Threshold Stasis S/150

Ok… yes. They were the first high current designs.

yes… for a speaker in production since 1977 w 250 k sold in many variants including NOW, the 2 like ALL Vandersteen products is designed to be an EASY load…no ultra low impedance dips or bizare phase angles, etc…

My brother gets excellent results w a slightly larger Threshold and the 3a-signature

Join us at Vandersteen owners forum…. lots of 2 owners can tell you what amps they use.

Do pay some attention to age of unit and VERY possible need for recap..

I'm curious about the the sound of the historical amps as they age. I enjoyed access to Woodbridge Stereo in NJ in the 1980s. They carried the Thresholds, among other goodness. I now have a possible bead on an S/500 II, in the process of a refurbishment. Or maybe a Levinson 23.5. No matter. The arc welders of yore, seventh of their names, etc. I do enjoy listening to the equipment I once coveted but could not afford.

Will an older amp exceed the original sound/detail/staging with refreshment of the older parts with more modern bits? Or is it a hit or miss proposition?

I am not at all opposed to refurb'd equipment. I feel lucky to be running a CJ 17LS2 into a Pass Aleph 5, with my Vandersteen 2ce Sigs. Both the preamp and the amp have made the journey to their respective factories and back again. If I don't try for sustained volumes above 90 dB, the setup is very satisfying. I've had multiple amps through the house and with it comes the opportunity to try "new things."

The A5 developed a hum during my stewardship, so I knew it was time. But are there other sonic cues that suggest that a solid state amp requires attention?

My dad gave me his old McIntosh gear. It's great and nostalgic and rebuilt to spec but it still sounds like 70's gear. It's great for the time period and fun to have but never want to pull out the Leben or the Pass to play the old stuff.

That said, I get what the op said about having gear from another generation can be fun. I'd rather not have primary gear that could fail. 

@highend64

IMHO:...,

Your room might be too small for theses speakers. With their minimal baffles and also inherent warm, ripe sonice signature; they need space from surrounding walls. They also need space from the listening position for proper driver intergration.

Unless your seeking very high output levels, (which aren’t these speakers forte’) the Threshold S 150 should work well. The Series II versions were a nice upgrade,. later ones with the pre-Optical Bias version corrosive resistent gold plated circuit boards are worth seeking out, especially considering the age of these amps. As has been previsouly posted the original caps need replacing. Jan Soderberg an ex-Threshold tech at Vintage Amp Repair has earned an excellent reputation for updating Threshold gear. Unlike other modders whose handi-work can actually devalue gear, his work will be apprecaited and sought out. Finding a piece that has fairly recently gone through his hands might be the most long term cost effective route.

While I can’t disagree with @ghdprentice ’s perception, I think it important to remember that it is a perception. If you look through the posts here on Audiogon you’ll find some prefer the Threshold to the Pass Labs amps and visa versa. I would suggest that these earlier Thresholds are rather neutral with a very slight leaning to warmth, where as the Pass Labs are most certainly in the warmth camp. As the Vandersteen are already strongly leaning towards the warm, ripe spectrum, it might be advisable not to accentuate that with an overly warm amp.

YMMV

Amongst my favoriite amps for these Vandy’s are the McCormack’s and the PSE’s. Regretably they didn’t have the robust build quality of amps like these older Thresholds and are no longer an easy reccomendation.