There are few people in the audio industry as polarizing as Bob Carver. In spite of that, I've opted to start an appreciation thread of his old company, Phase Linear. Feel free to contribute your experiences, good or bad, with components from this company.
I'll start with the 4000 preamp. I've mentioned before that I've recently been tasked to clear out thousands of square feet of my father's legacy. He fancied himself as a antiques dealer. He dabbled in a lot of other areas as well. When (literally) digging through piles of stuff I unearthed a Phase Linear 4000 preamp. I almost wet my pants when I saw and recognized one corner of the front panel. Frantically, I pulled it out and was flooded with thoughts from my childhood.
Back in the 70s, my dad had a Kenwood receiver which luckily was fully equipped with preamp outputs. He was also friends with the sound guy from a local rock band who had recently upgraded their sound system with a Phase Linear 400 power amp. He kindly loaned the amp to us for a couple weeks between gigs. This sound guy had placed the amp in a wooden box with a fan built in to help it keep its cool while working at shows. I thought this amp was beautiful, plus it made the Large Advents really come to life with music. Bob's philosophy of "a dollar per watt" was ground breaking, and a hint that high power amplification could be a reality in the home. My mom hated that big ugly black wooden box in the living room. I was sad to see it returned to its owner.
A year or so later, my sister befriended an exchange student in high school who was some sort of prince from Thailand. I could never figure out the complete story with him. At any rate, he lived in an apartment with his bodyguard/servant. One day he tells me he wants to get a stereo to play rock music loud like my dad did. Without skipping a beat, I tell him to buy a Phase Linear 4000 preamp and 700B power amp, because, well, that's what I was coveting at the moment. A few days later he invites me over for some tunes at his pad. Sure enough, he had the gear I suggested. Plus, he bought - and memory may be failing me here - Epicure Mini Tower speakers. I think that's what they were called. Tall tower speakers with a smallish square footprint. Notably with drivers on all four side panels. That was an impressively loud stereo. Didn't really sound that great with plaster walls, smooth plaster ceiling, and hardwood floors with speakers that projected sound in all directions. But, he was happy because it was indeed loud as fudge. He apparently had access to an endless supply of money, so I like to hang around him. You always knew when he was home because you could hear music flowing from his third floor apartment from an amazingly far distance. I assume his bodyguard was tasked with paying off all the complaining neighbors.
One day the prince comes over to our house and asks if my dad would like to borrow his 4000 and 700B for a while. Sure, why not! Turns out that one of his speakers burst into flames from all the power being pumped into it. The stereo shop where he bought all this gear had his speakers on display after the fire. There was a two inch hole in the grill cloth that had been burned there by the flame shooting out of one of the woofer's voice coil. Turns out the story went a little deeper in that his father finally got wind of what this kid was up to in the US. He was mad at the bodyguard for not informing him what all the money requests were being used for, and at the prince for being such an irresponsible thorn in the community's side. They were both ordered to return to Thailand.
For the three or so months to finish the school term before returning, our family got to keep the 4000 and 700B. I thought the 4000 preamp was the coolest preamp that could possibly be conceived of by man. The autocorrelation circuit was the work of a genius in my opinion at the time. The peak unlimiter/downward expander circuit was also revolutionary in my eyes. But, much more than that, I felt that the aesthetics were stunningly beautiful. The left/right and up/down symmetry was something I could gaze at for hours and be fully satisfied. The prince came over a number of times to listen to his gear playing music, but I stayed in control of the volume. I was more sad to see the gear leave our house than the prince leaving the country.
Now that I've got my own Phase Linear 4000 preamp, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. I suspect that even if I go through it and bring it back up to snuff, it won't offer much sonic competition for today's preamps. The front panel has gotten a bit rough from decades of being stored in an unoccupied house. If nothing else, I may attempt to just make the front panel pretty again and leave it at that. I could then display it as visual art and get some satisfaction just by looking at it. My dream is to get it functional and pair it with an ESS M500 amp driving some ESS AMT2 speakers I have for a retro system in the dining room.
