The greatest amps circa 1977-80?

Id like to give another shoutout to the Kenwood Lab series. Particularly the L-09M, the biggest, baddest, most powerful amp put out by Kenwood, ever. Their finesse still impresses me more and more each day.

Dan

Everything in that series was magnificent. When Kenwood wanted to they could really make a statement.
 
Id like to give another shoutout to the Kenwood Lab series. Particularly the L-09M, the biggest, baddest, most powerful amp put out by Kenwood, ever. Their finesse still impresses me more and more each day.



Dan

Wow, those are real clean! My brother has a pair that need some work, the usual relay issues. My L-07Ms could also probably use a recap, though I have not run into the relay delay problem yet.
 
Interesting point about game changer.

Remember when Levinson came out? What a game changer that was. Threshold & Levinson were the top of the heap solid states. Then, it was Krell out of nowhere.

But the big audio dealers back then around the country would have like 3 different listening rooms. You didn't get into the #1 room w/ say a Levinson amp driving Beverage speakers through a Goldmund table. They were picky about who got in there and who got to listen to the elite stuff.

Then, you'd have room #2. Maybe McIntosh or GAS or Denon or ADS speakers or something. Working man's stereo if you will.

Then there was room #3. That was the common type room where lots of mass produced items were.

But when the sales people talked to you, it wasn't easy to get into the #1 room if you didn't have high end gear or show the ability to purchase.

Similar in many aspects to a car dealer back then---they'd show you a Buick and so forth but the Jaguar sedan or the Benz was at the ultimate location at the dealership. And they were not letting just anyone test drive those cars. But maybe you could look at them for about a minute & then back you'd go.

Yes you are right that most high end stores used 3 or 4 sound rooms and it was the salesman's job to sort out the rubber neckers from the serious buyers before getting all tied up. Keep in mind too, that there were a lot of buyers in those days and a meaningful listening session takes time. Time is money, then and now. The way I worked it was to let walk-ins (people with no appointment) go where they wanted provided any given room was free, but then set up an appointment for them for serious listening. The process of setting up an appointment separated the tire kickers from the real prospects in most cases. You mention Levinson as a game changer. I know they finally got their act together, but in the early days their stuff didn't work. Or didn't work for long. I refused to sell it. In the first year we had that line 100% of our customers came back for warranty repairs if I am not mistaken. Audio Research was not much better. In those days, the best bet was still McIntosh or Marantz from a value/reliability perspective. For the majority of my well heeled clients, busy people not necessarily golden ear types, the conservative McIntosh/Marantz approach was the safe way to make and keep a happy customer. Or course the Levinson and ARC stuff sounded better. I bought ARC on accommodation, but spun it as soon as the year was up. One of the other salesman shifted to a competitive store that sold GAS and he told me that they had the same problems in the early days with that line too. He also told me they sold their first set of Accoustat speakers, which promptly caught fire and damn near burned down the client's brand new desiger house. Like I said it was a fun time to grow up.
 
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AT the time V-FET was king, and I have yet to hear a modern amp that equals my Yamaha B-2 for sound quality.
I have fond memories of hearing JWC's (of The Absolute Sound) Dayton-Wright electrostats driven by a B-2. While they were certainly nice, I preferred the Threshold 800A in that day. Have you heard the current Audio Research, VTL, Ayre or Pass Labs amps?

Speaking of Nelson Pass, you may be aware that he had a run of VFETs (actually called SITs) fabricated for his First Watt SIT-1/2 designs and built a custom version for Sony using some of their unobtainium devices. The challenge with those earlier Japanese designs was there topography was very complex with many cascading stages which negated the advantage of using those output devices.
 
Partial to my pair of Yamaha M2 and pair of Akai PS 200M vintage power amps. I also really enjoy the warmth of my Akai AM 2950 Integrated Amplifier. I have owned a great many amps and have always come back to these.
 
Crown. 'Nuff said!

http://www.mixonline.com/thewire/crown-dc-300-enters-tecnology-hall-fame/408824

Crown DC 300 Enters TECnology Hall Of Fame
NEW YORK CITY - November 2007 -- As a fitting cap to Crown International's 60th anniversary year, the DC 300 amplifier, first introduced 40 years prior in 1967, was inducted into the TECnology Hall Of Fame on the opening day of the 123rd AES Convention in New York City. Gerald Stanley, Crown International's senior VP of R&D and the original designer of the DC 300, was on hand to accept the award.

