With the popularity of the EXtreme
Hurricane amplifiers steadily on the
rise over the past several years,
Response Audio have decided to
continue with the more affordable
version of this fine, highly
regarded product. The work and
attention to detail put into these
units is every bit as thorough as
the EXtreme units.
Our
mission with the "SP" upgrades is
quite similar to the EXtremes, sonic
purity. Like the EXtremes, the "SP"
upgrades also include going through
the entire circuitry of these amps
to assure long term reliability and
durability. Our Hurricane upgrades
provide more quality control than
most manufacturers can only dream
of. Response Audio is not a
production line and your amplifiers
are custom modified with only one
pair of hands from start to finish.
As
you look through what we offer and
the additional work incorporated
into these products, you will see
that no one even comes close to our
level of work, attention to detail
or thoroughness. Also keep in mind
that Response Audio was the first
and possibly still the only company
offering this level of dedication to
the Antique Sound Labs Hurricane
amplifiers as well as the other
models from the line.
The EXtreme Hurricanes are
now being considered among the
absolute finest high power tube mono
bloc amplifiers currently on the
market for under $20K. Maybe even
more. The have become known as our
hallmark in tube amp modification
with very few equals in the
industry. We wanted to offer a
version that would still be
considered a highly desirable
product at a more attractive price.
The modifications used
throughout these amplifiers
utilize some of the most highly
regarded, high
performance internal components
to find their way into the audio
industry over the years. The
Audience AuriCap capacitors are
still considered by many as
being among the finest audio
capacitors available. These
components were chosen for their
long term integrity and sonic
virtues they have always been
known to deliver.
Just as in our Reference and
EXtreme products, the use of
premium components is also
standard practice in the
Signature Plus models. To
guarantee unsurpassed
performance, we use high quality
input connectors, coupling and
bypass capacitors, Mills
non-inductive resistors in the
cathode applications, and much
more. Please remember each
amplifier is point-to-point
wired with all modifications
done only by myself and they
take time to complete, but they
are well worth the wait. Due to
increased sales of both the
EXtreme and Signature Plus
Hurricanes all orders are now on
a 45-60 day turnaround time..
For
those who have experienced
quality and/or inconsistency
issues with these units, you can
be assured we have found the
source of these problems and
address them before and during
the modification process. No
more tubes going dead, biasing
issues, open or shorted
resistors, noise issues,
grounding issues or circuit
shorts. We have thoroughly gone
through these units to find the
source of any associated
problems BEFORE proceeding with
the upgrades and we stand behind
our work with a full 1 year
warranty.
The Super Components List
HARRY PEARSON
"..........one of the
biggest bargains in
uncompromised high-end sonic
performance."
Written about the latest
generation of the stock
ASL Hurricanes
June/July 2005
www.theabsolutesound.com
Modification Upgrades Performed on
the Signature Plus Hurricanes
-
Audience
AuriCap
installed in the signal path
coupling stages. Original
capacitors are removed from
their mounting plate and the new
coupling capacitors are mounted
using a high quality double
sided adhesive tape as well as
being secured with zip-ties to
eliminated vibration. Total of
20 pieces
-
AuriCap
high voltage capacitors used as
bypass units in the power supply
being used before and after the
power supply filter choke. Each
power supply filter bank
receives its own bypass
capacitor.
-
Mills non-inductive
resistors, 16 pieces, are used
for the grid stop applications.
All grid stopper resistors are
mounted directly to the grid pin
of each power tube eliminating
all unnecessary wiring. All grid
stop resistors are then mounted
directly to the leads of the
coupling capacitors and all
leads are cut to minimum length
with any exposed lengths covered
with a heavy heat shrink to
isolate and protect the circuit
and provide adequate damping of
the lead material to prevent
mechanical vibration. In this
process, almost 3 feet of
unnecessary wiring (between grid
stop resistor and tube socket)
is eliminated.
-
Mills non-inductive
resistors, 16 pieces, are used
at the screen grids for triode
mode operation. These units are
direct wired eliminating as much
circuit wiring as possible. We
also apply the same protection
and damping techniques as with
the grid stopper resistors.
-
High quality 5 watt, 1% Mills
non-inductive resistors used
in cathode location on 6SN7 and
power tubes. These resistors are
mounted directly to the cathode
pin of each tube.
x24 pieces
-
Dale/Vishay
1 watt 1% non-magnetic resistors
used throughout the signal path.
