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

Amber Series 70s when bridged. I have 5.  Great sounding amps 

I own a pair of Classe DR-9 amplifiers, bullet proof and still kicking hard.They are 30 years old.

 jd157, you may be pleasantly surprised. The Krell SA-250 sounded great on a pair of A1s years ago. The Levinsons should too.

There's really nothing new in the amplifier word only better parts. An upgraded amp from years ago will probably sound as good as most new stuff and sometimes even better.

Currently using factory modded VTL Deluxe 300's that last tested near 500 watts per side.  They won't win any beauty contests and keep my listening room nice and toasty, but make very nice music, especially after running for a couple of hours.

Cheers

McCormack. I have (had) a DNA-1 Deluxe that I bought in the mid-90s, but iirc his designs pre-date that. Awesome amp which I used for 20 years but it just broke. I could do the SMc Audio gold upgrade on it for $1800 and basically get a brand new amp, arguably as good as anything built up to about $5k. I'm going for something else (new Odyssey Khartago SE++) instead to save about $800, but I am going to miss the DNA.

Bryston,
Goof Balls

I had a Carver TFM-55 (iirc) that was great. I only sold it to get my McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe.

Don't forget McIntosh, Hafler, SAE, and Audio Research 

I still use a vintage Conrad Johnson preamp, Dalquist 20 speakers and Theta DAC.  The first two have been modified. The sound is still wonderful.

So many of the names mentioned above were great and are still great today. Many of those older models are a relative bargain for how good they still sound compared to a lot of today's stuff. One name we used to sell that never really got a big name was Bedini. We carried his amps at the same time as Perreaux, Hafler, Nak, Denon, Luxman and Krell. The Bedini amps sounded that absolute best! Unfortunately, John Bedini passed away a little while ago. He was a real pioneer in audio and alternative energy research.

I have a vintage audio research d120. It was recapped in 2008. I got it for a song from audiogon when I was building my very first system. 

Sound is great. Currently powering raidho c1.1 but used to be powering an assortment of dynaudios. This amp doesn't have a great rep but I've read that was mostly because of a bias towards arc tube amps - pun intended, I suppose​.

I swapped an ayon spirit 3 into my system and while it was nice (very nice at that!)...for my preferences the arc was better. That's a testament to how they built this monster. It is a bit of a pain not having an on/off switch and needing to plug it into to the wall to turn it on and vice versa for off.

Klaus over at Odyssey is building me a completely maxed out kismet in a stratos case. I expect it to be a worthy upgrade over this wonderful amp - frankly, from what I can gather, the amp is much older than me!!

My 2-channel setup consists of switching between three amps/receivers. Two are 80's, one is 70's. All are Pioneer: M-72, SA-8800, SX-3800. I've been in a couple of amp blind tests and yes, I'm one of those who don't think there is any sonic difference (given the standard design spiel) between amps. But boy are those old amps much prettier than today's plain ugly boxes (except a few mega-buck ones).

Wow some of you are running 30 years old amps...I have Naim components from 2004 and it seems they are in need of a rebuilt according to many owners and sellers....Gee, they don’t tell you that in the sale pitch...They still sound good to me...Had Meridian 101/105 from the early 80 and these sounded great.

Have a Crown PL Three and SL Two silver face setup driving Tannoy LRM's and JBL 4311's. Don't know if there's a better looking power package (PL Four excluded) than this setup. Can't tell you the ease in which this amp drives my gear. Hasn't EVER given me an issue... put it all away for 10yrs but is now back in my main system. Also have a Nikko Alpha 220/Beta 20 stack that is almost equally impressive although not as handsome. That is now driving a set of ads L1230's in another room. I have had the Nikko equipment since new '82 playing almost every day and it has never required even a bulb. Guess my faves are my vintage Crown and Nikko amp/pre pairs. 

Still use a pair of Sumo Andromeda II A’s driving a pair of like vintage Acoustat 1100’s via a like vintage Audio Research LS 2B MKII. Every time I bring in something new to test drive against what I have the newbie gets smoked and sent back.   Have an even older Sansui TU-9900 tuner but thats been completely redone by Mike at Radio X and uses much newer Burr Brown chips.

