Akai AM-2850

[tbminc]

Just got this beautiful Akai amplifier home, complete with the matching Akai AT-2650 tuner, a GXC-730D cassette deck, a AP-005 turntable and a pair of SW-157 MKII speakers. Very impressive gear from Akai I must say.

 

[Mico]

Gee, built like armored vehicle but much nicer. Who was OEM for Akai amplifiers?

 

[orsen]

very nice amp
i havnt had that one
i have had 3 am 2800, [ its little brother] sold the silvers cause i liked the black
sounds great and reliable ... tho i did have to change the power switch on one
and mid control is very nice

 

[tbminc]

Gee, built like armored vehicle but much nicer. Who was OEM for Akai amplifiers?

No idea who the OEM was or if they built their own. Most definitely built like a tank, this one weighs in at around 40 pounds for sure. Currently have it driving a pair of JBL L96 and before that a pair of Cerwin Vega S1, no sweat at all pushing these and it sounds terrific. Every bit as good as my Kenwood KA-9100 integrated.

 

[russel1972]

Very nice. I also own the AM 2850 and the AT 2600 running a pair of JBL 4301s. Not even thinking of changing anything. Very happy with the system as is. Not sure where you are, but it seems Akai was more popular in Canada and in Europe. A shame more people aren't aware of the quality and sound of these systems.

Just a quick aside. Are the lights in both the amp and tuner pretty dim? Much more so in the tuner. They all seem to be working but just very dim. The tuner gets nice reviews on FM Tuner Info website.

Enjoy. Al

 

[tbminc]

The lights are about the same as my Kenwood components from the same era. The tuner and amp do vary in brightness a little bit but I believe this is normal.

 

[roger2]

nice looking amp tbminc. how about some pics of the internals?

 

[tbminc]

Unfortunately I do not have the room right now to take the cover off and move some other things around but I did find a picture of another 2850 online with it's hood off. It looks like this amplifier is fairly easy to work on and to clean up if needed.

 

[slimecity]

Akai built their own gear. Beautiful and underrated and great build quality similar to Sansui IMO

 

[Mico]

Akai built their own gear. Beautiful and underrated and great build quality similar to Sansui IMO

Akai did make their own (excellent) tape decks and R2R but I am not so sure for the rest. I had a couple of upper end Akai receivers and amps, unmarked PC boards always looked strange to me.
Very similar to Toshiba`s gear of the same vintage.

 

[Oldsansui441]

Very nice amp you have there, l am very envious, it looks like it is in beautiful condition. I had a am-2650 l completely recapped, sounded very, very nice and l had plenty of others to compare it to, sort of became me and my mates reference amp at one stage. At the time we both owned many Pioneer, Sansui, Marantz, Sony, Kenwood etc etc.
I now have a am-2450 and at-2450.

These Akai's are severely underated by most out there that don't ''know''. They are very well laid out internally and are very well built.
Akai was popular in Australia also. I believe the brand was not widely distributed in the US and many other parts of the world.

All the best with it and happy listening!

 

[Satch]

I just refurbished a (way smaller) AM-2200 and some time ago an AT-2450. Well build and easy to work on. Right now I'm actually listening to this combination and it sounds and works great. Would love to get my hands on the AM-2850.

 

[SX550]

Beautiful set
I'm having trouble with my 2800 powering the bose 901s.

 

[tbminc]

Night shot with the matching at-2650 tuner.