[tritter]

Hey All, newbie here and this is my very first post so thank you for your help in advance. I got a Technics SE-A1010 amp from my dad, he is actually a repairman fixing all sorts of electronic stuff and he somehow ended up owning this amp. It had some minor issues he fixed and it was sitting in the corner ever since then. He was praising the amp, based on the parts used and the spec but I don't think he ever heard it on good speakers and I also don't have the right speakers to try it out with. It is a bit difficult to find info on this exact amp, most of the reviews are about the earlier A100 model, there are a few on ebay going for silly money but still, it is supposed to be a decent amp. What are some good speakers to pair it with (it is 4ohms minimum)? Do any of you have experience with this exact model? Is it worth keeping it or I am better off selling it and investing in a pair of active speakers?
I am probably looking for a pair of floor standing speakers that match the amp in quality and performance but I am open to any suggestions.

 

[tritter]

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[ProtegeManiac]

Hey All, newbie here and this is my very first post so thank you for your help in advance. I got a Technics SE-A1010 amp from my dad, he is actually a repairman fixing all sorts of electronic stuff and he somehow ended up owning this amp. It had some minor issues he fixed and it was sitting in the corner ever since then. He was praising the amp, based on the parts used and the spec but I don't think he ever heard it on good speakers and I also don't have the right speakers to try it out with. It is a bit difficult to find info on this exact amp, most of the reviews are about the earlier A100 model, there are a few on ebay going for silly money but still, it is supposed to be a decent amp. What are some good speakers to pair it with (it is 4ohms minimum)?
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I am probably looking for a pair of floor standing speakers that match the amp in quality and performance but I am open to any suggestions.

In no particular order other than the likelihood of a local dealer due to factory location:

Focal Chorus 726
Sonus Faber Venere 2.5
Aurum Cantus V6F

Do any of you have experience with this exact model? Is it worth keeping it...

Not that exact model but I had a Class A, dual mono slim Technics power amp before. Did well on my Wharfedale 9.4 at the point past where my NAD 304 couldn't go, although in fairness to the 35wpc NAD, it can still get me a serious noise complaint before I get distortion. I still wish I didn't get rid of those amps when I shifted to headphones, but years after that I had them boxed in a crate in case I moved to a house that would have a free room and no acoustic issues, but my cat had to undergo an operation at the time so I sold them.

...or I am better off selling it and investing in a pair of active speakers?

That depends on your needs.

Do you have only a desk to listen from? Then get the nearfield active speakers.

Do you have a living room or a spare room to use speakers in? Then use the power amp to drive those speakers, not necessarily a large tower though. You can always go with standmounts which are easier to move around since you can take the speakers off the stands first, just that the bass response can be variable if you cheap out on the stand vs an all 3/4 MDF box that has more airspace and a port tuned to match that air space (plus a dedicated bass driver).

Either way you need a preamp or a headphone amp with preamp output to control the volume on the speakers.

 

[Monsterzero]

Looking at the specs,it looks like it could sound very nice,with great bass.

I personally have no experience with any Technics amp/receiver,though I'd like to get my hands on a Technics SA-1000. Perhaps when I win the lottery.
Anyways,receivers/amps had a house sound back then. Some companies like Sansui and Marantz were warmer sounding than Pioneer or Kenwood. Granted those house sounds varied from model to model,like my Sansui 5000a is warmer than my Sansui 881,but theyre still both warm.

You may want to research what the typical Technics house sound was,and then buy speakers based upon that info. If bright,then get warm speakers,and vice/versa.
I paired up some Focal Aria 905 bookshelf speakers to my Sansui 881,and it sounds very nice.

This thread seems to have a lot of info on Technics in general. Have a read,and perhaps ask over there.

