|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
64.212.90.254
I'm openingb this string to ask: what was your favorite/the best 20th century ss integrated amp?
My alltime favorite integrated was tubed, so I'm alrady off topic. The first amp i owned (you never forget your first) Dyna SCA-35, and I'd like to come full circle back to it. but it was not solid state.
Follow Ups:
It's the greatest Integrated Amp Kenwood ever made. I reviewed it here at AA. The phono stage is world class, it can drive any pair of speakers, can handle any woofer-especially when hooked up for "Sigma Drive" operation. It's just a total beast in every way.
I've used it as a straight preamp when some of my audiophle friends thought they were hearing an Electocompaniet-boy were they surprised. And I have used it as a stand alone phono stage and it's a killer in that capacity too.
As a power amp, it's very smooth, lots of balls, excellent detail.
I also own a KA-9100 which I've reviewed here as well. The KA-9100 can drive the hell out of a pair of B&W N802D's, and those speakers dip low in the ohms department. The amp got hot, but it sounded awesome driving the B&W's and it has a darn nice MM phono stage.
I also have a KA-907, which was my favorite amp until i got the L-02A. The 907 is awesome!
But you asked for the best and the L-02A is it! Check out that detachable PSU....this bbad boy weights over 80 LBS!!!
It was 200$ new...It only had 20 watts of power and zero features. I thought the amp sounded really good. The audio press didn't give it much of a chance.
I liked that the amp could run cranked up and not run out of steam so quickly. There was a lot of potential with this amp. Look how simple...The heat sink should have been bigger. The amp did run hot.
.......because I've been using one to drive my Maggies for the past 3 years, and it's been great! I tried a Model 600, in the past, but thought the 9100 sounded more refined, and sold the 600.
Recently bought a musical fidelity A300, to replace the 9100, and after a few weeks of struggling to get the A300 to sound right, in my system, it's now sitting unused in the garage, and the 9100 is back in my rack :-)
Would love to try a KA-907, if I can ever find one.
If it can drive Maggies, ti can't be bad!
Dave
Better than 90% of it's contemporairies, anyway. Some of the Sansui AU's are right up there, too.
but I recall a Nakamichi Amp 1 I took in trade as being outstanding.
It might be a reciever however, I was using it as a power amp for most of the time while driving my Infinity speakers. It was much better sounding with lots of control as a power amp than the Sansui AU 919 integrated that I had as well. When the SX-1980 was introduced in 1978, it was the most powerful receiver in the world. It was rated at a staggering 270 watts per channel at 8 ohms. It was literally in a class by itself with a level of power, performance and sheer weight that marked the apogee of Pioneer's two-channel stereo receiver development.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Maybe not the best, but sure is a heavy monster! A Yamaha CC-1010.
I have a CT-1010 but no CA-1010 to go with it...
all the best,
mrh
Yamaha made some great stuff that was always a tad under rated.
If I had the extra cash and the right unit I sure would enjoy restoring one of the Yamaha classics.
The first fully complementary direct coupled DC amplifier. Introduced in 1966 and widely copied by the fledgling Japanese Hi-Fi industry.Designed by Bart Locanthi, then Vice-President in charge of engineering at JBL.
Now a cult item in Japan. It sounds amazingly good even today!
Edits: 10/10/09 10/10/09 10/10/09
Actually this was one of the most beautifully constructed, best looking but worst sounding amplifiers I ever owned. It had every vice generally attributed to the first generation solid state amps. Hard, thin sound and poor reliability. I used it in conjunction with both a pair of JBL Lancer 44's and later Lancer 99's so speaker compatibility was not an issue. In desperation before finally selling it I even tried AR 4ax' and AR6's but it was still almost unlistenable. I really wanted this amp to sound good but sometimes you just have to face reality. The later model SA660 was slightly better (and was a gorgeous two tone plum color) but still so bright it would burn your ears out. Thanks for bringing back some interesting memories.
Regards, Jerry
As this was actually a radical departure from the early transistor amplifiers.