It was nice because most tube amps sounded musical back then. Now more than half the tube amps sounds closer to solid state, at least in tonal balance. I wish Conrad Johnson had stuck closer to their musicality heritage, for example.

Who didn't like the look of McIntosh? I always loved the look! ;) The green glow.

I just sold my quad 63 and went back to Snell Type A... The originals, totally refurbished. Both are magnificent sounding speakers. They complete against expensive designs of today. It is amazing how little speakers have improved in almost fifty years ... once again, in terms of musicality.

True story. Back then I purchased a preamp from a woman who worked for a terrific high end store west of Madison WI. As we talked, she related to me that she was into high-end. She told me that her theta amp was the best she had ever heard. She also related that she kept it hidden from her husband and pulled it out whenever he went to work. Ultimately, she was discovered and her love for her amp, led to her divorce....

Phase Linear are still great amps and some still sound great in relation to modern amps. If they still work your all set but if not there are a few places on E-Bay that will get them back to Snuff I use Circle Stereo in Texas. You had the 400's 700 and 500 and the newer ones had a B designation and had  different meters  and they still sound as good as most new amps and maybe better after being rebuilt. I still have all of these and I can't get myself to part with them. And by the way Pink Floyd used too use the 700's stacked so that goes to show how good they were. Look up the most influential amps of all time and you'll see the 400 as right up  near the top. Bob Carver was the guy who got the ball rolling as far as high powered good sounding amps. I am 72 and have heard them all. Most important is the Pre amp as that will make the big difference and a lot of new ones have made great strides as far as better sound.

I bought a Bryston 3B new, in and around 1985. It still works flawlessly, and has seen a tough life at times, but not once did it ever go back for service/repairs. It has now been passed along to my son for his system. I never strayed from the Bryston line. Owned many of the 4B series and now have a pair of 28B SST2's. Perhaps I'm stuck in my ways, but I feel loyal to the brand that has worked out so well for me, and being a Canadian, I like to support home grown manufactures whenever possible.

Agree strongly with the Electron Kinetics Amps. All of the Eagle 2 series power amps are stable down to 2 ohms. They became the building platform for all of the mono amps that followed.
I managed to purchase a pair of 11 prime mono blocks recently and will never look back!
I purchased a 7a dual mono amp from John Iverson and later he upgraded it to a 7b (only 22 exist) which I still have.
Used to own Thresholds, Accuphase, and briefly Phase Linear. None compared to EKSC Eagle, especially with dynamic loudspeakers.
The BEL (Brown Electronic Labs) were peerless and remain so when driven as mono blocks for Electrostatic Loudspeakers, especially Dayton Wright's.

I still have the Krell KSA 250 that I spoke of above. I had it updated to a 250S, sold it bought a 700C, sold it and ended up with the 250 again after the owner died. I have been using it quite a bit although I have a pair of Citation IIs running in balanced mono, it still sounds great.
I also have a Yamaha CA 2010 that sounds super and a Mcintosh MA 6100, a Bryston 3B, Transcendence 400, Belles 1, a pair of Audionics and various other Yamaha receivers. There may be others.

Boulder amplifiers.
Still very much in love with the 500  and don't see any need to replace or update. Absolutely amazing to this day.
As for reliability I expect this will outlive me, easily (no, I'm not THAT old),  and still sound spectacular.More info here for those interested: http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/886boulder/index.html

