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Post by atom on Nov 13, 2010 20:56:30 GMT
Hi,
I recently got a Sonab R3000 second hand which has a fault on one channel. i plan to replace the electrolytics, but i'd like to get hold of a schematic. it seems like no one has any info on the model, but while searching i came across this. looking through the schematics you posted, i noticed that some of the modules numbers printed on them (eg U600, U700) are identical to the ones printed on the board in my amp, so presumably a lot of the circuitry is the same. would you possibly be able to send me complete scans of the schematics?
thanks for your help.
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Post by studer58 on Nov 26, 2010 2:08:26 GMT
I have a working P4000 and I'm trying to figure out what the "linear" button does ? Is it a tone defeat switch, a loudness button (when it's off the music seems to have an in-built loudness effect going all the time, which diminishes as the volume is turned higher) If that's the case it's pretty quirky as most loudness switches become active when they're pushed IN, not the reverse ! In my case the music thins out and becomes 'less enhanced' when the 'linear' button is switched to 'on'. If anyone with an owner's manual can shed some light on what this switch is supposed to do I'd be very grateful, Cheers, Ray
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2010 7:08:05 GMT
Linear on means no loudness. Linear off means loudness. The effect will vary with the position of the volume control. lower setting more bass/treble. higher setting = less bass/treble... more linear. It's supposed to work like that.
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Post by studer58 on Nov 30, 2010 8:34:15 GMT
Thanks solderdude, I thought that might be the case simply via my listening experience...although it runs counter to usual manufacture practice of the era which was to add a loudness button which went on when engaged. Nevertheless, the effect does what it's supposed to ! Thanks again, Ray
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Post by misterp on Feb 19, 2013 20:43:42 GMT
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Post by misterp on Feb 19, 2013 20:51:06 GMT
First of all I’ll introduce myself to you all. I’m Mister P and I’m pleased to have joined your site. I’ve been a bit of a Hi-Fi addict since my teens (some years ago now) and I made my first record player, when I was about fifteen, from a Tripletone valve amp and a Garrard deck, it sounded marvellous. Of course, being married with children does tend to make this hobby go to the back burner for a while. I recently found this post, when I Googled ‘Sonab’ after finding one on Ebay. I’d like to ask you a couple of things regarding the old Sonab, if I may Pink Floyd, but before I do I’ll give you my history regarding the old girl. I used to work for a small electronics company in Kent who manufactured the Sonab R4000 & the R4000-2 and I was involved with it. As you probably know Sonab were Swedish. They decided to get the R4000 made in the UK in, if I remember correctly, 1972. The reason they did this was because it was cheaper to manufacture it here than in Sweden. I think it was something to do with tax. We must have made hundreds of them; it may have run into over a thousand, I can’t remember now, and this was over a period of around eighteen months to two years and then they suddenly took it back to Sweden.
Anyway, I have one of these and it’s the R4000-2 which differs physically inside from the R4000. The Tone Control Board is the same, so is the Power Supply. The RF Board is different, and the Power Amp Boards are different and mounted in the two big Power Transistor Heat Sinks. Outside the only difference is, the Tuning Dial only goes up to 104 Megs (a regulation brought about in the seventies due to the Police using the 108 end) and the centre tuning meter, on the old model, was changed on the -2 to a Signal Strength meter. I still use it to this day and it’s never gone wrong. I’m soon going to give it a bit of a service as the Volume Pot is getting a bit scratchy. I’m also going to get rid of the Din Sockets on the back, as these are a poor idea, and replace the inputs with Phono Sockets and the speaker outlets with the Banana type. I’m fitting more inputs too, so will put in a new six way selection switch.
Ok, Pink Floyd - Did you notice any improvement when you changed the Caps? Did you change every single Cap, even the small ones? Look forward to chatting with you and everyone else, even though this post is a couple of years old now. I suppose it’s good to resurrect old posts now and then.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 20, 2013 19:46:10 GMT
Hi MisterP,
Welcome to the forum!
I totally ballsed my R4000 up.... I managed to totally destroy one of the tuning pots and just gave up on it. It's sitting out in the workshop gathering dust and is yours for the price of postage if you want for spare parts, I'd like to see it go to a good home. Quite a bit of it has been recapped so maybe you could use those caps in yours..... If you want it let me know.
All the best,
Mike.
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m
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Post by m on Jun 19, 2013 13:19:20 GMT
Mister p
I worked at GW Ltd from 1971 to 1973 as a test engineer we produced around 4000 Sonab R4000 & R4001's in that time, I assume we must know each other? I got married and moved to Orpington.
