[Skylab]

Finally...Pioneer SA-9800 is in my clutches.
Seller took over a week to ship it out, but at least it was packed well.  Ran it home @ lunch break to hook it up quick and verify there was nothing silly going on....seems to be cool after hasty test on both speakers and Alpha Prime's.

Crummy cell phone pic to prove it:

NICE! Congrats - that amp is on my bucket list

 

[buson160man]

  Got my 93 lbs of audio goodness on a flat dolly. 

 

 What receiver do you have?

 

[captouch]

  Hi guys.  I've spent the past couple of days looking through (some of!) this thread.  Not sure whether I should be regretting it or not 

 !  Of course, it's impossible NOT to be fascinated in trying out a vintage amp/receiver after reading your enthusiastic posts & seeing the pictures of wonderfully built classic gear.
 
So, the inevitable advice-seeking question!  It looks like most of the highly praised models mentioned on here are pretty expensive now on ebay/Gumtree, and being vintage-curious I don't want to spend a bunch to start, maybe a couple of hundred GBP.  I'm after something specifically for my headphones...HE-560 mainly...for now I won't be running speakers. Ideally, I'd like a slightly warmer than neutral sound, and really I'm only interested if I can get better sound quality than throwing a couple of hundred quid at a dedicated, modern, headphone amp.  A few examples of the kinds of things I'm seeing within my budget:
 
Luxman R-800S
TEAC AS-M50
Fisher 801 (poor condition)
Marantz 2015
ROTEL RX-303
MARANTZ MR-215L
Pioneer SX-550 (and various similar models)
Kenwood KR-5010
ONKYO A-3000
Technics SU-3500 / SU-7700
Sony TA-F6B

I wonder if any of these jump out as being suitable for me needs?  Any advice greatly appreciated!  Cheers.

 
You really have to take a look at the operating condition and bring your headphones to demo them with the unit.  Because some of these old units may have a relatively higher noise floor than what you'd find with a modern headphone amp, and you need to see whether that's the case and if so, whether that will bother you or not.
 
And there's a pretty wide range of power in the list you have there.  The Marantz is only 15W, but should sound pretty warm and will have that classic vintage look with blue dial and silver face.  On other hand, the Sony is spec'd at 100W and looks somewhat more modern (but has the cool power meters which will dance with the music).  
 
Really, most vintage units should have enough power for you, as you have the option to read the headphones directly from the speaker outputs if needed, with an adapter.  
 
So it comes down to what you like the looks of (assuming that matters to you - it does to me), whether it's fairly priced relative to market (you can check completed auctions), condition, and operating condition.  If it were me, I'd do a bit of research and narrow it down to a handful or less.  I'd only buy locally so you can check the unit in person (so proximity to you may help you pare down your list).  All things being equal, I'd take a look at the Marantz 2015, Luxman, Pioneer, and Sony.

 

[pedalhead]

Great advice, thanks. Yes, the looks are of course very important, second only to sound quality . Am I right in thinking that one reason these 1970s amps sound so good through the headphone jack is that they don't tend to employ a headphone stage per se, but instead just put some resisters in there in front of the speaker outputs? Cheers.

 

[captouch]

Great advice, thanks. Yes, the looks are of course very important, second only to sound quality . Am I right in thinking that one reason these 1970s amps sound so good through the headphone jack is that they don't tend to employ a headphone stage per se, but instead just put some resisters in there in front of the speaker outputs? Cheers.

Right, most just have dropping resistors that cut the power down to something that gives you more travel on the volume knob without risking blowing your headphone drivers.

I have a pair of HE-5LE's and have run them straight out of the speaker outputs (just using a four wire to XLR adapter). I haven't listened to headphones in quite some time though.

Nice thing is that these vintage receivers/integrateds can run speakers well, so you can have the best of both worlds and look good doing it. Vintage speakers is a whole other thing, and also great fun.

 

[Oregonian]

 What receiver do you have?

Silent One has the most amazing Sansui G-22000 monster receiver.............

 

[cakebreaker]

Just noticed this thread. Very nice stuff. Thank you all for posting awesome pics. Impressive.
I have the opportunity to buy JVC JA-S55. I think it is 1976-78. Does anyone happen to have it? Would be nice if you could share your experience. There is a very limited info about this amp on the internet. However, some people do claim that JVC used to be very much underrated back in the 70s and some of their gear is in fact really good including JA-S55.

 

[pedalhead]

I'm thinking of opening my vintage receiver account with a Luxman R1120. Not cheap but the specs looks pretty tasty and I understand they have a good rep...

 

[SpeakerBox]

I'm thinking of opening my vintage receiver account with a Luxman R1120. Not cheap but the specs looks pretty tasty and I understand they have a good rep...

That is a well regarded receiver.

 

[pedalhead]

That is a well regarded receiver.

Thanks, it does seem to get a lot of good press online. It's not the prettiest receiver I've seen, compared to Pioneer & Marantz for example, but it sounds like it has plenty of musical chops. The extra electrostatic speaker output is a nice touch too. Have almost convinced myself to go for it

 

[guitargonaut]

I don't have a vintage receiver but I do have a vintage power amp.  I use a Parasound HCA-800ii to drive my Denon AH D5000 headphones by way of a Vinyl Flat Can Opener.  I don't know that the Denons have ever sounded so good.
 
The Parasound has a headphone out but it suffers from a faint buzz that isn't noticeable while music is playing but can be heard during pauses.  Regardless, the Can Opener gives the Denons a wider soundstage and cleaner presentation.

 

[Mr Rick]

I currently have a SAE 8000 Tuner driving an SAE A7 Integrated Amplifier into a pair of Sony speakers. Until I can acquire a better listening area this system is relegated to background music duty. For any serious listening I use a headphone amp and a pair of cans.

 

[buson160man]

 I saw on the internet a request for information regarding a old onkyo receiver from the middle seventies. Specifically the onkyo tx-670 . I used to own one of these and I remember purchasing it at the old Midwest hifi chain back then. I remember it sounding a lot better than the receivers made by most of the companies back then. I also seem to remember that it was the only receiver back then to post a 4 ohm nominal spec. The unit was kind of heavy and had a nice clean look to it. With a nice wooden case . I remember auditioning it and it clearly had superior sound quality to the pioneers sansuuis, scotts, technics and kenwoods of the day . The tuner was also exceptional sounding as well . I seem to remember that it was a phase lock loop tuner which was from what I remember unusual in stereo receivers at the time.
   It had two phono inputs as well. Later onkyo came out with a quartz lock tuner on their receivers. The later receivers had a more modern look to them . I preferred the older understated look of the older onkyos .
 The receiver eventually developed some instability issues with the amplifier section and I moved on from it. At that time onkyo was virtually a unknown brand at the time. The tx-670 was their top of the line receiver. The receiver had a nice understated look about it that I found appealing.

 

[SpeakerBox]

I had an Onkyo T-4055 Tuner that I have since sold (but wish I had not).  It was one of the great audio deals of the day (acclaimed by the high end press for its value).  Incredible sound.  Very nice look too - and to your point quite heavy for a tuner.

 

[417457]

I'm offered Kenwood KA-907. Anyone used this beast? Does it have "unobtainiums" ? Planning to get HE-6. Wondering about synergy with Kenwood. Heaphone out adequatelly strong or speaker taps?
Now listening to recabled HD650's on Yamaha Cr-600. I love this combo except of hiss which i get with my sennheisers. Other than that, it trumped my Schiit Lyr on all corners..
 
Thanks,
minionas