What's your amp history?

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

  1. Audiofan1

    Audiofan1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    States
    Parasound HCA2003a

    Adcom GFA 555

    Parasound Halo A21

    Anthem Mca 30
    Nuforce MCA 18

    Emotiva A700

    Parasound Halo JC5
     
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  2. RGBARGEE

    RGBARGEE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Heart of America
    In 1972 (16 yrs old) bought a Roger Ravensbrook integrated amp. Around 1974 replaced it with an Armstrong 621 integrated (more power). That amp served me well until around 1982, things started to get crazy, Nakamichi Ca5 pre and PA7 power amp combo, great gear built around a Nelson Pass Threshold unit. I kept that until 2010 or so…replaced it with a Simaudio i3.3 integrated and also a few years later got a Cronus Magnum II. Both of those integrated were very good IMO. Last year I got a Hegel 390, very good…maybe I’m done…maybe not .
     
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  3. vinyl_puppy

    vinyl_puppy Der Weaselschnitzel

    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Marantz 2250B, Onkyo don't remember the model number, Marantz SR 96, Marantz SR 8500, Creek 4330SE, Marantz 4400, Marantz SR 7013. Guess one can say I like Marantz.
     
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  4. mreeter

    mreeter Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City
    Former Solid State:
    Parasound HCA-750A
    Parasound HCA-1000A
    Parasound HCA-1500A
    Parasound Halo A21
    Parasound Halo JC5
    ModWright KWA 100SE

    Former Tube:
    TAD-60 Tube Amplifier
    Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum
    Rogue Audio M-180's

    Current:
    Vas Audio Citation II's
    Quicksilver Mono 120's
     
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  5. apw2607

    apw2607 Well-Known Member

    Well I came full circle

    1984:Cyrus 1
    Then a bunch of Denon AVRs
    2021: Cyrus Pre2Dac QXR + PSX-R2 + Stereo 200 power amp
     
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  6. WHitese

    WHitese Senior Member

    Location:
    North Bergen, NJ
    I am not sure if I will remember them all...I will try in non-chronological order:

    Pioneer SX3500,
    Chiro C-200,
    McIntosh MC-250,
    Musical Design D75 monoblocks,
    McIntosh Mc275,
    Pilot SA-232,
    Pilot SA-260,
    Pilot SA-264,
    Pilot AA-904 monoblocks
    Berning EA-230 stereo and then 2 in mono,
    Berning EA2150,
    Berning EA2100,
    Luxman M4000,
    Luxman LX-33,
    Koonce 300b monoblocks,
    Bel Canto Orfeo (845) monos,
    Atma-sphere Locomotive (i forget that model number),
    McIntosh MC2125 and Mc2100,
    Hadley 622,
    McIntosh Mc7100 in mono,
    McIntosh MC275
    McIntosh Mc30
    Stax DA50
    Aloia ST 13.01
    Precision Fidelity
    Grundig NF-20
    Grundig NF-10
    YBA Integre DT
    Woodside ISA230
    James Burgess one off. Loftin-White circuit using 1930's tubes, the RL 12 T15. The driver tubes are PC86's and the rectifier in each amp is the Telefunken AZ-1.
    Lazarus class A monoblocks (forget the model..H1A?)
    Allen monoblocks and stereo
    JE Labs clone by Min 2A3
    Jeff Korneff 45
    Monarchy Audio SM-70 mono's class A
    Dayens Ampino stereo amp
    NRG A150 stereo
    AMR AM-777 hybrid

    I am missing many Integrated amps....Pilot, Kirksaeter, Luxman, and others.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2021
    Tajo1960, effula, TEA FOR ONE and 3 others like this.
  7. Lowgroove

    Lowgroove Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    First - Pioneer integrated - model SA-500A, bought in the mid 70's had it for about 5+ years;

    Second - Realistic Receiver - model STA 2080, bought it in the early '80's and it is still in my garage;

    Third - NAD 1000 preamp and 2 x 2400 power amps (used them both in bridged mono and in stereo to bi-amp the speakers), bought in the early 90's;

    Fourth - Consonance R1.1 preamp and 2 x M800SE mono blocks, bought in mid 2000's and still have them - oh yeah - tubes!

    Fifth and current - Luxman 590AXII - bought about 12 months ago - back to an integrated, but class A is lovely.



    So closing in on 50 years and only had 5 amp set-ups.

    Whilst I have had the Realistic the longest I have used the Consonance the longest.

    I have gone from cheap solid state integrated, to a receiver, to separates (2 x power amps), to tube separates and now back to integrated solid state - but it is class A.

