Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.
12-18-05
Hmmm, main rig: onkyo tsx-727 or something like that rotel r ... Eragot
12-19-05
1974 sherwoood fm only 8900 receiver 1979 crown 1 preamp wit ... Prs123
12-20-05
Kenwood receiver, kenwood a/v receiver, [always 2-channel ho ... timothywas1@
12-20-05
1970's marantz receiver sony ht monstrosity sony es separate ... Braro
01-02-06
Updated yet again: 1980 - akai something-or-other 1984 - na ... Gliderguider
01-09-06
Spanning nearly 30 years... - pioneer receiver - hafler dh20 ... Mdconnelly
01-14-06
These are my personal amps, in order of purchase starting in ... Memeboy
02-01-06
Pioneer ('72) mcintosh (@'75) yamaha ('79) mcintosh (@'83)+ ... Sit
02-15-06
Pioneer sx-450 (receiver) 1978 hitachi (receiver) 1983 nec ... Bartinmi
02-18-06
Pioneer sx-525 lux l-480 luxman r-1120a luxman m4000 luxman ... Klinerm
02-26-06
Sae b&k symphonic line graff chapter audio next? Talk2me
03-05-06
Time for an upgrade on this thread; fisher receiver- not on ... Mitch2
03-16-06
-harman kardon citation 24 -adcom gfa 555 ii -muse model 100 ... Dpac996
03-18-06
Starting in 1977 to present:sansui 8080 receiversansui au-71 ... Robben
03-19-06
Time to update yet again: bryston b-60 c-j premiere 11a air ... Jond
03-28-06
Pioneer sx-450 (receiver) 1978 hitachi (receiver) 1983 nec ( ... Bartinmi
04-03-06
Very simple really: musical fidelity fx followed by pass ale ... Jabali_hunter
04-04-06: Apt_one
Hold on to your hats- lots of experience and insight to share. Have had many amps that I have owned, bought and sold.
Bias- I have owned and listened to many amps over the last 29 years. Do not listen to the mags, the reviews, the advertisements- you just have to go and listen. Very well designed tube amplifiers (and there are only a few manuafacturers out there that do it right) just convey a more enjoyable listening experience. Solid state amps can provide clean sound with great bass and dynamics. What they cannot provide is a solid, full sounding mid-range that has real texture and depth to it. They sound electronic!
Now for the amps I have owned.
I will asterik the ones that are definite keepers!
Kenwood KA-701 Integrated
Hafler 200
Apt One
Denon PMA 500 and PMA 700
Quicksilver KT88 - three sets of amps
NAD 2600
Quicksilver M-60
Berning EA-230 * great for mini-monitors
Berning EA-2101
Bryston 3B NRB
Bryston 4B NRB
YBA 3 DT - Two diff amps- one Alpha and one Delta
Berning EA-2100 Two amps *
YBA Integre - Two Different Alpha versions *
Linn Klout
Bel Canto Orfeo SE2 845 SET Mono Amps *
Music Reference RM-9 MK1 Two Amps *
Keepers:
The Berning EA-230 is great for mini monitors- natural timbre, soundstage and sense of air around instruments. It cannot provide adequate bass for full size speakers though.
The Berning EA-2100 - same as EA-230 but with more power, like the Ea-230- hybrid design by a designer who knows his stuff.
YBA Integre- Alpha, Delta, Sigma- they all sound the same- best buy for sweet grainless solid state- but do not have the texture and body of tubes.
Bel Canto Orfeos - 30 watts of SET power- think of a 300B amp with gusto- not good with speakers with over done crossovers- with others- pure sound delight.
Music Reference RM-9 - a ballsy, natural sounding tube amp that gets voices right and whose dynamics give you the feeling of live music.
If I had to keep only one of these amps- regardless of power and based on sound and build quality, reliability, flexibilty - I would pick the Music Reference RM-9. It can drive anything, easy to care for and built to last. Above all- it makes you forget about all this silly amp hype and you just get into the music.
Hope my two cents help someone else out there.
Apt_one (Answers | This Thread)
04-07-06
1975: sansui 771 reciever (a fantastic piece) 1980: sansui i ... Mitch4t
04-14-06
Started with akai, then cosmic and then pulz (both indian ma ... Rajupatel
04-25-06
Started with jadis, now ends with cayin. had to move on to t ... Bartokfan
04-25-06
Back to tubes again, should have never left! will this ever ... 1markr
04-25-06
I never understood why anyone would even consider buying ss ... Bartokfan
04-26-06
Update started back when i was in jr. high: dewald integrate ... Hammergjh
04-27-06
for me i started: adcom gfa-565 monoblocks rotel rb-990bx t ... Jeffnc
04-27-06
Let's see if i can remember. . . 1. hafler (built as a ki ... Larryi
04-29-06
Started with a hafler dh500, then progressed to a kinergetic ... Paullindemann
05-12-06
Let's see... my mom bought me a sylvania receiver then i bou ... Anacrusis
05-12-06
-audio research d240 -muse 160 -bryston 7b-st -krell ksa 250 ... Audiofowl
05-13-06
From old to new sony receiver nad 40 watt carver m400? carv ... Ecruz
05-16-06
I have a bedini 25/25 to go!! Robyatt
05-16-06
Main amp is noe aragon 4004 mkii but i am years behind most ... Chadnliz
06-06-06
1. kenwood receiver (100 wpc, baby cakes) 2. opera audio con ... Rockadanny
06-06-06
Pretty impressive lists. anyone know which member has one of ... Bartokfan
06-20-06
Update to my system last month.... still loving the eico hf8 ... teleguy11@
06-22-06
My 20-year list is somewhat long with a (currently) happy en ... Stereopup
06-23-06
Pioneer receiver onkyo integra receiver sony ta-n9000es r ... Ksroy
06-26-06
Here we go: bryston 3b nrb white audio labs a250 white audi ... Fsarc
07-31-06
Radio shack something (late 60s) kenwood ka7002 int amp (ear ... Arkprof
08-01-06
Berning 2100 melos 220 gold purist audio 300b wolcott presen ... Daytrader
08-06-06
Dynaco, quad, cj/krell, spectral Psacanli
08-08-06
Two years ago... 1. sansui 7070 (ss) 2. sophia baby set (tu ... Angaria
08-09-06
Started with; sansui model 400 receiver sansui au222/tu555 s ... Geraldm121
08-12-06
Started solid, ending in tubes i guess.. sherwood integrate ... Retrodan
08-12-06
Well this goes way back, first was a eltravoice receiver bac ... Stltrains
08-18-06
Yamaha integrated years ago. can't remember model number bu ... Sgbmpt
08-18-06
I sold the big ayre earlier this year & wound up with a bat ... Driver
08-19-06
Marantz 1060 integrated amp, b & o integrated amp, krell fpb ... Porterspeer
08-22-06
Craig all in one unit (high school graduation gift) marantz ... Mig007
08-29-06
Pioneer integrated av amp amc pre and power amp audio resear ... Tigerclose
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