Barney Oliver Amp serial # 183

B

biscuithead

Me likes the eargasm retroplasm...
So I happened upon a Barney Oliver Amp. It was being sold by a former HP employee. I picked it up, replaced a transistor, cap, and resistor and Magic!
I have a Pioneer PL-61 with a V-15 III cart, the first 10 seconds on any lp is silent. It is hooked up to some Snells and JBLs ( they are in series to achieve 8 ohms).
Nice sound without many adjustments, just some filter choices... I have heard praise, and I have heard criticism (from a former Marantz engineer). I love it. Specs are great, Sound is magical... Anyone else have one of these with opinions?
 
Congratulations! There are some nice pictures here: http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?1133-Barney-Oliver . Would you please post some of your unit?

PS: Barney was so obsessive that he optimized the amplifiers performance for a Shure V15 type II phono cartridge (best available @ the time) and J B Lansing LE85 and LE15A speakers. Per chanel power rating into 8 ohm speakers is 50 watts continuous, 160 watts peak.

quoted from the above link.
 
Thanks!
Now I have to look for some new JBLs...
Pics will come soon, I already stacked it in a "stacked" stack... very difficult to get in and out...
 
Hi biscuithead,

Another Barney Oliver owner here. I have unit #471 out of 500. I posted on another thread a bit about it. The short story is it's been in my family since day 1. My father worked for HP in the 1970s and got his order in just in time for the second and final batch to be produced. It went to me in the 1990s. I used it regularly until 2002. It's been in storage since.

It's only after recently looking at it sitting stowed safely away I've thought it's time to get it operational again. I'd have to get it to Seattle (275 miles) to get the million mile service as where I live there is no one who works on vintage audio anymore.

In the pictures below you'll notice the original power switch is out and on top of the unit. It failed around 2000. A replacement wasn't found, so the tech just put in a toggle switch. I honestly don't like that. That red glow with the unit powered and cruising is the stuff of my childhood memories. I've always wanted to find a replacement for the Marco-Oak presslight switch.





I did have some luck with the cinch-jones P202CCT plug for the speakers. I found the metal OEM units that screw in for about 13 bucks a pop. Oak Tree Vintage had the plastic non-threading type for about the same price. I am amazed after almost 40 years, I was able to find the OEM replacement!

P202CCT.jpg


Cheers,
SS
 
Howdy,
And another Barney Oliver owner here, S/N 285. I had forgotten about my amp for several years, which was buried in the garage and running across this thread prompted me to dig it out and play some music through it today. I had forgotten how good it sounds despite the large amount of negative feedback that was used on this design.

I've owned two Barney Oliver amps over the years and sold one off about 10ys ago. My first encounter with a Barney Oliver was around 1979 when it was positively the best sounding amp I had heard up to that point. Its owner at that time loved to tell his story about running it through the traveling McIntosh clinic and getting a straight line drawn through the distortion graph along with some dirty looks from the McIntosh folks.

Anyway, back it goes into the garage and hopefully I'll find a permanent place to play and display the little guy.
Radio Guy
 
ZoSo, Radio Guy-

I am glad to be a part of this club... I listen to my Barney almost daily...

I have an old pioneer PL-61 with a v-15 cart that I love the way it sounds with this amp.
I have tried my other TTs (Garrard, Elac, 3 Technics, a PL-A35, an old Colarro, a webcor, a Yamaha, an HK, and a PLL-530) with this cart and my favorite is still the PL-61. I play it through some old Snells and JBLS that I have (both are 4 ohm, so I run in Parallel), it sounds great! I look forward to more folks joining this thread...
 
Been awhile, just passing by to see if any new posts in this thread and to ask a question.

Specifically, I'm trying to chase down a replacement marco-oak power switch series 616. I've been able to round up two, however BOTH were DOA. I'd like to put the OEM part back in the unit instead of that bloody toggle switch.

Anyone have a lead?


Cheers.
 
Thanks for the info ryuuoh, much appreciated.

I ordered two of them.

Also anyone else looking for 616 series parts, these are on ebay... if you have your original switch, just swap out the lens.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351111666106

$15 for two... sold.

I'll let you know if the ones I ordered work.

Cheers.
 
#471 restored

Thanks to Joel Street of Spokane, WA for the service. He did a great job. The Barney is the healthiest it's been since 1975!

20150813_233911.jpg
 
Zoso,

BEE- OOO- TEE -FUL !
Did the 616 switch work out well?
I'm still looking for the right JBLs for this ... but in the mean time, I am enjoying. Hope you will enjoy yours too!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

apple_scruff
Barney Oliver Amp! My new toy.
2
Replies
29
Views
5K
turnitup
turnitup
A
Barney Oliver Amp - grounding issues?
Replies
12
Views
424
Goldie99
Goldie99
colohiker
Barney Oliver Stereo Value
Replies
1
Views
610
swechsler
swechsler
G
anyone ever heard of this BARNEY OLIVER
Replies
13
Views
2K
fred soop
fred soop
Oerets
Onkyo M-501 speaker relay?
2
Replies
21
Views
4K
Oerets
Oerets
Back
Top Bottom