    The only thing I am currently tempted by is the Mola Mola Makua preamp - mainly because I was seriously considering the Tambaqui DAC and this gives me the DAC and a great phono stage all integrated in a fantastic pre-amp. Good thing I can't afford it at the moment.
     
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  8. addicted2

    addicted2 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    north east USA
    Onkyo 8211(?) stereo receiver
    Onkyo HT reciever(low end but dont recall the model)
    Denon 1913 HTreceiver
    Denon 2135 HT reciever

    NAD 216THX (beastly tank but did not like the dark sound)
    Rotel 980RBX...crisp and clear with nice oomf but bested by...
    Belles A250 (nice heft and sooo damn smooth with some fine detail retrieval)
    Perreaux PMF3150( leagues ahead of all the rest i've had so far)
     
    timind likes this.
  9. dwm67

    dwm67 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alberta, Canada
    Misc Sony ES receivers … 1991 to 1994
    Nakamichi PA5II … 1995 to 2008
    Levinson 33H / 433 … 2009 to present
    Proceed Amp 5 … 2018 to present (theatre)
     
  10. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    W4S is coming out with a new GaNFET amp. Reports of other applications of the GaNFET modules are quite favorable as another step forward in class D technology.
    FYI very nicely done history. I bet the ANs sound great. I may build an ANK one day.
     
  11. TEA FOR ONE

    TEA FOR ONE Listening to the world one note at a time

    Location:
    Rochester,NY
    Pioneer SX 580
    Aiwa AX 7800
    Fast fwd about 30 years.....
    Proton 930 ( currently in my garage system,used as a preamp.)
    Kenwood KM 106 (currently in use in my garage
    Adcom GFA 555 II
    Monarchy Audio SM70mkII (x2,run in mono) I still have these.
    First Watt F5. ( currently in use)
    10 wpc tube amp ( no brand name,purchased from the builder.) I still have this,and it is set up in a 3rd system.
    First Watt J2. Also currently in use.

    Obviously,I have a hard time getting rid of audio equipment!
     
  12. SteveFord

    SteveFord Forum Resident

    Location:
    Shnecksville PA
    I just remembered, modified Hafler something or other.
    XL-280?
    It reminds me of the Adcom I picked up or that old H-K Citation, same basic sonic signature.
     
  13. Oddiofyl

    Oddiofyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Sansui AU9900 integrated

    APT 1

    A number of Carver, M200 , M400 , M500, M 1.0 , M 1.5

    B&K ST 140. ST 2140 , pair of M200 Sonata Monos

    VTL. 50/50

    Anthem Amp 1

    Sonic Frontiers SFS 40

    McIntosh 7100

    McCormack DNA 125

    Quicksilver Mid Monos (current$

    ON ORDER:

    ToolShed Amps 300b.
     
  14. John Moschella

    John Moschella Senior Member

    Location:
    Christiansburg, VA
    Me too, so I found a dealer and was all set to buy one. However, the guy essentially talked me out of it and sent me home with the Carver and a big-ass NAD. I bought the NAD.
     
  15. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    I recently sold three pieces of gear thinking I was downsizing and somehow ended up buying three more amps within a month for my two systems: Sugden A21SE, Luxman MQ-88uC, and Leben CS-300xs. Apparently I'm becoming an amp collector :yikes:
     
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  16. J Luc

    J Luc Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I have had 10 amps in my main system over 40+ years but have finally settled on one that I have been using since 2002:

    1) Philips receiver (AH7841 I think)
    2) Sansui A60 integrated (post heyday as it was a big box purchase but had cool VU lights)
    3) Toshiba receiver SA-850 (Universal Stereo - had a digital tuner)
    4) Yamaha integrated AX-700
    5) Parasound HCA-1000A
    6) Adcom 5802 (big, heavy, high powered beast)
    7) Pass Aleph 3 (changed mind set)
    8) Pass Aleph 5 (maybe a little more power)
    9) Pass Aleph 2 monoblocks (maybe a touch more power)
    10) Music Reference RM 200 (That's it! Or was it kids?)

    Either way, I am content now with my amp although could use a turntable upgrade....
     
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  17. MaxBuck

    MaxBuck Forum Resident

    Location:
    La Quinta, CA
    Sherwood S-7100A receiver

    Dynaco PAT-5 paired with SAE Mk IIIC

    Adcom GTP-450 paired with Adcom GFA-535

    Adcom GFP-750 paired with Adcom GFA-535

    Adcom GFP-750 paired with NAD C298
     
  18. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    It might be wise to stay one technology behind in terms of saving a bucket of cash. The mAmps I got were $649 each last Black Sunday sale or whatever it is called in the US.

