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60's & 70's amplifiers

P

Patcam

pfm Member
Anybody heard of or bought anything from these guys?
http://select45rpm.com

Mainly about vintage 45's but also old amplifiers. Seems a very interesting site and they really do seem passionate about 60's and 70's amps and receivers. They're selling a Yamaha CR 2020 on there at the moment, might just investigate that...
 
CR 2020 is a very nice piece. I'd be interested to hear how much he/they want and what kind of guarantee is provided.
Do themselves no favours with their 'opinions' TBH. Apparently everyone is wrong except select45rpm.com.
 
I can't help but look at old Technics amplifiers at the moment. They seem to be vary in sound presentation from what I have studied depending on when they were made.

So currently looking at Technics SU3500 as I have been warned off an SU8600 looking good but sounding average.

Anyone tried a Technics SU3500? I like the look of variable loading on the phono stage.
 
I had a technics SU8080 a good few years back that I had in a second system, it was a lovely thing, built like a tank. It dated from 1977 but looked more modern.

Sadly one channel developed a fault (low/distorted output) that I couldn't trace, an enthusiast brought it from me and got it working so they can be fixed.

If you can find a good one I'd take a punt.
 
Wondered if it was bollocks! Seem very sure of themselves, what with anything with an ic being rubbish etc etc

Discovered they want 750 quid for the CR 2020...think it's worked out at 400 for an original amp and 350 for their refurbish and upgrade. Worth it?
 
To translate an Italian figure of speech, he seems to "Have discovered hot water." In the sense that he is doing what I think lots of us have always done, of repairing or re-commissioning old stuff that other people threw away. Except that now he thinks, or hopes, that there is a new market eager to spend a lot of money for period equipment. To support this he goes into technicalities that even I, with my limited understanding of electronics, seem a bit far fetched. Still, business is business, and good luck to him, I suppose.
 
I'm in two minds whether to post this as I don't usually do 'rants', but I thought I ought to let others know of my experiences. If this is the same chap I think it is (and I'm almost certain it is as I recognise his unique style of writing!), then my experiences revealed a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character. A few years back I purchased a refurb'd amp from him through eBay. I must admit that, on the whole, I was satisfied with the workmanship and service I received. However a couple of months later when I was selling one of my other amps through eBay, I received rather blunt and bullying discourse from an interested buyer with a suspiciously similar (but not identical) eBay user ID and suspiciously similar style of writing, that basically claimed that my item was a ticking timebomb in its unserviced/non-refurb'd state and would take him umpteen hours of labour time to service it and ensure its future performance and longevity, and that I should therefore accordingly sell it to him at a fraction of my (already fair) asking price and be grateful. I don't object to buyers' wishing to barter but there's no need to stoop to those levels IMO. I ended up having to block his user ID to stop the abusive messages into my eBay inbox.
 
That doesn't sound very cool.

But taking the site at face value it looks fun. I don't mind a bit of an opinion about some slightly off the beaten track part of hi-fi. Reminds me a little of Howard Popeck but without the conviction I get from him. I think the crux will be the price of the amplifiers........
 
Patcam said:
Discovered they want 750 quid for the CR 2020...think it's worked out at 400 for an original amp and 350 for their refurbish and upgrade. Worth it?
Click to expand...
Seems OK. A bit on the high side perhaps, but if it has been thoroughly serviced then not outrageous.
Does the seller provide an inventory of all the work he has done, does he guarantee his own work, and if so, for how long?
If the guy doesn't provide this and instead expects purchases to be faith-based, then, personally, I would pass.
 
I would say £400 for amp pretty outrageous but £350 for refurbish about right.....
I recently posted a thread on here announcing that I wouldn't be refurbishing any more Japanese amps simply because one can get a working item on ebay for lets say £80 but it would cost the above type money (the £350 bit, or a fair bit more or less, depending on the job) to fully sort it back to original (or better with modern parts) condition... but the refurbished amp would probably be worth less than the cost of the refurb if you tried to resell it... I'll have to keep an eye on this retro Japanese gear trend :confused:
 
I'm judging from Ebay pricing on what appears to be a popular piece. Hard for me to say though, as receivers were not a thing in Japan back in the day. I guess the seller is getting most of his mark up on the amp sale rather than the refurb.

Hifi-Do is possibly the biggest business in hifi retail in Japan at the moment, and the only chain that is national with two branches in Tokyo, main store in Nagoya, and stores in Osaka and Fukuoka, as well as an important online presence.

They seem to have cornered a large chunk of the market for vintage and generally interesting S/H equipment. Not least, I think, because refurbish is now SOP and they typically offer 1- and 2-year guarantees. A 2-year guarantee is better than you get with new equipment here.

This is a photo of their latest store. It's on the 10th floor of the Daimaru department store at Tokyo Station. The Leica store is just out of shot. The guy in the nice suit is one of the sales staff.

image.jpg3_zpshancoeyi.jpg
 
In Germany there is audioScope.net they sell across europe also offering two year warranty for classic audio equipment.
Steep pricing but the stuff sells!
 
Arkless Repairs said:
I would say £400 for amp pretty outrageous but £350 for refurbish about right.....
I recently posted a thread on here announcing that I wouldn't be refurbishing any more Japanese amps simply because one can get a working item on ebay for lets say £80 but it would cost the above type money (the £350 bit, or a fair bit more or less, depending on the job) to fully sort it back to original (or better with modern parts) condition... but the refurbished amp would probably be worth less than the cost of the refurb if you tried to resell it... I'll have to keep an eye on this retro Japanese gear trend :confused:
Click to expand...

You might have seen the big Japanese DD turntable trend. I'm sure the big amps could also be an option.

Think of a current buyer who has never seen a behemoth like these before, huge VU meters, endless tape switching and TONE CONTROLS. No wonder the wallets are loosened. Next you need to find a cache of SAE amps!!
 
I wonder how select45rpm.com guy has time to work on amplifiers as he must've spent a large proportion of time in recent years writing that ridiculous website. I notice this thread has moved on from commenting on mr 45rpm - I've been lost in his website for 3 days and got a bit left behind.
 
I doubt he gets much if any work from customers... Judging by ToTo's post he stalks eBay & the like looking for stuff to earn on.
 
Patcam said:
Anybody heard of or bought anything from these guys?
http://select45rpm.com

Mainly about vintage 45's but also old amplifiers. Seems a very interesting site and they really do seem passionate about 60's and 70's amps and receivers. They're selling a Yamaha CR 2020 on there at the moment, might just investigate that...
Click to expand...

If any of you take a punt on the Yamaha CA-1010, it's a great amp, but remember to ask if the pre-power switch on the back and the relay on the PSU board were replaced. Notorious faults of most Yammies of the time.
 
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