Teac BX-330 - whadya reckon ??

[draconus]

On the 'bay for $AU75 ($US57 at todays exch rate).

Apparently in full working order and the seller quotes "IT DELIVERS GREAT SOUND AND POWER, FRONT FACE IS IN EXCELLLENT COSMETIC CONDITION,WITH NO SCRATRCHES OR DENTS." The single picture appears to bear this out.

This is my very first foray into vintage SS.

Intent is to drive a pair of small desktop/bookshelf speakers (yet to be determined) from my iMac.
:scratch2:

 

[draconus]

Marantz pm 200 ??

sorry folks, as I said in previous post, about to take very first foray into this stuff and I'm running around the 'net like a kid in a lolly shop.

..be nice to me ;-)


Apart from the Teac BX-330 in my last post, I found a MARANTZ PM 200 for a few $$ more. About the same size amp, but as far as I can recall (it was a wee while ago), Marantz kit at the time were seen to be held in more high regard than Teac (at least here in Oz).

Now the fact both these amps have lasted this long is proud testimony to their build and design I suppose. But if it were your money, which one would get your vote ?

BTW, one challenge I am finding is the lack of specs/manuals to look at. I found plenty of places to buy old manuals, which I am happy to do after I purchase, but I'd like to find out a bit more about this vintage stuff before buying. Is there somewhere 'special' you guys tend to go to for pre-purchase specs/manuals?

TIA

 

[Tower Boss]

Hello draconus,

Teac put out some nice little integrated amplifiers in the mid 70’s to through early 80’s

BX-300/500 High Speed DC Integrated Amplifiers • 35/55 Watts • 74-77

BX-330/550 Stereo DC Integrated Amplifiers • 35/55 Watts • 78-?

I have come to like my little BX-500 I run a secondary setup in my home office with. It has a nice build and easy to maintain. You’ll notice the nice toroidal transformer and VU meters on the 500. HERE is a thread at AK I had discussed the BX-500 in. The 300/500 look much better as they changed the layout and went with LED meters with the 330/550 versions.

I am not very familiar with the later Teac or the Marantz you mentioned, but both might be worthy of a listen given the application you intend to utilize them in. I think there are better options out there, but if I were to pick one, I might go with the Teac for performance and the Marantz maybe for the looks (Meters). There are other options where you are looking, that rack mount Marantz 300 Series Amp/Tuner with Cassette priced in between these two might be of some interest. The Luxman L-2, SONY TA-1630, and TECHNICS SU-8055K, should be on your radar for the price and power your looking at as well.

A few links from some fellow AKers who like the Teac

Teac BX-330

Teac BX-330

Teac BX-330

Teac BX-330 • 35 Watts • 78-?

Marantz PM 200 • 30 Watts • 79-?

Regards,
TB

 

[volumeon12]

Hi, mate. I'm on the Gold Coast, and Tower Boss was very helpful when i bought
my BX-500. I totally know where you are coming from.You are like me a couple
of months ago,when i first got infected. I would personally go the Teac, if you
are listening to rock music. The marantz amps from what i can gather have a
warmer sound. A tip i recommend is that if you are browsing on the site mentioned, is that you look for items that are local pick up only, that cancels
out interstate bidders,and you have an extra 25-30$ to play with as you dont pay postage costs,has worked for me recently. Anyway, welcome to the budget
starters club!

 

[wolster]

Hi Volumeon

How are you enjoying your Teac BX-500? I have just picked one up in Perth and managed to find a Service Manual with all the specs on the net. If you would like a copy, just send me a pm and I will email it to you.

Cheers
wolster

 

[volumeon12]

Hi Wolster. My Bx is going great guns. Its in my second system, hooked up to
a big Audio Reflex Eq, and a Harksound turntable,running through a pair of
Sony SS-s31 speakers. Sound great for classic rock.

 

[wolster]

I'll be using my BX-500 with a tt as well. I pick it up on Wednesday. It will need to be better than my current vintage amp - a Sherwood 2210 CP which does A great job but, like others here, I find it hard to resist vintage audio bargains.

