Lafayette LR-200 Reciever

[Robie]

Lafayette LR-200 Receiver

Anyone know anything about the Lafayette LR-200 receiver? Pic is from a current Ebay auction, I don't have the manual.

I'm thinking about restoring this modest little freebie. It now resides in my garage connected to a DIY mono speaker (12" JBL woofer, JBL bullet tweeter and JBL crossover). It works but all the bulbs are burned out (contrary to the pic below). Although it seems to be relatively low powered, it has a nice warm sound and has a pretty nice tuner.

So far I haven't found any info. I would like to start with bulb replacement. Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

[Rolf Zetterberg]

From the 1973 catalog(sorry for the bad scan)

 

[Robie]

Thanks, Rolf. Now I know/don't know how powerful it is. I've read and reread that ad 3 times now. Never seen a power rating that goes down when you go from 8 ohms to 4 ohms.

To tell you the truth, I think I like it because it resembles my first receiver, a Scott 636 Stereomaster that was not one of Scott's finest.

 

[Markw]

Now you know why the FTC stepped in in '74

I've read and reread that ad 3 times now. Never seen a power rating that goes down when you go from 8 ohms to 4 ohms.

They give you three different power ratings because they used three diffferent methods of measuring and stating the power. Music power will give the highest number. It's kinda like an instantanious powe. IHF power will be somewhat lower but I forget the particulars and, finally, RMS, which is the one you should be using.

So, figure it puts out 16 "real" wpc @ 4 ohms and you can count on somewhat less at 8 ohms.

These confusing power ratings is wha tte FTC was trying to stop in '74 or so but I do give Lafayette for at least stating the RMS power in there somewhere.

 

[Robie]

Thanks, Mark,

Once I figured out how to rotate the text in Acrobat, I can finally read the text and it makes more sense.

I figure it's 8-12W RMS/ch at 8 ohms.

Funny it sounded much more powerful than that in my garage when RayW was over last weekend. I had it hooked up to a single '60s vintage JBL 12" woofer, bullet tweeter and JBL crossover installed in a nasty looking cabinet I built 20 years ago. I saved the drivers after I removed them from a living room wall in my former home (part of a built-in mono setup installed by the former owner). Very efficient drivers that play really loud. Surprisingly they sounded remarkably good with the Lafayette. Even with my Shoe Goo cone patches!

Gonna have to try this DIY mono speaker with my 5W Super T-Amp.

The tuner specs don't support my earlier statement that it has a pretty nice tuner.

 

[Markw]

Surprisingly enough, you don't really need a lot of watts to get good, loud sound, particularly with efficient speakers. Mega-power is really only needed for peaks. At normal listening levels, you'd be surprised at how little power is used.

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Lafayette. My first "real" stereo was their LA-224A tube unit, NIB, with 6 rockin' wpc.

 

[Grid]

Here it is 2013 and I just joined, but I'll ask nonetheless. Did anyone ever come up with a manual or what lamps the dial uses? I found an LR-200 in the trash. It has been in daily service for me for a good eight years. Very tube-like, warm, cushy-bass audio.

 

[Guest101]

I've read specs on other receivers that went wattage going down into 4 ohms. It does look like a Scott receiver to me.
I like Lafayette products and own their 1976 T-6000 turntable w/ Jelco tonearm. It is a good TT.

 

[bd1886]

I picked up a little Lafayette receiver a couple months back and still need to find time to check it out. Lafayette doesn't seem to get much respect but it's mostly all about speaker pairing and your listening space anyways. I find it very satisfying to see how little watts it takes to run with a nice sound. ("Big Boys" be damned.)

Let us know how you shake it down to best experience in how you pair up and all! (I'll do the same.....very curious and want to truly see what is up with honest comparisons.)