A music aficionado, I look for clean, accurate reproduction in stereo equipment. In my photography,...
A music aficionado, I look for clean, accurate reproduction in stereo equipment. In my photography, I still love film's unique subtlety. I love to keep old equipment fresh and working.
Member since:08.07.2007
Reviews:2
This is one of the best sounding amplifiers I've ever heard. Yes, yes, amplifiers are not supposed to "sound" like anything - they're supposed to be a straight wire with gain. However, I just enjoy listening to this amp more than any I have (and I have several a few times more powerful than this). I'm playing mostly CDs through a pair of Boston A70's or a pair of old Mirage 450's, and it seems they definitely like each other. It's very reminiscent in overall sound quality, capability and sheer effortlessness to my friend's Harmon Kardon 730 some 30 years ago - a sound I've never forgotten. This amp seems much bigger than 41 watts. It's very, very clean, has tremendous (but accurate) presence in the bass when the material calls for it and is really a joy to listen to. I needed to open it up to de-oxidize some of the switches and potentiometers as they were scratchy or one channel cut out occasionally. The large heat sinks and the substantial transformer inside the case tell the story - this was built to a higher standard that most. Once the controls were deoxidized and worked back and forth to clean them, I let it sit overnight to allow the spray to dry. It sounds and works like new. I'm sure the original owner must have agonized over getting rid of it, but I was able to pick it up at a thrift shop for $15, plus $10 for a can of deoxidizing lubricating spray (good for another 40 amps or so) and his loss is my gain. I certainly didn't need yet another piece of stereo equipment in my house, but this "felt" so substantial I needed to buy it. I'm very happy I did. My wife, less so. On the CON side: It would be nice if it had more input possibilities, but when it was made, what was there other than a tuner, phono and a couple of tape decks? Summary: IF you can get your hands on one of these (and apparently they're exceedingly rare) then do so, and rediscover some of your favourite listening materials.
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