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What are you Listening To Right Now? - and more

dswann01 said:
@jobrewer1983 has an affinity for Optonica equipment also. In the past he has posted photos showing their outstanding build quality and talked about their great performance.
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They are true hidden gems of Audio, the folks that know KNOW. Some of the best phono stages you will find. The slim line especially.

You know when you listen to an album but you have to turn the volume knob up when set to Phono? The Optonica amps do not do this, its like the Phono stage is line level or something. The SQ of the amps are just incredible.


This is just a killer deal, I have (4) of them and don't need a 5th one but Id highly recommend one if you are on the market for a new amp.
 
jobrewer1983 said:
They are true hidden gems of Audio, the folks that know KNOW. Some of the best phono stages you will find. The slim line especially.

You know when you listen to an album but you have to turn the volume knob up when set to Phono? The Optonica amps do not do this, its like the Phono stage is line level or something. The SQ of the amps are just incredible.


This is just a killer deal, I have (4) of them and don't need a 5th one but Id highly recommend one if you are on the market for a new amp.
Click to expand...

When I Iived on Okinawa/Japan in the mid-70s, I'd often see cool ads for Optonica on TV.
I don't recall seeing other Japanese stereo gear on TV.

Only time I saw/hear Optonica was about 10+ years ago.
My good friend had a receiver.
 
onepixel said:
When I Iived on Okinawa/Japan in the mid-70s, I'd often see cool ads for Optonica on TV.
I don't recall seeing other Japanese stereo gear on TV.

Only time I saw/hear Optonica was about 10+ years ago.
My good friend had a receiver.
Click to expand...

They are really not known in the US, but in Japan and Germany they are well loved.

The slim line integrated amps are insane good. Not many folks in the US know about them, but if you look up the model #'s on YT you will find that they were more high end than the standard sharp offerings. Optonica was Sharps "Elite, or ES" line, like Pioneer and Sony.

I have given up McIntosh gear over the Optonica amps. I ran a MA 6100 for some time and when we moved I was letting some SS gear go, I ended up letting like 8-10 integrated amps go, and kept just the Optonica amps.

I also ran my MC-2105 with an Optonica integrated amp as the preamp.

They just seem to have endless power, super clean soundstage with just the right amount of warmth, they pair well with power hungry speakers and run ice cold.

Some folks dislike the STK chips, but those folks also cant say they have actually listened to an Optonica amp. A STK chip is just micro components, most of them have been decoded now and can be built with full size caps if desired. They make many different drop in replacement PCB's to replace the STK if desired.

No plastic, all metal and glass faceplates, while it looks thin and like 80s cheap gear, in person its built like a tank and just oozes quality.

I am dying for someone to buy that one on eBay. I want to see someone in this forum get it and I want to see their reaction to the phono stage.
 
jobrewer1983 said:
They are really not known in the US, but in Japan and Germany they are well loved.

The slim line integrated amps are insane good. Not many folks in the US know about them, but if you look up the model #'s on YT you will find that they were more high end than the standard sharp offerings. Optonica was Sharps "Elite, or ES" line, like Pioneer and Sony.

I have given up McIntosh gear over the Optonica amps. I ran a MA 6100 for some time and when we moved I was letting some SS gear go, I ended up letting like 8-10 integrated amps go, and kept just the Optonica amps.

I also ran my MC-2105 with an Optonica integrated amp as the preamp.

They just seem to have endless power, super clean soundstage with just the right amount of warmth, they pair well with power hungry speakers and run ice cold.

Some folks dislike the STK chips, but those folks also cant say they have actually listened to an Optonica amp. A STK chip is just micro components, most of them have been decoded now and can be built with full size caps if desired. They make many different drop in replacement PCB's to replace the STK if desired.

No plastic, all metal and glass faceplates, while it looks thin and like 80s cheap gear, in person its built like a tank and just oozes quality.

I am dying for someone to buy that one on eBay. I want to see someone in this forum get it and I want to see their reaction to the phono stage.
Click to expand...

I didn't get into the details with my friend's Optonica receiver.
He had crap speakers and we were usually high and or rock climbing. :)

But It was black, stylish, sexy and built like a tank.
Not my photo.

Optonica.jpg
 
needforspeed said:
A lifetime of what if’s lol
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You know, people can be funny. You get all your "Mary Ann" desirables in life, and folks don't appreciate it. Some people get bored easily, even with a new Ferrari.

I feel my wife is pretty, but sometimes I forget, and it takes another person to remind me. Familiarity breeds — maybe not contempt — but taking things for granted.

:idea:
 
Brand New Cadillac.
Clash. "London Calling." CBS 88478. First CBS Haarlem (Holland) pressing. 1979.
Run-out: 01-88478-1A-2

07afb2ee-cabf-4550-ab77-1127761c98d5.jpg


2740fe7a-e7dc-45d7-986f-4ed84d9fff92.jpg
 
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