Prices for vintage 70s stuff sure has skyrocketed lately. 80s gears is still modestly priced in comparison---to get a jump on that stuff perhaps becoming collectible someday (or at least to still be miserly!), what do people think were the better/best integrated amps of the 80s? Feel free to rate by performance and build quality! What say you all?
Best integrateds of the 80s?
- Thread starter jckonicek
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braxus
FeCr Type III
Denons mid to late 80s PMA Integrated amps were very good. I used to have a PMA-300 which was 60 watts high current power. I just bought a Denon PMA-720 which was 90 watts high current power. Look at my thread and you'll see the inside of these things. Massive power transformers!
Duffinator
Spin The Black Circle
Is that a picture in your avatar? We need full pictures. :yes:
Sansui made a bunch of nice integrated amps in the 80's and many members here like the AU-D11 II.
Arkay
Lunatic Member
Agreed about the 80s Denon stuff. I've had a stack of Denon gear since I bought 'em new, and they still sound good ...heck, with the right speakers, VERY good. Any of their larger (usually gold, occasionally silver) amps with the wood-slab sides from that era are good; the bigger the model number the better; the monster-sized ones sound best. The later black (or gold) monoblocs are good, too.
I forget the model number, but there is a large black Marantz set-up that looks like separates but is actually in one case, which has high specs and very good sound. I think it comes from the late eighties(?). It has been written up here by one or two members who have it, so a search may turn up the model number.
Luxman's R-117 reciever (tuner/preamp) with the M-117 power amp (200 wpc, I think) is a great pairing, too, but I'm not sure when it came out. I THINK it was from the eighties.
If you are looking for affordable good sound, pick any of these (or other top-of-the-line gear from the era) and enjoy your cheaply-bought sound.
But if your aim is to save money and "jump the gun" on the next wave of collectibles that will appreciate, you could also try getting the less-appreciated or second-tier "sleepers" from the seventies, or even boomboxes, which already get surprisingly high prices on eBay for the rarer, bigger models but can sometimes still be found cheaply "in the field".
Generally, as the best things become too costly, the next-best things rise to take their place. Once art prices reached a point where no one who wasn't a billionaire could collect old master paintings, first romantic, then expressionist/impressionist paintings took over as the "hot" collectibles, and that cycle has repeated itself several times over since then. These days, modern "garbage" art can command high prices that would have been unthinkable back when real art was affordable!
But there is both supply and demand to consider. The supply of 80s stuff is greater, but will there be the same demand for it? IT had nowhere near the same build and sound quality of the seventies stuff: if it did, we'd have more people talking about it here on AK, too.
Nostalgia also plays a role. People of a certain age collect seventies gear in part because they remember the time when a home stereo was important, and they remember drooling over the ads and showroom displays of the "receiver wars". The equivalent ICONIC audio of the 80s, which probably best reminds people of a slightly younger age of that era, was probably the emerging pop-culture symbol, the boombox, not the fading home stereo. Hence, there are now collectors of boomboxes out there bidding the best ones up on eBay [so far, up to US$2,000 for a mint-condition JVC M90]. ...but the ordinary models that lack the "icon" status, like the run-of-the-mill/mediocre home audio gear from the same era, still sell for peanuts, because of greater supply and lesser demand.
Of course, there are always early model iPods or walkmans or video games or computers... or going back earlier, portable transistor radios, but I wouldn't recommend going those routes, as they may never go up much (?). Not everything does.
Anyone want to start collecting mobile phones?
I forget the model number, but there is a large black Marantz set-up that looks like separates but is actually in one case, which has high specs and very good sound. I think it comes from the late eighties(?). It has been written up here by one or two members who have it, so a search may turn up the model number.
Luxman's R-117 reciever (tuner/preamp) with the M-117 power amp (200 wpc, I think) is a great pairing, too, but I'm not sure when it came out. I THINK it was from the eighties.
If you are looking for affordable good sound, pick any of these (or other top-of-the-line gear from the era) and enjoy your cheaply-bought sound.
But if your aim is to save money and "jump the gun" on the next wave of collectibles that will appreciate, you could also try getting the less-appreciated or second-tier "sleepers" from the seventies, or even boomboxes, which already get surprisingly high prices on eBay for the rarer, bigger models but can sometimes still be found cheaply "in the field".
Generally, as the best things become too costly, the next-best things rise to take their place. Once art prices reached a point where no one who wasn't a billionaire could collect old master paintings, first romantic, then expressionist/impressionist paintings took over as the "hot" collectibles, and that cycle has repeated itself several times over since then. These days, modern "garbage" art can command high prices that would have been unthinkable back when real art was affordable!
