2. amps-preamps
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Shopping for an integrated, advice s'il vous plait.

Some time ago I decided to upgrade my stereo and spent virtually my entire budget on speakers (no regrets), tacking on a Harman HK3490 as an afterthought. Well, it recently bit the dust for no apparent reason. It was only $260 and gave me 5 years of almost daily service, so I'm not too mad. Unfortunately there's nothing comparable on the market at that price, adjusted for inflation. The closest thing I could find was the Yamaha A-S801, but it appears to have the same build quality as my previous receiver. I'm not sure I'm comfortable spending close to $1k on something with disposable quality, so I've been assessing my options within my budget ($1500 max). Looking for an analog integrated with quality components and construction that will last me at least 10 years. So far I've narrowed my options down to:

Yamaha a-s1000 (new)
or
Vintage i.e. Yamaha ca-2010, Sansui au-717, Pioneer sa-9500 ii etc. 

My only problem with vintage is that it seems to take many months of waiting before a deal comes up on the model you want. I see a fully recapped and restored au-717 recently went on eBay for less than $700. Probably not gonna find a deal like that in the next year, if ever. 

TL;DR Would like thy esteemed opinions to vet my purchase of a Yamaha a-s1000. 


unknoahble

Showing 3 responses by paraneer

paraneer's avatar
paraneer
818 posts
 
How about this Marantz PM-15SI for $895?
As a Marantz PM15S2 owner, the above is an outstanding deal.  There are very few vintage receivers/amps that could compete with this unit - built at Marantz' reference factory in Japan, 80 wpc continuous into 8 ohms/120 wpc continuous into 4 ohms, nealy 40 lbs.  This is not the disposable amplifier that you fear.  It is more of an heirloom amp that will be with you a long time.

Whichever way you go, make sure the amp you buy is 4 ohm continuously rated across the entire frequency spectrum.  You never know what speakers you may end up with and a 4 ohm rated amp will be ready to drive many out there.  4 Ohm ratings across the entire frequency range  is something that most vintage amps were not.   Most speakers back in the day were a more easier 8 ohm load to drive.  Good luck!
paraneer's avatar
paraneer
818 posts
 
It seems that the vintage stuff fans are quick to mention their favorite unit’s:
Weight, which seems to be somehow related to build quality (?)
Maximal power output
How low of an impedance it can drive

@ami...I am curious. Who are the vintage fans that advocated the above parameters for vintage equipment? I seen no vintage advocate mention these in their posts.

There was only one true vintage unit recommended by model in this thread - the Sansui AU-717.  And while it is a fine example of a good vintage amp, none of the above mentioned parameters was specified about it.

Seems that most, if not nearly all, participants in this thread advocate modern gear.
paraneer's avatar
paraneer
818 posts
 
@whipsaw 

Sorry, I missed your post.  I should have included the two Accuphase models you mentioned along with the AU-717 that was previously recommended as true vintage.

I agree with you whipsaw, "true vintage" means units from the 70's and early 80's. 
But my question was to ami where he said...
It seems that the vintage stuff fans are quick to mention their favorite unit’s:
Weight, which seems to be somehow related to build quality (?)
Maximal power output
How low of an impedance it can drive
I was just wondering which poster in this thread advocating vintage gear said that.


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