    If they have a new class D chip coming they may again put the amps on sale for a low price. I am quite happy I took Constantine's advice and went with Wyred4Sound over Parasound. I was looking at buying a dealer demo JC1. But preamps matter and I really was impressed with the Audio Note M1 phono and mAmps. That combo for the money (especially with the mAmps on sale) is quite something.
     
  19. Melody50

    Melody50 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Thailand
    20 Years of amplifier

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2021
  20. pathguy

    pathguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Liverpool, NY
    I possibly had a similar Sanyo boom box LOL!

    First "real" receiver: Technics SA-151. That served me well throughout high school and died during college, which led me to another technics receiver; the model number eludes me (though I believe my buddy still has his to this day and uses it).

    During residency, I bought an Outlaw Audio RR2150. Used that and then came across a vintage Pioneer SX-780, which I enjoyed until I moved to our current neighborhood and discovered that my neighbor was a hi-fi geek and was into tubes. Then the real trouble began!

    Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II integrated.....then an Ars-Sonum Filarmonia integrated....then upgraded to the more powerful Ars-Sonum Gran Filarmonia integrated.....to today, which is a pair of Joule-Electra VZN-100 OTL monoblocks and a Joule-Electra LA-300ME preamp. I actually have *the* pair of amps that was used in past audio shows to demo the Merlin Music Systems VSM loudspeakers (which I also own).

    The biggest jump early on in sound quality for me was from the Rogue to the Filarmonia...and the Gran provided even more enjoyment. Provided I can put up with the heat that the VZN's put out (this summer was a little rough!), I hope to hold onto these as they sound beautiful and pair really well with my loudspeakers.
     
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  21. Tajo1960

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

    Location:
    EU [Croatia]
    First some Grundig AllInOne + classic tape recorder
    Then follow:
    Technics SU-Z22 (1981)
    Sansui
    Yamaha
    Arcam Delta 290 + 290 P (from 1995/6 ~ 2010, bi-amping, extraordinarily good sound)
    Fase (lent to me by a friend)
    Yamaha (again, short time)
    Rotel RA-1570 + RB-1552mkII (from 2015 ~ 2018, bi-amping, very very good)
    Vincent SV-237MK (from 2018 -> = extraordinarily good sound, brilliant)
     
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  22. motorstereo

    motorstereo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ct.
    The reason I've forgotten a lot of my gear history is because of this great little shop that was just a few blocks from my home. About 20 years ago when everyone was selling their silver gear for pennies on the dollar to "upgrade" to ht old school dinosaurs like myself had this clubhouse. Those were fun times hanging out with like minded dinosaurs before everyone had internet pricing at their fingertips. There was Mcintosh, Sansui, Pioneer a variety of quality turntables, gold face Scott and Fisher tube gear etc. all that could be bought in there without the home equity loan money that's required today. Ahhh the good old days......gone but not forgotten. I had a thing for meters back then and here's a shot of a few metered amps I lugged home.
    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
  23. B. Scarpia

    B. Scarpia WatchingYouWatchingMe

    Location:
    WNC
    Actually, I do ;-)

    Olson Integrated
    Scott 299C
    Fisher 201
    Dynaco SCA-40 kit with the very important last step of affixing the label: "Warning, No user serviceable parts inside".
    Bedini 25/25
    Muse 100
    Paramours
    Audio Note Kit One
    DiyHiFiSupply kit Ella
    Melody 300B
    KR Audio 340A
    KR Audio Kronzilla
    Red Rocks Renaissance 211
    Tubelab Simple SE
    John Tucker/Doc Bottlehead/Steve Brown circuit Simple 45 (waddaya know? I learned to read a schematic)
    Mullard 5-20 circuit updated by an all star cast at Diyaudio.com to 4-60 mono blocks
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2021
    WHitese and timind like this.
  24. Jimbo1960

    Jimbo1960 Forum Resident

    Pioneer Integrated
    Halfer XL280
    Pass Labs Aleph 5
    Emotiva XPA-2
    ATI 2000
     
  25. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    I know I've shown this a million times on here, but being 18'ish and having a kickass Marantz component system was the cats meow. Ripped some awesome LPs to Cassette. Then I got a Yamaha CD player, it was all over for LPs for me. Cassettes soon followed.

    After that I moved on to the Surround Sound world with a nice Pioneer receiver. (no pic)

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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