hovland hp100

[Petro85]

Hi everyone. I been working on getting a preamp for awhile now. when i came to this subforum and there was no threads here i figured id start one.
i heard this preamp alot at a friends house near 6 years ago and no matter what amps or speakers he was running, his tnt sounded so good all the time.
i told him not to leave the room many times and if he did i would run out of the house with his preamp. i no longer see this friend we live far from each other but ever since then i lusted after one of these. i just made the deal a ill be picking one up in a few weeks. im very excited. it is a few years old and they never were made with remotes, and the company is now out of business. lol . not a great sales pitch i know but the sound is all i care about.
here are some specs and pics. i purchased the full blown model with mc stepup and upgraded music caps and a few other things. anyone have any experience with this pre?


Description: Vacuum-tube full-function preamplifier with built-in phono stage and optional MC step-up transformer module. Line-stage tube complement: two 12AX7s, one 12AT7. Phono stage tube complement: two 12AX7s, one 12AU7.
Line-stage: Voltage gain: 14dB. Frequency response: 10Hz-25kHz, +0/-0.25dB. S/N Ratio: 80dB (wideband) ref. 3V out, (with level control fully clockwise). THD: ±1% at rated output. Output impedance: approximately 2500 ohms. Input impedance: 100k ohms.
MC phono stage: Voltage gain: 66dB at 1kHz. Frequency response: 25Hz-25kHz, ±0.15dB. S/N Ratio: 60dB (wideband) ref. 2mV input signal, 75dB ref. 2mV input using 400Hz high-pass filter. Input impedance: 450 ohms.
Dimensions: 18.25" W by 5.25" H (including feet) by 17.375" D (including knobs and rear jacks). Weight: 27 lbs.

 

[ohbythebay]

Hi everyone. I been working on getting a preamp for awhile now. when i came to this subforum and there was no threads here i figured id start one.
i heard this preamp alot at a friends house near 6 years ago and no matter what amps or speakers he was running, his tnt sounded so good all the time.
i told him not to leave the room many times and if he did i would run out of the house with his preamp. i no longer see this friend we live far from each other but ever since then i lusted after one of these. i just made the deal a ill be picking one up in a few weeks. im very excited. it is a few years old and they never were made with remotes, and the company is now out of business. lol . not a great sales pitch i know but the sound is all i care about.
here are some specs and pics. i purchased the full blown model with mc stepup and upgraded music caps and a few other things. anyone have any experience with this pre?


Description: Vacuum-tube full-function preamplifier with built-in phono stage and optional MC step-up transformer module. Line-stage tube complement: two 12AX7s, one 12AT7. Phono stage tube complement: two 12AX7s, one 12AU7.
Line-stage: Voltage gain: 14dB. Frequency response: 10Hz-25kHz, +0/-0.25dB. S/N Ratio: 80dB (wideband) ref. 3V out, (with level control fully clockwise). THD: ±1% at rated output. Output impedance: approximately 2500 ohms. Input impedance: 100k ohms.
MC phono stage: Voltage gain: 66dB at 1kHz. Frequency response: 25Hz-25kHz, ±0.15dB. S/N Ratio: 60dB (wideband) ref. 2mV input signal, 75dB ref. 2mV input using 400Hz high-pass filter. Input impedance: 450 ohms.
Dimensions: 18.25" W by 5.25" H (including feet) by 17.375" D (including knobs and rear jacks). Weight: 27 lbs.

No experience with it but alot of experience with that tube compliment type...what brand did they give you with it ? If you ever want to do some tube rolling (swap them) I can certainly help you there...

Very nice unit and the fact that it support MC carts..wow..interesting how they used the different step up of the 12AT7 for the line and the 12AU7 for the phono..

All very cool..how many inputs can it take ?

 

[joeinid]

I have no experience with it but congratulations. I've always read great things about Hovland.

 

[Petro85]

I have no experience with it but congratulations. I've always read great things about Hovland.

thanks joe i cant wait!

No experience with it but alot of experience with that tube compliment type...what brand did they give you with it ? If you ever want to do some tube rolling (swap them) I can certainly help you there...

Very nice unit and the fact that it support MC carts..wow..interesting how they used the different step up of the 12AT7 for the line and the 12AU7 for the phono..

All very cool..how many inputs can it take ?

yes most definitely getting a good power cord and some nice tubes. i think ill go all out on the best tubes i can find. i hope you can help in that area . the 12au7 seem to have much less of a selection. im adding a pic of the rear of the unit above i forgot before

 

[Jazzhead]

I too lusted after the HP-100 many moons back , Mikey Fremer reviewed it in glowing terms for Stereophile ... Congrats on a good pick up , do keep us posted on how it settles in , Cheers !

 

[Petro85]

I too lusted after the HP-100 many moons back , Mikey Fremer reviewed it in glowing terms for Stereophile ... Congrats on a good pick up , do keep us posted on how it settles in , Cheers !

Hey thanks for that! I just read it . He bought it. Wonder if be still has it. That was awhile ago.

I finally picked this baby up today. Just plugged it all in and there is a major upgrade in my house!!!!! I'm using my Jas integrated as an amp. Found out the 3rd input bypasses
the preamp in it. So now it's a 55w amp for a little while.
Background music is so much more defined now. Highs are unbelievable and very layered.
Don't have anything but stock power cables and stock tubes in it. Can't wait to get the rest of this system finished. Separation is soooo nice now!!
I didn't realize it was so big. Bigger footprint than my vpi classic.
And it's a looker, beautiful black chrome.
Ok I'm happy!!!!! For now.

 

[Petro85]

haha, i know going on and on about a 10 year old preamp might be boring to most of you (actually i dont know how old it is)but ive owned a handful of nice preamps in my and none of em looked like this inside.
i see there are a couple cheap tubes in it and what looks like a couple nice tubes, but i cant tell cause it was still warm and i didnt want to touch anything. so i of course took pics. im so bored i have absolutely nothing to do today. i know absolutely nothing about what im looking at but it looks like a serious piece of electronics and also looks like a whole slew of problems could be possible if not taken care of correctly. yikes
thanks for looking . did i mention i love this thing lol . cant wait to get a real amp!!!

 

[joeinid]

Thanks Steve. Nothing boring about a nice piece of gear.

 

[Jazzhead]

Lovely kit Steve enjoy it in good health . Keep us posted on how the tube rolling goes :audiophile: