Anybody used Nikko amps before?

For the gear available in the 1980s, it was far better than most mass produced Japanese equipment.

I believe they were sold under the Radio Shack brand too for a while.

Really liked their integrateds a lot.

Hi There,

I recently acquired a Nikko Alpha III without knowing exactly what I was getting, but I figured it was worth exploring - I guess I was right! 

Without meaning to hijack this thread, can anyone tell me, on the back are two sets of inputs, one is "Normal" and the other is "Direct."  What is the difference between these two? Are they line level vs. phono or something like that?

Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know where to get these old Nikko products repaired? I have the classic Alpha 450 amp start up clipping.

I have a Nikko 450 that a buddy gave me. I never hooked it up to the beta pre-amp because it just looked "cheap"...I took the shorting pin out of the back of my sony 909 strgx and used it as a source and pre amp into the nikko. I had hooked it up with 4 rf klipsch 82's and one m&K 2500 dual 12 inch drivers with on board 500 watt amp. This amp can put out very serious power with very low noise and distorsion ....music and bass was very clean and tight! However I discovered that it had loosend the srcrews in a couple of power receptacles in the basement causing them to "arc" and eventually cause power outage in those receptacles. The nuances from my speakers were nothing short of "AWESOME ".. very low slew rate on the nikko 450 at  150 kept the dual 8 inch references in check at all times. I played alot of music at 3/4 volume with no distortion what so ever. It is definitely not a krell but sonically it performs pretry damn close. If you find one in good shape with new caps definitely buy it .overall it' a very good amp...just make sure it has good ventation on the top of it or it will burn your house down.

I was the first post to this thread in 2003. My nephew now has my Nikko Alpha VI arc welder and it's still chugging away. That's about 30 years so far! 

Thanks again teo, appreciated.

The output devices on the 220, 230, 440, 450, etc, are built out of long extinct unobtanium.

I’ve no idea what is inside the alpha 1.

Its the turn on surge when you hit the switch... as the feedback loop of the amplifier attempts to stabilize the amp at turn on, and this particular surge in the standard alpha design ...causes such a hard slam to the circuit, that it can pop the output stage and the driver stage, all the way up into the fet input chip (2x fet in a 7 pin sip, the 068 unit, iirc) and part of the feedback circuit. all these parts are old stock and sometimes hard to find. This channel popping problem is due to the small signal 'front end' capacitors being dried out and way off spec.

So an immediate small signal front end re-capping... is a ’immanent alarm bell flashing red light’ requirement, for any nikko amplifier.

Thank you teo_audio.  I have a great technician.  Are there any parts that would require replacement that are no longer available or are they all available and the recap a standard job on these amps?  Thanks in advance.

They are all good amplifiers, overall. They are also old by any reach of that word (audio amplifier dog years) and require a full on re-capping.

The biggest problem with them is they pop at turn on. Basically no sign there is anything getting close to being bad and ’pop!’ at turn on, and you’ve got a blown channel. The alpha 220 and 230 were famous for this. But then again, they can be forgiven as in most cases they have this happen when they are 20-25 years old.

Thus, a working alpha I is likely a decent sounding budget amplifier, at the right price, but add in the fact that they MUST be recapped and very very soon. No games there, it’s Russian roulette every time you hit the power switch. With the right kind of rebuild and refreshing effort... it can probably perform beyond most of the mid grade crowd.

The problem is that people tell themselves, ’I’ll just listen to music today and think about the required rebuild tomorrow’. then they go through a few months or weeks of slowly relaxing..and thinking everything is fine - they use the amplifier every day. "Nothing wrong here, hah, that dude on the internet, he was wrong, I beat the odds!"

But there are no odds here, there is only the 100% inevitability of what is to come.

So they relax their guard and forget the amplifier is a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode. and one day soon, boom!..thar she blows!

