Here is a very nice Pilot 245-A integrated tube amplifier up for sale. This has the output transformers similar to the SA-232 amplifier and the preamp section is similar to the SP-210. This amp has had the all the can capacitors freshly re-stuffed with Panasonic and Nichicon caps. The diodes have been replaced with UF 5408s. The amp section has Russian K40Y-9 PIOs and Sprague Vitamin Qs. I've also added a separate Jim McShane screen supply and replaced some critical resistors with Takman carbon films. The McShane screen supply was a wonderful upgrade for the output tubes. It caused the sound to have more dynamics across the entire frequency range. It was already very good sounding in its stock form, but this upgrade brought it up another notch or two. The preamp section has several Cardas Golden Ratio capacitors and the phono section has K40Y-9 PIOs and polystyrene and foils. The tone and balance ceramic caps were removed and silver micas, polystyrene/foils, and Sprague Vit Qs were put in their place. I made sure that all the small capacitors had copper leads instead of steel. All replacement capacitors were checked on a Sencore LC-101 cap checker before before they were installed. Teflon tubing was used on most capacitor leads to avoid shorting. 10 ohm 1/4 watt safety resistors were installed on each of the power tubes to protect the output transformers. I worked hard to get the best sound out of this integrated amp and I'm very, very pleased with the results. The 245-A was a very good integrated to start with in its stock form. After the rebuild it turned out to be an excellent sounding amplifier and is one of the best amps I've had. The new speakers I just purchased require a minimum of 200 WPC to sound their best, so I'm having to sell the Pilot 245 to finance a larger amplifier. I've also included a quiet 120V fan that can be plugged into the switched outlet to blow on the power transformer because the Pilots are known for running hot. This small fan keeps the temp reasonable. I have custom made a shipping box for the amp that is very protective and I have taken many precautions to protect the amp while in transit. If you have any questions, please send a message. More photos are available if needed.
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