Oh, and the wooden case also came with this preamp. OK, now it's your turn, please share your tales related to Phase Linear experiences.
I'll start with the 4000 preamp. I've mentioned before that I've recently been tasked to clear out thousands of square feet of my father's legacy. He fancied himself as a antiques dealer. He dabbled in a lot of other areas as well. When (literally) digging through piles of stuff I unearthed a Phase Linear 4000 preamp. I almost wet my pants when I saw and recognized one corner of the front panel. Frantically, I pulled it out and was flooded with thoughts from my childhood.
Back in the 70s, my dad had a Kenwood receiver which luckily was fully equipped with preamp outputs. He was also friends with the sound guy from a local rock band who had recently upgraded their sound system with a Phase Linear 400 power amp. He kindly loaned the amp to us for a couple weeks between gigs. This sound guy had placed the amp in a wooden box with a fan built in to help it keep its cool while working at shows. I thought this amp was beautiful, plus it made the Large Advents really come to life with music. Bob's philosophy of "a dollar per watt" was ground breaking, and a hint that high power amplification could be a reality in the home. My mom hated that big ugly black wooden box in the living room. I was sad to see it returned to its owner.
A year or so later, my sister befriended an exchange student in high school who was some sort of prince from Thailand. I could never figure out the complete story with him. At any rate, he lived in an apartment with his bodyguard/servant. One day he tells me he wants to get a stereo to play rock music loud like my dad did. Without skipping a beat, I tell him to buy a Phase Linear 4000 preamp and 700B power amp, because, well, that's what I was coveting at the moment. A few days later he invites me over for some tunes at his pad. Sure enough, he had the gear I suggested. Plus, he bought - and memory may be failing me here - Epicure Mini Tower speakers. I think that's what they were called. Tall tower speakers with a smallish square footprint. Notably with drivers on all four side panels. That was an impressively loud stereo. Didn't really sound that great with plaster walls, smooth plaster ceiling, and hardwood floors with speakers that projected sound in all directions. But, he was happy because it was indeed loud as fudge. He apparently had access to an endless supply of money, so I like to hang around him. You always knew when he was home because you could hear music flowing from his third floor apartment from an amazingly far distance. I assume his bodyguard was tasked with paying off all the complaining neighbors.
One day the prince comes over to our house and asks if my dad would like to borrow his 4000 and 700B for a while. Sure, why not! Turns out that one of his speakers burst into flames from all the power being pumped into it. The stereo shop where he bought all this gear had his speakers on display after the fire. There was a two inch hole in the grill cloth that had been burned there by the flame shooting out of one of the woofer's voice coil. Turns out the story went a little deeper in that his father finally got wind of what this kid was up to in the US. He was mad at the bodyguard for not informing him what all the money requests were being used for, and at the prince for being such an irresponsible thorn in the community's side. They were both ordered to return to Thailand.
For the three or so months to finish the school term before returning, our family got to keep the 4000 and 700B. I thought the 4000 preamp was the coolest preamp that could possibly be conceived of by man. The autocorrelation circuit was the work of a genius in my opinion at the time. The peak unlimiter/downward expander circuit was also revolutionary in my eyes. But, much more than that, I felt that the aesthetics were stunningly beautiful. The left/right and up/down symmetry was something I could gaze at for hours and be fully satisfied. The prince came over a number of times to listen to his gear playing music, but I stayed in control of the volume. I was more sad to see the gear leave our house than the prince leaving the country.
Now that I've got my own Phase Linear 4000 preamp, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. I suspect that even if I go through it and bring it back up to snuff, it won't offer much sonic competition for today's preamps. The front panel has gotten a bit rough from decades of being stored in an unoccupied house. If nothing else, I may attempt to just make the front panel pretty again and leave it at that. I could then display it as visual art and get some satisfaction just by looking at it. My dream is to get it functional and pair it with an ESS M500 amp driving some ESS AMT2 speakers I have for a retro system in the dining room.
Oh, and the wooden case also came with this preamp. OK, now it's your turn, please share your tales related to Phase Linear experiences.
