I remember Crown from the old days too. Really well built, meant more for pro use than audiophiles. My recollection was that the company had a religious missionary "mission" and that's why they built tape recorders (don't ask me why, my recollection is sketchy). I rarely saw the tape machines- when I went to studios in those days, MCI was growing in popularity and it wasn't till later that I got to see Studers and all the uber stuff (Yeah, the one Revox was also branded as a Studer, but).
The amps- I seem to remember liking the SQ of the 150 better than the 300a, but it has been so long. This was around the time I had one of the original Phase Linear 700s- the first model, not the one that looked more like a pinball machine (I remember that the original was thereafter denoted the "A."). It blew up (as those things did), I had the factory fix it- no biggie, and sold it. As I recall, the 400 was a much better sounding amp than the 700. Or maybe I just have a thing for smaller amps. Dunno. Went to tubes by around '73.
I'm surprised Crown/Harman still supports the old gear, but if they do, that's great.
The amps- I seem to remember liking the SQ of the 150 better than the 300a, but it has been so long. This was around the time I had one of the original Phase Linear 700s- the first model, not the one that looked more like a pinball machine (I remember that the original was thereafter denoted the "A."). It blew up (as those things did), I had the factory fix it- no biggie, and sold it. As I recall, the 400 was a much better sounding amp than the 700. Or maybe I just have a thing for smaller amps. Dunno. Went to tubes by around '73.
I'm surprised Crown/Harman still supports the old gear, but if they do, that's great.