by René Pawlitzek, rpawlitzek@hotmail.com

I'm a big fan of vintage audio. I believe that the HiFi equipment which was produced in the eighties and the early nineties was particularly well engineered. It comes as no surprise that a lot of gear from that period still functions flawlessly today. In 1992, when I was a student, I bought myself my first stereo system with the Philips CD-960 CD player (by many regarded as the best Philips CD player ever), the Philips FT-980 RDS tuner, the Beyerdynamic DT-990 headphones, and the Dual CV-5670 amplifier. I have been enjoying these components over the last 25 years. To this day, the entire system sounds nice and smooth. Recently, I paired my stereo with a new set of loudspeakers (the incredible Q Accoustics 3020) and the Asus R100 HiRes streaming device.

While browsing eBay one evening, I came across a brand new Dual PA-5030 amplifier that had never been used since its production in 1988, sitting in its box for almost 30 years! I was hooked immediately. Knowing how good my own Dual CV-5670 sounds, I could not afford to let this offer go by. The Dual PA-5030 is a Rotel-made 35 Watts per channel amplifier. It was part of Dual's audiophile concept series. I downloaded the service manual from the web to see whether it is possible to adjust this US located amp to 220/240V. And sure enough, it possible to easily adjust the input voltage using a simple switch. I also checked the schematics to see if one could repair it in case it would not function after its 29 year long sleep. The schematics look pretty simple. All parts are easily replaceable. No expensive, hard to get ICs are used.

So I took the plunge and made an offer of $150 that was accepted. The seller shipped the amplifier from Lauredo, Texas using the eBay Global Shipping program. I received the very well padded package two weeks later and couldn't wait to open it. Here it was: my time capsule from the past. “Dual. For the finest in sound.” is written in big letters on the box. Hopefully, the amplifier will live up to this claim once it is awake.

While waiting for the amplifier to arrive, I googled a number of documents explaining how to put life back into an old amplifier. The caps are usually the things that go bad over the years. So they need to be replaced or reformed with 50V over a certain period of time. I decided to use a VARIAC to increase the input voltage to 120V over a period of several days.

Next, I connected a vintage portable Philips CD-player and the Philips SBC HP890 headphones. Finally, the big moment arrived. Will it work? How will it sound after the 30 year long nap? I pressed play, listened carefully, and was immediately greeted with a lovely, precise and clean sound. I was amazed that this amplifier produced such a fine sound right away. My time capsule from the past was a full success!

A few days later, I switched the input voltage to 240V, so that the VARIAC was no longer required. The amplifier's cable had a US plug and was not suitable for 240V. It did not meet the requirements for a safe 240V operation. So I replaced the power cord with the help of a co-worker. Thank you Prof. Weitnauer for your help. I do not plan to modify the amplifier in any other way. This beauty shall not be defaced, not even in the name of science.

Looking back, I am pretty happy that I took the risk to buy this old stock. It was well worth the effort. The Dual PA-5030 is a great sounding piece of HiFi equipment from the eighties. It is back alive and currently used with a HiResFi DAC (TI 5102A) and a HP Pavilion dm1 subnotebook. I enjoy it very much.