First generation solid state was Germanium, capacitor coupled and with interstage transformers. Circa 1963-64
Second generation was silicon, quasi complementary, also capacitor coupled. Circa 1965.
The SA-600 would have been third generation, with it's direct coupled fully complementary symmetry circuitry.
The first two generations, specially the germanium units, suffered from crossover distortion with very high IM at low power levels.
This accounted for the harsh sound of early transistor amplifiers.
Bart Locanthi managed to banish crossover distortion from his "T Circuit" setting the stage for the DC coupled designs that followed.
Another remarkable characteristic of the T Circuit is the simplicity of the signal path.
I wonder why you didn't like the sound of yours. Perhaps an early failure of some sort? I believe the dutch electrolytics used by JBL were quite unreliable.
When used with speakers designed for tube equipment, I would be surprised if the SA600 and SA660 did not sound bright. They had a much higher damping factor that the amps that went before them. This would make the overdamped tube eara speakers sound bright.
I have an SA-660 that I plan to get up and running. I will post when I do!
Dave
And the SA660 is 32.
Actually quite low for solid-state. Which indicates moderate use of negative feedback.
The Marantz 8B Tube amp has a damping factor of "greater than 20", according to the official Marantz spec sheet.
According to Locanthi's paper on the "T Circuit", the amplifier has a distortion of 0.5% before adding feedback. So feedback is not used as a means to conceal, correct or compensate a high distortion design. Rather, it is used to further reduce distortion and increase linearity in a well designed circuit.
I haven't heard one in about ten years but I recall the general consensus being that they were decent sounding for early solid state equipment. I've never heard of them being extremely unreliable myself. I had an SA600 for a few years and an SA660 for a few years and both worked very well with no failures and they were 30 year old amps at the time. That said they are more suited to the JBL collector than someone looking for sound quality especially at the prices they sell for.
Mike
It did also have the habit of dropping a channel on an all too regular basis but it's been too long for me to remember the nature of the repairs. No one wanted that amp to work more than me so I put up with it for quite a while. I believe I replaced it with a Sansui AU555 at the time. JBL must have been aware of some issues as both the SA600 and SA660 had a fairly short run in the product line. I actually still have the JBL brochure for their amps It's not handy at the moment but I believe there was a power amp also available at the time.
These early caps deteriorated quite rapidly and caused numerous problems. Tube equipment used paper and film caps and those were more reliable.I suspect that once updated with modern caps, these amps should be as reliable as modern units.
I believe the reason JBL dropped the line was economics. They were acquired by the Jervis Corporation (precursor to Harman International), and the new owners decided to kill the electronics line as it was not the company's main business. It also would compete with Harman/Kardon as the products had similar marketing targets.
Also, manufacturing in the US was starting to be threatened by the Japanese around that time. Perhaps it made no sense to the investors to continue the line.
However, the patents held by Locanthi were used by most Japanese manufacturers.
Pioneer ended up hiring Mr. Locanthi by the mid 1970s.
Edits: 10/11/09 10/11/09 10/11/09
Yes The Pioneer HPM speakers were his designs and some consider them the "true" evolution of the JBL L100 and 200.
Maybe not the best but my favorite.Sure sounds great with a pair of Dynaco A-35s.
nt
all the best,
mrh
stupid comments.My bad
I have had mine for over 25 years and have not felt compelled to part with it as yet, even though it finally now will be needing a repair. It has simple functions, solid metal/glass build, decent midsize power, and a warm tube-like sound. It handles rock, jazz, classical with equal ease and never harsh. Oh...and it looks nice lighted up at night with cool teal. -Ken
- Ken
Had my MA-6100 since new (1973). Every day player. Every day for over 35 years. I think I'll keep it (nice aesthetics and flexible controls, too).
--
simul justus et peccator
what about the Sony STR-7085. This receiver has the separate Amp and
pre-Amp sections. i use it as an amp and the cj pv12 as the pre driving
Event 20/20 monitor speakers. I use this system for recording play
back,and then mainly to listen to vcr/dvd. This system sounds very
nice -- clear and dynamic.