Count me in as another Adcom affectionado.  My introduction into the world of separates started back in the late 70s, when I bought a Sansui QSD-1 four channel unit and started using separate amps for both the front and rear channels and a little later on, I added biamping to the mix and added a third amp.
My first set of dedicated amps were a matched set of three Heathkit 125w/ch amps which I built over the course of one, long summer.  The Heath amps lasted about six years and then one of the channels went out on me.  Looking around for a replacement, I wandered into a stereo store and picked up an Adcom 545 - only 100w/ch but i figured it would be OK for the subwooferes.
As soon as I hooked it up I was aware this little Adcom was way better than my more powerful Heaths.  So much better that I immediately started collecting Adcoms.  
My next Adcom was a 555 which I put into place as my front channel amp. By this time I was using Magnepan 1a speakers for both the front and rear and the 555 proved to be a wonderful partner.  A audio-sales friend of mine told me that if I thought the 555 matched well with Maggies, I should try the 5500.  So I did.
The MOSFET design by Nelson Pass turned out to be a match made in heaven with the Maggies.  It didn't take long for the second 5500 to come into my system.
25 years later, my three Adcoms still form the backbone of my system.  I still have the same pair of subwoofers but the Maggies have been upgraded to 1.7s, front and rear.  All along I have had a pair of McIntosh C-20 preamps, each placed just before the 5500s to provide final balance and volume control plus add that wonderful tube sound.  The tube preamps work so well with the MOSFET design, and the resulting sound that comes out of my Maggies makes every listening sesion "a little slice of heaven".  Hopefully, I will never have to change.
Now, I don't mean to suggest I haven't done anything to help these amps.  Both of the 5500s have been in for service a couple of times and about five years ago I took them in and had the caps upgraded. This summer they are going back in and I'll have the power supplies looked at.  But even if the power supply is upgraded my maintenance/upgrade cost over these 25+ years will average out to about $35 a year.  For that expense (after all these years) I get a fantastic soundstage, a warm, liquid sound, and a noise floor so low that as a song winds down and it gets to the few seconds between songs, you'd swear that nothing was even turned on.
On the other hand (except for a replacement off/on switch), the poor, little 555 has had absolutely no service performed on it since the day I bought it.  Since the 555 has more bass than the 5500s it has been powering my subwoofers whithout a flaw for 25+ years. 
Thank you Nelson Pass !!!

Reading one post they were known as flame throwers that is because of people pushing them too overload like a junky the more you turned them up the better they sounded until blow up time if kept under the o dB point no problem. I've got two 400's that have never been touched but the ones heavily used will need the electrolytes on the circuit boards as they  definitely need to be replaced to last another 30 years  Even with the rebuild they still would be a lot cheaper than some new ones

My vintage Mark Levinson ML-9 has been re-capped at the store where I bought it used several years ago, and my technician brought it back up to spec awhile back, and it sounds amazing!

You can see it in my system at the link below:

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5523

I have a Hafler DH 220 that I’ve been using since 1984, driving first Spica TC-50s and now Maggie MG-1.5 QRs with no hiccups.

I must be the only one here that likes Parasound. I have had a few with the HCA-1500A the best one so far. I have two I run in mono to drive Vandersteen 3A’s, which sound really nice. At $350 each, I think it’s not only reliable, but a great value! I’m pretty sure that most of the gear listed so far costs more. So I think it’s important to differentiate price point. I think John Curl is a top circuit designer. It’s too bad the amps don’t have a more distinctive "cool" look like some of the amps mentioned here.

I am the "Computer Audiophile on the Cheap" and have been considering a NAD 3020, that has been re-capped and tuned up for $269 (e-bay). Any opinions about that legendary 'entry-level' integrated that was such the rave back in the day? I have an h/k 330i and a Yamaha RX-350 recently updated by my technician, but everyone still speaks about the NAD with great reverence...it looks like there are a steady supply of them from that vendor.

Still running a cj pv-5!   1983 vintage I believe.   Blows away many current SS pre's and some modern tubes as well (and it comes with a pretty darn good phono stage)

Equipment I or my close friends have still in use .... Amber 70 amp (original condition), HK Citation 11 (original condition), Teac 7040 high speed two track tape deck (original condition), Teac 4070 consumer tape deck (just had minor servicing, first since I bought it in 1970), Audio Research SP6-B (in daily use from 1980 untill I sold it in 2007), Audio Research D90 (in daily use from 1980 until I sold it in 2007), Thiel 3.5 speakers (four, in use since 1989), Thiel 2 2's (two, in use since 1995), Audionics Bt-2 preamp and CC-2 power amp (I've owned six at one time or another in original condition, no problems with any an all sounded great although not with exceptionally low noise or transparency.  BTW, the CC-2 was THE FIRST low TIM amplifier).
Koss Pro 4aa headphones.  Heil AMT-1 speakers (with woofer suspension replacment).  Counterpoint SA-1000.

