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In this list, what amplifier would you pick?

Plenty of fans of the AU-101 out there, people seem surprised how good they sound when restored despite there basic internals. There is a video over on YouTube of a guy doing a recap if you want to see what's involved. If buying a restored model then check the the small transistors have also be replaced as these are known to be problematical.
 
Rotel for me.Love their stuff.Austere but very good. Tried a Pioneer A400 but couldn’t see what the fuss was about. Found it quite aggressive and unrelenting.Marantz are decent but not really in same league as the Rotel. Good value though.
 
From your list, I'd go the Marantz PM-66 personally.

But if it was my £150, I'm not sure I'd pick any of them...
 
Nice to hear good review about the Rotel, never doubt they were good but it was at the bottom of my list just purely by the austere look. However I never thought it would be better than the so praise a400 and the marantz.

I've checked the 101 and the 505, maybe I'll save up some money and try a higher range Sansui in the future instead but the 70s Sansui are so good looking!

An amp that I wonder how it would compare in that list is the NEC aua 7000/8000, also sold under the brand BASF and MCS. Not easy to find info on it, I'm not looking for one as they are pretty rare but they don't sell for much probably due to the fact people don't know the brand much. However the few reviews I found say they are extremely well built

Now back to the subject, I'll keep an eye on the rotels, but as many recommended to maybe upgrade my a60 I might take that route. I got two a60, one that need to be recapped but works and the recapped that need to be fixed. Someone on another thread suggested to use a DSP. Maybe it could be a good option after I've fixed both.
 
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Can’t say I’ve listened to the specific models in your list but I did listen to various Rotel receivers back in the day and was not impressed. The A60 is a really good amp and I would have thought it will beat the pants off those in your list. If you want to give it stiff contemporary competition try a Nytech CA252. Back in the day I preferred the more detailed, resolved, sound of the Nytech to the A&R.

Or for a gloriously unfashionable (and therefore cheap) amp try an Armstrong 621. I've got a 625 receiver for use as a spare and its sound is close to the Nytech.
 
406v6 said:
Can’t say I’ve listened to the specific models in your list but I did listen to various Rotel receivers back in the day and was not impressed. The A60 is a really good amp and I would have thought it will beat the pants off those in your list. If you want to give it stiff contemporary competition try a Nytech CA252. Back in the day I preferred the more detailed, resolved, sound of the Nytech to the A&R.

Or for a gloriously unfashionable (and therefore cheap) amp try an Armstrong 621. I've got a 625 receiver for use as a spare and its sound is close to the Nytech.
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They are a decent unit and the 625 receiver very good. It continues to surprise me that there is no love for them.
 
I have a pretty extensive collection of 'little amps that could' here, this includes; RA-820BX2, early Creeks, too many NAITs to mention, multiple clamshell Regas, Cyrus One (TOG), and a Sansui AU-217.

All were collected because they deliver what I like to call 'poke', and this one out pokes them all, whilst at the same time preserving a level of clarity that few can match (and, yes, it is very heavy on the LH side)...

Sansui AU-217 (1978-80):
blog-sansui_au217_8.jpg


P.S. The only other 'budget' amp I've had in the house that is the near equal of the AU-217 in all respects is RA-840BX2. The Sansui just trumps the Rotel when it comes to remaining in control when pushed hard.
 
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Craig B said:
I have a pretty extensive collection of 'little amps that could' here, this includes; RA-820BX2, early Creeks, too many NAITs to mention, multiple clamshell Regas, Cyrus One (TOG), and a Sansui AU-217.

All were collected because they deliver what I like to call 'poke', and this one out pokes them all, whilst at the same time preserving a level of clarity that few can match (and, yes, it is very heavy on the LH side)...

blog-sansui_au217_8.jpg


P.S. The only 'budget' amp I've had in the house that is the near equal of the AU-217 in all respects is RA-840BX2. The Sansui just trumps the Rotel when it comes to remaining in control when pushed hard.
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So which one is it then?
 
Depends what you want, nice cosy musical sound the A60 does that.

For greater resolution and grunt, the A400, with the caviat that it is a forward sounding amp, so is fussy about system matching.

The A400X is by contrast more laid back, and easier to match.
 
jtgofish said:
The Rotel 840BX 3 or 4 sound very good and are high current designs so will drive a wide range of speakers well.].
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I've just bought one of these, the 840BX 4, I'm looking forward to hearing it. But my reason for posting is I want to know the answer to this question: what is a high current design?
 
Arkless Electronics said:
They are a decent unit and the 625 receiver very good. It continues to surprise me that there is no love for them.
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Yes, better looking than most of the competition too, IMHO. Just acquired a tidy 626 and it sounds fine, despite being well over 40 years old. Looking forward to getting it fettled at some point.
 
I would also choose the Rotel 840 from the bunch I owned quite a few Rotels over the years and they are very good and robust amplifiers
I bought a Marantz PM66 for my sons bedroom system and it sounded good but failed 3 times, 2 times for a failed transformer good job it was under guarantee.
We also tried the Pioneer A400 and were not impressed
A must say that the A60 is a beautifully sweet and musical amplifier:cool:, when I bought my first serious amp in the 70s it was this amp that I went out to buy, but the shop also had the Rogers A100 and a Lentek intergrated amp, the lentek was superb but unfortunately over my budget at the time, the Rogers A100 was also very good, sweet and more powerful or authoritative sounding than the A60 so I bought the Rogers and I still have it today in my study system along with the T100 Tuner

Alan
 
I didn't know rogers amplifier, thanks for the suggestion. The a100 looks very decent, and the Cadet with aluminium face too.

I have to say, since I first posted I decided to slow down on hifi gear and will stick with the a60 for now, actually I didn't intend to replace it but have a second amp. The pandemic added some other priorities in my life at the moment, like a potential move abroad and a change of job in the next months so I've put my search on pause at the moment.

However I started also lurking on the Technics su3500, Revox a78 and Luxman l30/31 (the l80 can be found at very decent price too, but is much bigger), no idea how they compare to the A60 but they sure look business.
 
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i know it will not be seen as a classic but i picked up a Rotel RA05SE and have been amazed how much I like it. good punchy but plenty of detail blew the MF Xa100 into the weeds for me in a lot of ways i echo the mini naim comments.
I find this amp with a Rotel 955 cd player thats been worked over to be a very sweet combo
 
I don't have experience of any of the amps in the OP, but I am using a Denon PMA 350 SE at the moment in my dining room system while waiting for another amp to be serviced.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the Denon, quite "ballsy"/dynamic (with a pair of Rega Kytes and Denon tuner).
Well worth the small investment in my opinion.
Example:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=303664286286
 
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I had a friend’s Denon receiver for a short time - don’t remember which model. It looked to be from the late 80s. It sounded great and had a decent phono stage.
 
Having owned a few A and R a60's which i've enjoyed immensely at the time,anyway a year or so ago i happened upon a trio kr5200 receiver and quite frankly it's made the A and R amps seem quite pedestrian,polite,2 dimensional and uninvolving by comparison, whatever the source the trio grips you!
I very nearly moved it on without listening to it as it came in a bundle with a Highly regarded Yamaha amp that promised a lot yet made my ears bleed lol
 
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