Tandberg made the best looking amps in this era to me. They also were one of the few amps that could drive the Snell A series to justice in the bottom end. But listening recently, man, they really did sound grainy and nothing like your average modern amplifier.
Amps from the 1980's -- What gear holds up sonically? Reliably?
Hi Everyone,
For me, the 1980s were a real "golden age" of amplifiers. Dr. Leach’s paper on building a low TIM amplifier had been widely distributed and relied on by budding designers, and lots of boutique brands came. It was also the era of the biggest of the Conrad Johsnon tube amps as well and the invention of the MOSFET.
For me, brands I cared about:
I’m curious who is still listening to these vintage pieces, and which brands you think have stood up both in terms of reliability and / or sonics ?
For me, the 1980s were a real "golden age" of amplifiers. Dr. Leach’s paper on building a low TIM amplifier had been widely distributed and relied on by budding designers, and lots of boutique brands came. It was also the era of the biggest of the Conrad Johsnon tube amps as well and the invention of the MOSFET.
For me, brands I cared about:
- Threshold
- Sumo
- Perreaux (New Zealand, very pretty)
- Tandberg
- Hitachi
- Kyocera
- Nikko
- Krell (of course)
- CJ
- ARC
- Yamaha (professional)
- Carver
- Mark Levinson
- Amber
- Tandberg
I’m curious who is still listening to these vintage pieces, and which brands you think have stood up both in terms of reliability and / or sonics ?
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- 165 posts total
- 165 posts total