What Year Did Solid-State Start Sounding Good?
- Thread starter ScottFan355
- Start date
unfairlane
Well-Known Member
quiet
Addicted Member
Nope. SS sounded "good" from jump right there in the mid 60's during the overlap. It had to or it wasn't going to sell. Got some of them right here in front of me.
Remember the tubes were right next to it on the shelves in the stores for comparison.
Some would say that when tubes went away and the available store a/b comparison went away the sound changed and went down hill. I'm not going there.
As for "GREATNESS", well that's a whole different subject and not what was asked.
unfairlane
Well-Known Member
Ever heard of Tim? Or should I say TIM? Or negative feedback? SS did not perform until this was cured by Ottala. Read & learn:
https://www.google.dk/search?q=matti+ottala&ie=&oe=
http://www.electrocompaniet.com/about/history.html
OMGCat!
Super Member
The last Electrocompaniet amp I heard was driving a pair of B&W 803 D2s and the sound was amazing. I almost bought the amp but it's huge and wouldn't fit anywhere in my listening room aside from the floor.
I read about Ottala over on DIY audio and as usual there were people arguing this and that but John Curl said he still uses one of his early amps as his reference piece (this was back in '08 or so which may have changed by now).
I read about Ottala over on DIY audio and as usual there were people arguing this and that but John Curl said he still uses one of his early amps as his reference piece (this was back in '08 or so which may have changed by now).
quiet
Addicted Member
Yes it got better than good
woodj
Super Member
+1
It is rather interesting that the large number of posters appear to favor equipment contemporary to them rather than equipment from earlier manufacture.
quiet
Addicted Member
If they are quick to discount the early SS as unusable maybe it's because they don't have a wide range of good working units to compare as I do.
Right here in front of me, in the house, all at the same time. From 65 to 79. Not from memory of a friend of a friend had.........
Some of them are flat out impressive plain and simple. But only so good none the less.
quiet
Addicted Member
Not familiar with them. 1990 right.? Were they good and getting better or the true beginning of bpc?
All I know about is what I have here.
Djcoolray
Addicted Member
In the early 90’s there were certain top of the line models of equipment that exceeded the levels of prior technology. They were black and had metal faces. Black hard plastic was used in the cheaper models and since so many go for the cheaper models of equipment when making a purchase....90’s equipment got a bad rep. The best receivers of the early 90’s had to complete with the sound of the SX-1980 and that they did and some were even better like the Luxman R-117 or the VSX-D1S. But because they are not popular they have not suffered the popularity of price inflation. I think that better sound at a lower price beyond what it looks like is a no brainer, but you have to be beyond the monkey see monkey do crowd that likes shinny things !!!
Seems to me that designers had the bugs pretty well sorted out of solid state by the late '60's to early '70's. My Marantz 2245 (~1972) sounds mighty fine. I also have a diminutive Pioneer SA-500 integrated (circa 1971) that is one fine sounding 14 wpc of solid state goodness.
quiet
Addicted Member
Well I do think my old Pioneer Elite something or another sounded very good.
Would that have been a good unit at a price point?
quiet
Addicted Member
Sometimes I think the parts tech was behind the design tech
stereoguy70
Well-Known Member
I've restored a few germanium transistor units back to original specs......they sound wonderful as well, at least when they don't have a noisy transistor in the chain anyway. I think it has more to do with the amp's design than it does with what type of transistor it has. The KLH Model Sixteen is a wonderful sounding germanium amp, albeit a little on the fragile side when pushed hard. But, why would you want to push a 25watt amp hard in the first place? Just enjoy the music
Djcoolray
Addicted Member
Quite good in fact, much like the VSX-9500S.....
Sometimes, simply because its there. I have a pair of monos that do an honest 95 watts. I use well under 10 watts. I got them cheap and making them useful was a project that I enjoyed doing.
I have a Grundig SV 50, which was the world's first mass-produced solid state integrated amp, introduced in August 1963. It's 20 WPC, which is actually quite a lot considering its age, it handles 4 ohm speakers without any problems and it sounds really good, so I'd say solid state sounded good from the start - when done right.
That's mighty cool setup! As for earliest I believe Cerwin Vega made one of the first consumer offering SS amplifiers back in the 50s
I liked Hendrix in his time. That shaman stuff you refer to sounds like the LSD, jimson weed and peyote he used. When your ****ed up, you can get into a real free form groove. Ask me how I know this, been playing 40 years now myself. A lot of his albums were not big sellers, only a few still stand the test of time and that is how it should be with any good musician. Some great, some good and some just mediocre tunes but Jimi rarely played sober so keep that in mind. I think drugs helped his creativity as he had no inhibitions when he was in a altered state
