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Post by macca on Jul 15, 2018 7:13:21 GMT
A work colleague approached me and said she had a Marantz PM94 to sell and was I interested?  Are bears Catholic? Does the Pope Sh#t in the woods? I bought it off her, stuck it in my system, played some tunes and it was the best sound I ever had, exactly what I wanted. *** Unfortunately this was just a very vivid dream, when I woke up my neighbour was playing music quite loud which obviously accounted for the music I 'heard' in my dream. But have always wanted a go on one of these big no-compromise integrateds. Pioneer, Sansui, Sony, Technics, Akai, JVC. Hitachi all did them too. By the mid 1980s you usually got a DAC inside as well. People tend to ask too much on eBay and they rarely seem to come up for sale on forums (unless I've not been looking hard enough). Anyone here tried one of these TOTL monsters? I'm sure DSJR must have had a listen to one. I've never even come across one at a bake-off. |
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Post by dsjr on Jul 15, 2018 9:27:17 GMT
Some were good, others not. Bought mainly for willy waving and the knobs festooning the front, the sound of some of these was dead, musicless and flat as a pancake, due to nasty circuit tweaks designed to make these things appear very low in THD. What saved some of them was the large power supply with good current swings, but in the mid 70's certainly, nobody 'listened' to amps the way we do now. The Sony V-FET amps were tremendously good, but output stages cost a bomb if they blew and old ones suffer output and speaker destroying dry joints sadly...
The PM94 was too late for me, as we were into UK made tat instead by then...
One pair of integrateds which didn't cost the earth and sounded good were by Nakamichi. The Amp 1 and Amp 2 (IA1, IA2) were both very good and 'music friendly' I remember.
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Post by antonio on Jul 15, 2018 10:03:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2018 10:07:50 GMT
I wouldn't purchase another piece of vintage kit again, Ive been burned before, things deteriate with time so sod buying 40/50 YO hifi. It may sound nice, but how long will it last ?.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jul 15, 2018 11:10:15 GMT
It’s definitely one of the nicer Japanes Flagship amps. I recall a big Akai from the mid-late 80s being very impressive, when I was a Richer Sounds “high flyer”  |
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Post by macca on Jul 15, 2018 12:07:53 GMT
I wouldn't purchase another piece of vintage kit again, Ive been burned before, things deteriate with time so sod buying 40/50 YO hifi. It may sound nice, but how long will it last ?. Nothing a good EE can't fix. Unless there's a part that has been discontinued and there's no substitute. I had a huge pile of broken kit, amps, cd players, tuners, receivers. 10 or 12 items in all. Gave it to all to a mate who is an EE and likes to fix things in his spare time. He's got every single item working perfectly again. I agree it's worth costing in the price of a service if you are buying one, unless you get one that has already been fully restored. I'm talking only about the flagship stuff here, the statement pieces that were the Jap companies putting their full engineering chops on the line and saying 'This is the best we can do.' Kit like that should not be treated like some consumer tat and chucked in a skip when it won't switch on one day. It's worth fixing and keeping IMO. Like this Pioneer SA9900   Binning that would be a crime. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2018 15:10:34 GMT
Yep, okay perhaps if your an EE, but not nice to lay out serious Dosh on some Jap eye candy only to see it go tits up a couple of days later,nah I won't be bit twice but if that's your thing go for it....
Best of luck.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2018 15:33:55 GMT
Sansui AU-20000 for me. I've always fancied one.  |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jul 15, 2018 17:17:59 GMT
With vintage Jap amps, there’s often a lot of switches and pots that need cleaning and always the risk of them not sounding as they should due to components no longer performing to spec. I’d say factor in the cost of an overhaul if you are tempted, amd you will likely end up with a decent amp.
There was a great thread on a (AU999?) on another forum. It explained all,the risks, pitfalls and likely costs of buying one Andy what you’d be getting yourself into. It reminded me of the sort of knowledge you could do with when buying a model of car on thneised market. I guess it showed me that research is important if going gown the vintage toute.
CD players are less straightforward because you can’t get parts (not just laser mechs) and not all EEs want to touch digital. As long as you can identify someone who is likely to be sort your player, then it’s less risky. Buying a spare/donor machine seems sensible though.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2018 19:33:45 GMT
Well thats handy, Sansui have kindly seen fit to print a schematic on the amplifier.
That could come in very useful when it goes POP ...!!!
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jul 31, 2018 14:40:39 GMT
Anyone ever heard the big JVC amps? I’m thinking gd like the AX Z1010 that Flatpopely has and which have become popular on PFM. I know there are related models too.
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Post by macca on Jul 31, 2018 18:02:36 GMT
No but I would like to. They all came from some warehouse in Canada. Someone had stockpiled enough brand new kit to open a pretty big hi-fi store but never did. It all sat in the boxes for twenty-odd years until some bloke bought the lot and started flogging it on eBay.
When the word got out about those AXZ1010 he jacked the price right up for the last few. Well over a grand plus shipping, then you've got to convert it from 120v to 240v. Too much cost and aggravation to have a go on one. Maybe they will come round again in a few years.
JVC have done some top equipment though. First decent system I ever heard was JVC TT and amp, not the budget stuff neither, with JBL Century speakers. I'm sure that sound at least partly defined what I want a system to sound like.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jul 31, 2018 18:04:13 GMT
I will be keeping an eye out for that ones and it’s earler brethren.just out of curiosity and hopefully a bargain.
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Post by macca on Feb 9, 2019 11:32:14 GMT
For sale on PFM at the moment - very tasty Yamaha C4/M4  Never heard them but this is the sort of thing I'd take a punt on just on the looks alone. Check out those level meters! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2019 13:09:42 GMT
My grandad had the little Aiwa Mini-Compo system. I still quite fancy the pre/power myself  |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 9, 2019 13:17:58 GMT
My grandad had the little Aiwa Mini-Compo system. I still quite fancy the pre/power myself Looks gorgeous! Design wise it reminds me of Nagra. |
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Post by macca on Feb 9, 2019 13:20:35 GMT
Yeah the Aiwa mini-compo stuff is sweet. Check out this one:  |
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 9, 2019 13:27:49 GMT
Nicer than I recall.
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Post by macca on Feb 9, 2019 13:40:03 GMT
Pink LEDs dude. They were pushing the boundaries back then. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2019 22:49:32 GMT
For sale on PFM at the moment - very tasty Yamaha C4/M4 Never heard them but this is the sort of thing I'd take a punt on just on the looks alone. Check out those level meters! Not 'alf as tasty as this, Martin. Must get some speaker leads sorted out. I can do you 20% off a PGA suit, as it's you.  |
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Post by macca on Feb 10, 2019 0:16:54 GMT
That's a bit of a find. Good rep. Never heard one.
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Post by alit on Feb 10, 2019 8:33:32 GMT
Always fancied trying a Pioneer M22 myself, might scratch the itch sometime.
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