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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
salectric
755 posts
 
My system in 1976 would probably still sound pretty good by today's standards. Here's the lineup:

Table #1--Rabco ST-4 with ADC XLM
Table #2--Thorens TD-124 with homemade pivoted arm and Decca Mk 5

Phono---homemade based on Trevor Lees circuit (supposedly a copy of the Paragon 10)

Linestage--homemade passive (pot in a box)

Power amp (100 Hz and above)---Dyna 70 with extensive mods

Power amp (below 100 Hz)--Williamson Twin-20 (Audio Amateur magazine project)

Speakers---KEF B200 in homemade transmission line; Fulton FMI-80 for mids; RTR ESR-6 electrostat tweeter
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Salectric, Your speakers sound like the Fulton Premiers which I had in the late '70s.
salectric
755 posts
 
Tbg, I would have loved to own a set of Fulton J-Modulars or the later Premiers, but they were way out of my limited budget.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Salectric, I must say that I heard them when Fulton visited a local deal when I lived on Long Island. He played them with his "amp in a trunk." They were great, but the amp never became a product. I ended up with three pair of Luxman 3045 mono block amps, which had to be rebiased hourly. I gave up and bought double Quad 57s. Before I moved to Texas I had an offer to sell them, which I did.

Yes, I was going through equipment quickly at that time and finding little that satisfied me.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,408 posts
 
I liked the Tandbergs. THese were among the best I recall hearing in those daysin terms of overall clarity and listenability. Even the tr2080 receiver's amp that I had up until a couple years back had a lot of top notch positive attributes. Its limitation was current delivery into more challenging loads, but this was a receiver not a separate power amp. I would like to own a vintage Tandberg amp in good working order again someday.
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