M
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Post by myglaren on Aug 4, 2013 17:33:11 GMT
I'm having difficulty sourcing the 6V 100mA lamps for the receiver.... any ideas? Hi people I have an R-4000, bought a couple f years ago and also require a 'mains on' indicator. Not urgently but perhaps before the end of the decade. I have considered substituting an LED but really prefer to keep it as it was as far as possible. I'm somewhat inspired by your story PinkFloyd. It could probably do with recapping to get the best from it. I lived in Sweden from the late sixties to 1979 and was there when the Sonab stuff came out. I bought a Sonab 75-S turntable and really wanted a P-4000 and a pair of OA-8s to go with but never had the money, struggled on with a second hand Beomaster 1000 reciever and a pair of Tandberg speakers. This replaced a rubbish record deck that needed an eraser on the headshell to keep the stylus in the record groove, a Philips 2.5 W valve amp that needed the valve for the left channel flicking with a fingernail to start it and a pair of godhelpus homemade speakers, all filched from work when the management surprised us with brand new Luxor stereos. I was more influenced by the hifi press than my ears or common sense and also lusted after an Harmon/Kardon Citation IX. Oh well! It took years but as said I recently obtained the R-4000 and also a pair of OA-5s that grace my dining room. Upstairs I have a Shanling CD-T 100 CD player, a Marantz CD-63 KI Sig CD player, an Electrocompaniet EC-4.7 preamp and Ampliwire 120DMB power amp, both quite old and I part-exed my Quad 304/405 pair for it. Discovered that the designer, Matti Ottala, also designed the Citation amps They feed a pair of Jamo concert speakers and it all sounds reasonable for the prices paid. The Quad replaced an ancient Marantz receiver bought for £20 that ran into a pair of aincenter (?) Dynatron speakers bought for £4 in a flea market in 1980 still get dragged into service occasionally. Like a couple of weeks ago. On my main computer I had a Cambridge sub/sat kit that was 'OK', was listening to a knockout new singer but one of the speakers kept crackling. Rather than doing the sensible thing and investigate the cause, and being sat at the computer, I snagged a Harmon/Kardon amp (got one in the end) and a pair of Jamo bookshelf speakers. The amp came but not the speakers, went looking for some decent cable and found it still attached to the Dynatron speakers so hooked them up and was pleasantly surprised. Big, ugly and very tatty but sounded better than the original Cambridge stuff. Which I gave to my new daughter in law for her iPad. Nothing wrong with them, it was the YouTube recording that was dodgy A long and winding ramble I'm afraid but I felt a bit of background, as in your case, would add a bit of interest. The magnificent singer, by the way, is this lady - Jackie Evancho - Dark Waltz Nessun Dorma. LoversAngel] Pie Jesu & O Mia Babino CaroPhenomenal, I just don't know how she does it but hope she can continue for a long time yet. DO give her a listen although it may not be your kind of music. A lot of the songs she sings are not mine but with her singing them I will gladly listen to them, in fact she brings tears to my eyes her voice is so beautiful and you can see it has that effect on her audiences. Popularly known as the Evancho Effect and no, she isn't lip-synching, she accepts no technological help whatsoever and has proven it to the sceptics many times. Amazing that she sings in six languages and only has to hear something a maximum of three times to reproduce it perfectly. Oddly, almost all my music collection is of female singers and musicians. Not intentionally, just seems to fall out that way.
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Post by misterp on Oct 1, 2013 20:16:20 GMT
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Post by misterp on Oct 1, 2013 20:29:03 GMT
Hi MisterP, Welcome to the forum! I totally ballsed my R4000 up.... I managed to totally destroy one of the tuning pots and just gave up on it. It's sitting out in the workshop gathering dust and is yours for the price of postage if you want for spare parts, I'd like to see it go to a good home. Quite a bit of it has been recapped so maybe you could use those caps in yours..... If you want it let me know. All the best, Mike. Apologies Mike for not replying before. Sorry to hear about the old Sonab, what a shame. Thank you for your offer but I do have a few spare parts cluttering up the garage already so will have to resist getting more to put away. Thanks anyway.
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Post by misterp on Oct 1, 2013 20:32:38 GMT
Mister p I worked at GW Ltd from 1971 to 1973 as a test engineer we produced around 4000 Sonab R4000 & R4001's in that time, I assume we must know each other? I got married and moved to Orpington. M Hi M, have sent message.
