Apt Holman - Preamp and Amp

Have any of you owned and used these components? I would like to hear from any of you who have experience with these components and how good they actually were. Do they compare with contemporary preamps? Are they worth seeking out today?

Here is an article about the Apt Holman preamp.

http://kenrockwell.com/audio/apt/holman-preamplifier.htm#rex

Thanks,

Scott

 

AH gear has always fascinated me and its some of the best sounding SS gear I've owned. The preamp is quiet (even with high efficiency speaks which it wasn't designed for) and detailed but its best asset has to be its phono section for MM and MC carts. My only concern is that the preamp came out in the 80's when the gear had to offer every possible adjustment for sound so there's lots more switches and knobs than I'm used to with the better gear being offered these days. The amp doesn't get discussed as much but its no slouch either and is an excellent match for the preamp. I went back to tubes eons ago but I still have my AH gear stored away in their boxes thinking one day, I'll find a use for it. Perhaps I'll pull it out this weekend just to give it a spin and a good listen.

 

I worked there, and still use my equipment 30+ years later. Nothing has ever broken, the last I checked (admittedly about 20 years ago) everything was still in spec, and it still sounds good to me, but note that I am not an "audiophile". The designs were thought out very carefully, try to get ahold of the owner's manual for the amp and preamp for the best explanations of why every choice was made. I can answer specific questions if you have any.

 

I owned the Apt preamp in 1985. It was nice, nothing remarkable.

 

I too owned one in the 80's.
I seem to recall noise from the volume knob, and a either a noise or sticking problem with the "blinking eyeball" push buttons.
I would stay away from a 30 year old pre just because of wear and tear on the volume pot and all the other switch contacts.

IIRC Advent had a similar pre amp with built in FM tuner? Possibly also a Holman design?

 

Regarding the Advent: I looked it up. A great little unit in its day.

It was the Advent 300 receiver, it had the Holman phono stage and a low powered amp on board, but with pre-out's......

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/advent-300-question.89887/

 

I had the Apt Preamp. I liked it a lot back then.
The phono section was very nice indeed.

 

There is one that just went up on Ebay from a seller here in San Antonio.

 

Yeah, I liked the Advent receiver for it's simplicity and cost effective yet decent sound. Very industrial looking. The APT stuff reminds me most of Hafler kit. It was OK but nothing special by top hi-fi standards. I'd also avoid any of those units today unless they were basically free and I wanted to spend some time working on them.
-Bill

 

Well, the one on Ebay got pulled because it sold on a different forums.

 

Thanks for all of the replies. I agree with you that this preamp has many switches and other types of controls and that is an area of concern. The two preamps I own are such minimalist designs and the AH preamp is the exact opposite in that regard. I see the preamps going for ~$300 - $600 depending on the condition. Considering that some servicing is most likely needed, if not long overdue then why not go for a used Conrad-Johnson or older Krell model instead?

Scott

 

Yeah, it's far from a wire with gain. The switches and controls do things, if you don't think you'll ever need to use them a more minimalist design may be in order. But the things they do, they do right.