Just bought a Sony TA 3200F power amplifier. Person who sold it to me was upgrading to McIntosh mono tube equipment. He is only the second owner of this 45 yr old behemoth! I do not have a preamp per se, but I do have an early Denon 7.1 receiver with pre-outs that I plan on using as a preamp. This is my first venture into separates. Ultimate goal is a modern preamp w/ remote and phono stage coupled with this vintage amp and a vintage tuner. In the mean time, is there any info that the more experienced out there can impart to me before I go ahead with the Denon-as-preamp set up? Any and all suggestions/ comments would be welcome. I defer to your collective superior wisdom and experience! Thank you.
Sony TA 3200F
- Thread starter athens308
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- 70's sony ta 3200f vintage amp
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Lavane
Lunatic Member
I have one of these amps also. It has some nice features. There is a power control, 1/4,1/2 and full. Just leave it in the full position. It's tied into the limiter circuit and could cause some stress using the lower settings. I completely went through mine and found several toasty resistors in that area. If you have pre out and main in jacks on the receiver you should be OK. I wish I had the matching preamp.
Thanks much for the tip. I understand the idea behind the power control: match it to the speaker rating. Can't see myself ever utilizing the full 100W rms, but it's nice to have the reserve power at reasonable listening levels. Damping factor of 170 should keep the bass nice and tight and speakers not thirsty for excess power, too. Curious: I get the pre-out, but I'm unclear on the main in. I plan on using the Denon's tuner and it's various inputs for component hook-up. Am I missing something here? Thanks!
Yeah, that's the plan eventually. The Sony came available at a price I thought was too good to pass on, but at a time when $$$ overall is tight. Any recommendations on decent preamps to watch for available on a budget? need to have a phono stage and remote volume control (I'm disabled and have limited mobility. plus my wife wants to be able to control the tv audio via remote as our cable box-a supposed upgrade- does not support volume control). Thanks!
punprankster
Super Member
how about a sony 7065 or a 7055 as a preamp? i am actually thinking about buying a ta 3200f myself as i find myself hankering for more power to drive my b&w's. does anyone think this might work?
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Yes, it might work as these units have preamp outputs that are switched on the back. But a real preamp will sound better. Makes using the STR for a while and anticipating an upgrade more fun.
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Ok...that's what I thought. Was confused by the reference to "main in". My Audiosource EQ has main in/ out jacks. Needs to be cleaned and lubed, but eventually-maybe-will run it in line with the Denon preouts into the EQ then into the Sony. Some of the older AAD cd's need a little sonic help that the EQ can provide plus some of the older vinyl was recorded with the low-fi equipment of the time in mind. Thanks again! I'll let you know how it works out. Need to restore the color to the engraved lettering first, tho.
Yeah...I'm talking old blues albums from the 50's and early 60's. Leonard Chess didn't have the $$$ to invest until he started churning out hits. I heard it was not uncommon to see Muddy Waters or Willie Dixon doing some painting or some such.