2. amps-preamps
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Dream Amps I Could Not Afford 20 Years Ago Now Undesirable

As a young audio enthusiast I used to lust for the high-end Audio Research LS25Mk2 and Reference Two preamps but couldn’t afford them during that time. Today at their used prices they are much more affordable now but I no longer find them appealing.

Does anyone here have such similar experiences? Stuff that you dream of owning 20 or 30 years ago do not appeal to you anymore and considered as junk (as an exaggeration).

Another one is Focal JM Labs Mezzo Utopia as the high price made it look unattainable 30 years ago. Now when I look at it in the For Sale ads mostly in poor condition with worn cabinet, the aspiration of owning a seemingly unattainable high-end gear from the past seems to be a thing of the past. The new Focal Utopia speakers are another story though..

ryder
rooze's avatar
rooze
640 posts
 

@shtinkydog I ran it with a pair of QLN Signature speakers and later I picked up a used pair of Apogee Caliper Sigs that I bought from the same dealer.

The Krell had enough ‘on paper’ watts for the Calipers but couldn’t deliver enough current, so the sound was pretty lame. Course I didn’t know anything back then so I couldn’t figure out why it sounded so bad. Things were a little better with the QLNs but really not that much.

I’ve a vintage KSA 80 right now that sounds fantastic, I wish I had it back in the day.

 

shtinkydog
706 posts
 

@rooze .  cool, thanks.  it's all a learning curve, right?

kennyc
1,624 posts
 

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