For vintage I use a Yamaha CA-810 Integrated with new upgraded caps. For more power there are the CA-1010 and CA-2010. The cap upgrade made a huge difference.
Recommendations for used/vintage integrated for vinyl
Hi,
you guys have pointed me in the right direction a few times now and totally appreciate the help. I sold off my pro-ject and music hall integrated that were not playing nice together and I am looking to buy a used integrated that can push my Dzurko Jaguar speakers a little harder.
Long story short I sold best components to pay for grad school a few years ago. That rig was a hodgepodge of really nice stuff mixed with my guitar center fire sale gear. 99% of my listening went Stanton direct drive dj turntable (bought on clearance for around 100 bucks), a Shure DJ cartridge (don't remember which one), 50 dollar ART phono preamp, into a Mark Levinson No.380 preamp, Krell KSA 150 power amp, Dzurko Jaguar speakers.
Even though the turntable and phono preamp was pretty bottom end from a chain guitar store, all of my records sounded good with some real heft to the tone, by comparison the music hall with pro-ject was thin and revealed the imperfections of my records instead of enhancing or allowing the music to just play.
I am about to get a Thorens 160 in excellent condition in trade for some of my unused recording studio gear and I would like to get an older integrated of at least 100 watts 8ohm to go with it. I would like to stay away from brand new because I would like something with longevity and will be worth roughly what I paid when and if I decide to sell.
What are some good integrated amps for someone who 1) only listens to vinyl 2) listens to a lot or rare and original pressings that are not available on 180 gram vinyl.
Part of me kind of wants an old Kenwood KA-9600 receiver since they seem to be held in high regard and were made when vinyl was still the top medium. What about the 9100 integrated? any good?
Years ago the person who gave me the Levinson 380 recommended that I should consider selling it and buy a Music Fidelity A300 since I am only interested in vinyl. How is this as an options?
anything else? I would like to spend around 550.00 for a used integrated since that is what I sold my turntable and integrated for but I could certainly go higher if there was something much better.
Thank you,
you guys have pointed me in the right direction a few times now and totally appreciate the help. I sold off my pro-ject and music hall integrated that were not playing nice together and I am looking to buy a used integrated that can push my Dzurko Jaguar speakers a little harder.
Long story short I sold best components to pay for grad school a few years ago. That rig was a hodgepodge of really nice stuff mixed with my guitar center fire sale gear. 99% of my listening went Stanton direct drive dj turntable (bought on clearance for around 100 bucks), a Shure DJ cartridge (don't remember which one), 50 dollar ART phono preamp, into a Mark Levinson No.380 preamp, Krell KSA 150 power amp, Dzurko Jaguar speakers.
Even though the turntable and phono preamp was pretty bottom end from a chain guitar store, all of my records sounded good with some real heft to the tone, by comparison the music hall with pro-ject was thin and revealed the imperfections of my records instead of enhancing or allowing the music to just play.
I am about to get a Thorens 160 in excellent condition in trade for some of my unused recording studio gear and I would like to get an older integrated of at least 100 watts 8ohm to go with it. I would like to stay away from brand new because I would like something with longevity and will be worth roughly what I paid when and if I decide to sell.
What are some good integrated amps for someone who 1) only listens to vinyl 2) listens to a lot or rare and original pressings that are not available on 180 gram vinyl.
Part of me kind of wants an old Kenwood KA-9600 receiver since they seem to be held in high regard and were made when vinyl was still the top medium. What about the 9100 integrated? any good?
Years ago the person who gave me the Levinson 380 recommended that I should consider selling it and buy a Music Fidelity A300 since I am only interested in vinyl. How is this as an options?
anything else? I would like to spend around 550.00 for a used integrated since that is what I sold my turntable and integrated for but I could certainly go higher if there was something much better.