All they had to do is stop using it and get it recapped. And it would have then lasted another 20 years.

bgross, we’re living mirror lives! I, too, purchased the Nikko stack from Tech Hifi the same year. It was advertised in Tech Hifi’s beautiful color catalog as one of their high-end solutions. It took a while to trade up to the Nikko stack (Alpha 220, Beta 20, Gamma 20), but I got there. I began a couple years prior with a Marantz 2216b (still collectible). I demoed the Nikko stack several times in the high-end sound room -- almost always with Klipsch Cornwalls. I was hooked with one listen. The Cornwalls were too expensive and too huge to fit in my childhood bedroom, so I settled for their soul brothers -- Cerwin Vega’s (HED-3000, 3-way, w/12 " woofers and horn tweeters). Teenage heaven. Led Zeppelin, The Who, AC/DC, Van Halen could all crack plaster with that setup. I still have the Philips turntable. My poor parents.

I picked up a second Alpha 220 to bi-amp a set of Snell D’s for several years. Wow. Tight, deep bass and crystal clear vocals. The imaging was second-to-none.

Eventually I also picked up the Beta 40 and Gamma 40. I must say, the Beta 40 is audibly better than the Beta 20.

About 5 years ago I finally bought a set of 1984 Klipsch Cornwalls via eBay. One owner, oiled walnut finish & mint condition. I’m living the dream. Concert hall sound in my living room.

My system is basically 35 years old and I’ve never heard a better setup. The Nikko amps are amazing -- warm, clear and quick. Apparently, they are also built to last.

If I can find nice Alpha 440, I’d pick that up for a try, too.

New here... Hi!
Bought an Alpha 220, Beta 20, Gamma 20 stack at Tech HiFi in 1981 along with an SAE Parametric EQ, Thorens TT & Micro Acoustics 3002 MC cart. This gear has powered JBL 4311's (bought with the Nikko gear) Tannoy System 10's, and now a set ADS L1230's. My Nikko gear has NEVER faltered or needed service other than a contact cleaning for the tunnel power switch. To say the gear has been reliable and a tremendous value would be an understatement. Clean warm power, perfect set of features for a solid 2.0 system and a real quality feel. Buddies have newer NAD and Rotel separates and always say that my old gear sounds richer/better. Now that's all subjective and my modest setup is in a room with great acoustics and the Parametric EQ can really make your vintage gear sing, but honestly, I prefer my vintage Nikko electronics as well over any of their newer gear. If you have a chance to own Nikko separates, I strongly recommend the purchase. 35+ years and still working like the day I brought it all home. Just my opinion...

The original Alpha 'I' was one of the finest sounding amps ever built. 
I could live with a Nikko system. There separates were excellent, nothing mid-fI about them.

I bought a couple of early Nikko receivers, 301 and a 501, because they were cheap and I wanted to learn to work on electronics myself. I recapped both if them and they sound awesome. I think some folks rely on brand names to tell them what sounds good, but if you look at the components used in Nikko gear and maybe even listen to some of it, you will see that it is better than some of the popular brands back in the day. 

I worked at a Tech Hifi ~1978 where these were sold. Yes, they were one of the better sounding if not best Japanese lines back then. Don't know much about latter models.

Caveats:

- The good stuff is a good 30+ years old so I would question how good original units might work these days. Once refurbed or repaired, all bets are off....results could be good or bad in any case.

- these might do better than similar new gear at same price point or not. There is a chance, but hard to say. Results will vary.

- a bigger financial investment on newer gear researched properly to best fit your needs would likely deliver better results.

I used to sell them as well as Sansui, Pioneer etc etc.
IMO only Jap amp that could best Nikko were the Sony V-fets which were
SOOO musical it was hard to believe. Esp. the integrated !

I have a Nikko Alpha 2000 Amp. It is extremely rare. I think its sounds better than my Sansui Ba 5000 Amp. A Alpha 2000 just sold for over $2200 on e bay

Your experience is with one low end receiver. Nikko power amps are quite collectible, and when fully restored can hold their own very well against more modern amps.

My only experience with Nikko was with a receiver my cousin owned. One channel died after about 4 yrs of use. She asked me too look at it and told me unless it was something simple throw it out. Opened it up and from what I recall one IC power amp module on the heat sink had burned up. Great design- spare a fuse and let the amp self destruct.

It's no doubt in a land fill somewhere.