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Post by alanulles on Mar 1, 2015 23:53:50 GMT
Hi folks - new to this forum. Found it with a search for Sonab R4000. Very interesting rebuild of this classic amp. The designer, Clas-Göran Wanning, reminds me of Dieter Rams who designed many items for Braun. I have one of the Braun PS500 turntables from back in 1970 or so. And it's one of favourite items. The late 60s and early 70s produced some classic designs. I'm trying to track down a couple of things for my Sonab 4000. I'm after a tuning dial and volume and treble knobs. Would any forum member have some spares knocking around or know where I might source them from? Maybe they were used on other equipment from the period?
Cheers. Al
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 2, 2015 9:36:13 GMT
Hi folks - new to this forum. Found it with a search for Sonab R4000. Very interesting rebuild of this classic amp. The designer, Clas-Göran Wanning, reminds me of Dieter Rams who designed many items for Braun. I have one of the Braun PS500 turntables from back in 1970 or so. And it's one of favourite items. The late 60s and early 70s produced some classic designs. I'm trying to track down a couple of things for my Sonab 4000. I'm after a tuning dial and volume and treble knobs. Would any forum member have some spares knocking around or know where I might source them from? Maybe they were used on other equipment from the period? Cheers. Al Hi Al, is it the tuning dial knob you need or the tuning dial? Mike.
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Post by alanulles on Mar 2, 2015 13:18:28 GMT
Hi Mike
It's the tuning dial. The front glass is broken and the pointer is mangled. I'm just about to start restoring this after being found in a junk shop so I'm hoping that all is well with the rest, but I'm sure I'll have to replace some of the caps at least. It will be a shame if it isn't brought back to life after all these years. Such a great design.
Al
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 2, 2015 13:38:48 GMT
Hi Mike It's the tuning dial. The front glass is broken and the pointer is mangled. I'm just about to start restoring this after being found in a junk shop so I'm hoping that all is well with the rest, but I'm sure I'll have to replace some of the caps at least. It will be a shame if it isn't brought back to life after all these years. Such a great design. Al I think I can do you a tuning dial AND the knobs Al, I'll let you know this evening. All the best, Mike.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 2, 2015 14:36:13 GMT
Hi Al,
Yup, got everything you need, I'll upload photos later on. The tuning dial is absolutely mint and the knobs are in pretty good nick too. I'm not sure what condition your front panel is in but I can do you a very tidy replacement if yours is a bit tatty.... photos to follow.
ATB
Mike.
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Post by alanulles on Mar 2, 2015 14:38:20 GMT
That's brilliant Mike.
Al
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 2, 2015 20:47:38 GMT
Hi Al, Here are the bits you need: The dial: Dial with plastic fascia..... Dial with plastic fascia removed.... Plastic fascia...... Dial with intact wiring, all you have to do is solder the two wires to the board and fit the input tags onto the bolts (easy peasy!)....... The knobs: Tuning knob......... Volume and treble knobs: I'll give you these for free (you pay shipping) as long as you promise to keep us updated on how your restoration is going..... fair enough? The front panel is pretty damned pristine apart from a couple of minor paint chips and I will touch them up so it looks like new....... you can have that (once again free of charge) as soon as you have got your R4000 up and running...... that's giving you a bit of incentive and it is also (hopefully) going to be of interest to other Sonab R4000 owners who may stumble across this thread in years to come....... I'm happy to help you all I can and would love to see you restore yours here on the forum. If that's OK with you let me know and I'll get those parts over to you. All the best, Mike.
