2. amps-preamps
  3. 1322333418

How do we remember 1970s amplifiers?

I would be curious to hear some of the memories and impressions associated with the following short list of 1970s amplifiers:

- McIntosh "first generation" SS amps, MC2105, MC2505, MC2300, MC250, MC2100
- Dynaco Stereo 400 and Stereo 120
- Phase Linear 400 and 700
- Bang & Olufsen "slide rule" receivers (i.e. especially blackface Beomaster 4000)
- Original Ampzilla (not Son of Ampzilla)

I've chosen this list mainly because they cover a wide range of approaches to solving the issues of early semiconductor technology, and they were all pretty mainstream products in the U.S. I'm excluding the Japanese receivers/amps not out of predjudice; it's simply that the circuit designs varied quite a bit with each model, and thus harder to broadly classify their characteristics.

I'm interested in impressions of both sonic and non-sonic attributes, and a preferred ranking of the above, if you like.
kirkus
minkwelder
256 posts
 
My first excursion into the "high-end" came in 1984 when I stepped up from my Fisher X-101 with Sanyo turntable (other components?) to a McIntosh system. I purchased a used C-26, MC-2505 and new XL-10 outfit, along with a new Thorens TD-146 with Signet TK3A(?). I was so sure that McIntosh was the ultimate that I don't even recall listening to the system before bringing it home.

To make a long story short, I really tried to like it, but to my chagrin it really didn't do it for me. It seemed muddy and uninvolving. This stereo stuff wasn't as easy as I thought!

Oh well, that began my (futile?) search for the holy grail of audio!!
singleendedsingle
664 posts
 
A friend found the Dynaco Stereo 400 on a thrift store, rated at 200wpc into 8 ohms, 300wpc into 4 ohms. A beauty, but this one needed several fixes. Some people say its harsh and grainy.
vicdamone
850 posts
 
We bought a Cerwin-Vega A-1800 to power a small PA in 1977. As with some of the amps on your list this was the first generation of higher powered solid state amplification so there was little to compare. When the band split I got the amplifier. I also had a pair of Marantz 8B's at the time. I never did warm up to the Vega as a playback amp so it did duty in my DIY Bass amp rig which never left the house.

In the mid nineties I decided to go through the Vega and upgraded as many parts and wire as I could. Surprisingly, it warmed up and became fairly listenable.
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,611 posts
 
.
In the 70's, I was still a receiver dude. Separates were a little too esoteric for me back then. The thought of a separate amp was light years away.
.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I had a Phase Linear 400 driving a pair of Bose 901 original series in 1972.

At that time it was the best amp/speaker combination I had owned.

Preamp was a Dayton Wright; don't remember the model but it was my first preamp without tone controls.
More to discover