Presented by the Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio, best known for its production of the TEC Awards, and hosted by the AES, the Fourth Annual TECnology Hall Of Fame ceremony was emceed by George Petersen, executive editor of Mix magazine and director of the TECnology Hall Of Fame.

Petersen prefaced Crown's award by remarking, "[The DC 300] was a classic that really ushered in and defined the era of the modern power amplifier. And 1967 was a perfect time for this product to come out. Suddenly there were rock concerts that were high SPL--very loud--and needed great amplification. Live sound systems were coming into vogue. Listening levels in recording studios in 1967 started going through the roof and somebody needed to produce an amplifier that was loud enough to take care of this. And even 40 years after its introduction, there are so many of these DC 300s still in service, it's an amazing testament to Crown reliability."

Accepting the award, Gerald Stanley commented in his own inimitable way, "I must say this is quite humbling. Engineers don't normally get put in the spotlight. But there are some people that are even less in the spotlight that I think are very important in all of this. One are the people that faithfully drive the screws and solder the joints; the people who work and make these products reliable. Nothing I do as an engineer matters if people don't put it together faithfully.

"There's a second group that almost never gets mentioned, and that's the group of risk-takers. You see, technology doesn't really 'happen' unless people take risks to do things that are new and different. So who are the risk-takers? They're you, the users. Because, after all, the year is 1967. There have been a number of power amplifiers out. They all break, and fairly soon; you hardly have to abuse them at all. You've already bought 'N-1' of these things, so why would you try to buy the Nth one and think it any better? That wouldn't be rational. And especially when you consider that you would have to go to a tape recorder company -- Crown International -- located in Elkhart, Indiana. It's where you make band instruments and travel trailers. That's what Elkhart's famous for. So people took a huge risk. And 685 dollars in 1967 is a different quantity materially than it is today. People put a lot of trust in us, quite frankly, and we're humbled by that. And we want the products that we make today to be as faithful and enduring and as apt to their purpose as the DC 300 has proven to be. But hats off to you, the users, who cast your lot with us and gave us a try. I thank you."

Introduced in 1967, the high-powered, solid-state Crown DC 300 power amplifier offered 150 watts per channel at eight ohms and AB+B circuitry. The product's reputation for high output power, pristine sound, and exemplary reliability, even in the most demanding applications, quickly helped establish Crown as a true leader in the worldwide power amplifier market.

The Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio established the TECnology Hall of Fame in 2004 to honor and recognize audio products and innovations that have made a significant contribution to the advancement of audio technology. This year's 15 inductees to the TECnology Hall of Fame were chosen by a panel of more than 50 recognized audio experts, including authors, educators, engineers, facility owners and other professionals. For more information on this year's event and inductees, which included such notable items as the Theremin, Cannon XLR connector and AKG C-414, visit http://www.mixfoundation.org/hof/techof.html.
 
I also remember the days of separate audio listening rooms, and miss those days.
I have a friend who works for a company who designs media rooms for people (from $75K & up). When it comes time to select the electronics I asked him what brand was most popular. He told me that there is really no brand loyalty any more.
So when he asks someone what brands they would be interested in the most common answer is "Gee... I don't know...I don't want to spend a lot(!!)..but make darned sure it LOOKS expensive! I have people to impress!"
 
For ruggedness, longevity, and good, honest sound, I'd nominate the Hafler DH-220 as a Great Amp for the period. I'd call it a workingman's reference.

For high-end, Luxman MB-3045 tube mono blocks, designed by Tim de Paravicini.
 
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I'd have to go with the Audio Research D-76a and Dual 51, Conrad-Johnson MV45 and MV75 for tubes.

Mark Levinson ML-2 for transistors but I always had a soft spot for the old GAS Grandson amp.

If we stretch it to 1981, I'd include the Quicksilver MX-190.
 
Sure.Heck, I'd put my other gear up against your Mac. Not sure if they qualify though. May not be quite early enough. Not sure the XX is either, designed in '78 but not on the shelf till maybe '82? Except for my Boothroyd Stewart Meridian 105 monos from '78 which will thoroughly spank all contenders of that period.:) I have not auditioned current McIntosh gear but I remember not being impressed back then. Impressive build quality and power but definitely not sq wise as far as ss is concerned. Those were the golden years of the race to HI-FI. McIntosh wasn't in it having an established upper class market. They were 'good enough'.
 
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Near mint Sansui BA-5000... sounds exceptional. It's been fully recapped and 100% restored... thanks to Sansui expert Hyperion.
 
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