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The greatest amps circa 1977-80?

Plugin- the old BGW is a monster I've had the pleasure to own for a couple of years and it has earned some respect.
 
I'm surprised that the McIntosh MC-2300 has not yet come up nor the Bose 1801. Both power amps, of course, and both are well-discussed here at AK in other forums.

Also, I've got one of the Citation 16s and it, too, does a great job.

Cheers,

David
 
dshoaf said:
I'm surprised that the McIntosh MC-2300 has not yet come up nor the Bose 1801. Both power amps, of course, and both are well-discussed here at AK in other forums.

Also, I've got one of the Citation 16s and it, too, does a great job.

Cheers,

David
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I agree David, appears to be no Mc love here !
I like the looks of the big Mitsu but I'm not sure why??:scratch2:
 
Could it be that those years were the ones where McIntosh was having difficulty during this transitional period(late 70's)?
 
Plugin said:
Could it be that those years were the ones where McIntosh was having difficulty during this transitional period(late 70's)?
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I'm not sure what you are referring to about that. Mac appeared to be firing on all cylinders back then. They were the most premium priced gear out there, sold through high-end audio dealers with legendary service.

By the end of the 70s, however, the Japanese were, indeed, gaining ground on the high end as witnessed by some of the gear we now refer to as vintage. This had nothing to do with Mac's approach to engineering or building their gear from my experience. The fact that Mac is still operating out of its original plants in Binghamton today says a lot about their ability to survive where many of those other brands are no longer with us.

Can you share more details?

Cheers,

David
 
IMHO- Mc probably got a bit overlooked due to the fact that it offered few new products during the mid '70s- at a period which saw an explosion of new offerings. Dated products or not, Mc's craftsmanship and performance was second to none- and priced accordingly.
 
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I don't think anyone here was questioning Mcintosh's quality - certainly not I. I was answering a question about why there was so little mention of them here. The reason might be based solely on perception and not quality.
Around the year 2002/2003, my cousin bought a set of them and I remembered asking him why he hadn't got them sooner. He merely replied - and this was his perception - that he was thinking of getting some around the late 70's, but had heard that the company was having financial difficulties and so he hesitated in dishing out big dollars due to that. Now whether that was factual or not, that was his perception of things at the time. At any rate, he finally got them years later when he felt that the company was more stable and there/here to stay :thmbsp:
 
Plugin said:
I don't think anyone here was questioning Mcintosh's quality - certainly not I. I was answering a question about why there was so little mention of them here. The reason might be based solely on perception and not quality.
Around the year 2002/2003, my cousin bought a set of them and I remembered asking him why he hadn't got them sooner. He merely replied - and this was his perception - that he was thinking of getting some around the late 70's, but had heard that the company was having financial difficulties and so he hesitated in dishing out big dollars due to that. Now whether that was factual or not, that was his perception of things at the time. At any rate, he finally got them years later when he felt that the company was more stable and there/here to stay :thmbsp:
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Glad to hear he's enjoying his Mc gear. :thmbsp:

Now you mention it, I do recall reading something in Dave O'Brien's memoirs to the effect that the Mc's clinic program was responsible for helping the Company get through the '70s.
 
Since it´s more or less everybody telling what they have, well so will I.

Denon PRA-2000z/POA-3000z

I think HK citation xx and xxp would be great too.

Luxmans 50th aniversary series.

Luxman C-05 and M-05.

Most Accuphase.

Marantz SC1000 and SM1000 perhaps.

Sansui C-2301 and B-2301.

Technics SU-A2 and SE-A1.

Onkyo M-510.

Well these aren´t all from 77 to 80 but thats because some of the best came in early to mid 80´s according to me.
 
Jon_Logan said:
Godzilla (from G.A.S.)
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I was going to say the Ampzilla. Of course I'm partial to the GAS amps of that era. My Son of Ampzilla has some serious grunt with it's 8 large discrete output transistors attached to 4 inch heatsinks. The Ampzilla had a chimney! The Japanese stuff just seemed weak in comparison. I remember maxing out some Pioneer speakers with only about 4 watts from the Son back in the day.


These days I never even get it out of class A.
 
Well I'm amazed out of the 4 pages nobody has given Phase Linear Amps any love. I have a 400 series 1 that absolutely rocks. On top of that all I can remember is when I first heard one 34 years ago is I had to have one. I just got my first one two months ago. I never ever forgot about it.
 
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