Michael
but the worst - the AR integrated since that's the only integrated I've owned. Sounded ok at full tilt, but miserable at low levels being a class B amp. Highly recommended against.
rw
Interesting question and tough to answer.
Some years ago I auditioned a Luxman L-1000 or L-100, can not remember the exact number. At the time Luxman was going for the gold ring and the only competition from across that pond would have been Accuphase. The Luxman or any of the Accuphase integrated amps from that period would be likely contestents.
Mc integrated amps are right up there if you want to just hear some really GREAT sound and not worry about the nth degree of this or that. The MA6900 or 6950 are better than the 6200 and 6200 but again any are better than most out there from other companies.
A Marantz 1060 has a very decent power amp and an excellent preamp. Well worth getting for the current price and knowing that when you decide on a 10,000 watt power amp you'll have a good preamp to go with it.
Now for my current favorite, the Sherwood S9500c. These 1st generation Sherwood SS amps get no notice. This model is the smallest of the offered 3 amps and puts out 20 watts per channel. The others put out 40 watts per and 65 watts per. The 65 watter at the time would have been a super amp. My little amp is pushing my Bozak Symphonys so nicely, I do not miss the Mc MC2105 amp though the Mc system overall is better but, on a price vs enjoyment scale the S9500c wins. These amps can go for less than $50 and expect to drop in a set of caps, maybe another $100. The amps are cap outputs and this tends to give them a slightly classic tube signature
I have two of them. Norm
2 for stereo?
Jut kidding
.
I liked my CA-610II when I bought it ca. 1978 and I still like it. The better Yamaha soiled state integrateds (e.g., CA-1010, CA-2010, and the CA-800 and CA-1000 of the previous model cycle) were very, very good sounding consumer gear. Nice looking too. Hard to believe these were on the market as about the same time as the AMC Pacer, Gremlin, and leisure suits...
OK I admit the CA-800 is pretty 'new-to-me' bought it a couple of years ago) but in Class A it can just about run with the big dogs (even when the big dogs have tubes in them).
I would never claim the 1970s Yamahas were "the best" anything, but they sound good - honest and musical. For my money, there really wasn't any better massmarket gear.
all the best,
mrh
.
reelsmith's axiom : Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
1. Accuphase several models
2. Sansui AU-919
3. Yamaha CA-2010
I've got a Cyrus Two which sounds good (nice price too).
On my wish list: Musical Fidelty A1, Naim Nait
The Cyrus or its Mission predecesor. When I bought my Mission CD player at a trift store, I checked every shelf hoping to find an amplifier. No luck!
Dave
It's still packed away. It was a (fairly uncommon) Teac AS-200 primarily designed to handle multiple tape decks but it was very well made and sounded quite good.
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
other controls are behind the lower fold down panel. Tone, speaker switchs etc."Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
Edits: 10/09/09
I've never seen that one before Kava............Thanks.
"The Sound of One Hand Clapping is Crashing by Design" HKM
Just runs over with personality.
Are you asking so you can get an idea what general direction to look in. Or just tire kicking?
Because often a better question is what amps didn't you like and why?
Me personally, I did not like McIntosh's integrated amps. The x100 series to me lacked dynamics and sounded vailed or rolled off somewhat. And the Pioneers were just over the top in brightness. The Yamaha's were nice as were many of the Onkyo's. But you have to research what models are worth it.
Sansui makes some of the prettiest stuff i've ever seen. But fairly unremarkable sounding. Marantz has some all time greats and some stinkers as well. Actually not much different than their receivers.
charles
a little of both
Got two of their Integrated Amplifiers... awesome sounding (tube-like)solid state.
what are the model numbers? I am familiar with their separates and receivers but never seen an integrated.
Agree, awesome products, but they came too late when the race was over already.
TIA !
Here're some :-)
Sorry the scans ain't great; maybe I can do something about the Moire(?).
There was (at least) one model year of (US made) Philips hifi hardware after the stuff in this particular brochure (but I have no literature on it)
all the best,
mrh
I would recommend the Kenwood 7100
simply excellent 60x2
My tech, Ken Bernacky - repaired a faulty turn -on
relay and rebised the ouputs along with a full
clean up - checkup - shouldbe good for another 25 years...
