rank your amps!

rank your power/integrated amps!!

put your favorite at no. 1, and your least favorite at, say 1,897,654 if you have 1,897,654 power amps.

mine are:

1. Setton BS-5500 (soon to be recapped)
2. Setton BS-5500 (stock)

my soon-to-be-recapped BS-5500 that already has new PS caps is in nicer shape too. the meter glass is mint, too, where the other has some scratches over the right meter. and, the knobs line up perfectly for output, where on the stock one the one knob is always a lot louder than the other until you turn them up about 3/4 of the way and they even out.

these are just tiny imperfections that make me like one over the other

Amps I own-

1. Denon POA 1500 II, black
2. Denon POA 1500 II, black
3. Denon POA 1500, champagne
(these three amps are used for my kitchen setup, and for my living room setup)
4. Marantz 4320 receiver. Modern, black. Used for bedtime use, because of it's remote-controllable capabilities and sleep timer. A nice performer, 80wpc. Have considered replacing it for an Adcom 535 and pre-amp/tuner combo, and digital sleep timer.
5. Onkyo 502 HT unit. Great for movies and 6.1 sound.
6. Kenwood 907 integrated (I think that's what it is). Black-faced era. 120wpc. Used for work duties, driving Optimus (Realistic) 7s. Not concerned if the boys at work blow it up.

Amps I'd like to own-

1. Bryston 4b. 'Nuff said.
2. PSE amp- any. Top notch gear.
3. B&K ST-202. High powered B&K, but uncommon.
4. B&K 140, great amp, though some supposed irreplaceable parts. Rated at 70wpc for earlier models, 105wpc for later. Much later models got a good interior component redesign, but the earliest 105wpc units are the most problematic. I'll go for a 70wpc unit, or late edition redesigned 105wpc unit.
5. Sansui BA-2000. Approx. 105-110 wpc, a simple, classic design, heavy, and with good sound for an older amp.
6. soundcraftsmen, I believe the 5002. In three choices, classic metered, LED metered, and no meters, I prefer the classic metered, followed by the no metered version.

Amps I've owned-

1/2. Tie- Marantz 1060. Simple, classic design, non-DC model. A true audio classic.
1/2. Tie- Sansui AU-317. DC, 50wpc, slim profile, a great performer with lots of gusto and an incredible sound. Plenty of useful features, too.
3. Yamaha 810- clean, crisp sound, delicate features, beautiful meters, variable loudness control. Quality gear indeed.
4. Kenwood KA-7100. Beautiful recessed volume knob, Kenwood's version of a dual power supply, tons of great features, and well-built. smooth sound.
5. Yamaha 610 II. Much like the 810, just a bit less power. A great little amp.
6. Kenwood KA-5700. Less power and features than the 7100, but similar sound and beautiful meters.
7. sony 6065 receiver. Incredibly well-built, and referred to in many circles as a baby McIntosh. sony's early efforts were built to very high standards, and these units are true performers, and I'd argue very overbuilt. plenty of power.
8. Technics SA-80. Low powered, but it was in cherry condition, and had lots of sentimental value.
7. Marantz 2225 receiver. Nice unit, but proved unreliable for me.
8. Pioneer receiver- sx series, cannot recall. For some reason, never cared for the Pioneer gear.
9. Yamaha stereo a/v receiver. Black faced era. Nothing spectacular, but still a decent unit.
10. Pioneer stereo receiver. Black faced era. Decent performer as well, though nothing spectacular.

I know there were others, but I can't recall them....

I like all Haflers but they aren't intergrated. I do like my Creeks. I can dual amp the speakers with a single amp. I liked my first amp it was a Rotel. I can't remember the number but it would crank.

1- Super T-Amp _ recapped with Nichicon caps and Qed wires to outputs.

2 - Aria Mini - Push-Pull tube amp.

3- Musical Fidelity X-A2

4- Nad C 325BEE

5- Cyrus 3i

6- Rotel RA-840BX4

Yamaha B-2x
Rotel RB-970BX
Trends Audio TA 10.1
Super T Amp

1. Electra-Print 300DRD -

my preferred amp, but at 13 wpc wont drive every speaker out there.

1. Monarchy SM 70 PRO x2-

Nice single ended transsistor amp. Class A. In monoblock form the pair is good for 80 wpc. A single stereo amp is good for 35 wpc.

Its a matter of different horses for different courses. Put a pair of high efficiency speakers on the Electra-Prints and they are hard to beat. Put a pair of planars on the Monarchy and you have a different path to audio nirvana.

Amps I have owned and loved.

Art Audio Diavolo
Quicksilver Silver 90's
AES SE 811
Dynaco Stereo 70's with parts refreshed
Cyrus I

Regards
Mister Pig

#1 the one and only Electrohome PA-100 MK-1

PA-100 I would imagine being a close second. soundt/afro.gif

oops, not SS, oh weLL!

Its been some time since I added my thoughts to anything of merit, so here goes!

Amps Currently In house

Bryston 7b-SST pair- Enough said...

Receivers in House

Setton RS-440 - beautiful to look at, Like a Pierre Cardin Suit (Sounds French!)

Sansui G901(G9000 Eur, ver.)- The real deal, got balls to the walls and tuner to match!Tuner close but no cigar to TU-919.

Kenwood KR9050 - Best tuner of any receiver I ever owned. Luscious mids,
Drives Thiels! Too many controls.

Denon 4806CI HTR - I thought I throw this in, very clean, very deep stage, powerful, Hemi engine vs v6, tuner above adequate.

Yamaha Rx-V2700 HTR - Luscious mids and Highs, bottom not quite Denon but deep. Very satisfying sound, I may even like better than the Denon.

Amps Previously in house

Bryston 4B - Big, Black, Bad and Boffo Bass!

Bryston 3b - Napoleonic Complex- It wished it was its Big Brother

B & K M-200 Mono Blocks - 200 wpc of tube like sound from solid state - Ran Class A up to 25 wpc! Bottom end soft as a willing Date. Wide staging, Old slippers!

Hafler DH-500 x2- 255wpc of potential for $500! but needed $1200 of mods to make it stay in the house for 15 years thanks to Musical Concepts.

Dynaco 416 W/C-100 100kuf Storage unit- The last great Dynaco solid state amp ran cool at 400wpc! Sound needed work-- not as subtle as their tubes.

Dynaco ST-70- Oh how lovely they sounded as long as you used good tubes and didn't overdrive your large Advents.

EICO kits--- Flea powered but sounded good through Jensen 6x9's with the whizzer cones.

McIntosh MC225 - My father brought this home one day- where he got is up for debate.. Unfortunately at the time we didn't have a preamp and used the line outputs of a Bogen Integrated.. Well , the first time he had to replace tubes with Mullards, The Amp departed for financial reasons!

Former Receivers

Fisher 500-- My fathers favorite- it was great and took 2 weeks salary to buy it! We had it for years and gave it to a family member. It departed into the sunset.

Heathkit Receiver- I should have never sold it- What a classic. Sounded very good in hindsight

Sony STR-6055- Bought it at New Yorks Famous "Crazy Eddies", paid $275- always had trouble with the tuner mpx circuits.

Sherwood 7900a - One of the finest sounding receivers I ever owned or heard. I used this unit as a preamp for years driving all the Dynacos. Sold it to a friend who still uses it in the garage!

Writing this has brought back a plethora of fond memories. If only we could relive some of them again and give those folks a hug, a kiss and a thank you.