Nytech Audio / Ion Systems Appreciation Thread

[Nytecholdie]

Hi all

Heres a pic of the two different pots used in the Obelisks

The picture on the left is of the earlier Nytech CA102 and very early Ion Obelisk 1s. I dont know who made the original 50k pot and it has an unusual pin out. There doesnt seem to be anything around today with a similar layout.

The picture on the right is from an Ion Obelisk 1 and most of the Ion amps used the Alps "blue" pot which is still available.

It is possible to bodge - sorry! modify an Alps pot into the earlier amps but you need to drill holes for the pins in the alps pot and butcher the pcb underneath to hard wire the connections. Theres no decent mechanical support unless you make up a "L" shaped bracket (like on the later Obelisks - see pic above) Its actually easier to make up the bracket, turn the pot upside down (pins pointing up) and run wires to the original points on the PCB. Doesnt look as neat but is a lot easier to do!

Both amps used a 50k pot. You can also use the Alps "blue" 20K as the 50k version seems harder to come across these days.

Hope this helps

 

[Ugly Tuco]

Hi all

Heres a pic of the two different pots used in the Obelisks

The picture on the left is of the earlier Nytech CA102 and very early Ion Obelisk 1s. I dont know who made the original 50k pot and it has an unusual pin out. There doesnt seem to be anything around today with a similar layout.

The picture on the right is from an Ion Obelisk 1 and most of the Ion amps used the Alps "blue" pot which is still available.

It is possible to bodge - sorry! modify an Alps pot into the earlier amps but you need to drill holes for the pins in the alps pot and butcher the pcb underneath to hard wire the connections. Theres no decent mechanical support unless you make up a "L" shaped bracket (like on the later Obelisks - see pic above) Its actually easier to make up the bracket, turn the pot upside down (pins pointing up) and run wires to the original points on the PCB. Doesnt look as neat but is a lot easier to do!

Both amps used a 50k pot. You can also use the Alps "blue" 20K as the 50k version seems harder to come across these days.

Hope this helps

Thank You for the information. My Obelisk 3X has the potentiometer as shown on the left picture, I`ll try to download the picture as a proof. I wonder is it possible to dismantle the potentiometer and try to clean or repair it?

 

[snowman_al]

The original pot was an ALPS too. It is stamped on the mounting lug away from the camera.

Yes easy to take apart, once its off the board, but 90% it will be beyond repair.

[/IMG]

Fit a modern one and have done ;-)

 

[Nytecholdie]

I've never had a lot of luck cleaning the older style pots - thay seem to fail due to track wear and the only solution is to fit a new one.

We've always fitted the Alps blue with an L shaped mounting bracket but the pot you pictured looks interesting as if the mounting lugs are the same spacing as the original then you could do away with the L shaped bracket and just hard wire the signal pins. Any idea of the Alps part number and where did you find it?

[/QUOTE]

 

[snowman_al]

It's just the bracket from the original pot, reversed, and used to mount a modern Alps 50k pot.
Then wired to the original holes. It leaves the caps etc. in their original location.

The shaft is round, so you have to file the D for the knob to fit in the correct location once you have decided on the final position.
Pot is marked '50 3A' then '33 4V'. (It's the same as used in by Rock Grotto in their MF X-Cans mod.)

 

[Ugly Tuco]

I was home alone and hooked up my X3 and there were no any crackings from the volume pot. Is it miracle? Maybe.

 

[Nytecholdie]

Using the old pot body as a mounting bracket is a really neat idea! I've been hacking and bending bits of metal to do the same thing for ages - duh!

A very nice solution - well done on getting the old girl up and running again!

Enjoy your music

 

[Ugly Tuco]

The red led on the X-Pak is not working, whats wrong with it?

 

[snowman_al]

99% chance its the resistor R1 open circuit. Original is 5.6k, but replace with a 1 watt type. (Personally I use 8.2k 1 watt, I prefer the dimmer glow.) Or a wire has dropped off.
Circuit here, so cannot be much:

 

[Ugly Tuco]

99% chance its the resistor R1 open circuit. Original is 5.6k, but replace with a 1 watt type. (Personally I use 8.2k 1 watt, I prefer the dimmer glow.) Or a wire has dropped off.
Circuit here, so cannot be much:

Thank You very much for the knowledge. I checked it visually and the wire seemed OK to me.

