advertisement


Japanese Head Amp's

V

Vinny

pfm Member
There are a very few, very basic comments from Europe and the USA scattered across the web, often from an age ago, and usually no more than something like, "yeah, really good". So has anyone listened to any of the numerous models produced in the last 30 years or so of the last century?

I have a Yamaha HA-1 (recommended by someone here - thanks, whoever that was), which I really like - way preferable to the Graham Slee and Rothwell current versions, which I have compared it to. All used into a Croft MM stage of a MIcro here.

There seem to be several others available second-hand - Denon, Sony, Accuphase, Luxman. All are unusual as they are single-box units, some may even have the same internals for all I know.

So - anyone any experience?

To be clear, a head amp (sometimes called a pre-premp'), has nothing to do with headphones or guitars, it is an active amplifier that raise the output of low output MC cart's to the level of a MM cart'. It does the same as an SUT, but the SUT is obviously passive.
 
Given the sound quality they can deliver, I’m also surprised by lack of general info on them. I have Ortofon and English branded headamp I’ve had for years…not even listened to them, mainly because I’m so happy with the McKinnie I do use :)
 
Dowser said:
Given the sound quality they can deliver, I’m also surprised by lack of general info on them. I have Ortofon and English branded headamp I’ve had for years…not even listened to them, mainly because I’m so happy with the McKinnie I do use :)
Click to expand...

Interestingly, or not, Accuphase C-7 sell for more than McKinnie head amp's. FWIW.
 
McKinnie is just best I have heard, based on that I love to hear an original JC-1! But that, similar to the Accuphase, will always be too expensive for me…I’m a cheap-ass at heart :D
 
LLOL
I think that we purchase hifi using very similar criteria................... ;)

Accuphase C-7 (apparently a more recent C-17 exists, which supposedly, based on a single comment that I have found online, sounds quite different), get listed in the £350-450 sort of range in Japan, but (a lot) more in Europe and NA.
I am interested enough to spend a while searching every so often as HiFi Shark doesn't cover most of the Japanese SH outlets.
 
One for @Dowser...............

Various JC (John Curl) designs come up in Japan - the Martin Logan editions generally sell for around £200 but one is on at the moment with a very low start.

Fortunately, Yahoo! Auctions is no longer accessable directly from the UK/EU. :)

Know anyone who has heard the JC-designed (battery-powered) SOTA head amp'?
 
Last edited:
I remember the Marshall Leach head amp was a popular DIY project in the 1970s, and a couple of commercial products made non-authorized use of that circuit. I haven't looked, but wouldn't be surprised if some version is still available today, or at least a circuit board from eBay.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top