If I were looking for vintage 70's gear I would limit myself to Marantz

I own a Nikko Beta II pre-amp and Alpha II amp for a few years. A friend of mine gave it to me because her family was going to throw them away. I'm so glad she got rid of them by giving them to me!!!

I've been surfing the web in order to get info about these hi-fi pieces. There's not much info on the internet, unfortunately. So I'm glad to hear there are some people who still hold these gadgets.

IMO, both play music very nicely. I still can't believe this stuff wasn't too expensive at the time, regarding the quality of construction and performance they deliver. I play records through a Pro-Ject Debut III, and my speakers are Heybrook Optima C (I can't find any info about these anywhere). My listening room is an average one, with lots of absorbing furniture and a thick carpet.

Alpha II: I love it has Bass and Treble controls, because every listening room is different, so are the quality of records and CDs. There's a Tape knob which is now very useful - I can connect my iPhone or my iPad and listed to music in a very decent quality. There's another small knob for cartridges and a Subsonic Filter which I've been told is good to keep your speakers safe. The Volume knob is pretty huge and has steps, which is a little bit annoying since I can't control accurately the amount of volume I want at a certain time. However, there's a -20dBs button which attenuates the sound, so I can control the volume better, but it seems the sound quality goes south a little bit.

Beta II: I found out its a true double-mono power amp, which is great, since it makes sure each channel goes through its way and doesn't interfere with the other channel. I think this is the key point of this amp. The VU meters are awesome, and there are a knob to select speakers (it can run a A+B, which I don't know whether you can set 2 pairs of speakers or you can bi-amp a pair only - Can anybody help me with this?). There are a couple of buttons for the VU, which reacts to wattage depending on the load and handling capacity of the speakers (I'm not sure about it either). After a while of use, the amp gets very warm, but I don't think it affects performance. I guess this is because of the transistors, which I don't know if they are MOS-FET. I don't know if this is a Class A/B amp.

I find the sound quite appealing and non-fatiguing - I can spend hours and hours of musical enjoyment listening to vinyls. CDs also sound very nice. It can deliver massive power to the speakers and the sound is still warm and sweet. I lack the air surrounding the musicians that you can find when listening to a high-end system, though. I miss some bass, but trebles and mids sound really sweet and hefty. It's not very holographic, but the music sounds somehow true.

I've been experiencing a couple of problems: sometimes there comes an annoying high-pitched noise (hiss?) that disappears after a while.

It would be great if anybody can help me with my doubts. And I hope I've been of help.

I had a Nikko Alpha 650 when in college - Wow what an amp - Being a dump kid at the time - I blew blew something inside it while moving cables (yes while running). It then went to my parents house. I asked my dad what happened to it and he said he gave it away years ago... :(

Hopefully someone got it fixed up and is using it ..

I have been playing with some SS and have kept a Nikko Alpha 650 as it has a nice stage, is well balanced and has good dynamics. I do not feel it is a limitation in my system.
Like to see what will knock it out of the sand system.

>currently am using the Nikko 230 power amp, with an Adcom preamp. The amp is probably over 20 years old at least and I have never had a problem with it. I currently purchased a pair of Bose 201 and the sound quality is great. In the past I used the Nikko amp as the center piece of my surround sound, it would power my front speakers. My current configurations is such; nikko power amp that powers my two front speakers (bose), I have an Adcom surround sound processor from the 90's that decodes only dolby pro logic and it power my 2 surround speakers (PSB bookshelf)and my center channel (JBL). <

I hope you are only using this setup for the occasional movie. I can't imagine what it sounds like when trying to reproduce music.

Shakey

I currently am using the Nikko 230 power amp, with an Adcom preamp. The amp is probably over 20 years old at least and I have never had a problem with it. I currently purchased a pair of Bose 201 and the sound quality is great. In the past I used the Nikko amp as the center piece of my surround sound, it would power my front speakers. My current configurations is such; nikko power amp that powers my two front speakers (bose), I have an Adcom surround sound processor from the 90's that decodes only dolby pro logic and it power my 2 surround speakers (PSB bookshelf)and my center channel (JBL). I am looked to add a sub woofer in the near future. Hope this helps.