But there is both supply and demand to consider. The supply of 80s stuff is greater, but will there be the same demand for it? IT had nowhere near the same build and sound quality of the seventies stuff: if it did, we'd have more people talking about it here on AK, too.
Nostalgia also plays a role. People of a certain age collect seventies gear in part because they remember the time when a home stereo was important, and they remember drooling over the ads and showroom displays of the "receiver wars". The equivalent ICONIC audio of the 80s, which probably best reminds people of a slightly younger age of that era, was probably the emerging pop-culture symbol, the boombox, not the fading home stereo. Hence, there are now collectors of boomboxes out there bidding the best ones up on eBay [so far, up to US$2,000 for a mint-condition JVC M90]. ...but the ordinary models that lack the "icon" status, like the run-of-the-mill/mediocre home audio gear from the same era, still sell for peanuts, because of greater supply and lesser demand.
Of course, there are always early model iPods or walkmans or video games or computers... or going back earlier, portable transistor radios, but I wouldn't recommend going those routes, as they may never go up much (?). Not everything does.
Anyone want to start collecting mobile phones?
braxus
FeCr Type III
I always thought the 80s stuff was an improvement over the 70s gear. All I remember about 70s gear was they were all HUGE pieces of equipment will large parts inside. I didn't think that made them better, but what do I know? 80s gear gave way to higher current amps which really punches up the music. All thanks to CDs of course. Because of CDs- stereo equipment HAD to get better.
Luxman gear was ok if you got the high end stuff like the C series. The M series was good too, but not everything was great. I remember when the M-117 was out. It cost $1200 here when new. Pretty good amp. But the 100 series stuff from Luxman like their receivers and tape decks were mostly garbage. Denon was much better. Yamaha was ok then too, but nothing ever stood out in their lineups.
I'd love to have that old PMA-900. I still have the brochure for it. I have posted it for you guys. It was the lineup brochure for the 250, 300, 500, 700, and 900. I just realized the 700 was better then the 720 which replaced it. Had I known that- I would have waited for another 700 to come along. Check out the 4 pages I scanned. There were pages for the 500, 300, and 250- but I skipped those ones.
Luxman gear was ok if you got the high end stuff like the C series. The M series was good too, but not everything was great. I remember when the M-117 was out. It cost $1200 here when new. Pretty good amp. But the 100 series stuff from Luxman like their receivers and tape decks were mostly garbage. Denon was much better. Yamaha was ok then too, but nothing ever stood out in their lineups.
I'd love to have that old PMA-900. I still have the brochure for it. I have posted it for you guys. It was the lineup brochure for the 250, 300, 500, 700, and 900. I just realized the 700 was better then the 720 which replaced it. Had I known that- I would have waited for another 700 to come along. Check out the 4 pages I scanned. There were pages for the 500, 300, and 250- but I skipped those ones.
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Duffinator
Spin The Black Circle
These continued into the 90's and I have a POA-2800. Nice build quality and I use it in my HT powering my main speakers. The monoblocks like the 4400's look real nice too. I'm thinking of building a stereo system with a POA-5200 and PRA-1500. Anybody ever used that combo? But the PMA-920 looks pretty sweet too.
Braxas, thanks for posting the brochure. :thmbsp:
reggaenaut
Addicted Member
Eighties stuff was for the most part drab, without aesthetics, without tactile substance.
thedelihaus
Nocturnal transmissions
Onkyo (standard), Onkyo's Integra/Grand Integra line, Denon, upper-end Yamaha offerings, Pioneer Elite, Sony ES, all nice kit.
Arkay
Lunatic Member
Oooh, yeah, forgot about the Pioneer Elite series. I have some of that stuff from that era, and it's very nice. Among the most elegant-looking ,gear out there, too IMO. Onkyo has always had a few good TOTL amps, too. Don't see them often or hear much about them, but they were good! :yes:
westend
Audiopile
Is that the same amp that just sold for over $7k on that auction site?
Pickoid
Tired
Thanks for posting that, braxus. I have a PMA-300V, and it was nice to see the official specs on it. I've used it in various office and bedroom systems, and it was my main amp for a while.
My current amp is a Yamaha A-760, also in the "80's gear but good" category.
FockeWulf190D
Member
I Had a Yamaha AX-900 from 86-87 in nineties, and was considered one of the top Reference performers by Audio german magazine... 4th behind 3 Accuphase models!!!! I'd mention JVC of the SuperA series with a top AX-9 120w/ch with big toroidal... having a little AX-2 (40w/ch) recapped that sounds fantastic, There's a place at home for that big brother for shure.