What's your amp history?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Strat-Mangler, Aug 2, 2021.

  1. DPM

    DPM Senior Member

    Location:
    Nevada, USA
    Marantz 1090 integrated amp - 1979 to 1983

    Yamaha A 500 "Natural Sound" integrated amplifier - 1983 to 1991

    Adcom GFA 555II power amp - 1991 to 1999 (paired w/ Adcom GFP 555 preamp)

    Proceed AMP2 power amp - 1999 to 2002

    Proceed HPA2 power amp - 2002 to 2003

    Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300 integrated amp - 2003 to 2011

    Proceed HPA2 power amp - 2011 to 2014

    Hegel H30 power amp - 2014 to 2021

    Bob Carver Crimson 350 tube mono blocks - 2021 to ?
     
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  2. Bert Oz

    Bert Oz Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    JVC AS5 31W 1978

    Rotel RA820A 30W 1989

    Pioneer A-A6-J 60W 2009

    Rega Elex R 72.5W (8ohms), 90W (6ohms) 114W (4ohms) 2016

    Yamaha A-S3000 100W (8ohms) 150W (4ohms) 2019
     
  3. BrettyD

    BrettyD Senior Member

    Location:
    New Zealand
    My first and current amp…Technics SU V6 (integrated)
    Still sounds great.
     
  4. Jim0830

    Jim0830 Forum Resident

    Receivers:
    • Realistic Modulaire (1972) Note 1
    • Realistic STA-46 (1973)
    • Sherwood S-7310 (1975)
    • Sansui 9090 (1976)
    • Yamaha R-9 (1985)
    • Yamaha RX-V2095 (1999)
    • Yamaha Avantage RX-A1070 (2017) Note 2
    Integrated & AVR:
    • Parasound HINT 6
    • Anthem MRX-720
    Note 1-This was my first receiver and first big mistake. I bought this modular system with speakers and a BSR TT for the princely sum of $122.95. This was big bucks for me in high school. I did this with the idea of upgrading to the Realistic acoustic suspension speakers I really wanted, but couldn't yet afford. When I did upgrade the receiver couldn't really power the speakers. The front panel lights wold dim and blink on and off to the beat when I tried to turn it up. I ended up quickly upgrading the receiver and TT in addition to the speakers.

    Note 2-Second big mistake. I was renovating my 3rd Bedroom into a home theater in 2017. I wanted to upgrade to a new AVR that could switch 4K video signals. I had already started the renovation and my equipment was in storage. I didn't do my due diligence in terms of listening tests and research. Based on my satisfaction with my last two Yamaha receivers I bought the Avantage RX-1070 at Best Buy as a grab and go. They were having a good sale and I just pulled the trigger. When I finally got up and running 3 months later I was not overwhelmed by the sound of this receiver. It was too late to return it. When I got back into vinyl with the arrival of my TT in October of 2018 I was blown away by how good the sound of LPs could be. I also found I was cranking the music up louder, but after 45 minute or so I found I was turning the volume back down. I realized it was due to what I believe was listener fatigue. This AVR had more channels than ever, more CODECs, networking protocols and streaming services. All those additional features come with a price I discovered. The receiver had a smaller power supply for all those channels and it seemed I was hearing this when I drove the receiver hard. The solution was to get a Parasound HINT 6 with a home theater bypass switch and use it for 2.1 sound. I was really pleased with the sound and no more 2-Channel listener fatigue. But I still wasn't totally happy with the surround sound and 2 months later I got the Anthem MRX-720. I notice a huge improvement in the home theater sound and the ARC is a vast improvement over the YPAO room correction. It wasn't a total loss, the Yamaha was moved to the Living Room where I don't do critical or loud listening.
     
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  5. Aereoplain

    Aereoplain Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC
    Starting in 1975:

    Harman Kardon HK 430 ( my fav) still clean as new
    Harman Kardon 690i
    Rotel ( can’t remember model # at the moment) very nice little integrated
    Unison Research Unico (original in 2002, still doing its thing very well)
    TBD in 2022??
     
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  6. Wally S

    Wally S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Crown DC 300A
    Kenwood L-07m
    Conrad-Johnson MV 75
    Marsh Sound Design A400S
    Sanders Magtech
     
  7. Technocentral

    Technocentral Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Thinking of picking one of these up for a good price in Dublin, what do you like about it most?
     
  8. fully_articulated

    fully_articulated Forum Resident

    1. Rotel RA-05

    This was a great first amplifier for when I got into speaker listening about 15 years ago. At the time I thought how crazy I was being, spending that much on a piece of audio equipment! Little did I know......

    [​IMG]


    2. Rega Elex-R

    The final component in a three year long journey to build an all-Rega setup that included Rega P5 turntable, Rega DAC & RS5 speakers. This is the only piece I still own - because it's awesome.

    [​IMG]


    3. Pathos Logos

    I fell in love with this thing without even hearing it. So much so I risked importing one from the UK second hand. Rich, warm and runs super-hot!

    [​IMG]


    4. DIY First Watt F6, then Aleph J & M2

    Then I thought I might try doing it myself. Turned out to be rewarding both personally and aurally.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    I think I'm pretty well covered for amps now, lest a pair of hard-to-drive speakers knocks at the door. :rolleyes:
     
  9. MCM_Fan

    MCM_Fan Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    And as of last week, I have added a Bryston 4B SST to the mix. I don't really need that much power, but...