I recently picked up the Nikko Alpha II from Goodwill. It was unbelievably cheap (Of course people at Goodwill , but I wasn't sure it was working because it looked pretty beat up. I thought at least the chassis and Heatsink would be worth it.

What do you know.... it starts right up, and does not hiss / frickle / hum. Beautiful sounding gear indeed.

I may replace the power supply capacitors (just because it's old) and it'll be as new!

Does anybody have the service manual for the Nikko Alpha 450? Will the manual for the 440 work? If you have it please email it to me

Wow, I thought I was the only one still holding on to Nikko gear!

funknoobiest, that sounds like a fair price for all three pieces. The old Nikko gear is well-built, and was used by DJ's and the like during the 70's and 80's. I still have three pieces; power amp, pre and tuner, all which still work like it did 20 years ago. However, the sound, to me, is just okay. It was more about power than refinement.

If I recall, the gear cost between $200 and $300 per unit, so to get all three for under $300 is probably a good deal.

Just stumbled across this thread while trying to find some info on a 230 amp for sale locally. What would you guys say would a be a good price of a used 230? There's a guy here selling a 230 amp, and some Nikko pre-amp and equalizer (can't make out the model in the pics) asking $270 can for the lot...

The GF's got me on watch for PA equipment for her soon to be dance studio.

Thanks!

I owned the Nikko Alpha 230, Alpha 450 and 330 watt-per-channel Alpha 2000 between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, as well as the Beta 30 and Beta 600 preamps. The amps were much better than the preamps, having a smooth, sweet sound. In the mid-'90s when I was looking to upgrade my system to something with a little more detail and transparency, I pitted the Alpha 2000 against a number of high end amps and the Nikko held its own. It eventually took a Classé amp costing more than twice that of the Alpha 2000 to better it. Inspite of that, since that time I have been collecting and restoring vintage amps and am sorry that I ever got rid of that Alpha 2000.

I just picked up a nice Nikko Alpha III power amp for next to nothing, and I have to say it's a great little amp. It sounds pretty clean / distortion free and the clipping protection circuit seems to work very effectivley. I'm an Adcom / NAD / Pioneer / Marantz fan, but I have to say that the Nikko holds its own quite nicely. It's 80 wpc is a little too small for the power hungry vintage AR speakers I'm driving with it, but it is clean right up to the max output, and the protection shuts it down right when it should. It's the first Nikko power amp I've ever had (I had one of their analog tuners once that was pretty decent and an integrated receiver that was only so-so) and for the money it's a decent amp - I would've paid more than I did for it if the seller had asked. Super nice build quality, and looks like it has a seperate power supply for left and right channels (ala Adcom GFA-2). Probably best suited for ported or smaller bookshelf speakers, or great for the fronts on a surround system but DEFINATELY NOT GARBAGE!!

I have a Nikko NA 790 and it is not working. We have it hooked up to our PowerMac G4 (using iTunes) and Bose Acoustimass 3 series IV but for some reason, we are not getting any sound out. We are using a standard RCA to mini cable. This is really frustrating. And unless we can resolve this issue, the almighty Nikko is headed straight to the curb. I am a total novice, so any advice in layman's terms would be hugely appreciated.

I've had the Nikko NA-690 for ages now. Having already pursued the high end and home theater ad nauseum for some time, I can without reservation vouch in this case for the amp's reliabiltiy and sound; it plays like it did when new and has the clarity, warmth and headroom mentioned in prior posts. Sure it's mid-fi strictly speaking, but represents everything good about the genre/era and yes, sounds robust and vibrant after all this time. Right now it's connected to a Philips 963SA DVD/CD/SACD player and kicking tail through it's generous headphone output. Also sound good with Rega 25 and Shure V15VxMR using it's MM phono amp. Power belies modest rating, runs great in family room. Unless it's been abused, recommended especially at the used prices it goes for.

What do you guys think of the Nikko 130 coupled with the Beta 30 pre-amp

I picked up a pair of Cerwin Vega CLSC 12's (Tower Speakers and needed something to power those.

They are rated at 150rms @ 8 ohms,

I listen to mostly rap and every home theater receiver i tried out there doesnt push these speakers to well.

Someone told me to get a power amp...

what do you guys think?

