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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:

  • Threshold
  • Sumo
  • Perreaux (New Zealand, very pretty)
  • Tandberg
  • Hitachi
  • Kyocera
  • Nikko
  • Krell (of course)
  • CJ
  • ARC
  • Yamaha (professional)
  • Carver
  • Mark Levinson
  • Amber 
  • Tandberg
This was also the speaker era of Snell and Apogee and Martin Logan. I am not sure there would be a Krell today if it wasn't for Apogee's 1 ohm speakers.

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 ?
erik_squires
lou_setriodes's avatar
lou_setriodes
673 posts
 
I'm sorry, what does HEA stand for?

IMHO, I have found the class D or Chip Amps all are missing something.  To me, they all sound a little dry and all need a tube preamp to compliment them.  They are quite musical though :)  
mrdecibel
2,904 posts
 
HEA=High End Audio. I have had so much gear in my lifetime. What is interesting was / is the transition of the " hard wired " power cords on most of this vintage equipment, to the now widely use of IEC inlets. One of the many tweaks I did on all older components, of all kinds, was to change the factory cords out to heavier gauge cords I purchased from wire supply houses. In every case, on every piece of gear, the improvement in sq was quite noticeable and enjoyable. Now, power cords are actually no longer accessories, but components......But, I digress, not to get off of Eric's thread...…..Enjoy ! MrD.
mrdecibel
2,904 posts
 
SQ=Sound Quality
erik_squires OP
15,709 posts
 
I'm listening to a set up which is essentially a Mytek Brooklyn and two ICEpower modules.

It really is quite musical and warm, but there's zero of the tube juiciness, so I can definitely see how that can help.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Kind of like comparing oranges, a good one can taste fine until you have a great one, tasty and juicy, one just picked off the tree. 
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