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Advice needed: Which of these 80s Technics Amps I should go for?

SimonB71

SimonB71

New Member
Hi everyone, I’ve just signed up as I would love to get a little advice on these old Technics Amps… I recently got a strong craving to listen to my old vinyl albums again, and I’ve always been fond of Technics, my Dad had a great system when I was a kid, and I listened to my albums on that till I left home, and then as a student moved onto tape, and then to CDs and finally to Spotify… but I’ve had these insane cravings to hear my favourites on vinyl again, and decided to buy used Technics separates, as I’m on a bit of a tight budget.. I just bought a turntable and CD player, I have really good speakers, just need to get an AMP… on EBay right now I’ve made a shortlist of the best available in my price range, these are all in the £70-120 range, but finding it hard to distinguish between them. Are these all pretty similar? Does any stand out as being the best? Any advice would be hugely appreciated!
Here’s the list:
SU V450
SU V45A
SU V500
SU X840
SU 700
 
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They're all mid-tier amps, quite honest and solid. Out of the list I would take the first two, as they are most vintage (I am biased towards the older designs) and the most "sturdy" (V450). None of them is beefy in any way, but these have a slight edge over the others.
The SU-700 is also okay as a small amp. I personally would be less interested in the SU-V500 (too modern), and not much in the SU-X840 (midi size, small heatsink and current-controlled fan).
 
MacPhantom said:
They're all mid-tier amps, quite honest and solid. Out of the list I would take the first two, as they are most vintage (I am biased towards the older designs) and the most "sturdy" (V450). None of them is beefy in any way, but these have a slight edge over the others.
The SU-700 is also okay as a small amp. I personally would be less interested in the SU-V500 (too modern), and not much in the SU-X840 (midi size, small heatsink and current-controlled fan).
Click to expand...
MacPhantom said:
They're all mid-tier amps, quite honest and solid. Out of the list I would take the first two, as they are most vintage (I am biased towards the older designs) and the most "sturdy" (V450). None of them is beefy in any way, but these have a slight edge over the others.
The SU-700 is also okay as a small amp. I personally would be less interested in the SU-V500 (too modern), and not much in the SU-X840 (midi size, small heatsink and current-controlled fan).
Click to expand...

Thanks, that’s really useful! Can I ask why you prefer the older ones? I’d assumed the slightly newer ones would be improvements on the older ones?
 
MacPhantom said:
They're all mid-tier amps, quite honest and solid. Out of the list I would take the first two, as they are most vintage (I am biased towards the older designs) and the most "sturdy" (V450). None of them is beefy in any way, but these have a slight edge over the others.
The SU-700 is also okay as a small amp. I personally would be less interested in the SU-V500 (too modern), and not much in the SU-X840 (midi size, small heatsink and current-controlled fan).
Click to expand...
Also, out of the two you recommended, the first two, V450 and V45A, do you have any thoughts on what’s the difference between them? And which would you go for? The two on sale are very close in price and condition.
 
SU-V450 would be a good call SVI3204 with ext class AA setup… the 4003 in the V45 is more delicate should something go amiss
The SU-700 is a no frills honest amp…. On a same bracket power IC SVI3104
The X840 isn’t fan cooled and runs the smaller SVI3102A
The V500 is on the BC module era
 
@SimonB71

Best of luck in tracking down an amp that meets your needs and expectations.

Just a little advice seeing as you're new here cross posting is kind considered a no-no on forums.

You're first post at 5:03 AM was in the right thread then 3 minutes later you posted the same question again in a newly created thread and then an hour or so later you created this thread with the same question with a very similar title.

https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/80s-technics-integrated-amps.438913/page-23

https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/advice-needed-on-80’s-technics-amps-which-should-i-buy.989142/
 
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I prefer the old ones because they look prettier to my taste. Also, their build quality tends to be higher on average than the newer models (also due to inflation of the 円 in Japan in the mid-80s).

There isn't much of a difference between the SU-V45A and SU-V450. Nominally the latter has an extra five Watts of power per channel (50 instead of 45; doesn't matter); they both have the same power supply section, an integrated power I.C. as an output stage (SVI 4003, resp. SVI 3204 – they tend to melt under constant high temperatures due to their tight packaging), same number of inputs (four [with Phono MM] + two tape monitors), same THD specs (very low distortion due to class AA circuitry). The V450 is basically a facelift of the V45A (87-88 vs. 88-89). Out of the two I would go for the V450, mainly because it is taller (= more room for hot air). None of them are going to be mind-blowing, both are honest and well-performing amps for home use. Make sure to not block the air vents and not use them at peak level for too long (they're no PA amps), then you'll be fine.

Sentence for prevention: you will not notice any difference in sound between the two, unless one is severely misaligned or broken. Also, forget about blind re-capping, this is a disease that only wastes materials and time. Just enjoy the music. :)
 
Dswankey said:
@SimonB71

Best of luck in tracking down an amp that meets your needs and expectations.

Just a little advice seeing as you're new here cross posting is kind considered a no-no on forums.

You're first post at 5:03 AM was in the right thread then 3 minutes later you posted the same question again in a newly created thread and then an hour or so later you created this thread with the same question with a very similar title.

https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/80s-technics-integrated-amps.438913/page-23

https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/advice-needed-on-80’s-technics-amps-which-should-i-buy.989142/
Click to expand...
Thanks for letting me know, I just joined and didn’t realise you can’t post in different places and wasn’t sure which would be the best one to post in, so tried a couple of them! Noted!!
 
