threshold amp
Ask Soundguy3 over here he likes them and has had it mod'ed by the guru of Threshold mods. Quite a while back I also had an S300 MkII with opto bias and thought it was very good http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1276356977&openflup&1635&4#1635 Cheers George |
Why do you think you have made a mistake? Too little power or you don't like the sound, or something else? If it's the sound, I would not go higher in the Threshold line, and I would question whether mods would change the overall character of the amp's sound. Another question is how old is the amp? Might it need some refurbishing (new caps?) rather than mods? |
wow that's a fast reply,two things though I paid 900.00 shipping included. to be more clear ive seen later models like the s- series going for roughly the same price and it seems that after the upgrades } not mods }it may bring the amp up to the same level as the s-series with same or near power rating.keep in mind no cicuit ckanges just higher bias new output caps replace power supply filter ,power switch and any parts that need to be replaced.jon solderberg was the guy I had in mind. but his quote was 1300.00 |
oops in response to your reply prince thhe amp sounds real good.the thing is its 35 yrs. old or so and ive read all over the place that these amps all sound great but are in need of a doctors appointment and also with new parts and better more modern parts these amps really kick butt.if memory serves me upgrades included rebuild front end/ new caps with higher value /set bias bias controls/ new rectifier diode/output transistors/emitter resistors/main caps circuit board caps /binding posts/ rcas etc.. just about rebuilding the whole thing. my mistake maybe ,is theres later models for sale out there that hes done this to already that sell for less than mine. possibly some pure class a ones. |
"04-11-15: Glasspak modest stuff.threshold stasis 3 /Conrad Johnson premiere 17 pre / meadowlark osprey speakers/ah njoe tjoeb cd tube player with upsampler" It looks like a fairly well thought out system. "Modest" components, that are properly matched, will almost always outperform expensive components that are not. The only thing I see that may pose a problem, is how well your balanced amp works with your single ended preamp. And I'm not saying there's a definite problem. Its just something to be aware of. Something else you may want to consider, is to just use the amp as is. You say it does sound good. When you find an amp that you like better, upgrade to that instead. Also, if you leave the amp stock, you should be able to get more money for it when you go to sell. The only exception would be if you had Pass do the mods, instead of going after market. |
I agree with Zd, particularly his comments on "modest" systems, yours seems quite nice. Also, does your preamp invert polarity (many CJ models do)? If so, make sure you reverse your speaker cables (plus to minus) if you haven't done so already, that may make a difference. If you like the sound of the amp the upgrade sounds like a good deal principally because you'll have refurbished all the parts that can go bad (I don't know about the sound quality difference). Just realize that you're not getting your money back from the upgrades, just musical enjoyment. That may well be worth the investment. |
Also, if you leave the amp stock, you should be able to get more money for it when you go to sell. The only exception would be if you had Pass do the mods, instead of going after market.Not true, any Threshold amp refurbished by Jon Soderberg will be worth more, however not nearly as much as the cost to refurbish. Just to make sure you know, Jon worked for Nelson Pass at Threshold as service manager. If you asked Pass, it wouldn't surprise me that he might refer you to Jon Soderberg. If you like the sound of the amp the upgrade sounds like a good deal principally because you'll have refurbished all the parts that can go bad (I don't know about the sound quality difference). Just realize that you're not getting your money back from the upgrades, just musical enjoyment. That may well be worth the investment.Agree, having the work done will improve the sound, but how much might be that $64,000 question. Keep in mind that any old amp will need to be serviced for reliability, and if there were any old amp I'd spend money on for service, it would be a Threshold. |
im aware of the phase with cj 17ithe amp is clean as a whistle though the inside looks brand new Arnold at tweak audio said his tech went through it and replaced a resistor or 2.the inside is so clean it would must have been taken apart to be so clean.i believe what I need is to have a local tech examine it and tell me whats stock and whats not .maybe ill get lucky and jon solderberg can just do bias controls/circuit board caps/bridge rectifier/and main caps |
I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Do you like the sound? If yes then just listen to it. I have a S/300. Love to have a S/500 but do I really have a need for it; no. I have a couple pairs of speakers and have no issues driving them. Now if you bought some crazy hard to drive speakers then maybe you should upgrade. At that point you would want to upgrade then have that amp rebuilt. Or as mentioned earlier just unload this one but try not to lose any money on it. |
"Not true, any Threshold amp refurbished by Jon Soderberg will be worth more, however not nearly as much as the cost to refurbish. Just to make sure you know, Jon worked for Nelson Pass at Threshold as service manager. If you asked Pass, it wouldn't surprise me that he might refer you to Jon Soderberg." You may be right. Generally speaking, modded components usually take a hit on how much they can be sold for. If this is an exception, maybe its worth doing. "Agree, having the work done will improve the sound, but how much might be that $64,000 question. Keep in mind that any old amp will need to be serviced for reliability, and if there were any old amp I'd spend money on for service, it would be a Threshold." Its been a long time since I heard the Threshold amps we're talking about here. I believe the Aleph's were the amps he made next, after the Threshold's. Those are pretty good even going by today's standards. They may be old, but it took a while for most of the other brands to catch up. If you can turn a Threshold into an Aleph (In terms of SQ), the mods may be a good investment. |
Zd542, "...the other way around...". Glaaspak, It depends on you and your system. The S series amps run the first 20% in Class A into 8 Ohms, but while the power doubles down into lower impedances, the class A % halves accordingly. The Class A/AB S series is more forward and vivid, the Class A series is more relaxed and distant. While I am very familiar with the Meadowlark Kestral hot rods, I'm not familiar with your Meadowlarks. It might just come down to which presentation you prefer and how much power you need. As you can see from my above description, sometimes the more powerful S series might have enough Class A sound with more reserve power. On the other hand if your room isn't too big, or you don't listen to music with lifelike dynamic contrasts, the less powerful Class A SA series might be preferable. The SA series do seem to cost significantly more though. You might end up lacking enough power at your budget to afford the SA series sound? If you crave some of the Class A sound on a more restricted budget; you might be, (somewhat ironically) somewhat compensated by buying more power than you need in a more affordable S series amp. The later e series amps have balanced inputs, and some have dual trannies. With your c-j pre I don't think you'll find that important. BTW, Jon is a pleasure to do business with, and the Thresholds were really built well in their day. IMHO, While there might be some other amps in your price range that might compete, there aren't many. My experience with the newer class D amps have been inconsistent, but to be truthful very limited. |
