So what is your favorite vintage stereo amp? McIntosh, Marantz, Fisher or???

a 2325 sold last year

 

same 2325 with a 4400

 

More Pioneer Gear

Collect a lot of solid state vintage stuff. Here's a pic of my Pioneer Spec 1 / Spec 4 combo.

 

Another vintage piece - Tandberg TR-2080

Another favorite amp/rec.

 

it's really hard to pick favorites - I have McIntosh and Fisher and I also love Luxman. I have one Marantz but it's not working so I can't judge it.

I love the McIntosh sound but personally my Fishers are more of a perfect pair than my Macs and the Macs are fussier about what you pair then up with so I would say the Macs are probably better but the Fishers make my heart beat faster. The Luxmans are the truest of the three though, and have stood the most abuse as well.

I love them all!!

 

My best friend has had one since I met him twenty years ago (and before). It's good, but doesn't knock my socks off.

 

I do have a Fisher 400 but one output tube is shot, so no play. I've had it for over a year, maybe almost two, but it is in the US and I am in China so I haven't really had the chance to let her stretch her legs.

 

That is a sweet amp, I owned one. My best friend's Dad was an audiophile and he sold me one slightly used back in the 70s. Everyone in in his house was already well stocked with Hi Fi gear, so he gave me a nice deal.

I wish I still had that thing.

 

What is this...AudioKarma?? Here's a pre-restoration photo just after I rescued this Accuphase E-202 from a cold damp basement. I spent the day cleaning it up and didn't have the foresight to take a photo before, while it was still dirty. Long story short- Owned this very amp back in the 70's/80's and sold it to an old friend. Moved far far away and some 25 years later, returned for a holiday and bumped into said old friend. We never kept in touch but he invited me and my family over for a BBQ, and at the end of the evening I asked "hey whatever happened to that old amp I sold you?" We excused ourselves from the women and children and went down to his basement when he had parked it years ago when he went "home Theatre."

The amp came back on the flight with me..

 

Nice a boomarang amp. Sort of a stereo Incredible Jouney story.

I'm glad you got it back where it can be enjoyed!

 

Thanks, yes, and enjoy it I do! You know every time I reach for it, there's a certain little comfort that comes over me that I'm very grateful for..

 

I have a Yamaha CR-1020, Marantz 2265b, Marantz 2250, and AR integrated amp but I have retired those for a restored Fisher 500C loaded with Telefunken smooth plates. The best receiver I have ever owned.

 

Presently: a 1987 Sansui AU-X901 'Vintage'. Rebadged Japanese domestic AU-a707i alpha amp. It's just perfect in every way!

 

Harman-Kardon Citation II - a monster sonically as well as literally (this thing weighs 70 lbs - MASSIVE transformers). 60 tube wpc, solid state rectified, sounds great with any number of modern or vintage KT88 or 6550 tubes, but my favorite in this amp are vintage GE 6550A tubes. Stewart Hegeman the designer was quite a genius, Google his name and read about him.

Mine's a factory built (many were built from kits), and other than having a few bad caps replaced it's all original. A more or less neutral presentation of music, with tremendous authority and bass control. It never sounds like it's straining when paired with even moderately high sensitivity speakers. The ultimate compliment is that since I got it, I haven't thought once about wanting to change amps - and in fact most of the time I totally forget it's there, it just plays music, I'm never bothered by wanting more or less of anything from the amp.

To me the GE 6550A tubes add just the right touch of lower midrange heft/magic without going too far in that direction (and that judgment comes after trying hallowed vintage Tung-Sol 6550s and GEC KT88s).

The one in the pic here isn't mine, but mine looks just like it:



I had and sold McIntosh MC30s and have to say I do regret having to do that (just not enough space) - they ultimately weren't for me as a day-to-day main amp - too colored, and quite loose in the bass - but on certain recordings of a certain vintage (especially with singers), they were absolutely eerie in terms of that 3D "in the room" thing. Someday when I can expand my listening space I may pick up another pair. And so pretty to look at - while for me the HK is "the one" for sonics, in terms of looks, it ain't even close - nothing can touch the looks of vintage McIntosh gear...or for that matter new McIntosh gear (my C2300 preamp is a work of art IMHO).

Like sushimaster (see his earlier post) I'm also a fan of the humble (in terms of price) Dynaco Stereo 70 amp. My father has 2 of these. To me it gives a pretty wonderful sound, though again very much on the "vintage gooey tubes" side, really not too far behind the MC30s, but for a heck of a lot less. Very musical. I've thought about making room for this one as a second/occasional amp in my rig, as well.

 

I too like the ST70, but only with the flaws fixed!

 

Tubes!

 

I like the Kenwood Supreme series. I own a 600 (integrated) and a 700 C.

 

I've owned Dynaco, Fisher and Marantz tube gear, but my favorite [so far] is the Scott 299b. Perhaps it's a reflection of the music I enjoy the most on LP—tube-cut vocal classics like Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald—but there is a sense of presence and physicality through the "Stereomaster" that I did not hear to the same degree with the other vintage gear. Mind you, the amp is not "powerful", it's only 20 tube watts. But the Scott 299b has to be the most "musical" amp I've heard and the phono stage is wonderful.

 

I'm right there with you. I took it to the next level when I used parts from my ST-70 in a redesign I built from scratch, including a custom chassis and cabinet.

 

Wow! That is simply stunning Wardsweb -10/10!!

 

Last night I had a lot of fun helping my friend replace his 2045 (a 1979 model he's been using since 1982 as the receiver of his only stereo system) with a Peachtree Audio Decco. He loves the 2045 but the pots really need cleaning or replacing and it's been really annoying for a year or so, and he was finally ready for a change. I had the Decco sitting around unused and with the DAC built-in, a nice one, this updates his sound somewhat.. The Decco really sounds good with his Blu-Ray player using its built-in DAC, and with his CD carousel (I hate it, but he likes to have a carousel player) through one set of the analog inputs. I gave him a pair of Audioquest Black Mamba II interconnects to really help there. Sound is really good. Now I have to help him find a nice phono preamp.

He'll probably be selling the 2045. Anyone interested could PM me. I might put it up for sale for him here soon.

 

Give all the controls a little squirt with this stuff:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/CAIG-DeoxIT-FaderLube-Lubricant-5-oz--101858314-i1134931.gc

...and you'll probably find that they work fine again.

 

Neato. What input/driver/splitter circuit did you use?

 

Here is a link to my custom version build of a Dynaco ST-70.

http://wardsweb.org/audio/ST70/

 

Cool, thanks for the link. So it's a triode stage driving a current-sourced triode diff pair? How do you like it?