Classic High-End Gear

[greatoldone]

I have two GAS Son of Ampzilla's and a Thoebe preamp. Vintage hi-end for sure! Now all but forgotten - except for us oldsters! Am now using one Son and an RGR 4 preamp with a pair of late-production DCM Time Windows (52779, 52780). Cost: $400 + $200 + $219 = $819 (plus shipping). Sounds as good as new stuff costing 10X what I spent! There are bargains to be found out there!

 

[trainbuftony]

Not only that, but why on earth would you place a (presumably) low noise phono preamp atop an EMI rich power amp transformer?

Perhaps because adequate shielding has been built into the preamp, and it could be inside an industrial breaker box and be quiet. I would think that if a preamp induces noise from its placement relative to other components, it isnt working propperly.

 

[E-Stat]

Perhaps...

you might read the poster of that pic's response.

 

[Fattner]

love this thread

 

[sqlsavior]

I have two GAS Son of Ampzilla's and a Thoebe preamp. Vintage hi-end for sure! Now all but forgotten - except for us oldsters! Am now using one Son and an RGR 4 preamp with a pair of late-production DCM Time Windows (52779, 52780). Cost: $400 + $200 + $219 = $819 (plus shipping). Sounds as good as new stuff costing 10X what I spent! There are bargains to be found out there!

I believe you. I have two Grandsons and a Thalia. They are what I used to bi-amp a friend's K-horns 40 years ago. I put a Grandson in my main system, and it's staying!

 

[ironcoder]

Granted quad is an acquired taste, but ... hail to the king! The Sansui QRX-9001 was top of the line and state of the art in quadraphonic development, and certainly more that capable of satisfying most any power hungry afficianados as well ... 2X mode can tickle 200wpc.

Also a purty lil thang ...

I figure I put a good hundred hours into the restoration over the span of several months ... and don't regret a minute of it!

OMG it is a thing of beauty. Congratulations

 

[Ds2000]

Goldmund Mimesis 3. Ultra wide bandwidth.

 

[Audioraven]

Goldmund Mimesis 3. Ultra wide bandwidth.
View attachment 1442519

That Goldmund is a Sexy Beast!

 

[4-2-7]

Ahh yes, the PA 100/100 . Another favorite of mine as well. I've owned the 80/80 and 100/100 , both were put up for adoption and found new homes. I've retained my VAC Auricle MKII and a set of VAC PA160 MKII mono amps. but it might be time for the PA160's to find a new home as well. I've got a case of "too many tube amps syndrome" , and I've been digging the sounds of the Manley Classic 300b monos quite a bit.

That's a nice set up of VAC gear over there @4-2-7

These are quite a bit different from the PA160 MKII's so no direct comparisons can really be made by me. I enjoy both models. and the 140lb CAT amp that they are sitting on ain't too shabby either.
View attachment 1394712
View attachment 1394713

Thanks, I must have not seen the quote alert, maybe when I was getting a lot of likes in a music thread.
That's some nice gear there, I'v been wanting to try some older Manley amps, the look so sweet.

 

[mickaltamont]

Spica TC50 speakers.

 

[theophile]

TOTL and High End

Yamaha GT 2000 series. Yamaha made a gigantic(pun intended) mistake not releasing these outside of Japan. Yamaha's loss became our gain decades later. No-one shows any interest in them outside of Japan. That is good. The arm is not up to the rest of the turntable yet the turntable/arm combination can disarm. Again, pun intended. Many report to me that they have bought one based on my internet blathering. Unsure of whether it was a good idea. Strangely enough despite their reservations they all become fans. That is a repetitive pattern. The laugh moment for me, over the years, has been the initial lukewarm response to the GT 2000. Someone who has bought one and been not overly impressed with it. Not disliking but not really seeing anything special. Then comes their AHA!! AK post. It has happened quite a few times. It is an AHA!! turntable.

Luxman C-5000A. The rarest Luxman component? It would be in the running for that title. Never heard of it? Never mind.

 

[Roboturner91]

listened to a really incredible big ol' Kenwood amp tonight at a friend's house. Supreme 700? I think that's what he called it. Strikingly attractive thing, huge power meters with gold lettering over a white surface in the middle, behind the glass. Had to be about 10 inches tall and sat in this fantastic wood cabinet. It sounded even better than it looked too. He was using a Luxman SQ-38 for a preamp, with the matching Luxman CD player and Tannoy Cheviots. And the whole time complaining that it wasn't a good match, but I was blown away. I'll never have anything that nice but it was cool to visit.

 

[DesertRatt]

Not much to add to this epic, but I didn't see any mention of these.

1. Rogers LS3/5a - My recollection from the 70s is that this speaker brought "small monitors" into the mainstream of real high end gear. Kinda of like a British Invasion, as many more followed this one. I had them. I loved them. I moved on.

2. HK Citation II - Stu Hegemen's amp was so advanced it took the industry years to figure out that his theory of wide band amplification and minimal feedback was a fundamental improvement to the physics of amplification. It was a long time before others adopted this as standard design practice. By the mid 80s few were making old school "20Hz - 20KHz" narrow bandwidth amps.

3. WADIA 2000

4. The Linn Sondek

(IMHO...of course)

 

[twiiii]

McIntosh MC2255

[/QUOT. I wonder what you think Of your Illusions

When I first heard them they bowled me over, They didn't have ported basss sound. The kids were great and the highs stupendous . E]

 

[Ty67]

Leak Stereo 20?

Garrard 301?

tri_pod

 

[930turbo]

I posted already sorry

 

[Alan Burnham]

AR-3a. Heathkit AR15, AR Turntable. All sold years ago, sad!

 

[Negotiableterms]

Recently, at a friend of a friend's house, I heard a Mark Levinson ML-3. Still sounded great, even though the 23 and 23.5 are supposed to be better. The first amp to double down from 200w at 8 to 400w at 4 to 800w at 2. Can't believe I forgot it in my original post... old age.

 

[podbaydoors]

AR-3a. Heathkit AR15, AR Turntable. All sold years ago, sad!

Still have a (recently rebuilt) pair of AR-3a paired with Dynaco ST-150 and PAT-5 (both rebuilt in 2017) doing mainly audio for movies.
The 3A's really provide exemplary movie sound, with plenty of gut thump as required.

 

[Mr. Blifil]

I have had in my possession a number of classic vintage high-end pieces which were sold on.

Garrard 301; don't remember the arm that was on it, maybe SME.

Thorens TD124 with Ortofon arm and cartridge.

McIntosh MC60, one pair: sold on in favor of HK Citation II, which I still prefer, but keeping the MC60's for about three decades longer would have been financially rewarding.

Jensen G610 15" triaxial: also would have been worth storing for a few decades.

Marantz 7c tube preamp: clearly superior to anything I had heard to that point. I thought I was getting a lot of money for it. Please never mention this to me again.

Acoustic Research 10pi: nice speakers, but I don't regret selling them.

HealthKit/Altec two woofer Legato: wonderful, but I only had one. It was the speaker in my van for several months in 1972. A crowd pleaser. Sold it to a Haight Street club who used it for the house speaker. They blew it up.

Scott 130 preamp: stealth 7c challenger. Really quite nice sounding.

Fisher 50c mono preamp pair: they could do the job.

Honorable mention (not really high-end)--KLH Model 8 tube (6bq5) FM radio with vernier dial and separate speaker. Classy little thing to have around the house.