60+ pieces. The signal leads of
these resistors are shortened to
the shortest lengths possible.
We have chosen 1 watt units in
place of the 1/2 watt pieces
that come stock in these pieces
for several reasons.
1) Utilizing higher wattage
units with a larger physical
size provides a quieter
presentation.
2) The use of the high quality
Dale/Vishay Metal Film pieces
also aid in a quieter
presentation as well as
providing better matching within
the circuitry. Dale/Vishay
resistors offer a 1% tolerance.
We still measure all resistors
for accuracy before installation
into any of our modifications.
3) We have found the quality of
the stock resistors is inferior
to those use in our
modifications and in many
instances, we have found broken
leads going into the bodies of
the resistors which have caused
many of the symptoms mentioned
above.
-
Dale/Vishay 1 watt,
1% resistors are used in the
bias stage between the tube grid
and bias stage. These resistors
are mounted in series with the
coupling capacitors and then
into the bias stage circuit
boards. Again, we shorten all
signal wiring to the shortest
possible lengths and utilize the
Dale/Vishay units for the many
reasons as mentioned above. In
this process, approximately 3.5
feet of unnecessary wiring is
eliminated.
-
During the modification, we also
go through and check all
internal solder connections
looking for and resoldering any
"cold" or "dry" looking joints
to prevent any future problems.
All tube socket and
ground plane connections are
resoldered by removing all
solder and applying new WBT 4%
silver solder.
-
Dale/Vishay 3 watt
1%, non-magnetic wirewound
resistors are utilized
throughout various power supply
locations.
-
As mentioned above, all exposed
resistor leads throughout these
amplifiers have heatshrink
applied to help reduce
mechanical vibration as well as
preventing circuit shorts and
RFI interference. We have found
that an excessive number of
long, exposed leads can actually
act in a similar manner as a
radio antenna pulling in "Radio
Frequency Interference"
-
Fairchild "Ultra Fast - Soft
Recovery"
8A/1000v diodes are utilized in
the main rectifying stage of the
power supply. These diodes
replace the very inexpensive
silicon units that come standard
in the stock amplifiers.
-
Internal wiring
is replaced with our custom 22
awg shielded copper wiring. We
do not use the shield as the
ground. Total length of wire
used within a pair of Hurricanes
is over 7 feet.
-
RA
Jacks
are replaced with high quality
gold-plated RCA sockets with
Teflon insulation lining.
-
Each unit is "scoped" and bench
tested for 2 hours
-
Minimum 12 hour burn in
(standard 24 hours) in a full
system.
-
Labor - 15+ hours per pair
depending on options
-
Recommended break-in period -
100 hrs (60%) / 200 hrs. (80%) /
300+ hrs. (95%)
PRICE: $2,800 pr. + return
shipping
(modification to consumer
supplied units only - does not
include amplifiers)
The
Pictures Below:
Just to give you an idea of just how
complex the internals of the ASL
Hurricanes are, here is a picture of
the innards of a STOCK 2006 MK I
unit before tearing apart for
modifications. Even this picture
cannot give a true sense of the
labor involved in this project.
There are over 100 resistors alone
that have to be removed and
replaced, 20 coupling capacitors,
several feet of wiring is removed,
etc.
The early versions. In the
pictures below, you will find the
innards of one of the very first
versions of the ASL Hurricanes
(before modification). The amp in
this picture was sent in for EXtreme
Elite modification. So, for those
who are wondering if we work on the
original version, the answer is
YES!! Believe is or not, due to the
layout this version is actually more
difficult to work on in comparison
to the most current. But the results
are still phenomenal.
Signature Plus Policies:
1) All modifications are built by
special order only.
2) There is a 50% down payment
required Balance is due prior to
shipping the amplifiers back.
3) No returns or cancelled orders
will be accepted
4) Turnaround time is approximately
30 days from date of order depending
on
current work load.
5) All modifications are performed
at our New York facility only.
6) Response
Audio is NOT a reseller for the
Audience AuriCap or Sonic Craft
SoniCap or any of the components we
use within our modifications. If you
would like to obtain any of these
products for personal DIY use,
please contact the manufacturer or
one of the many resellers.
There are NO EXCEPTIONS to these
policies.