 

[tritter]

Thanks for the help for both of you guys. To give a bit more detail, I play music, I play in a few bands, I have many instruments all over the house and I would love to have a proper home studio one day. At the moment, I live in a 4 story building with neighbors all around so I rely on my headphones when mixing and pretty much for everything and also, full acoustic treatment is not really an option at the moment. However, I start to feel the need to have a proper stereo system that is enjoyable rather than reference-grade or for critical listening (i.e. painful when the source is not perfect). The living room is around 5x6 meters and this is where I would set things up. Right now, I am planning on starting with my Focusrite audio interface as the DAC/pre until I invest in something more serious (I have my eyes on some Schiit gear currently). I guess my main question is if the amp in question is worth to be the centerpiece which I build a complete system around and if yes, which would be the matching price bracket for speakers that match the amp. Is it a USD200 per pair or a USD2500 per pair level of equipment. My idea was that, if it is not serious enough, I get rid of it and invest in something different.
@ProtegeManiac thanks for the suggestions, the speakers you listed are USD1200 and up if I am not mistaken so that already gives me an idea. Last time I was looking around in audio shops, I tried the bookshelf FOCAL ARIA 906 HGLs which were really beautiful and refined sounding but a bit too polite, relaxed and laid back for my taste. Unfortunately, I could not listen to my own material on them, the shop assistant was showing some demo songs on a fairly high-end system but we were listening to CD's so that could also enhance this impression. I listened to a Klipsch RP-600M and a Monitor Audio Monitor 300 pair the same place and I liked those better, probably the Monitor audio was my favorite that place. I visited a more high-end store the same day where everything started in a different league and I got much better customer service, we were listening to some hand made Italian small brand speakers (I can't seem to remember the name of it) but it wasn't really a nice sounding room so everything there sounded a lot more confusing than in the generic store with its nicely treated listening rooms which just confirmed that room acoustics can't be beaten. My other takeaway was that a proper stand for a bookshelf is an expensive game so for the same money the floor standing offers better bass (as you also pointed out).
@Monsterzero thanks a lot for the link, I was looking around and found some info, although still very limited. Also, good point on the sound signature of the brand/amp, I will post a question over there as well.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

USER=137442]@ProtegeManiac[/USER] thanks for the suggestions, the speakers you listed are USD1200 and up if I am not mistaken so that already gives me an idea. Last time I was looking around in audio shops, I tried the bookshelf FOCAL ARIA 906 HGLs which were really beautiful and refined sounding but a bit too polite, relaxed and laid back for my taste. Unfortunately, I could not listen to my own material on them, the shop assistant was showing some demo songs on a fairly high-end system but we were listening to CD's so that could also enhance this impression.

Focal Aria = Closer to HD650, goes up to LCD-2 on bass response as you go bigger

Focal Chorus = Closer to Grado, goes up to RS1 with more bass as you go bigger

I listened to a Klipsch RP-600M and a Monitor Audio Monitor 300 pair the same place and I liked those better, probably the Monitor audio was my favorite that place.

If you already like the Monitor Audio though that's the safer bet, the only variable left really is the room.

I visited a more high-end store the same day where everything started in a different league and I got much better customer service, we were listening to some hand made Italian small brand speakers (I can't seem to remember the name of it) but it wasn't really a nice sounding room so everything there sounded a lot more confusing than in the generic store with its nicely treated listening rooms which just confirmed that room acoustics can't be beaten.

Probably Sonus Faber.

My other takeaway was that a proper stand for a bookshelf is an expensive game so for the same money the floor standing offers better bass (as you also pointed out).

You don't need expensive stands. You can buy hollow stands that you have to mass-load yourself with sand and/or ball bearings. The real trade off has more to do with whether you need to move them around, like if you're renting now or you need to push them back closer to the wall so the dog or kids if you have them or guests have less of a tendency to knock them over while being able to have them more than 1m from the wall when you're listening in the living room, since even with the mass loading on the stands the platform gives you something to grip unlike a slick lacquered panel on a tower.

The expensive stands are more of a thing on higher tier speaker lines where they sell matched stands to make sure they all look good. All I pointed out wasn't the need for extremely expensive stands, just that you can't go to a hardware store and buy some that have platforms that can barely fit mini-monitors, while some still reasonably priced stands might even have some clamping mechanism so you don't use even Blutack to keep a cat or toddler from knocking over the speakers, that sometimes tend to be uneven either on the bottom panel with the spike feet (if they even have spiked feet) or on one of the legs, which then lets the sand shake out of it like a sesame seed grinder.

 

[PaganDL]

Just my two cents,

Ikea Dalfred make good stands too...

Hope everyone has a great day !