This is all gear that is up to modern standards and operating in substantially good systems.  Hope this helps.

Forgot to add .... whether or not the gear has been in frequent use is important to maintaining the condition of passive (and some other) parts. Perhaps as much or more as "brand".

Seriously, nobody's bringing up McIntosh ????

I just rebuilt a MC2300 for a friend (can't do what we did for $$$, only for friends). Compared it to our Aurion(tm) with nCores - now the MC2300 isn't a Constellation - but I was surprised how good the sound quality is. Those OPTs Mac held onto must have something to do with it. Stable as hell, very musical amp. Circuit design is as basic as you can get, but this amp has held up for almost 50 years! Who can say that now?

I’m the original owner of a beloved SAE 2200 amp bought in 1977 that is still in use. In 2001 I paid the original designer James Bongioro to completely upgrade it. Every capacitor got replaced with poly & premium electrolytics. He replaced all the semiconductors (diodes, transistors) except the matched input transistors which he said were working well and had no better modern alternatives. The output power protection circuit was removed. And the final upgrade was his addition of an op amp servo bias circuit board that was not present in the original SAE design. He used an Ampzilla servo bias circuit board. Boy did he boost the bias voltage over the original factory set level, too! The unit now runs about 50% hotter (and sweeter) than it did all those years before 2001.

Recently I’ve added an Ayre AX-5 Twenty amp for daily use. But I still have the SAE 2200 hooked up. I’ve auditioned many solid state mid-high amps over the years and until I heard the Ayre, none were more musical than my upgraded SAE. Certainly nothing within an order of magnitude above the $400 paid to James for the upgrade.

James Bongiorno, a "pioneer of audio", passed on in 2013, sad to say. http://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/death-of-jim-bongiorno

I've had several models of Sumo amps through here in the past 20 years, of them 3 Nine Class A's including the prototype. None of them needed recapping (per James Bongiorno who I befriended in '98) and all of them sounded great. We did mod the Nines to a newer opamp and IEC socket but I also had an Andromeda, a NOS Gold, and a NOS Power, the Power especially took my breath away. I still have the silver-faced rackmount Nine plus a Rowland Model 5, a ML no.336, and a Bedini 250/250 working perfectly now as when they left the factories. Only my Mac 2105, probably 70's, needed new power supply caps (oversized ones definitely gave me better bottom end). I also use a Nak 420 power amp in my studio from that era. There's also a Yamaha P2200, BGW 750D, QSC USA 400, an Audionics PZ3, and a hunkering Crest 4001 in the garage, all still work fine. The only other amp I had to replace caps in was a Harmon Kardon Q50A from 1964, rather older than these. Quicksilver caps were a huge upgrade but we also bypassed all the junk stages (tone, filters, blend) and the thing sounds awesome. Only a Merrill Veritas monoblock pair ( here for review, $12K) exceeded these but I didn't have the Levinson then which is my daily driver. I can't believe some people feel all amps sound alike (AES!) but then I hear cable differences too, so sue me. ABX is deeply flawed. Go with your ears...after a reference check multiple times. Blah, blah...

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

Speaking of Ampzilla and Mr. B, I owned a Son of Ampzilla in the 70's. I didn't like the lack of on-off switch, and called Mr. B about it. He just said fine and sent me an outboard switch to install myself. -Never used the switch but liked the amp a lot. I traded for a used Naim amp and pre just to get the mc phono card in the preamp. Before it was over, I had a Linn-Grace707- Supex 900 E plus super set up. Those were the days.
-Sorry, but this stuff brings back fond memories.

I have an Adcom 555 but it has't worked in years and is not worth the price to repair (over $500.00) but it was a fine amp in its day, tons of good clean power but a bit harsh at higher volumes. They powered Snell E3's in my system. The Snell's were definitely fine speaker but modern speakers image leave them for dead. Sold the Snells for a decent price about a year ago.