I have a Beta 20 preamp, a Beta 30 Preamp, 2 EQ1's, a Gamma 30 Tuner and an Apha II amp on the way. Nikko made some very good component systems. They have a warm, natural sound that I find it difficult to reproduce with more modern equipment. The other reason i like Nikko is less tangible; the controls just have a solid, well-made feel to them, not like Some more expensive brands. Very nice, very durable equipment. Great sound, low distortion, decent price.

I have 2 Alpha 450's with a BTL1 bridging unit. The BTL1 allows me to run each amp in mono. I have 3 other Alpha 450's that are broken and will be repaired to completely run my whole home theater with.

I used to own The Alpha 230, Beta 30 and Gamma 30. I got them when I was 17 years old, they were brand new. My father bought them for me for my birthday. It is a day I will never forget. I remember getting them home, opening the car trunk and sitting in the driveway, opening up the boxes, because I was sooo exceited I cound't even get into the house to open them. I had them for about 12 years, then one day, while pumping out George Thoroughood's "Bad To The Bone" on my Cerwin-Vega AT-15's at peak, (nothing better than a Vega/Nikko combonation), the Alpha 230 actually caught fire, and died. It was later discovered inside the housing that a coin had fallen through the heat venting and shorted out a cap. Anyway, fast forward to 2007, still have my Beta and Gamma 30's, always on the lookout for an Alpha 230/450 or 650.

Good Ole' Nikko!

I recently purchased a Nikko Alpha II, EQ 1, and Gamma 20...I have always wanted them from the early 80's. I am very happy with them. They sound just as good as my Sansui BA 3000, CA3000, TU9900 setup. Only problem I have is I don't know how to set the clock on the Gamma 20 (no manual)...any help would be appreciated.

i own the nikko beta-30 preamp, the graphic eq500 and the stereo tuner and the nikko alpha-230
it pumps 250 w per channel useing 4ohm speakers and it works great . the speakers i use are MTS 2200 which make this sytem sing . and i got it all for 20$ ( at the local thrift store) (EXCEPTH THE SPEAKERS) ive pushed it hard and heard no distortion . who evers says the amp sound like crap doesnt know about sound quality and not to blast their source into the preamp . or just do not know the physics of sound to adjust the eq to a realist value. so Nikko amps i reccommed
and they are way better than dirty peavy (w/ exception to their tube amps)

Hi i have had a Niko Alpha2 amp, Betta2 pre amp, EQ1 and even the 450 am/fm tuner for 25 years. It has been trouble free with many long hard driving nights on this set up. (and i mean hard continous use!) It powered a set of Sound Dynamics S15 speakers (15 inch woffers) as well as a set of Polks. It still has a smooth crisp sound and response. the amp weighs 30lbs with a continous power output of 110 watts per channel. Say what you want gentelman this equipment was not the top of the line but it most deffinetly in my opinion and useage was not the bottom but middle or better of the line up. What do you know i even have the manuals for all this stuff as well as the Mitsubishi 6 foot high stereo cabnet with storage for LP's? Did i say LP's?

I have a Nikko STA-7070 in perfect condition but I never use it. I have had it since the 70's

nikko,what can i say, probably the best thing to come out of japan since godzilla, ha-ha. no seriously very hi end stuff very reliable, all of my home stereo except c/d changer is nikko and 20 plus years old. i have 2 alpha 450 and 4 alpha 230 amps beta 50,atd-1, eq, tuner. feel 10x30 room shaking at 2 watts- channel range,when i open it up little pieces of the loose plaster falls out of cieling . but there are a lot of people out there that will slam it and thats fine by me.......more used stuff for me .

I own a Nikko NA-2000 I bought it for $60 from a friend. The sound quality is pretty good in you have good quality speakers. Remember sound quality has 70% to do with your amp and 30% speakers. I've had it for 2 years and it still sounds like new, nothing has every been replaced as far as I now. I have it powering two tower speakers with 10 inch subs 400 watt 4ohm. Really delivers deep bass freqency.

I've owned many 1980's era rack amps, and the nikko has to be one of the best. I suggest running a cooling fan to prevent meltdowns.

