Threshold 4000, still pretty wonderful, recapped once
Old Amps that can still Kick Butt
Not being a believer that time necessarily = progress, I would like to offer the following example of a sonic gem that has transcended time and can totally kick butt in a modern milieu:
The Robertson 4010. I got one of these about two years ago because it was in immaculate condition, the price was so low and I was inquisitive. I hooked it up and let it warm up for a couple of days. OMG this thing was in the super amp league: Transparency to die for, slam that you couldn‘t‘ believe for for a 50W amp.. Peter Moncrieffe wasn‘t wrong in his review of this amp: this thing is in the Sterreophile Class A component category hands down. Even after all these years.
What amps have you encountered that have defied time and can still kick butt today?
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While I much prefer Audio Research products, I still use a Hafler 500 I built at my desk in my shop in 1974. Recently checked over, the bias was adjusted and the amp pronounced perfect, and it sounds that way. I am using it on the bottom end of my bi-amped Tympani I-C's, so it is not called upon to be full range, but it works just fine either way. Not perfect in accuracy, but just fine. The Adcom 535 I got around the same time runs my home office system, which I use when doing stuff like this. Neither is as accurate as the Audio Research amps I use on the top end or such older amps as the D-150--wish I still had one of those!--but they run and run and run and never give me a problem. So yes, some older amps are just fine. This is not to say I would not buy a new amp given the $$ and desire, but since this is not a priority for me right now--fixing up my newly-purchased house is #1--I am not in the market. But those two amps seem to do the job for over 40 years, so why complain? What else do you use that is 40+ years old and works as well as it did when new? Maybe a musical instrument, and of course my C-2, which needs constant attention, but that's about all I can think of. Cheers! |
@lou_setriodes B&K EX442/ST-140 It’s been fun reading through this thread and seeing some blasts from the past. I built a DH500 from a kit in 1985, then moved on to a New York Audio Labs Moscode 300 about 2 years later (that one’s a bit obscure, and was surprised to see it mentioned! I actually got to meet Harvey Rosenberg...a very colorful and interesting character, as so many of these high-end entrepreneurs are!). My next amp was a Distech LS-2 based on the B&K ST-140. Ironically, I just picked up one of the last of the B&K ST-140s for my son as a graduation gift....he’s gonna love it! |
@knotscott / @lou_setriodes - Did either of you ever perform any of the mods, to your Moscodes? Great amp!
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@knotscott / @lou_setriodes - Did either of you ever perform any of the mods, to your Moscodes? Great amp! Other than changing some tubes, I didn't do anything else to mine. |
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