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Post by kmunday on Jun 15, 2016 12:48:08 GMT
Hi Mike, as mentioned earlier I have a trio of the Sonab gear and would like to enhance it as you have done so was wondering if you could advise what components have been replaced with new items and whether the task is relatively straight forward? Appreciate your help Cheers Kevin
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Post by wack on Mar 13, 2018 23:25:21 GMT
Hi folks - new to this forum. Found it with a search for Sonab R4000 Exactly what I did , this thread seems to get three year bumps I was at a local auction a couple of weeks ago when I spotted a sonab R4000-3 , never seen one before, at first I thought it was new as it looked that clean, had a look on my phone , £229 in 1970 £2500 today so I though that's got to be worth a bid started at £10 , got to £48 and stopped so I own it got it home and set it up, none of the bulbs are working , not even the led , one channel on speakers A doesn't work but B does so no great loss i had a pair of monitor audio bronze B2 speakers but they didn't sound great so I thought time for an upgrade , spent a week trawling eBay , reading reviews , had my mind boggled so decided to set a figure and see what came up found a pair of spendor S6e floorstanders in Blackpool so set off, 2 hours later I was back, set them up , and it sounds utterly amazing , like nothing I've ever heard before , so much so the TV hasn't been turned on in 3 days , I just can't stop listening to it , I've ordered an audioengine B1 Bluetooth receiver so I can stream Spotify to it truly breathtaking
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Post by fergua on Aug 9, 2018 18:34:02 GMT
Hi all. I've had a Sonab R 4000-2 sitting in the shed for 6 months after an impulse buy online. Reading these posts inspired me to finally get it into the house and have a peep at it. Very clean inside and happy to report I'm listening to it now. It has had no updates that I can see, all caps etc look original and despite that it sounds great. My usual amp is an A&R Cambridge A60 (so I have my RCA to DIN adapters on anyway) from way back which has been recapped etc, but this sounds just as good is not better. There are a couple of minor issues...light on top front not working and bulbs not working. Haven't tried phono as my set up is MC not MM, but tape and aux both working on speaker channel A (will test the other later). Speaker cables just pushed in for now (horror!).
So... 1) is it worth recapping this? 2) any ideas on changing the outputs to banana plugs...a practical option certainly but is it a travesty? 3) any ideas for touching up the case....several 5x1 mm scratches leading to paint loss. Spray the whole thing or just touch up where needed?
Thanks for a great thread, and here's hoping we can keep these (heavy) receivers running for a while yet.
Cheers
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Post by PinkFloyd on Aug 10, 2018 19:51:39 GMT
Hi all. I've had a Sonab R 4000-2 sitting in the shed for 6 months after an impulse buy online. Reading these posts inspired me to finally get it into the house and have a peep at it. Very clean inside and happy to report I'm listening to it now. It has had no updates that I can see, all caps etc look original and despite that it sounds great. My usual amp is an A&R Cambridge A60 (so I have my RCA to DIN adapters on anyway) from way back which has been recapped etc, but this sounds just as good is not better. There are a couple of minor issues...light on top front not working and bulbs not working. Haven't tried phono as my set up is MC not MM, but tape and aux both working on speaker channel A (will test the other later). Speaker cables just pushed in for now (horror!). So... 1) is it worth recapping this? 2) any ideas on changing the outputs to banana plugs...a practical option certainly but is it a travesty? 3) any ideas for touching up the case....several 5x1 mm scratches leading to paint loss. Spray the whole thing or just touch up where needed? Thanks for a great thread, and here's hoping we can keep these (heavy) receivers running for a while yet. Cheers
Hi Fergua, Well worth re-capping.... it was sounding AWESOME until I managed to totally destroy one of the tuning pots rendering the R4000 pretty much buggered If nothing else, it's well worth replacing the 2200uF / 50V power caps with the 6800uF / 63V ones.... that brings about a huge improvement to the sonics. My 6800uF / 63V caps are still inside the Sonab and have only had about 12 hours on them so they're yours for the taking if you want them: With regard to painting and banana plugs..... that's down to you. If you really like the unit and plan on keeping it then do what you want with it. If you want to use banana plugs then fit some banana sockets..... don't mess about touching the enclosure up go full out and get it powder coated (it's a LOT cheaper than you think) have an ask around your local powder coating firm / firms....... it's a very small panel so most powder coating firms will let you know when they've got a BIG job in (in black) and will do your piss ant (in size) panel for peanuts with the leftover black I, personally, would replace every electrolytic capacitor and that will....... for SURE...... get the R4000 rocking (and then some). My "very rare" and non replaceable pot was taken out when I was pumping music out VERY loud (yes, the R4000 can drive speakers) when one of my workshop "rafter mounted" speakers decided to fall right on top of the R4000 bashing into a very "important" pot..... a right pisser that was! The guy you want to talk to about the lights (if he's still alive) is: sites.google.com/site/dgwojocom/ I'll check the lamps in my (increasingly thin skeleton) and, if good, you can have them. All the best, Mike.
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Post by benno on Jul 9, 2019 22:39:11 GMT
I'm having difficulty sourcing the 6V 100mA lamps for the receiver.... any ideas? Lucas type bayonet bulbs. Found some for mine on eBay.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jul 10, 2019 19:32:20 GMT
I'm having difficulty sourcing the 6V 100mA lamps for the receiver.... any ideas? Lucas type bayonet bulbs. Found some for mine on eBay. Me too..... I bought 100 of the buggers.....
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