Does anybody now if nikko amps have a cooling system because mine runs really hot and doesn't seem to cool down

Firstly, I'm absolutely no expert. I'm a "fledgling" audiophile at best who has taken a liking to older 70's and 80's gear. Once I bought my Sansui Quad QX4500, the "sickness" hit me and I've spent the last few years building a monster cool, midrange quad system with the intension of having surround for movies and plenty of balls to push my big Fisher (15" woofers) and my system of eight speakers and sub when I want to shake the rafters. I own only one Quad album and have never been that serious about perfect, true Quadraphonic sound. Just love the Quad emulation modes and the ability to connect eight speakers.

So, I may not be as savvy as you "adrianbacon", but I can tell you that you are WAY OFF when it comes to Nikko. Of course, every manufacturer has it's "reputation", but that doesn't mean that at least a few of it's products don't shine, no matter how it may be viewed by the general public.

Even Phase Linear, which has been the butt of "Flame Linear" type of jokes for years, has some great vintage gems in it's line-up. So, to make a blanket statement that ALL NIkko is garbage is just plain WRONG. Do you have any experience at all with Nikko? If so, I can't believe you would make this blanket statement.

Specifically for me, my experience revolves around an older Nikko 1200 Module Stereo Pre-amp amplifier. Kinda rare. I was using a well respected Dyanco Pat-4 as my pre to help drive the big array of speakers in my "surround" system. But I found a "never used" Nikko 1200 and bought it. It was absolutely new and has a solid build quality. And you know, when I replaced the Dynaco with that Nikko, my system came alive!

Not to say the Dynaco is at all bad, but this Nikko gave me loads of new power and the clarity, warmth and headroom that I was looking for. It also has a really solid build quality and decent features, yes, albeit mid range gear, it seems that AT LEAST SOME Nikko pieces were engineered with great care. Unless you have experienced a few of their gems, I doubt you would rate Nikko very highly, but don't talk out of school. This one is by far one of my favorite pieces of KIT EVER!

Recently, I found the matching tuner and bought it. It has the weighted tuner knob and nice display, and again, although not considered more than mid-level, this tuner has above average build. Plus, design on some of this decades' Nikko offerings includes some cool toggle switches and rumble/noise filters that seem to be of a bit higher than average design/engineering. Certainly, inventive design at the least!

I wouldn't scoff at Nikko at all. AND, I would highly recommend the 1200 if you can find one!
JMHO

Go on Ebay- click on Nikko amps- I found a shop manual from a place called ebaysales@vintageaudiomanuals.com Seller is called techman777 Good luck.

I have 3 Nikko pieces. An Alpha 650 amp- (410 watts/ch. @ 8 ohms), a Beta 30 Preamp, an a Gamma 30 tuner. I was a DJ and owned crown, Peavey- Awful amp!!!

I still fire up the Alpha 650 and it still shakes the house. Balls plus. I am thinking of selling all 3 pieces. I have all manuals, a shop manual to work on the Alpha 650 amp, and the original receipts.

If anyone is interested in finding out more, write back. I know you get what you pay for, but this amp cost over $1400.00 new and is a power house.

I have a NIKKO ALPHA 400, a very old amplifier and its broken. It's not possible to fix this amplifier without a schematic, can somebody help me?? and send me the service manual or the schematic. PLEASE !!!

yes, a beautiful workhorse of an amp Been in constant use for 18 years. It is an alpha 230. tolerates low imp. loads very well.

Nikko was origioally a component supplier for whos who of Japanese audio companies. In otherwords they made the various switches, pots, transistors, meters andwhatnots that went into Pioneer, Marantz, Fisher, JVC, Kenwood, Sherwood and others. They decided after a while to build units themselves. I think they are one of the most underrated stereo brands in history. In the early 70's I worked for a stereo chain in the Northwest. They sold mostly mid and high end stuff. I could not afford to buy any of it . I went out and bought a Nikko. I had some of the sales and repair people listen to it. They all agreed it was as good or better than all the stuff they were selling with the exception of McIntosh.

Thanks for the responses. I really miss my Nikko amp. At 45wpc, the amp sounded good with a pair of Titans. The only Nikko I have is there tuner, NT-890.