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First Vintage Onkyo: Onkyo A5

kydog

kydog

Super Member
Picked up my first Vintage Onkyo Amplifier off Craigslist (Tucson):yes: It was pretty dirty inside and out but cleaned up well:smoke: It has the same look as my Pioneer SA 8500 and built like a tank IMHO:yes: Dexoit all controls and clean the inside from all the dust. I've read the line of Onkyo (A-5 A-7 & A10) Are well thought of.
Haven't gotten around to listening to it, But looking forward to it. I picked it up for $60 bucks ( Talked down from $90):music: Any thoughts:scratch2:
 
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The power supply in that series is enormous. A guy at work found his A-5 in a dumpster. I cleaned it up and it sounds pretty good. His unit was pretty beat up, likely yours looks worth the $60~
 
Well done.

I found one of those at a yard sale once for 3 dollars. 40 wpc. Nice uncluttered look. Biggest knobs I've ever owned. :D

Seeing yours now, I wish I still had it. :sigh:
 
Don't mean to highjack this thread but....I have never seen "silver" Onkyo stuff around? (Clarification....in the last year, since I've been getting back into the audio since the early 80's.) Tough stuff to find? Nice clean look on that one kydog!
 
I still have my A5 that I bought new in 1977. Sounds wonderful and extremely under rated for it's power output. I think it was listed at 45wpc, but actually put out much more than that. You should love this piece.
 
Very good consumer equipment of its era.
I'd love to have an A-5 or an A-7... and their companion tuners were exceptional.

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Info on "silver Onkyos"* -
http://www.audio-heritage.jp/ONKYO/index.html

* The pre-silver generation of Onkyo components were also very good, and featured unique cosmetics with bronze-colored faceplates; very handsome, they were (IMO, of course)...

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(EDIT: FYI, the "Integra" name that appears on the Japanese components above wasn't used by Onkyo in the US until later)
 
Wow. My very first hi quality sytem. It was paired with Technics SB-5000 Linear Phase Speakers. I still use the speakers and the power amp side or the A-5. It is hooked up to the computer in our store's stockroom. Headphone jack out to power amp in and it's a pretty nice sound down there. Pandora is our canned music.

The pre-amp section went out some time ago, but the power amp still cranks.

Nice find!

Forrest
 
The A-5 was #2 on my short list when I bought my Yamaha CA-610II. The Onkyo dealer in Baltimore was a snob (albeit one who sold some great-sounding stuff, including Magnepan, audio research, conrad-johnson, ads, and Nakamichi). Soundscape sold Yamaha in Baltimore; a much nicer dealership. Soundscape's still around (as is my CA-610II). That other guy... not so much.
 
Very cool, I just got an A-5 for 60 myself, it was being demo'd on a pair of B&W DM 220's with a sansui tuner....ended up getting it all for 130 with a box of records thrown in.

These things sound great! I love that old Onkyo gear!

Enjoy!
 
I actually didn't know of any "Silver Face" Onkyo Amps until I saw it pictured and it caught my eye. The guy who sold it couldn't pronounce the name:no: He had a bunch of stuff from a church sale trying to get rid of it:yes: I did some searching on the web that convinced me to pull the trigger on it.
( There was also a Realistic Quad amp that I had never seen before:scratch2:) But passed on it... Thanks for all the input & Info!!
 
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I bought a new Onkyo A5 Integrated back in my college days in the early 80's. Had it a couple years before replacing it with an NAD 3020 for some reason. If I had my choice now I would go with the Onkyo. Now that I am into collecting vintage audio, I am the proud owner of an Onkyo TX-8500 receiver.
 
yesshows77 said:
I bought a new Onkyo A5 Integrated back in my college days in the early 80's. Had it a couple years before replacing it with an NAD 3020 for some reason. If I had my choice now I would go with the Onkyo. Now that I am into collecting vintage audio, I am the proud owner of an Onkyo TX-8500 receiver.
Click to expand...

Ha! I use the TX-8500 receiver as the power section for our church's sound system (2 of my Cornwalls and 2 Heresys as side fills). I run a 12 track mixer into the tape3 input and route everything through there. PLENTY of power and it sounds great!

Forrest
 
Onkyo A-G10

I have a Grand Integra A-G10 from 1988 sounds great! on Klipsch RF 3 MKII
 

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Onkyo is the best kept secret in vintage audio. Beautiful, powerful, sweet sounding and the most reliable gear built. IMO, of course.
congrats on the finds
 
The 8500 is driving my Axium X3's, in the basement system right now, dual mono. Nice build quality. And it weighs 60 Lbs.
 
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