[BobG55]

Hello there "vintage integrated" people!

I just connected my AudioQuest DragonFly Black v1.5 to my Technics SA-103 (from the 80's) and plugged in my Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 ohms and gotta say, it sounds way better than I ever thought. There's no distortion, the amp tames down the Beyer's highs but gives the DragonFly some boost to shine! New to hobby but I have my Roon upsampling to 24/96 and I'm enjoying the music like never before. My Sony MDR-1AM2 sounds good too but I think that I'm in love with the open-backs from now on!

Congratulations. I use my T1.1 & DT880/ 600 ohm w/ my Kenwood KA8006 and like you say, I’m enjoying the music like never before. Hope you’re taking advantage of the tone/ sound controls. My philosophy is, that’s what they’re there for. Happy for you.

 

[Nuhapaatti]

Congratulations. I use my T1.1 & DT880/ 600 ohm w/ my Kenwood KA8006 and like you say, I’m enjoying the music like never before. Hope you’re taking advantage of the tone/ sound controls. My philosophy is, that’s what they’re there for. Happy for you.

For sure! It's nice to have that sub bass roll-off extended with the tune controls etc. Nice one you have there too, enjoy!

 

[red71rum]

I was visiting my parents and took apart my family's receiver, Onkyo 2500MarkII, that I listened to when I was growing up and cleaned it (pots, faceplate, knobs etc) (left channel was not working). Now the receiver sounds great, both channels working, but I did not have any bulbs to replace any that were out. My parents did not even notice that one channel was out before I worked on it: )

 

[Oregonian]

I was visiting my parents and took apart my family's receiver, Onkyo 2500MarkII, that I listened to when I was growing up and cleaned it (pots, faceplate, knobs etc) (left channel was not working). Now the receiver sounds great, both channels working, but I did not have any bulbs to replace any that were out. My parents did not even notice that one channel was out before I worked on it: )

I've always loved those Onkyo's! Nice job...............amazing what a little Deoxit will do for these vintage beauties!

 

[MacMan31]

Hey I came across this thread while looking for info on vintage amps used for headphones. Right now my stereo amp is a modern Marantz PM7005. Overall it sounds great with speakers but pretty poor via the headphone jack. My headphones are the HD6XX and ZMF Aeolus. I'm on a quest to amalgamate my stereo and headphone setups into one. Is that even possible? I've got my eye on an older (not vintage) Marantz PM7200 Class A/AB amp. But I'm not sure if Headphones would sound any good on it. But I'm also looking at some vintage amps locally such as the Yamaha CA-610 II or the Pioneer SX-650. Why do many modern stereo amps or AVRs sound poor with headphones? Also how can I integrate a vintage stereo amp into a modern setup which includes a Node 2i streamer, CD player, 4K TV and 4K BD player?

 

[PopZeus]

Hey I came across this thread while looking for info on vintage amps used for headphones. Right now my stereo amp is a modern Marantz PM7005. Overall it sounds great with speakers but pretty poor via the headphone jack. My headphones are the HD6XX and ZMF Aeolus. I'm on a quest to amalgamate my stereo and headphone setups into one. Is that even possible? I've got my eye on an older (not vintage) Marantz PM7200 Class A/AB amp. But I'm not sure if Headphones would sound any good on it. But I'm also looking at some vintage amps locally such as the Yamaha CA-610 II or the Pioneer SX-650. Why do many modern stereo amps or AVRs sound poor with headphones? Also how can I integrate a vintage stereo amp into a modern setup which includes a Node 2i streamer, CD player, 4K TV and 4K BD player?

With that selection of headphones, I'd just look into a small tube amp and let them really cut loose. As long as you can send a line out with your receiver or source to the amp, you should be fine.

 

[MacMan31]

With that selection of headphones, I'd just look into a small tube amp and let them really cut loose. As long as you can send a line out with your receiver or source to the amp, you should be fine.

Well I'm not sure I want to go down the tube rolling rabbit hole. But how can I integrate a headphone amp with a speaker amp and the various sources? I have a Marantz HD-DAC1 headphone amp with built in DAC.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Well I'm not sure I want to go down the tube rolling rabbit hole. But how can I integrate a headphone amp with a speaker amp and the various sources? I have a Marantz HD-DAC1 headphone amp with built in DAC.

No need to do either, get a speaker tap cable made and run your headphones directly from the speaker terminals. You'll never, ever need another dedicated headphone amplifier again. I did this probably close to 6 years ago with my NAD M3. The M3 had no headphone input and I just knew that it was such a nice piece of gear that I really wanted to use for headphones. I had Trevor at Norne Audio make my speaker tap cable and I have never looked back. I drove an HD600/650 and HD800S from it, not to mention many other headphones.