Cheers
wolster

 

[JSianc]

I'll be using my BX-500 with a tt as well. I pick it up on Wednesday. It will need to be better than my current vintage amp - a Sherwood 2210 CP which does A great job but, like others here, I find it hard to resist vintage audio bargains.

Cheers
wolster

How did the TEAC compare with the Sherwood?

 

[BBT707]

I am currently restoring a BX-500, I gave the amp a brief listen to and was very impressed with it's output! All the capacitors and output transistors have been replaced, just waiting on a few metal film resistors to arrive. Has anyone out there gone thru this same exercise, if so has anyone got any comments?

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Mattwizz3]

I have baught 2 BX-330 amps one came with the matching tuner, they are both the newer style ones with the LED output meters. They are pretty solid units and sound great, I'd agree that the sound isnt as warm as some like in the older gear. The sound is very nice and clean though and still easy to listen to. The BX-330 and BX-550 are identical to the BX-300 and BX-500 but just look different (the BX-300 has no meters).

However I'm not sure if I'd pay $75 for either the old or new style BX-330, I got my first BX-330 for $10 at an op-shop and the second with a tuner for $20 on e-bay. If you were looking at getting one the BX-500 would be on the top of my list followed by the BX-550, they have much beefier power supplies too. With that said the 330 is still a damn fine starting point and wont let you down, the reason I baught the second one is because they are damn fine all rounders with clean sound.

This thread seems to have attracted a lot of Aussies!

 

[quadmatrix82]

The BX Teac series is definately a sleeper, i think it smashes the PM-200 personally, its built much nicer, has a larger power transformer and more output power. The build quality is second to none compared to the Marantz.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

Hi Guys,
I used a couple of versions of that Teac product on the bench 8 or 10 hours a day for some years. The reason I had the Teac BX is because I worked for Teac. I found the unit had very good reliability and if I had to do anything it would maybe a dirty switch. The environment was three guys smoking all day long and that did not help. I don't know how it related to the Marantz product specs wise- you really just need to compare them, but the basic performance that I used it for- I did not have any complaints. I would buy one if given a clean unit and a good price. I basically have Sansui stuff on my bench now but I did acquire a lot of that old gear too some years back- the older stuff is great!

 

[adrianjones]

I used to live in Sydney and bought my first HiFi at age 13ish. It was TEAC PX300, BX330, CX310, TX550. I still have the PX300 and have picked up a BX330, BX550, 2x T550's, PX550, CX310, CX350,CX400 over the last few years. I also have other stuff by Marantz and other TEAC stuff.
TEAC gear was really well built. I had to replace tape deck belts, but otherwise all good. TEAC seem to have been a major brand in Australia, but not as big elsewhere. They are now succesful in the UK with their micro systems.
It all has decent sound and I remember the MM phono inputs are excellent. I will be recapping the B550 and upgrading the speaker outputs.
Will let you know how that goes!

 

[MARINLAW]

no aussies here lol . the bx-300 is a nice warm amp

 

[skywavebe]

I would say for a lower power level application, the BX300 unit if it was clean would be a good unit to get and keep. I did work on a few at Teac but hey were not pouring in like some other stuff. They are good for that lower price.
Don't discount any Sansui units either or Pioneer. They made a lot of great stuff too. I have a Sansui in my shop that I use to fix tape decks.

 

[Nucky]

I would say for a lower power level application, the BX300 unit if it was clean would be a good unit to get and keep. I did work on a few at Teac but hey were not pouring in like some other stuff. They are good for that lower price.
Don't discount any Sansui units either or Pioneer. They made a lot of great stuff too. I have a Sansui in my shop that I use to fix tape decks.

Hi... Been off forum for a while. Noted this thread and wondering if anyone has come across the TEAC BX-330B? I just aquired one and it has a different fascia colour - not silver but a kind of beige/gold. Anyone know about this beast?