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I have a stack of amps, which would you recommend?

keyboarder

keyboarder

Active Member
Hello, I'm new to the forum but have been meaning to join for quite a while. Last year I bought some Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 earphones and they really woke me up to good audio and made me want more! :D

I have purchased some large lots of audio and electronic gear that I have in storage and wondering which of these you could recommend. Someday I would like a realy high end amp, but that's down the road.

For Speakers I have a pair of JBL L100T3's (400W) and at some point will look into either a Woo or Little Dot MKIII/IV headphone amp for dual use as a preamp.

Amps I have on hand and wattage for those that I was able to look up:

Pair of Audiosource 5.3A Monoblock 250W each
Marantz ST70/PM70
Marantz ST100/PM100 4x100W
Sony TA-AX295 60W 1990
RCA RT-2360 - Home Theater Integrated
Harmon/Kardon HK330VI 25W
Nakamichi TA-3A Tuner/Amp 75W
Yamaha CR-640 (huge aluminum front wood cabinet) 42W
Sanyo JCX-2000 (huge aluminum front wood cabinet)
Sansui QS-500 "rear amp"
Technics SA-5060 receiver
Technics SU-V98 integrated 110W
Technics SU-C01 Stereo Preamp 1979
Technics SE-C01 Small 40W Amp
Technics ST-S98A Tuner
JVC MCA-V7E 4channel 25-50W Integrated 1971-74
Pioneer SX-315 Receiver
Mitsubishi M-VR700 Integrated
Kenwood KR-V9080 Amp/Receiver
Kenwood VR-208

Will any of these Amps do justice to my speakers?
 
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Start with the biggest :D:D 250w should do it, I think the 400w claim from JBL was advertising bs.
 
Start with the Audiosource. That's probably the only thing there worth keeping. The Sanyo might be good. Sell the rest and buy an Onkyo Integra M508 and you're done.
 
That's a lot of stuff you've got there...

I'd free up a weekend in the agenda and try them all out.
Keep the amp (or 2 or 3) you like best, sell the rest and get a new set of speakers that are known for good imaging and soundstage.

What are you using as source?
 
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The Nak might be good, too. I've been listening to a TA-4A and JBL L20-T and it's been a good combination.

Synergy is really important. Test some different combinations - It's your ears that have to live with the results. The JBLs are pretty efficient, so you could probably drive them with almost anything. What kind of music do you like and how loud do you listen?
 
That Yamaha should sound good, & the JVC is a real sleeper. The JVC's don't get much love here, but some of them are fantastic with the right speakers - give it a shot.

All that matters is what sounds good to you.
 
What kind of music do you listen to? At what volumes? What is your listening space like? Do you like your music to be "colored" in a certain way, such as pounding bass, warm mids, or ??? What are your music sources?

Offhand, the only recognizable (to me) components are the HK 330 and the Yamaha CR-640.

The Audio Source amps may be good, but I totally dismiss the "more power is better" mind set.

But in the end, it is your ears that matter. First you need to get rid of half of that stuff. Toss (Goodwill) the lightweight and Black Plastic Crap components, then spend a bit of time listening to the rest.
 
Naptown Rob said:
the JVC is a real sleeper. The JVC's don't get much love here, but some of them are fantastic with the right speakers - give it a shot.

All that matters is what sounds good to you.
Click to expand...

Fine sentiment, indeed!

That JVC seems to sound more powerful than the rating, so I surely would give it a serious look & they do not show up that much in this area.

Rome
 
I listen to lots of music from Classic Rock to recent music out this month. Some Jazz, Some Classical, not much Rap so I don't care for overpowering booming bass. I really have a wide range of music and appreciate details more than volume, but both are great.

Home Theater - Since the price of LCD's and projectors have come down so much I might finally upgrade our TV's and setup a home theater system. I know I won't get surround sound from 2 speakers but maybe I can add to them and they could be a starting point.

I wish everything sounded as good as Pink Floyd Pulse does at 320k on my iphone with Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 earphones. I never knew music could sound like that, and I don't even have a headphone amp. So that is my frame of reference and it's probably laughable to many of you who know so much more about audio than I do and have such high end gear but that's the best I've heard personally.

I'll set the ones you guys mentioned aside first, thanks for the great feedback!
 
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The JBL L-100T3s are pretty nice speakers, and easily driven. Finding the combination that pleases your ears is what is most fun about this hobby. I would find a couple amps that i liked with the JBLs, and sell the rest to have the amps you keep, brought back up to factory specs by a reputable tech.
 
I too would be leaning towards the AudioSource amps.. not just because they are big, but because AS has always been well reguarded, and I really like the sound and durability of my AS gear too.... and the fact they are monoblocks is just that much better..
 
Wow.

For me, I would keep the Nakamichi. It's a STASIS receiver (Nelson Pass amplifier design that Nak licensed) and could be all you ever need. The Yamaha CR-640 is a little gem. I'de keep it, too. But maybe I am biased. I have one, too. Love it.

Certainly could be fun just rotating through them. Some intersting stuff you have.

Cheers,
 
If It Were Me......

The JBL are a nice speaker, I remember hearing them a long time ago. They are capable of some quality sound reproduction.

If it were me....I would sell off all the pieces in the list, with the exception of one unit to listen to while going through the process. That unit would probably get sold at the end, or be kept as a back up. Probably keep the JVC as its not worth a lot, but probably sounds decent. Should be able to get some decent cash out of the Yamaha, the Audio Source, and the Nak units.

Then I would take all that cash and search Audiogon, CANUCK MART, AK Barter Town, Audio Asylum classifieds, and Audio Circle trading post for a different amp/pre amp combo. I would be looking for B&K, Forte, the four digit Hafler units that used Jim Sticklands Trans Nova circuit, PS Audio, PSE, or something along that lines. These were the affordable higher end electronics from the 80's and 90's. They offer a lot of performance for a reasonable price.

Personally I don't see the need for having stacks of ho hum equipment on hand to rotate in and out. Its just my opinion that I would want one or two high quality pieces to listen to music with.

But then again this is just a barnyard animals opinion. Want another one, go ask the cows. Don't talk to the chickens as fowl cannot be trusted to tell the truth.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
voltcontrol said:
That's a lot of stuff you've got there...

I'd free up a weekend in the agenda and try them all out.
Keep the amp (or 2 or 3) you like best, sell the rest and get a new set of speakers that are known for good imaging and soundstage.

What are you using as source?
Click to expand...
+1 :thmbsp: That's what I would do.

The best decision is your first hand experience.
This will identify the ones you like.
This will educate you on the types of different sound characteristics of each brand. Then you can report back to us what you like or don't like.
This will filter and identify any non-working gear or problems.

Listen for how each renders bass, vocals, instruments such as horns and cymbals, etc. Too warm, too bright? Big sound stage?
 
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