gary.
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    Amp Kaputzkee

    Tech is good, though not the speediest chap in the world (though it took me a while to deliver it to him). It 'appears' that the logic circuits work just fine but the high voltage power supply is kaput (maybe fried by a nearby lightning strike?). He thinks it may be a fairly simple repair, but...
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    Amp Kaputzkee

    Thanks for the reply Gary. I have not had it looked at yet. The spare rather reduces the urgency :) There is a former krell guy local to me who does ad hoc repairs as a retirement supplement. I'll give it to him to take a look.
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    Amp Kaputzkee

    Prior post reminds me that I need to ask about my 201 amp. Stopped working a few weeks ago. Fortunately I had invested in a spare some years ago (sound of hand patting self on back :)) so no interruption of enjoyment. Question is whether it's repairable? It is one of the newer (a relative term...

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