Thank you,
20 responses Add your response
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If you like vintage Kenwood, there is an Accuphase E-202 listed here. Accuphase was Kenwoods high end brand. Nice! http://www.accuphase.com/cat/e-202en.pdf |
Agree with Viridian. I've owned the Onix OA21s and currently an OA20/2, they are both incredible. Hard to come by though. The OA21 is 50 wpc I believe with a phono stage, the 20/2 is 30 wpc. These are much better than vintage Japanese int amps. For 100 wpc, maybe look into a Tandberg TIA3012, which supposed to be very good. If you can go with less power, the Onix is excellent sounding. I would consider selling mine if you are interested. |
these might work & sure looks nice - I couldn't copy the links Seller is doubleti NAKAMICHI TA 4A 100 WPC STEREO RECEIVERListing ID: lis7cc7d Classified Listed October 7, 2016 8:12pm · 909 Views YAMAHA CA 1000 CLASSIC 75 WPC INT AMP.Listing ID: lis7db4f Classified Listed October 28, 2016 4:34pm · 420 Viewss |
Hello Myself owning a Audio store in the past always asked several very important questions before even thinking about a recommendation . such as type of music and Max SPL level , size of room, and efficiency of speakers and if subs are used to relieve the amplifier duties sonic signature of speakers 4 or 8 ohm , and efficiency. And most importantly What is your max budget. For $3500 a good used Modwright integrated 200 woc for example look at power supplies Va, and capacitance amount ,your dynamic energy storage. if efficient speakers the Pass labs 150 ,or 60. gryphon Excellent used and Vitius ,especially Vitus currently in the $6500 used range online blow away the competition at or above pass level,Boulder level. I am speaking of compared to world class seperates now . Mcintosh is the prettiest but middle of the road performance compared to the $10 k and up. I also have been involved with Upgrades just look in a Piece of Mcintosh gear the Red capacitors Wima $6 caps they rate about a 7 out of possible 15 . For example a a great med priced cap $60 Mundorf Supreme ,or VH audio oimp cap which is even better for $400 more in parts a better then 5% improvement Why not ? To save cost .this is why I either have a Pass labs custom built clone prints from the man himself Nelson Pass ,or a older great amp , same applies to integrated look for a larger, or standard 17x19 box to install larger premium parts. and just upgrade . Best parts in critical areas , Coda another excellent product if possible run in part Class A bias, in the first 10-20 watts is always a plus. Accuphase another class -A build from Japan .currently there is a New one on AG with factory warranty at 50% off. I was evrn considering for a second system . many options . Research abit and best of luck !! |
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I am about to get a Thorens 160 in excellent condition in trade for some of my unused recording studio gear and I would like to get an older integrated of at least 100 watts 8ohm to go with it. I would like to stay away from brand new because I would like something with longevity and will be worth roughly what I paid when and if I decide to sellI think your looking at this the wrong way. An amps primary purpose is to properly drive a pair of speakers. All other functions are just features that can added. So find the best 100 wpc integrated (with or without a phono stage) that will drive your speakers and then add an external phono preamp to match your cartridge if you have to. Besides, an external generally will outperform the built-ins found in most integrateds/receivers, new or vintage. Also, what makes you think you can't get longevity out of a modern integrated and that it won't hold its resale value too? You just need to research them and know where to look because you won't find them at a big box store. The Audiogon classifieds is a good a good place to start. A good, modern 100 wpc continuously rated integrated will run rings around the best vintage integrated as the modern most likely will be 4 ohm rated. Very few vintage amps were because all the speakers were 8 ohms. Concentrate on getting the best sound possible from your speakers and TT. Not necessarily matching vintage with vintage. |
Thank you for the responses, I am not in a huge rush so I can wait for the right piece to show up at the right price/condition. From the vintage guys it sounds like accuphase or luxman and then plan on re-capping is the way to go. paraneer, jl35, an mesch. Thank you for the input, I was hoping to get a few ideas of what to look for. I will troll around the audiogon classifieds and reviews . Thank you all again you gave me a few really good starting points in my research. |
oh and I kind of cut my last reply short I was a little distracted. To reply to paraneer's question in regards to longevity and resale is that in my experience budget items that are great deals for the money are often a little disappointing and I end up selling it for a loss to get something only slightly better and sometimes much worse (that pro-ject comes to mind.) |
Don't buy budget. Invest in quality. As I said in my previous post, longevity and resale value can still be found. You just need to know what brands and where to look. Once you know what pieces you're interested in, wait for closeouts, open box and demo items. All my gear was bought new or as demos at an average discount of 42% from list. I couldn't afford it at full MSRP. Again, the key is knowing what you want and waiting for it to be discounted. So get on Audio Advisors and Music Direct's mailing lists and they will send you flyers and emails on closeouts. Check out Dedicated Audio's website too. Modern stereo is alive and well and better than ever. Or this website wouldn't exist as it mostly caters to modern, high end HiFi. There are other websites for the vintage fans but I wouldn't call this one of them. |
I had the Musical Fidelity A300 at three different times in my audio journey and always liked it using my Rega Planar25 to w/ Benz silver cartridge. I think you'd have to spend a little more for one, probably in the 750-875 range if you can find one st all. They are a very good integrated especially at the price and don't seem to come up for sale very much anymore. |