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A&R A60

jonclancy said:
Thanks Robert,

I'll get him to check the bass knob position. I have some poly 1uF Wimas somewhere. Any particular voltage rating required at all or is it just a size thang?
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Hi Jon,

Any voltage rating will be ample for the job as it simply sits at the input - it will never see more than a volt or two max.
 
Have just posted a thread asking if the a21 is a good tuner. Need a tuner, love a60's - indeed i have 4 spare because I can't say no! - and the modded one that I got from a pinkfisher recently. is the a21 up there with the a60 as a classic or should i look elsewhere. Thanks!
 
Robert said:
Answered on the other thread, but yes the T21 is very good.
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Yes, I did a recap, voltage and de-emphasis conversion on one at the same time as the A60 - it was one of the few that would actually pull anything in in the FM dead spot we live in.
 
Always wanted one. Hopefully I will stumble across one at a reasonable price.

Thanks to the " bloody internet " the prices have got ridiculous.

They actually used to assemble them here in New Zealand under licence from Arcam UK.

The wooden sleeve on our local model was Tawa instead of Walnut.
 
Hugo, A60s crop up on Trademe regularly, where they sell for sensible money. Do a search of expired listings to see what I mean.

Brit-made examples came in a variety of veneers. Mine's in teak. I think the black ones look hideous (and worse if they're scratched, which is very easily done), and show dust like nothing else.
 
Yeah, all this A60 chat has all but doubled its ebay pricing :(

Try for a Myryad MI120. Same designer, better looks, better sound IMO, better made and better speaker protection.
 
I can't understand why anyone would want to pay much for an extremely common and aged amplifier that will very likely need an internal overhaul to restore its performance. My top dollar in NZ would be $200 - less if it wasn't a late model in excellent cosmetic condition. I'd pay up to $20 for a black one! ;)
 
UK a60's seem to be going for too much on ebay at the moment. it seems very cyclical, occasional peaks of c. £80, but usually you can pick up a decent one for well under £40. I've probably got a few spare if anyone wants to collect from n1, london.
 
I wonder if some buyers are disappointed and selling them on again, not realizing that enthusiasts are talking about rare minters and restored and hot-rodded examples.

There are also other places to buy them, not just online auctions where bidding wars can distort values. Good on you, clamnell, hope you get some interest :)
 
I am running jr149's with one, which maybe isn't the way to get the best out of the speakers; I've always loved the warmth of the a60, especially with music recorded in the 60's... dylan, cohen, etc. I guess with a couple spare I should start bi-amping or doing something interesting. Any ideas?? (my 'favourite i bought recently from someone who had it unused in a cupboard from 86 to 2009...).
 
I should think an A60 into 149s is fine. Quite a low sensitivity speaker but then the little B110 cannot take lots of power, so while a much bigger amp may seem suitable it probably isn't in practice.
 
My brother has just repaired and upgraded a very old AR60 (with help from Robert's excellent information here on PFM) and has been surprised given its age how good it sounds.
 
I want to give an A60 to someone based in US - how easy is it to change the 220v into something that will work in US (110 v). I can't solder, my diy skills stop at oiling and sanding down my cricket bat (Millichamp and Hall, 'solution', 2006, 2lb 11 oz). Incidentally, having done that, would it be able to run normal UK 8 ohms speakers (I have a few old sets around A28's, MS 20i pearl editions, wharfedale diamond, monitor audio 7's) and normal US cd player? thanks!!
 
Have a look at the service manual: http://www.retrohifi.co.uk/a60_amp_service_manual.pdf - p10 onwards.

Transformer leads probably need to be soldered, and the fuse may need to be changed.

It shouldn't be xenophobic about speakers or CD players, British or US will work fine.
US living spaces tend to be a lot bigger than the UK, need more power - so 88dB+ speaker sensitivity is probably a good idea.

The A60 probably has DIN sockets on the back - you'll need a 5-pin DIN to 2 RCA cable to hook up a CD player.
 
It is very easy to do - with basic soldering skills.
I have a number of A60 that are all converted to 110v for Canada/USA.
Despite different dates of manufacture and slightly different toroid transformers the principles are the same. Look at pages 4 and 5 of the pdf mentioned above and you can see which transformer outputs should be resoldered.

I recommend using a small length of heat shrink to cover the finished connections.

Good luck.

Julian
 
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