I had a 12 foot cable made into two sections and later I had a few short extensions made by PETEREK (not sure if he is still a member here) so that no matter how the headphone cups were terminated (SMC,1/4",2.5/3.5mm) I could use them with the speaker tap cable. Brilliant solution. It isn't surprising that your Marantz receiver doesn't have the best sound from the headphone out, it would most likely just have a resistor network inline which can impact dynamics. You said it yourself that the speaker out put sounds great so why not use the speaker terminals?

The M3 puts out a full 180 watts and I have used headphones as low as 16ohm with it. Well worth considering. Perhaps the most important aspect of amplification is the power supply and a speaker amp such as you have should have a nice enough power supply. There are dedicated threads here about speaker tap cables, maybe do some reading and research the idea. I know that I haven't needed or wanted to buy another dedicated headphone amp since. You end up with a one box solution for both speakers and headphones.

 

[MacMan31]

No need to do either, get a speaker tap cable made and run your headphones directly from the speaker terminals. You'll never, ever need another dedicated headphone amplifier again. I did this probably close to 6 years ago with my NAD M3. The M3 had no headphone input and I just knew that it was such a nice piece of gear that I really wanted to use for headphones. I had Trevor at Norne Audio make my speaker tap cable and I have never looked back. I drove an HD600/650 and HD800S from it, not to mention many other headphones.

I had a 12 foot cable made into two sections and later I had a few short extensions made by PETEREK (not sure if he is still a member here) so that no matter how the headphone cups were terminated (SMC,1/4",2.5/3.5mm) I could use them with the speaker tap cable. Brilliant solution. It isn't surprising that your Marantz receiver doesn't have the best sound from the headphone out, it would most likely just have a resistor network inline which can impact dynamics. You said it yourself that the speaker out put sounds great so why not use the speaker terminals?

The M3 puts out a full 180 watts and I have used headphones as low as 16ohm with it. Well worth considering. Perhaps the most important aspect of amplification is the power supply and a speaker amp such as you have should have a nice enough power supply. There are dedicated threads here about speaker tap cables, maybe do some reading and research the idea. I know that I haven't needed or wanted to buy another dedicated headphone amp since. You end up with a one box solution for both speakers and headphones.

Well my amp only has one set of speaker terminals. There is no speaker A and B. What does a speaker table cable look like? A google search doesn't give me any results.

 

[PopZeus]

Well I'm not sure I want to go down the tube rolling rabbit hole. But how can I integrate a headphone amp with a speaker amp and the various sources? I have a Marantz HD-DAC1 headphone amp with built in DAC.

You don't have to obsessively roll tubes. Just buy something with an agreeable sound out of the box and then replace the tubes every year or so depending on usage. Upgrade when it's time to replace and it will feel like a newish amp. The switch to tube amplification alone will make you fall in love with your HD6XX and Aeolus even more. With your DAC1, it has 2 RCA outputs. Sure, one is variable, but you can still use one for your speaker amp and the other for the headphone amp.

 

[nbourbaki]

I just bought this Sony! I love the toggle switches, buttons and knobs. Good find I think. Opinions? Edit: It is listed as 95 watts, but googling shows only 18 watts. Am I missing something? Should I cancel the order?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133717293769

Model STR-6045 (1972)
AM-Stereo FM design; 25 W/channel continuous sine-wave into 8 ohms with both channels driven at 0.5% THD;
dynamic power 37 1/2W per channel into 8 ohms; 42 W/channel into 4ohms;
power bandwidth 10-30,000 Hz; response 10-50 000 Hz +0, -3 dB at rated output;
input sensitivity 2.5 mV; FM sensitivity 2.6 μV for 30 dB quieting; capture ratio 1.5 dB (IHF);
Oiled walnut cabinet optional; metal cabinet; $229.50

One of the reasons that the FTC got involved in advertised power ratings. Peak power, dynamic power and the like were eliminated. Only RMS specs which simplified comparing amps. You have a very nice receiver regardless of total watts.

 

[OldRoadToad]

I just bought this Sony! I love the toggle switches, buttons and knobs. Good find I think. Opinions? Edit: It is listed as 95 watts, but googling shows only 18 watts. Am I missing something? Should I cancel the order?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133717293769

Simply beautiful and beautifully simple. Well done, indeed!

ORT

 

[MacMan31]

Speaking of Sony amplifiers there is an STR-V6 (circa 1978) up for sale locally for $850 (Canadian). It's been fully serviced. Anyone have experience with this amp and would it be a good choice?

 

[nbourbaki]

Speaking of Sony amplifiers there is an STR-V6 (circa 1978) up for sale locally for $850 (Canadian). It's been fully serviced. Anyone have experience with this amp and would it be a good choice?

I have a STR-V6 as my bedroom amp. Clean and powerful. It doesn't have pre-outs, but other than that, I retired a Marantz 2270 for the V6. I don't use it for headphones

 

[Sonic Defender]

Well my amp only has one set of speaker terminals. There is no speaker A and B. What does a speaker table cable look like? A google search doesn't give me any results.

That is a shame, ideally you would have two sets of speaker terminals.