Dual power supplies
discrete power outputs
not unobtanium power packs
works well- sounds great with my Allison 4's
IMHO
NAD - QC gerally poor / lower quality parts
Yamaha -also excellent
Marantz - a little "hard " sounding to my ears
Pioneer -well made 8100 / 9100 but also a little "bright"
HK 402- even better sounding than my Kenwood -if you can find
one in great shape
MAC 5100 - well made - went well with my KLH 6's
but now overpriced -and doesn't like 4 ohm loads
Nice amp. Always wanted one; found one at the town dump a year or so ago. Works fine. Basically the amp section(s) from an hk 730 receiver I reckon.
Its little brother the A401 (a small and elegantly cute little 20 wpc integrated) was also nice; the business end of the hk330C I always presumed it was.
You can tell I like this topic.
all the best,
mrh
Yep thats a nice unit (or a nice compromise as my separates friends say)
its sounds much more than the 40W/ch HK has given it and great pre-amp
You should hear this power a pair of Altec A7X VOT !
Personally i think it should have beeen part of the Citation familly
ROb,
Denon made some the best (IMO) integrated amps of the mass market Japanese equiment. The Tandberg was great sounding but a bit unreliable. Luxman, Marantz, McIntosh, HK, Yammha, Sansui an Kenwood all had some great products, but if I had to pick, it would be Accupase. Pretty much anything from the E-202 up will do.
Dave
Glad you mentioned Luxman. My L-80 had everything - aethetics, sound, reliability, build quality. I sold it to purchase the Quad 405 and Nakamichi 410 pre. Still using them after 31 years.
For solid state, my favorite is the Marantz 1060.
Nice looking amplifier with a good reputation; I really like the blue (almost blue-violet) lens on the (incandescent) pilot lamp.
This one has issues (one channel is weak) but the price was right...
It might need no more than to have all of those aged electrolytics replaced...
all the best,
mrh
1. Kyocera A-710 -- best component I've ever owned. Period.
2. Sansui AU-217/317 -- low-wattage monster amp with amazing phono section
"Trying to make it real ... compared to what?" - Les McCann & Eddie Harris, "Swiss Movement"
Kyocera is great sounding stuff!
Dave
They made excellent receivers too
..worth looking at?
nt
all the best,
mrh
There was an Arcam that sounded great i recall... better than the highly praised Rotel i compared it to... I owned a Rega Brio and thought it was okay.
Godzilla
having been WAY down the integrated amp path, in both solid state and tubes, I have to cast my vote for the Marantz 1200. It has balls, class, is affordable, easy to restore, built like a tank and looks great.
But this is squarly in the affordable "regular guy" vintage class. I'm sure if you were a rich kid in the seventies you had more options avalable. But again, I always felt a large part of this hobby was finally getting that stuff you couldn't afford when you were young. And I'm not talking about the $10k Linn setups in the back room.
But there are many great integrated amps to chose from. It really does depend on "your" taste.
Also a big part of appreciating these amps now is having them restored properly. They are clearly at that point now. So comparing them now really isn't a realistic means of judging them.
charles
The NAD 3020 for everything other than reliability (although I do still have 2 operating 7020's which was the receiver version). Great sound, excellent layout and a well thoughtout feature package. Also still one of the warmest sounding solid state amps I have heard. If you'll consider a receiver then the Advent 300 is right there with the NAD.
fed by my Marantz 10b for my bedroom system.
The Advent has wonderful sound for what it is,I have no complaints.
Gene
"You go to Heaven for the climate and to Hell for the
company"...Mark Twain
"We lived for days on nothing but food and water." W.C. Fields
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." - Aldous Huxley
very versatile, I've used it as receiver, pre-amp, and phono stage. Bought mine new.
Still have one too. They are excellent low- powered FM Receivers that have great phono section
Some of those NAD's were great. Even today they make a great sounding amp. The only caveat now is quality control. So do buy them from a certified dealer with a warranty.
charles
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: