'Classic' Japanese amplifiers
- Thread starter Martyn Miles
- Start date
I have three JVC Quadraphonic amps. Loads of lights and bling. Not sure how they sound compared to other stuff as I am still looking for JVC speakers from the 70's to match them. I suspect they won't be great but I view as much as ornaments as anything else. My wife doesn't agree.
ToTo Man
the band not the dog
My experience of Jap- vs Brit- made hifi is admittedly dominated by the former, but from my experiences the Japanese equipment is better thought out, while the British equipment seems more utilitarian and rough 'n' ready. For instance, all of my Japanese amps/receivers have relays which mute the speakers upon switch on and switch off, protecting them from DC thumps. My Quad 909 on the other hand thumps every time you switch it on and off, and doesn't have the option to turn the speaker outputs off.
david ellwood
Kirabosi Kognoscente
About £600
I love the dynamic sound of the Sony TA88 / ST88 combo and have 2 pairs; great retro appearance, user friendly and nice and compact. Coincidentally one of the pairs is now on my workbench playing through a pair of JBL L110 speakers. Classic hifi at a very affordable cost.
IMO these Japanese V English comments are meaningless as each bit of kit, regardless of where it is built, should be assessed on its own merits.
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
£100 + postage and they could be yours.
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
Tempting...
andyzeg
Active Member
About 4 years ago I bought a Pioneer SA 9100 integrated amp from a car boot sale...it was yellow from years of cigarette smoke...but a couple of hours of careful cleaning and it looked like new. I tried it out and it sounded SUPERB and a good challenger (but not quite) for my then Audiolab 8000a.
I paid the grand sum of £10 for that...and a Goldring Lenco L75 turntable from the same guy. Resold on Ebay a couple of weeks later for £266 for the Amp (interest globally for that, but sold to a Sound Engineer from London) ....and £60 for the L75 which went to Japan! A nice profit...but equally nice to be the custodian of these classic items for albeit a short time
I paid the grand sum of £10 for that...and a Goldring Lenco L75 turntable from the same guy. Resold on Ebay a couple of weeks later for £266 for the Amp (interest globally for that, but sold to a Sound Engineer from London) ....and £60 for the L75 which went to Japan! A nice profit...but equally nice to be the custodian of these classic items for albeit a short time
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
Tony L
Administrator
I really like the way that 700ES retains the classic styling cues of 60s and 70s Sonys. Contrast it with the 1972 TA-1140 / ST-5150 I found in the local auction house last week:
Same fat/thin styling bars top and bottom, same centralised logo, mostly the same font, even some similarities between the control positioning. Proper evolution! I wish Sony would get their act together and start producing decent audio kit again, they are much missed. I always really liked their CD players and the better turntables, amps and tuners of the past seem excellent too.
Same fat/thin styling bars top and bottom, same centralised logo, mostly the same font, even some similarities between the control positioning. Proper evolution! I wish Sony would get their act together and start producing decent audio kit again, they are much missed. I always really liked their CD players and the better turntables, amps and tuners of the past seem excellent too.
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
Looking over this thread and all the interesting contributions, I would love to find a well-fettled Sony TA1010.
Would I be as taken with it as I was then?
After all, my front end and speakers are streets ahead of what I used all those years ago.
Martyn.
Would I be as taken with it as I was then?
After all, my front end and speakers are streets ahead of what I used all those years ago.
Martyn.
jackbarron
Chelsea, London
I had a Sony TA88 with the matching tuner many years go. Liked them a lot. Good sound and a neat design.
Jack
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
I've gone full circle. The first proper amp I owned was a Pioneer SA-9800. At the time (as a young lad), I was more swayed by the fluoroscan meters and knob-count than its sound. Frankly, I can't remember whether it was good or not.
More latterly, my benchmark of good was Naim. Each progression from 102/180 to 52/135 got better. But something left me wanting, so I switched to Densen. I stayed with the Danes for a few years before I was able to complete and fully restore a classic Pioneer C-21/M-22 combo.
As good as Naim and Densen are, the C-21/M-22 is better. Audio-centric friends who have visited and listened to the comparo agree, after they picked their jaws off the floor. I hope the Pioneers last as long as me, because I have yet to hear something better.
Even the Dynavector HX-1.2mk2 I opportunistically picked up a few months ago don't sound nearly as beguiling and engaging as the Pioneers, and we mostly know how well regarded Dynavector amps are.
pil
pfm Member
No have the covers,just a pain to keep taking them on/off to power them up.
Need to put american 2 pin plugs so they all power up from the pre.