    [​IMG]
     
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  10. LeBud

    LeBud Born to be mild

    Location:
    Ottawa
    1977 : JVC JR-S81W, 35 WPC part of my all JVC System... you never forget your first love. ;>)
    1980's : Sansui (forgot the model) , Harman Kardon PM640, Yamaha RX350 (not the motorcycle !) I also picked up a Marantz 1515 as a second receiver .
    I'm sure that there are a few others that have slipped though the cracks of my memory ...

    2017 to present : I started with vintage units, but that quickly changed when the amps were always having issues...
    NAD 3020
    Pioneer SX650
    Marantz PM8005
    Rega Elex-R
    Sugden A21SE Sig
    Doge10

    next one is... ?
     
  11. ATSMUSIC

    ATSMUSIC Senior Member

    Location:
    MD, USA
    My first high end amp was a 200 watt per channel adcom, forget the model.
    After that I had a CJ mf2500 for over 20 years
    I just got 2 Bryston 7b SSt2 mono blocks.

    That's really my whole history for the last like 30 years or so.
     
  12. DLD

    DLD Senior Member

    Location:
    Dallas, Tx
    Lafayette integrated>Sony receiver>Mac MA 6100 integrated>Sony receiver>JVC receiver>Onkyo receiver>Luxman integrated>Anthem 225 integrated
     
  13. padreken

    padreken Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego
    Let me see…..

    Dipping my toe into midfi waters in the 80’s for the first time, it was a D940 Proton receiver. After that-

    Adcom 545
    B&K (I think it was model 22-something, sounded kinda anemic but inoffensive)
    McCormack DNA-1 (now this was more like it!)
    Music Reference RM-9 Mk 1
    PS Audio M700
     
  14. Bobocryce

    Bobocryce Active Member

    Location:
    Clonmel
    It was cheap, and it's reliable. I like the aesthetics also.
    Haven't compared it to anything sound wise. It just does the job. Couldn't be happier with it.
     
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  15. Technocentral

    Technocentral Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Since I posted that I'm actually picking up a NAD 3130. The guy selling the 320 was a ahole.
     
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  16. Bobocryce

    Bobocryce Active Member

    Location:
    Clonmel
    Nice. Best of luck with it.
     
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  17. G E

    G E Senior Member

    Sansui tube receiver, don’t recall model number, high school -1974

    Sony 3200f, 1974-1985

    hafler XL280, 1985-1988, which was converted into ….

    Audio by van Alstine Omega 2, 1988-1992, high current model (drove my Infinity kappas properly). This was upgraded to….

    Audio by van Alstine Omega 3, 1992

    Audio by Van Alstine 400, forgot exact model, 2008-2010

    bryston 4bsst-2, 2010-2015

    bryston 28 bsst-2, 2015 to present.

    the two AVA omega amps and the Bryston 28 mono blocks are the notable amps. Really nice tonality - listening sessions lasting hours and hours well into the night.

    I’ve thought of moving to the Pass XA.8 series but what I have now is getting things very right. First 50 watts are class A.
     
  18. SteveFord

    SteveFord Forum Resident

    Location:
    Shnecksville PA
    Add to my list an incoming NOS conrad-johnson MF2275.
    It's been sitting in a box for around 7 years so if it lets out the magic smoke it'll be known as the
    MoFo 2275
    and if it doesn't it'll be the
    MightyFine 2275.
     
  19. LarryRS

    LarryRS Forum Resident

    Location:
    DC Area
    Dynaco Stereo 70
    Dynaco SCA80Q
    Dynaco Stereo 120
    Sony TA3200F
    GAS Grandson
    Hafler DH200 (modified by Musical Concepts)*
    Parasound HINT*
    Audio Research Reference 110
    Bryston 4BSST2*
    Parasound A21
    PS Audio BHK Signature 250*
    PS Audio BHK Signature 300 monoblocks*

    * still own
     
    mreeter likes this.
  20. effula

    effula Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northern VA
    Bryston 9B-ST
    Bryston 6B-ST
    Peachtree Audio Grand Integrated X-1
    McCormack DNA-125
    B&K Reference 200.2
    Pass Labs XA30.5
    Hegel H300
    Rogue Audio Stereo 100 (current in main system)
    Rega Brio (selling soon for Croft)
    Croft Phono Integrated (on order for office system)

    What a trip down memory lane trying to remember them all...
     
  21. Mission Cyrus One MK1
    Mission Cyrus One MK2
    Audiolab 8000A
    Creek 4330
    Creek 50A

    ...I just noticed only English amplifiers in 35 years of listening!

    BTW I am not including the dreadful German Schneider music centre I had as a teenager.
     
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  22. Tajo1960

    Tajo1960 Tajo = tayo (tata, dad ~ in slang)

    Location:
    EU [Croatia]
    This sounds familiar to me :) I had the combination of bi-amping English amps the longest of all.
    Although I don't have any more now ...
     
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  23. Lowand

    Lowand Forum Resident

    Mission Cyrus One
    Sugden A21a
    Albarry M1002
    Art Quintet
    Amptastic x 2 (still got)
    Temple Audio monos
    Hypex ncore
    Event opal - Active speaker
    Schiit ragnarok
    KEF Ls50 - Active speaker
    Audiolab 6000A (still got)
    Willsenton R8 (in use)
     
  24. fcdvpds

    fcdvpds Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    Hi! That's an awesome collection! How do you compare the Luxman to the Leben?
     
  25. Django

    Django Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    I didn't buy a proper set up until 2013.

    So 2013 - present : Marantz PM 6004

    That's it.
     
    Melody50 likes this.

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