Anybody used Nikko amps before?

I used to own The Alpha 230, Beta 30 and Gamma 30. I got them when I was 17 years old, they were brand new. My father bought them for me for my birthday. It is a day I will never forget. I remember getting them home, opening the car trunk and sitting in the driveway, opening up the boxes, because I was sooo exceited I cound't even get into the house to open them. I had them for about 12 years, then one day, while pumping out George Thoroughood's "Bad To The Bone" on my Cerwin-Vega AT-15's at peak, (nothing better than a Vega/Nikko combonation), the Alpha 230 actually caught fire, and died. It was later discovered inside the housing that a coin had fallen through the heat venting and shorted out a cap. Anyway, fast forward to 2007, still have my Beta and Gamma 30's, always on the lookout for an Alpha 230/450 or 650.

Good Ole' Nikko!

I have 2 Alpha 450's with a BTL1 bridging unit. The BTL1 allows me to run each amp in mono. I have 3 other Alpha 450's that are broken and will be repaired to completely run my whole home theater with.

I have a Beta 20 preamp, a Beta 30 Preamp, 2 EQ1's, a Gamma 30 Tuner and an Apha II amp on the way. Nikko made some very good component systems. They have a warm, natural sound that I find it difficult to reproduce with more modern equipment. The other reason i like Nikko is less tangible; the controls just have a solid, well-made feel to them, not like Some more expensive brands. Very nice, very durable equipment. Great sound, low distortion, decent price.

What do you guys think of the Nikko 130 coupled with the Beta 30 pre-amp

I picked up a pair of Cerwin Vega CLSC 12's (Tower Speakers and needed something to power those.

They are rated at 150rms @ 8 ohms,

I listen to mostly rap and every home theater receiver i tried out there doesnt push these speakers to well.

Someone told me to get a power amp...

what do you guys think?

I've had the Nikko NA-690 for ages now. Having already pursued the high end and home theater ad nauseum for some time, I can without reservation vouch in this case for the amp's reliabiltiy and sound; it plays like it did when new and has the clarity, warmth and headroom mentioned in prior posts. Sure it's mid-fi strictly speaking, but represents everything good about the genre/era and yes, sounds robust and vibrant after all this time. Right now it's connected to a Philips 963SA DVD/CD/SACD player and kicking tail through it's generous headphone output. Also sound good with Rega 25 and Shure V15VxMR using it's MM phono amp. Power belies modest rating, runs great in family room. Unless it's been abused, recommended especially at the used prices it goes for.