2. amps-preamps
  3. 1290657706

Man between two eras

Bit of a conundrum, Newer technology or vintage? I need something that will last a long while before upgrading. Will be buying used and don’t mind having a vintage amp serviced/cleaned, caps replace and so on. Must have phono as well. Taking this all in to consideration my budget is $500.00 to $900.00. Listing area is a loft (small area but like high volume at times). I would prefer a unit on just the slightly warm side, not to dry or analytical. Driving some refurbished Dynaco a25 speakers may change at a later date. Flexibility is good.

Looking for a receiver or an integrated amp. I am considering the following:

Rega
Musical Fidelity
Bryston
Arcam

Vintage
Yamaha
Pioneer
Marantz
Sansui

Thanks for the input,
Happy Thanksgiving!
musicrover
celtic66
1,668 posts
 
Receivers and small integrateds used to be my crack. I consumed them by the dozens during the 80s. I settled on favorites such as the Luxmans, Tandbergs and Yamahas.

My fave remains the Luxman 1120A receiver. Owned one for years and had a tech bypass the preamp out/power in circuit, bypass the LED power meters and hardwired an LAT International power cord. All of this made it quite formidable. Only drawback is the push spring (small) speaker connectors.

Over 120wpc, slight warmth in the bass, stellar tuner and quite good phono preamp. These should be found for around $400 used and $500 with replaced caps and tech tune-up. Good luck.
violin
120 posts
 
I am using a Marantz 2275 driving a pair of Large Advent speakers and the sound is wonderful. I use an indoor antenna and I get a classical station that is 90 miles away with no noise or station flutter. Highly recommended.
violin
rrog
1,958 posts
 
See if you can find a clean Dynaco Stereo 70 and PAS 3X. Not a receiver or integrated, but much better sound, better resale value and all within your budget.
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
Go new, and look into the accessories4less site as they run many closeout items at good prices and they are an authorized dealer for many lines. I've been happy with the purchases I have made their.
scorchin34
2 posts
 
Running a Marantz Model 1250, cooking a set of PSB Avantes which are equally vintage, using a Sherwood which is a re-badged Philips CDM2 swing drive as a source in my Gamma system, couldn't be happier with it's sweet relaxed sound. Try to go with either Marantz or Yamaha, both are best bets, Sansui and Pioneer are nice but in my experience those 2 brands can be hit and miss, Marantz & Yamaha have a proven consistency record over the decades. Good luck and enjoy your music in good health.

Peace,
Preston
More to discover