Calling All "Vintage" Integrated/Receiver Owners

cifani090 said:

Mono-blocks are great to what budget? Personally id like to know, and they are (vintage) very hard to find.

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Great for a large budget.
McIntosh MC 40 with 6L6GC Power Tubes and a pair of Tannoys for me.

You determine what is large for yourself.

Go Western Electric and see how that is.

Just got this in yesterday to drive my HE-6.
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
Even the meter bulbs work!
 
 

 
 
 

CA-1000?  Nice grab!
 
@5aces
 
Could you give some opinions on the S.A.E mark IXB pre-amp and IVC power-amp? After I did some deoxide, I hooked them up with my speakers and they sounds fantastic. My other integrated amp and receivers are not in the same league with them. They just sounds cleaner and clearer. The intervals of music bits are totally silent witch make music more spacious and dynamic. I think they should be in the same league with your Yammy and Sansui separates.
When you said Sansui CA-2000 is totally silent, did you mean you couldn't here anything from speakers if no signal fed in? I can hear some tiny zzzz sound when I close my eras to speakers. What should I do to this sound if it can be eliminated? Thanks!
 

CA-1010  !

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gurus said:

CA-1010  !

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Oh, my bad. From picture, your volume knob seems little than my 1010. So I guess it was 1000! 
 
Hope can hear your impression with HE-6!
 

 
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5aces said:

Biamping can offer some benefits in the right set-up,in most every instance the listener is better served by using the funds to upgrade components in the system.
In a vintage speaker system this usually means bypassing the internal passive crossover,which requires work inside the speaker.
There is significant expense in hardware:the additional amplifiers and crossover,not to mention the extra cables required.

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So then a piece of gear like this would be useful for doing what you described, yes?

(Pioneer D-23 Active Crossover)

Did anyone buy http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0MC06T0932&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=404255&SID=225250
 
Power Output 120W x 7   Weight 13.2 lbs.

meewoo said:

@5aces
Could you give some opinions on the S.A.E mark IXB pre-amp and IVC power-amp?
I can hear some tiny zzzz sound when I close my ears to speakers. What should I do to this sound if it can be eliminated? Thanks.

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I have not heard your 1974-1977 S.A.E. set but certainly am aware of the brand.
American home brewed solid state amplifiers that aimed to eclipse Marantz and McIntosh for sound,especially in the early Seventies.

Two really nice pieces from the best years with a new retail of $450 for the IVC power amp and $400 for the IXB pre.
It would be a stretch for these to scale up to the 1975 Yamaha C-1 & B-1.
Even the Sansui had a list of $600 for the BA 2000 power amp and $440 for the CA 2000 pre in 1977.
This might be a fair comparison and I would enjoy a vintage shoot out between the two.
S.A.E.was a two man band I believe and didn't have the massive resources of the big players,which certainly didn't stop them from cranking out some righteous amplifiers.
Coincidentally,when the company tried to appeal to the masses,it was the beginning of the end.

When I say the Sansui CA preamplifier is dead silent with no signal,right-that means no buzz through the headphone circuit board or speakers.
No signal or noise should be present at the preamp outputs if the output selector is set to 'off'.
Signal should not be leaking through the preamp outputs when the input selector is switched around.
If you have a hum through your speakers when the volume is turned up,try unplugging the RCA source and see if it goes away.
I just know you are using good,shielded RCA cables from your source.
The fabled Hum & Buzz can be testy to nail down.
I use a Furman power conditioner and PS audio power bar to keep the the wall outlet power in check.

Common causes of noise and intermittent problems:
-Dirty connections.
-Poorly made terminals, inexpensive RCA jacks often fit poorly enough to cause a buzz or hum.
-Poorly terminated connections. Cold solder joints, loose fitting terminals.
-Poorly shielded cables picking up noise from RF or house main electrical.
-Cables picking up noise from AC extension cords. Move cables or cross at right angles.
-Check the polarity of the outlet - it may be wired backwards.
-Light dimmers, flourescent lamps, and other appliances that share the same circuit or common ground with your audio equipment can cause hums.
-Check to see if you have an outlet in the wall that is worn out and will not grip.
If the hot/neutral/ground prongs on the plug and ground are making intermittent or light contact with the tang on the inside of the outlet, it can cause a hum through the system.
Not much need to go beyond spec grade (Hubbel Commercial) when replacing a receptacle.

