@roberjerman +1 for the RGR model 4. I have one as well, updated to the 4-1 configuration. The guys at Audio Classics said it's still one of the quietest phono sections they've (not) heard.
I'd add the entire Tandberg line and Rogers speakers. Very fine sounding gear!
@tsugury - I owned a Bizzy Bee Mod'd Cayin TA-30. Nice little amp and a great value at it's original price. Would be nice to still have one, but too much stuff in the unused audio bin....
The Robert Grodinski Research (RGR) Model 4 preamp and Model 5 amp. Superior sounding products that can compete with today's expensive gear. I have both!
Nesterovic (made in the USA) made a couple of widely praised speakers. One was like a pyramid with two woofers of different sizes (an 8 and a 10 I think) that was full range but with a small footprint. Very well made, and reasonably priced. I really liked the design. The new Sasha-3 still has 2x8 woofers. Which I find perplexing- instead of simply adding a larger driver, but that would require you to upgrade to the Alexia. Sorry to rag on Wilson, but again, the new Duette can ONLY be placed against the wall. I asked! What is the point of making the only monitor speaker with one placement option? They make it impossible for me to appreciate their designs even with the ultra-high manufacturing quality which I love. My ADS-L810's never disappointed me even with their (few) limitations. You couldn't play them too "too" loud, and they didn't have the last bit of low bass. Under $1000 a pair with the stands and the tax. Why I sold them was a blunder from which I may never recover.
@reubent - I still have the BT-2, use a a SS backup to my ARC SP6a (they have a very similar sonic signature). I had the bridged CC-2's only briefly back about 2002-3. My audiophile brother in law and I were completed wowed by the depth of field these two presented. I sold them to go to five channel ..... wish I still had them.
PS I use an Adcom 5300 in my second system ... the CC2's had a more high end sound but perhaps not quite as transparent.
@reubent : I had two Audionics CC2 amps. Never tried them bridged. Excellent SQ! Worthy of resurrection! I still have one in need of possible repair (not one of the two originals).
@harrylavo - I had an Audionics BT-2 pre-amp and a pair of bridged CC-2 power amps. Good stuff in its day. I was in heaven at that time. I wonder how the combo would stand up against today's hardware? I replaced the Audionics combo with a Conrad Johnson PV2AR and Adcom GFA555.
I agree with grsz06's list, but my all time favorite would be the JBL's with the D150 woofer and 175 mid-treble horn. Proably best for stereo in a pair of C-34 cabinets.
B&O tangental tracking turntable. I had one a long time ago and just gave it away. I stumbled on a site that refurbishes them and after seeing how well regarded they still are, it gave me a big case of nostalgia.
Also, I had some vintage Naim gear consisting of a pre amp, amp and tuner but I can't remember the models. They were kind of orangish and grey in color and the dials rotated by turning them from the bottom, if that makes any sense. They also had some lousy feeling push buttons for source selection and the like, but they had a very nice sound to them.
@weebeesdad, yep, Tom Carione is still at Brooks Berdan Ltd. in Monrovia, CA. He's in the shop on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and is a great tech. He did (Brooks left us awhile back, but his widow Sheila has kept the shop going) all Brooks' bench jobs except for turntable stuff, at which Brooks' was the master. ARC's Bill Johnson had Brooks come out to his winter home in Palm Desert to set up his table. Tom knows both tube and solid state electronics, and has worked on just about everything.
Roberjerman - Your 1001 is a special piece, indeed. Over the years I've heard that there is a tech named Tom who works (or perhaps used to work, don't know if he still does) at Brooks Berdan in California who is very familiar with the BEL amps (Brooks Berdan used to be a BEL dealer). Many a time I've been tempted to ship my unit to him for re capping and tuning up and then call it a day as far as my amplifier quest goes...
The "Loudness" switch was perfect in its day for boosting bass on rock and roll recordings without turning the volume up to painful levels. Anyone (well, me for instance) who has been to a live rock concert craves the sound of the bass guitar amps. And who doesn't miss simplicity- being able to buy the stereo, pack it into the trunk, and set it up in an hour? Plug and play?
Affordably priced turntables with linear tracking tonearms and Pickering XSV-5000 MM cartridges . I have that cartridge in a Pioneer PL-L800 turntable and hope it outlasts me . Everyone should get a chance to hear this cartridge and/or combination .
@grsz06: I have a GAS Thoebe preamp and a Quatre Gain Cell amp in my collection! Both worthy of resurrection! And I owned the FR MC201 in the long-ago past!
Fidelity Research FR1mk3F. Sold new for $230 in 1980! At that time probably the best sounding mc below the price of the Koetsu ($1K). I had several FR1's!
@weebeesdad I have the first production BEL 1001 made! Serial number 0001. How's that for rarity! It is indeed an amp deserving of resurrection! All sound - no bling (unlike present day high end gear!).
Whoever made that device that spun cd's to demagnitize them prior to putting them into the player. Yep, it worked well & unless I'm missing it somewhere (?), is no longer available.
I don't miss tone controls at all, especially since my amazingly good Schiit Loki arrived. I do miss the days before imaginary Magic tweaks arrived...was there less baloney back in the day or am I imagining things? (where am I? I'm frightened...oh wait...I'm OK...). Nobody misses crap lamp cord wire...although lamps still depend on it...luckily the rational aspects of historical filtering haven't been kind to Tice clocks and CD coatings, and we can only hope that the future relegates faith based snake oil tweaks to the dustbin of history.
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