I am still listening to the Energy 22's I purchased in the early 80's when I was selling audio. I wish I still had the Denon PMA 950 pure class A integrated amp I had then. I don't know how reliable it would have been as it ran very hot.

I also agree with those who mentioned Bedini (25/25). A great sounding amp.

Still have and it still performs well and sounds sweet, a early to mid 80s Audible Illusions pre-amp. with phono section. One of my favorite small amps, affordable for my budget, was the PSE Studio II. At a modest 80w/140w - 8ohm/4ohm respectively, it did a nice job driving my ESL-63s. Also had early model Brystons and Krells.
Another piece of equipment that I had and liked allot was my Nakamichi ZX-9 Cassette Recorder/Player - now worth more than when I bought it new. After 15 years in storage, I got it out, cleaned and serviced it and all functions performed beautifully and still sounded great. 

A system I would loved to have had back in the late 80s and wouldn't mind having, even now, would be a set of Apogee Duetta II Sigs. driven by a pair of Mark Levinson 23s. I had a chance to audition that combination and fell in love.
Maybe still someday - if I ever have the extra bucks and room.

@captvideo


Energy 22 are a great speaker are got mine at Bloor Radio in Toronto. Still have ’em along with a Kenwood C1 and M2

Great thread, Erik.  Going back a bit earlier, I had a Luxman integrated amp that was SOTA.... I wish I still had that powerful piece around.  It was built like a tank.  

what a great thread!  If threshold is on the list, then I include Forte, either model 1 or 3.  My model three is still my amp  and recently had Jon S rebuild it.  I remember upgrading from my adcom 535 (still my backup), to the next level.  I unfairly compared the forte to threshold, levisnon, krell and AR with my monitor audio Mark IV gold.  Now my limited budget certainly contributed to my bias, but for me the only amps that bested it were AR and threshold - for me...

Still use a Mark Levinson 335 amp

Well, for me the 80's was a time when CERTAIN designers made some really memorable items. My system today still has major components from the 80's. Beginning with Conrad Johnsons premier 1 amp all the way thru to the MV55 were all great sounding pieces. Audio Research made the excellent SP-10 & SP-11 preamps. Love all the Thresholds especially the SA versions. Cary Audio made some very special 300b pieces and Jeff Rowland was very good too. I was not a fan of Krell, too analytical sounding and not musical for my taste. Every era made good stuff, I'm listing to my vinyl now on an Unmodified 1957 Marantz 7 thru a CJ Premier Four thru Martin Logan Request Electrostats and the music is so pure, detailed, and musical with a dreamy super large soundstage. I paid $4500 for the Marantz 7 about 2 years ago and it is one of the best preamps I have every had the pleasure of owning and listening to. Don't discount older stuff, they still sound AMAZING!!!  Forget about specs, let your ears be the judge. 

having my old Adcom 555, redone at VanL speaker works to use in my office.   always will have a softsopt in my heart for that amp. 

Recently, my Precision Fidelity M7-A returned from the dead and immediately reconvinced me why I bought it in the first place-it just sings. Got it paired up with a pair of Silverline Audio SR11s', being pushed by an AR SP14 and a California Audio Labs Icon MK II. Detail beyond the boundaries of the speakers abound. It replaces a VERY high end amp that is most reputable, that doesn't sound near as good to my ears. It does all of the things I value very well.McIntosh? One of the best sounding systems I have ever owned was a C 28 pre, and a 2300 amp running into a set of homebuilt speakers. Had it all set up with a real time analyzer, and it was incredible sounding and dead solid reliable. Had it all installed in the wall of my mobile home set in the middle of 22 acres. I had no noise complaints....and a whole lot of fun, 1973 to 1983.

Shop I worked at in college sold a lot of Adcom triple nickels.  Of course, I couldn't afford that and beer money, even at cost!  The big Adcom (and later the 565) reliably drove the Thiel 3.5's in one of the shop's large, treated listening rooms, and I spent many days hoping one day to have a system as fine as that. Good people and sweet memories.  

Might be well known, but when asked what 'GFA' signified, reportedly the Adcom guys said it was short for 'Great F____ Amp'.  Certainly has earned its place in audio lore.

Cheers