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

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.

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. 

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.

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).

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!!

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

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

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

Bryston,
Goof Balls

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.

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

 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.

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

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

Electron Kinetics Eagle 7a still powers my low end after 20 years. -No urge to upgrade yet, cause I can't lift the beast, and the grip on the woofers is profound.

I too am amazed a Phase Linear is still working, known as Flame Linears even when new. I had a 700B and it blew up on a regular basis. 

What I haven't seen mentioned is that all of these amps had large electrolytic caps in their power supplies and it is indisputable that these caps have a limited lifetime. It is debatable how long that is but 30 years is definitely over the limit. These amps will be transformed if they are re-capped.

i had a haffier that i soldered together and then only one channel worked, but you could send it to the factory to get it working right. this was my first venture into separates. i also had a perreaux that sounded nice.

I really enjoyed the classe Dr9, super smooth sound.  Also , the Nad 2200PE. The Nad was the first amp I ever had, I really enjoyed it. Obviously there's better out there, including the classe is much better, that being said I really loved the Slam and bright detail of the Nad.

I'm also using a Carver TFM-35, and Audio Research SP9....

I'm not someone who buys really high end, but still using a Carver TFM-35 as my main amp.  It's been passed back and forth between myself and my best friend who was the original owner.  Just sold off the Infiniti Kappa 8's that it drove for many of the 30 years.  It's still running original caps and hasn't been touched, including the lights in the meters that are still working, other than replacing a speaker terminal that was broken in a move.

Good find, @nordicnorm

Among the most beautiful power amplifiers ever made.

E

Yamaha MX10000
1,200 W @ 1 Ω (class A)

Spectral electronics were built to a different technical standard than most and featured a particular sound that was, and  is still largely is distinct. The sound of the Spectral amps of that era compare favorably to that of modern high speed amps, and if not abused, can be recommendable.

I have an EKSC (Electron Kinetics) driving Hales Transcendence 5's.  Two brands mentioned here, a nice combo!  Although I'd love me some Transcendence 8's.

I did have an original Electro Research A75, pure class A.  Sweet.

I still have the Advent model 300 receiver that I use in a second sytem with small Boston Acoustic speakers. It’s well over 40 years old and never a problem! I also have the Advent model 400 table radio circa 1980 and that still works fine!

Still using a phase linear 400 series 2 in one of my systems. Cant believe it still works!

" New Coke,Classic or Diet ?   ;) "

If you go for new or classic, you won't need the diet.

Ever noticed how many coke users die in their 40 and 50's ?

From a reliability perspective, I've only lost a single 4 amp fuse (out or four) in my Adcom GFA amp and I've owned it since 1987 and it has been brutally abused. On the preamp, the pots/switches are getting a little noisy but the system still sounds great.

Jerry, by the time I got to L.A. in '79, the town was awash in coke. It was passed around at parties like joints were in the 60's. I didn't see what the big deal was until one night when I finally got enough of it all at once. I liked it a little too much, and never touched the stuff again. I can see how and why people get hooked on the stuff.

Cocaine is/was God's way of telling you that you made too much money, or thought you did...;)

Anyway, one shouldn't partake in anything your spirit can't kill.  Speed still kills, and opioids, alcohol, herbage and anything else should still be approached with a clear recognition of the baggage you're lifting.

That being said and ignored *L*, I still bought and enjoyed my various audio toys.  At least, the ones I remember...*smirk*

Anyway, y'all...please carry on.  Memory Lane is the only path one can traverse without all the chuckholes and speedbumps of Reality...;)

Threshold,Accuphase are the ones I owned and remember the most.

I kept a Accuphase p300 for many years and only recently sold it in the last 5 to 6 yrs.

I still can't believe a Amp that was that complex sounded as good as they do,system dependent Offcourse.

Kenny.

Two systems, as I think back over my audio salon haunting days, that I still remember as blowing everything else away: Audio Research D-79b/SP-6b on Martin Logan electrostatics and Levinson ML-2/ML-1 on Magnapan Tympany IV. I don't remember the sources, but they were both turntables.

The Levinson was the most impressive. I couldn't afford them back then. I've actually thought of buying a pair now, but they are 40 years old, and the last vintage amp I bought (British Fidelity A-1) played for an hour before crapping out. (I managed to bring it back to life by shotgunning all the caps.) Plus they won't power my Sound Labs speakers.

Aragon, B&K, and NAD 3020.   Owned all 3.  B&K ST140 was my first. 

As seen by the comments and OP, a long list of candidates.

I'm a little surprised by the omission of NAD.  I still use a 3020 to power the speakers with my flat screen TV.  I also still have a pair of Eagle/EKSC 400 monoblocs although I don't need them.  I believe they remain one of the best amps for speakers requiring high current so they are particularly good as subwoofer amps.  

In general I'll agree it was a golden era for decent products at affordable prices.

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??

I also think the Onkyo Integra (M-504, M-506RS etc.) and Mitsubishi DA-Series amplifiers sounded quite respectable.

Pass labs stuff the big class A amps were great. Luxman the class A stuff the L560 I have recently had in my system and it was wonderful. Acuphase was mentioned as well. Classe dr stuff was good too 

What got me interested in many of the amps mentioned above, was GAS (Great American Sound) of the mid to late seventies. It was their Ampzilla that moved me from Sansui over to the higher end, where I would later discover Threshold and Mark Levinson. I could not afford either of these brands and wound up with that Carver cube. I paired that with a Counterpoint preamp (SA-?) and SOTA distributed Audioplan Kontrapunkt mini monitors. That really put me on the merry-go-round.
Kenny

sfall said..."Not if you had a coke problem."

New Coke,Classic or Diet ?   ;)

   

A couple of 80's speakers I had Clarke System and JSE both were very good.

Erik,

You're not the only one who's going to get murdered in your sleep, as I have yet to find a McIntosh component that I liked the sound of.  And I find them hideously ugly.  

My intro into audio was as a young college student in the early 90's.  I liked electronics but the only thing I could afford were things at the local Pawn Shop.  I came home one day with an 80's vintage Sony amp that I found curiously had the letters "ES" printed on one corner.  I didn't know at the time exactly what that meant, but it sounded much better than anything else I had heard.

And the rest is history...

Michael

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

A +1 for Electron Kinetics, and let's not forget McIntosh.