2. amps-preamps
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vintage amps

howdy, folks.
looking to upgrade my secondary system, and have been looking at vintage amps. this system is all vintage with PS Audio 4.5 PreAmp, McIntosh MC50 SS Monos, Rotel CDP 955AX, Magnum Dynalab FT101A Tuner and Tannoy Eyris 3 Speakers.

i have been thinking i'll upgrade the MC50s. something about them seems lacking. i have been trolling on A-gon regularly and there seem to be a goodly number of 80s amps on lately, from brands like Carver or Adcom. some of the Adcoms were made by, or in conjunction with Nelson Pass, and the Carvers seem to have had a good rep over the years.

i have also been watching Rotel and Bryston. bottom line is i've been leaning toward Solid State, and would love some input on any or all of these brands. i also welcome any other suggestions.

all of these amps have considerably more power than the mere 50 watts from the MC50s. any reason to think the Tannoys would be better served for more juice? or no?

as an aside, i lean toward the vintage gear for budgetary reasons and i feel that there is a lot out there to choose from, so why not?
tommycosmo

Showing 3 responses by tommycosmo

tommycosmo OP
17 posts
 
thanks everyone. no hurry on my part so i am not about to rush into something that won't be any better than the Mac50s...
tommycosmo OP
17 posts
 
anyone know anything about the Nakamichi brand amps from the 80s?
tommycosmo OP
17 posts
 
the Bedini sounds appealing. (no pun intended!)
maybe you didn't see the beginning of this thread- but my preamp for this system in a PS Audio 4.5, the [current] speakers are Tannoy Eyris 3s.... if that seems compatible with the amp you recommend. i like the purity and simplicity of the early PS Audio straight-wire preamps, i keep my eyes open for a PSIII, which i have in my main system- they pop up occasionally on the 'Bay. aside from that, there'd have to be some mighty strong juju going on to make me want to step away from these pre's. this is an all-vintage system., and not that i am stuck in the mud with it, just looking to better the McIntosh 50 monos...
i dunno, maybe another preamp would bring them alive?
i am a near total neophyte here, so any and all educational suggestions or info is appreciated. i go for simplistic, two channel stereo, as natural as i can get it. admittedly, perhaps the Eyris 3s aren't going to make the purity cut? but they rank in warmth, sound pretty darn good, and have a high WAF for use in the living room... i have been thinking i would stick to solid state, since that's what's happening here already... maybe i'll bring the Quicksilver tube monos up to see what the difference is there, tho i wouldn't want to sacrifice them and let the primary system go unattended.
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