Which are for you best vintage power amplifiers?

[Pioneer4ever]

Hello friends, I open this 3D because I want know which are for you best vintage power amplifiers, I mean most powerful vintage power amplifier, amplifiers like Phase Linear 400, 700, 700B, SAE 2600, 2600L, Harman Kardon Citation 16, 16A, Bose 1801, Gas Ampzilla, etc.
I have a pair of JBL L-150A and I will buy a pair of L-220, I listen dance, disco 70-80 and a lot of others kind of music, so I need a really powerfull amplifier.
Now I have a HK Citation 16A and I think that for have enough power I must bridge it and so use two of these, one for every speaker.
Thanks!
Bye

 

[Dr Tinear]

I like the Heathkit AA-1640. It's rated at 200 WPC into 8 ohms and won't clip below 300 WPC. It also sounds great, looks imposing and is built like a tank.

The Dynaco ST-416 doesn't sound quite as good as the Heath, but it's still a fine amp. It was the top of Dynaco's solid-state line and had twice as many output transistors as the ST-400 and ST-410 for improved drive capability into low-impedance loads. The LED power meters look cool and the Dynaguard circuit allows it to be used safely with speakers that can't handle its full 200 Watts per channel.

 

[ryuuoh]

Really powerful?
http://amp8.com/tr-amp/foreign/sae/sae-1001.htm

 

[Jailtime]

Soundcraftsmen 5002, Pioneer SPEC 2.

 

[brutal]

One big Yamaha PC5002M, PC4002M, or a Pair of Yamaha PC2002M bridged per speaker pair will supply more than enough clean high power for virtually any speaker system.

http://www.hifi-studio.de/hifi-klassiker/yamaha/yamaha_5002M/yamaha_5002M.htm

PC4002M

 

[Westy56]

Citation 19's and II's

Both models put out scary power when bridged.


Steve

 

[KentTeffeteller]

For your kind of music, think Amcron kilowatt power amps.

 

[theprofessor]

I've got a couple of SAE 2500s... they're pretty powerful, 450WPC into 4 ohms! All I have to do now is find something that is power hungry enough to take advantage of them.

 

[Arkay]

Yamaha 101M. :thmbsp: Functionally, pretty much identical to the PC5002M commercial version Brutal linked to above, but in prettier cosmetic housing. All the amp I'll ever need... except that one day I'll get a second one, and bi-amp with them. There are a few rare mega-amps out there that can out-spec this, but only a few, and none priced at levels below "silly bucks".

 

[jblnut]

Another vote for the big Pro Yamahas! You can get a PC2002M for short money and have more power than you are likely to ever need...

jblnut

 

[fhawk618]

Everyone's leaving out an important player from the 80's--Bob Carver... I've seen Phase Linear mentioned early on, but his own Carver brand produced some brutes--M 1.5/1.5t, and the corresponding PM 1.5/1.5A, PM 1200... These are all still around and reasonably priced and still relatively easily serviced.

If you're looking to spend a few bucks, Krell and Mark Levinson can provide you with an endless supply of current...

If you're considering pro gear in the equation--don't leave out Crown (a Harman company)--my PowerBase and MacroTech series amps provide some serious bang for the buck...

 

[Rome]

Just a few of my favs:

B&K ST2140
Hafler DH-500
SAE Mark IVC (modded)

Rome

 

[Glen B]

In my time as a mobile DJ during the 1970s and early 1980s, I had other DJ friends and associates, and had the opportunity to roam about and hear their systems at work. Amps like the Bose 1801, Spec 2, Phase Linear 700 Series 2 and D-500, Marantz 510M, and SAE 2500 all sounded good in use. Some of the cleanest, most authoritative sound I heard back then came from PL 700 II and D-500 amps.

 

[egl333]

My Heathkit AA-1640 and Marantz 510M both perform superbly and seem to have tremendous power reserve. They seem to outperform a friend's Phase Linear 400 by quite a margin.

 

[bluesky]

Best 'Vintage' Power amp: Sansui BA-5000.

Never had one, never seen one, never heard one: it's the best.

They used them in movie theaters etc., good enough for me. 'Tons of RMS raw power'. Crank it up and structurally destroy your house with clean sound. It's the real thing.

You would need to get a CA-3000 pre-amp for the controller of the amp. That's 'the' combination.

It would be darn near impossible to beat. It's a MONSTER AMP. You could power ' A N Y T H I N G '.

The 'Sound of Sansui'.

 

[dshoaf]

My first reaction: There is no "Best".

Second: Don't know what size room you have. This is a big factor for power requirements along with typical sound levels, which you have indicated.

Third: Speakers - are you planning on running 4 speakers or just the 2 new JBLs? If all 4 then consider using 2 power amps. This, too, will affect the power requirements.

Fourth: You are potentially stepping into hearing damage territory with the speakers and power capabilities. Consider where your limits are without using some ear plugs. Really!

Lastly: High power amps require stable and clean power to operate well. Consider the age and quality of the house wiring you'll be depending on.

Cheers,

David

 

[avguytx]

My favorites would be the ones I own because they have a story behind them, they've all been serviced and put back to (or exceed) original specs, and until I have more money to "want" to spend on something else, I'm content with them.

Carver TFM-55, Carver M-1.0t, Soundcraftsmen A5002

 

[Freo-1]

My current favorite is a Threshold STASIS-2, recently, recapped, with S500 output devices. Great performance.

 

[Lwrs10]

I like the Heathkit AA-1640. It's rated at 200 WPC into 8 ohms and won't clip below 300 WPC. It also sounds great, looks imposing and is built like a tank.

The Dynaco ST-416 doesn't sound quite as good as the Heath, but it's still a fine amp. It was the top of Dynaco's solid-state line and had twice as many output transistors as the ST-400 and ST-410 for improved drive capability into low-impedance loads. The LED power meters look cool and the Dynaguard circuit allows it to be used safely with speakers that can't handle its full 200 Watts per channel.

I also agree with the 1640. Best sounding amp I have ever heard. And there is no way I could ever get close to clipping it before my eardrums give up. Only thing that does suck is the wife said hell no to it being in the living room....

 

[onkyofan]

I use a HK Citation 16A in my listening area and love it! (Thanks M Jarve) I also have an Adcom GFA-555 and am quite impressed with it's performance as well.

dshoaf has a good point, how big to go before hearing loss.