Amps from the 1980's -- What gear holds up sonically? Reliably?

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.

Hey Runnin,

I definitely don't mean to say that everything from the 1980's was worth memorializing in a museum, but I was not really thinking of overseas mass-market products.

Best,


E

Hi 213!

For many of us who have been in the hobby for a long time these threads are ways of us sharing our experiences over time and connecting with other long-time hobbyists. A trip down memory lane if you will. This is also a good way to talk trends/fads and look at the winding road Hi-Fi has been on.

At the same time, all of my audio gear is less than 4 years old. :)



Best,


E

Well, this is interesting, I don’t know which is right, but this article claims the first series of the Nak amps were better?

http://www.tonepublications.com/old-school/nakamichi-pa-7-amplifier/

Per other threads, the original PA-7 was pure class A and 150W/ch instead of 225W/ch


Best,

E

@reubent Right??? I wish I had the space and cash right now.

Hey @lloydc the 80's were also very active for tube amps. Is there gear from then you find holds up well?

Best,


E

Just wanted to point out that Parts Connexion has a number of Nakamichi Stasis (Pass designed) amps on sale right now. If I wasn't strapped for cash and space I'd jump on them just for looks. :)

Best,

E

Thanks to all of the contributors so far, this has turned out to be a great thread. I appreciate hearing about all of the experiences and especially about gear I never heard or saw myself.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge that our pleasure, our hobby, our interest and the industry has been advanced by people like the late Dr. Marshall Leach Jr. as well as others who researched, studied and shared their work with a needy/greedy audience.

Dr. Leach’s paper in 1976 was, I believe, a turning point and fuse lighter for the solid state amplifier market. Our hobby and expectations and the quality of products we can afford to buy would most likely be something entirely different without that paper and without his work. Certainly, many manufacturers took advantage of his proposal almost verbatim. If you understood his paper, you can read almost any amplifier schematic for the next 20 years before Class D amps came to the fore and identify each section in it.

His paper was at the same time a recipe and a challenge. It said "Here is how you make a good amplifier" and at the same time "See if you can make something even better." Engineers no longer had to hunt in the dark and search for the secrets to good solid state amps. All the parts and their use were laid out before them, while at the same time opportunities to improve upon and leave their own marks upon the discipline also opened up.

I should also point out that designers like Nelson Pass have long taken a different approach, and looked to simplify as opposed to enhance or perfect. And we are grateful for that approach as well! But when Nelson looks to simplify or others to re-think components they are constantly challenged by the Leach legacy. We can’t just remove sections, or alter feed back circuits. We must do so AND get sound as good if not better by doing so. Dr. Leach left a clear foil and challenge for others to take up, and improve upon. This is how progress gets done. We can say "Oh, amp X is nothing like the Leach paper..." but it is impossible to say these amps were not informed and challenged by it.

I should point out and thank Nelson Pass as he is quite active in the DIY community, sharing his thoughts, and tinkering "out loud" for the benefit of this community.

So, to people like Nelson pass as well as the late Dr. Leach, and the universities which create environments so students can learn from people like him, I would like to offer a heart-felt thank you. They enabled the industry, the hobby and ultimately the music.

Best,

E

Hahaha, well in case anyone was hoping the drama would start in this thread, I guess it will be me. :)

In the 1980’s the CJ had me body and soul compared to ARC.

However in the 21st century, I’d rather have ARC.  This is partly because my tastes have gone away from euphonic and partly because ARC has gone more towards it.

Best,


E

The thing about Sumo's consistently is they sounded deep. Side by side with a Hafler, the Hafler's of that era would sound weak and thin and compressed.

Though for mid-range and treble transparency and quietness, I wouldn't trade my modern amps for them anymore.

Best,

E

Good find, @nordicnorm

Among the most beautiful power amplifiers ever made.

E

So to all of us who are putting out amps from the 1980's we like...

care to make comparisons to current products?

Like the Nakamichi/Threshold / Pass crowd. How do those amps stand up today??

A brand I also liked, but I may be breaking my own rules, was Sonic Frontiers. I think they were 1990s?

I saw a lot of Electron Kinetics but never really listened.

I’m going to get murdered in my sleep, but I have never liked the look of McIntosh gear, so I rarely if ever listen. :) It makes me shiver and think of fake wood paneling.

I have to say I did NOT like ARC in this era. I like them a lot more now. You don’t have to agree with me, but I think most of us would agree they are two different beasts.

Also, I haven't listened to CJ seriously in ages. The ART pre and everything after I never listened to.

Best,

E

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.