ET16 said:
SU V450 or SU V45A of that list. Better specs.
Click to expand...
Thanks, seeing as two people have now said these are the two best ones, that has helped me enormously, I’ll go with one of these, but I think thr V450 is overall the best one to go for. Really appreciate your opinion, it’s helped me a lot , Thankyou very much.
 
MacPhantom said:
I prefer the old ones because they look prettier to my taste. Also, their build quality tends to be higher on average than the newer models (also due to inflation of the 円 in Japan in the mid-80s).

There isn't much of a difference between the SU-V45A and SU-V450. Nominally the latter has an extra five Watts of power per channel (50 instead of 45; doesn't matter); they both have the same power supply section, an integrated power I.C. as an output stage (SVI 4003, resp. SVI 3204 – they tend to melt under constant high temperatures due to their tight packaging), same number of inputs (four [with Phono MM] + two tape monitors), same THD specs (very low distortion due to class AA circuitry). The V450 is basically a facelift of the V45A (87-88 vs. 88-89). Out of the two I would go for the V450, mainly because it is taller (= more room for hot air). None of them are going to be mind-blowing, both are honest and well-performing amps for home use. Make sure to not block the air vents and not use them at peak level for too long (they're no PA amps), then you'll be fine.

Sentence for prevention: you will not notice any difference in sound between the two, unless one is severely misaligned or broken. Also, forget about blind re-capping, this is a disease that only wastes materials and time. Just enjoy the music. :)
Click to expand...
Ah… ok, that is good to know, yes build quality is important and I did notice the newer ones looking more plasticky and actually I think they look slightly more dated (and more cheaply made) than the older ones. I just wasn’t sure if older age would be a negative factor. I have to say, your knowledge is seriously impressive, I can’t imagine someone in a store knowing all this detail, so I can not thank you enough for sharing your insight and opinions with me, it was exactly what I needed and more than I was expecting. You have made it very easy for me to decide, I’m going to go for the V450, based on everything you said. Good to know that I won’t hear any difference between these different AMPs as that was something I was wondering about. There are two for sale as BUY IT NOW, one at £100 which is slightly scuffed but has been fully cleaned and restored and sounds like new, the other is £150 and looks good as new, not been restored but they say it sounds excellent and no issues. There is third which looks good as new, no marks or scratches, and is selling at auction, current bid at just £38!! So I’m watching that one and I’ll hopefully get that at a good price, otherwise I’ll go for one of the BUY IT NOW ones. Just wondering if I should look for a slightly better one being sold at auction as these are always cheaper than the buy it now prices, and I’m happy to go up to £150… is there another one which is say one notch higher up in terms of sound quality which I could maybe get at auction in the £150 price? I don’t really need volume just want it to sound good. Seems like the next level up jumps about £100 or more in price though.
 
MacPhantom said:
I prefer the old ones because they look prettier to my taste. Also, their build quality tends to be higher on average than the newer models (also due to inflation of the 円 in Japan in the mid-80s).

There isn't much of a difference between the SU-V45A and SU-V450. Nominally the latter has an extra five Watts of power per channel (50 instead of 45; doesn't matter); they both have the same power supply section, an integrated power I.C. as an output stage (SVI 4003, resp. SVI 3204 – they tend to melt under constant high temperatures due to their tight packaging), same number of inputs (four [with Phono MM] + two tape monitors), same THD specs (very low distortion due to class AA circuitry). The V450 is basically a facelift of the V45A (87-88 vs. 88-89). Out of the two I would go for the V450, mainly because it is taller (= more room for hot air). None of them are going to be mind-blowing, both are honest and well-performing amps for home use. Make sure to not block the air vents and not use them at peak level for too long (they're no PA amps), then you'll be fine.

Sentence for prevention: you will not notice any difference in sound between the two, unless one is severely misaligned or broken. Also, forget about blind re-capping, this is a disease that only wastes materials and time. Just enjoy the music. :)
Click to expand...
There’s a V460 up for auction, which ends in a few mins and bids only up to £45… seems like a bargain and looks good, is this better than the 450?
 
45A and 450 are solid amps, i've sold maybe 30 or 40 of both models over the years and never ever had a complaint. The SU V65A is a really nice amp if you can find one. In fact in all my years of dealing with recycled electronics I can count on one hand how many SU VXXX amplifiers DIDN'T work....I even sold a few to people using them for background music in a store or bar and again never an issue.

The SUV-X series are monsters too, all the looks of the SUV series but much better build quality and double the weight.
 
Dazaa said:
45A and 450 are solid amps, i've sold maybe 30 or 40 of both models over the years and never ever had a complaint. The SU V65A is a really nice amp if you can find one. In fact in all my years of dealing with recycled electronics I can count on one hand how many SU VXXX amplifiers DIDN'T work....I even sold a few to people using them for background music in a store or bar and again never an issue.

The SUV-X series are monsters too, all the looks of the SUV series but much better build quality and double the weight.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice, that’s good to know. I ended up going for the SU-V460 which I got for £50, very nice condition, looks like new, seems to work perfectly, and I’m really pleased with it, especially for the price!
 
The speakers are pretty good actually, they are called EPOS M5 (I’ve never heard of this brand) and are 100 watts, heavy, wood, great looking and sound very good (to my slightly untrained inexperienced ears). Has anyone heard of these, or this brand?
 
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