Welcome to the notorious ground loop zone.

mr. morden said:

So then a piece of gear like this would be useful for doing what you described, yes?(Pioneer D-23 Active Crossover)

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In 1977 biamping wasn't on my mind but sure was for some folks.
Yes,that D-23 would permit multi channel amplification to drive multi way speaker systems (2/3/4-way).

Interesting first patent for the Multiple Driver Dynamic Loudspeaker circa 1974.
http://tinyurl.com/7qvw4ws

3-way speakers really became popular during the 1980's.
In today's world,you could have some great fun with a tube XM126 crossover from http://www.marchandelec.com/
These guys have been at it for a while now,again note:this kind of approach mandates deep pockets

So if I wanted to troubleshoot my amp's lack of sound (through both headphones and speakers) where would I look first.  My wife did say there was a thunderclap be fore it stopped working (outside), but it worked for a few minutes a couple days later and then stopped working again.  I moved a week or two after that so it's been shoved to the side.
 
Could it be as simple as a fuse?

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gurus said:

Just got this in yesterday to drive my HE-6.
 
 

 
 
 

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I love the look of this amp.  I may pick one up myself.  How does it sound?
 
 

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wharfrat said:

Treal512:  On account of your past rave re: the HK 730, I picked one up over the weekend off CriagsList for $60.  I would rate it 7/10 cosmetically due to some scratches in the metal casing and on the plastic glass panel and a slight bend in the lower right aluminum faceplate, but functionally, other than the FM output not working, it was in very clean working condition.  I found the headphone output much more delightful with the 730 compared to the 430 I heard at a meet in August, but with the Pioneer SX-1250 to compare with, one can clearly tell it suffered from not having that extra power.  The Pioneer was simply much more imaged, with juicy, fat, luscious notes, each and every one of them.  The HK is a more relaxing sounding amp and seemed to have a blacker background because low level notes sounded low relative to other sounds in the mix but still "there".  I would surmise the Marantz 2275 you got (congrats, BTW and at a fair price, too) must be a HK on steroids, so I am also now looking at that as my next upgrade path.  Either that or a McIntosh....

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Haha, compared to the SX-1250? Ridiculous  One of these days, one of these days! As for the HK sound, that sounds right on. I also agree with the 2275 being similar with more oomph, but I have yet to A/B the units because of some distortion in the left channel of the HK. I know weight isn't everything, but this Marantz alone is double the weight of the HK730. I think that alone says something in itself  Thanks for sharing your impressions. I'm looking forward to your next purchase!


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sling5s said:

Thanks.  The Pioneer SX-737 is really sounding great.  Can't believe something so old sounds so pure and clean.  Really has amazing clear mids.
It's making me want the SX-1010 or SX-1250, not that I need that much power for low impedance cans.  I nor longer have hard to drive headphones like LCD-2 or HD800 but just having a taste of the Pioneer SX series makes me want more. It's definitely a more cleaner sounding headphone amp than the Marantz 2230b that I had long ago. 

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What cans are you using with the unit? I'd argue that while the Marantz isn't as "clean" sounding, it more or less compliments the Pioneer sound signature. I wouldn't really say one is better or worse, unless you start comparing different tier models.

 
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mr.khali said:

I love the look of this amp.  I may pick one up myself.  How does it sound?
 
 

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I just got my other integrated amp in a few hours ago. It's in bad shape cosmetically. Will be spending the weekend comparing the two. Only one stays- wife rule(s).
 
Initial impressions- Yamaha has more fuller sound-rounded midrange - typical Yamaha sound sig while the Marantz is more neutral. Both operate in Class A for low power requirements-Yamaha puts out 24 watts (rated 20watts) and the Marantz       25-30 watts. I am leaning towards the Marantz for now as it is so different from my tube amp.
 

 

That Marantz is something special. Unless you have several stacked up in a closet, I advise keeping that one, telling the wife it doubles as a space heater. You can always go Yamaha-ing some other day.

Just picked up a NAD 1020 preamp to mate up with a NAD 2040 amp I've had a few years.  Nice sounding combo.
 
HP outputs on both the preamp and amp.  The preamp has to be powered by opamp since there is no connection back to the pre from the amp outputs.
 

How is the headphone section on the NAD 2040? You don't often see speaker amps with headphone jacks.