Roypercy
Super Member
Years ago now, I picked up an Akai AA-1200 for free from Craigslist as a non-working unit. I was just good enough to figure out it had a bad power cap, which had fried a few internal components downstream, but not good enough to fix it. I kept it in storage for a long time, until last Fall when we were moving, when I decided to take the plunge and have it professionally serviced. After about eight weeks I got it back from the good folks at SG Sound in Queens; repairs were not free 
but I'm glad I spent the money.
This thing sounds great. It throws a wide soundstage and the sound is clear, precise and detailed. It has great control of bass. A friend of mine who came over the other night, who's just dipping his toes in the audio swamp, described it as "tubelike". I'm not sure I'd agree with that, but so far it isn't giving up much to my separates. I had been running a Rotel RB-990BX, a 200 wpc beast that was definitely overkill given my listening habits. I also always felt that the Rotel amp was good, fine, but unexciting. The Akai at "only" 120 wpc handles complex musical passages far better, throws a better soundstage, and is generally just more fun to listen to. The tuner section is no match for my Kenwood KT-7300, but it isn't bad. Overall I would say the Akai is brighter than my separates, but given my University speakers that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Besides, it looks pretty. There's barely a mark on this thing.
Any other AA-1200 owners out there?
but I'm glad I spent the money. This thing sounds great. It throws a wide soundstage and the sound is clear, precise and detailed. It has great control of bass. A friend of mine who came over the other night, who's just dipping his toes in the audio swamp, described it as "tubelike". I'm not sure I'd agree with that, but so far it isn't giving up much to my separates. I had been running a Rotel RB-990BX, a 200 wpc beast that was definitely overkill given my listening habits. I also always felt that the Rotel amp was good, fine, but unexciting. The Akai at "only" 120 wpc handles complex musical passages far better, throws a better soundstage, and is generally just more fun to listen to. The tuner section is no match for my Kenwood KT-7300, but it isn't bad. Overall I would say the Akai is brighter than my separates, but given my University speakers that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Besides, it looks pretty. There's barely a mark on this thing.
Any other AA-1200 owners out there?
. Wish l owned one, as an Akai fan.