 

[Nytecholdie]

Dont forget the obvious - A dead LED

I've replaced quite a few on Obelisks recently.

Measure the voltage directly across the LED.

If its about 2V then the LED has died but the resistor is probably OK
If its about 60v then the LED is open circuit
If its 0V then the resistor is open circuit (more likely) or the LED is short circuit.

hope this helps

 

[Ugly Tuco]

Dont forget the obvious - A dead LED

I've replaced quite a few on Obelisks recently.

Measure the voltage directly across the LED.

If its about 2V then the LED has died but the resistor is probably OK
If its about 60v then the LED is open circuit
If its 0V then the resistor is open circuit (more likely) or the LED is short circuit.

hope this helps

Thank You for the information! I`m still waiting for my friend to come and make a service.

 

[All-Bran Addict]

Hi,

I'm planning on buying an Obelisk 3x w/ X-Pak 1 later this year but I just saw an X-Pak 2 for sale on ebay and I'm wondering if that's just designed for the SP1 preamp and not the Obelisk?

I'm also curious to know roughly how much it would cost to get it serviced or repaired if something goes wrong.

 

[cpg]

The X-Pak 2 was designed to power either pre-amp, tuner or power amp. It is basically a 300VA transformer with 22V outputs in a very nice box and better made than the X-Pak 1. There are 2 outputs, 1 could be used to power the pre-amp and the other one for the power amp. It is also smaller, less deep, than the X-Pak 1, ca. 260mm rather than 330mm.
You could use an X-Pak 2 to power the Obelisk 3.
If you don't get a connection lead with it, the connectors are readily available in Maplins and you could make one yourself.
The only things to go wrong are the on/off switch and the transformer.

The X-PAK 1 was available in 2 sizes, 120VA early models, or 300VA later models, and removed the transformer from the Obelisk 2 and used the space inside in Obelisk box for 2x 22000 63V capacitors (thus Obelisk 3). All the electronics are in the Obelisk, you press the mains switch of the X-PAK 1 first and then the on/off switch of the Obelisk 3 to turn on the amp.

The Ion Nexus 240 power amp (same sized box as the X-Pak 2) was powered by the X-Pak 2 and used exactly the same power amp boards as the Obelisk 3, the only difference is there is space to add crossover boards if you want to go active.

 

[All-Bran Addict]

P.S post up some pictures of the JC1,s on the Nytech/Ion appreciation thread in the classic section as a lot of people still think they are a myth

Sorry for the poor quality. They aren't currently in use until I finish setting up a new room. I also have the stands and cables. They were purchased from Russ Andrews in Bournemouth in the early 90's.

 

[cpg]

The JC1 speaker was revised (improved?) when JC moved to ION Systems (of Nytech fame) and became the JC1A with the crossover moved ouside and a different tweeter added.
I have uploaded 3 images on imgur but have yet to work out how to show them here.
https://imgur.com/KchkeVs

I bought a pair last year from a guy in Holland who had put new capacitors in the crossovers and replaced the ferrofluid in the tweeters. They sound very good and sometime this year I will make them active with some Ion crossover boards (thank you dowser!) in Ion power amps.

 

[cpg]

2 more photos of the JC1A speakers
https://imgur.com/bo3BUno
https://imgur.com/D1U9suc

 

[Nytecholdie]

Interesting!

Completely different to the Ion JC1A as this looks like a sealed box rather than the ported JC1A.

Its also a different tweeter (looks like a Scanspeak D2008). The later JC1A uses a Seas tweeter (which we're trying to find a replacement for at the moment)

The bass unit looks the same and I believe its the driver for the ARC Atom and John C obtained them from ARC when it ceased trading.

I'll post up some pics of the JC1A for comparison next week.

Thanks for posting the pics.

 

[All-Bran Addict]

.

The tweeter for the original JC-1s is identical to the one used in SBL speakers and the bass unit was made in house and is unique to the original JC-1s. My cat knocked one of the speakers over and I luckily managed to find someone who kindly tracked down another bass unit for me a little while ago. I got the info from him about the speakers.

 

[All-Bran Addict]

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You can embed the images by hovering over your uploaded pictures in imgur - highlight the down arrow - click get share links - copy the BBcode (forums) link - paste into your post here.