Stereo thoughts

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

The beloved amplifier component of my beloved old stereo just broke. I want to replace it quickly and painlessly. (Repair does not seem feasible.) At the moment I do not want to spend more than $200. I was looking at some vintage stereo tube power amps but I wonder if those are just silly.

What do you think? How can I best replace my amp?

And, to make this thread of more general interest, tell me about your cool/interesting/absurd home audio system and your standards for listening to music (or audiobooks, or whatever it is you listen to).

― Paul Eater (eater), Tuesday, 29 October 2002 04:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

mp3s and a 40 dollar boombox ever since the stereo system moved down to film school in los angeles

― boxcubed (boxcubed), Tuesday, 29 October 2002 04:03 (twenty-one years ago) link

The centrepiece of my system is my 30-odd year old Marantz valve amp (inherited from my father), which still sounds fantastic after all these years. Everything else has been recently replaced, my Rotel CD player with a newer model, and my ancient turntable with a Stanton. It sounds lovely.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 29 October 2002 04:06 (twenty-one years ago) link

A Rotel amp would be a nice bargain choice.

― Sean (Sean), Tuesday, 29 October 2002 04:09 (twenty-one years ago) link

I have "the honda del sol of shelf systems" according to a friend, because it says "Hello" when it turns on, then "See you!" or "Good bye!" when you turn it off, and it's tiny & shiny. On the good side, it takes PC input, so you can play mp3s through it easily.

― lyra (lyra), Tuesday, 29 October 2002 04:40 (twenty-one years ago) link

I have an Aiwa shelf system under my desk that used to be multifunctional, but now the lens won't read cds and the tape drawers won't close, and i lost the antenna, so thank god for AUX/VIDEO! My sound card runs out to it, and it sounds good enough for me. I also run ethernet to the Mac in the living room, which is connected to a Sansui system bought on sale at Walmart for $70 that takes up 2 square feet of shelf space (including speakers) and rocks the house down. I run Winamp on the Mac and shoutcast my music from the office. This puts a delay in the playback due to buffering, which is kind of a hassle, but it keeps me from changing songs too fast/constantly, which is a good thing. I like shelf systems generally, but I'm from the HAL9000 school of design and so I find it annoying that the trend in design seems to be towards funkified multiported SUPERBASS(?!) speakers, curves, and colored lights... oh well.

― Stuart, Tuesday, 29 October 2002 20:18 (twenty-one years ago) link

tube amps are fun, sound nice glow, get hot, look geeky and sound nice. Do a search online for "antique sound labs" they have a $99 dollar mono tube amp. I have a pair and love em, you may need to find a pre amp for them.

― lurk, Wednesday, 30 October 2002 00:06 (twenty-one years ago) link

Actually I have a lot more "stereo thoughts", but I'll spare you. I'd probably advise you not to buy a $99 tube amp, though.

― Sean (Sean), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 00:37 (twenty-one years ago) link

It's true, that's a $99 mono tube amp! I do wonder though why the next model up is ten times more costly. How long have you had yours? No problems?

I also have an old all-in-one system (it says "goodbye" too!), good for nothing but AUX, gathering dust. I was hoping to improve on that a bit. I don't need anything fancy, just reliable and as pleasant-sounding as I can afford.

― Paul Eater (eater), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 05:50 (twenty-one years ago) link

Stereo thoughts - imagine that.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 09:02 (twenty-one years ago) link

I have had them for almost a year, no problems. The models above it cost allot more because the parts used to build them are all of a much higher quality. The output transformers in most tube amps wholesale for more than $99.

― lurk, Wednesday, 30 October 2002 19:35 (twenty-one years ago) link

Best reasonably priced, long-lasting stereo equipment: Onkyo by far.

― Yancey (ystrickler), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 19:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

I just have a Sony mini-system, and a Philips CD-writer (I suppose they are kinda retro now)

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 19:57 (twenty-one years ago) link

Onkyo, eh?

― Paul Eater (eater), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 23:16 (twenty-one years ago) link

seven years pass...

NEW QUESTION

how to clean inside my amplifier? opened it today due to imaginary dysfunction, and found lost nation of dust bunnitopia. what is safe/sane/cheap method of freshening?

― contenderizer, Friday, 20 November 2009 05:11 (fourteen years ago) link

air in a can

― indie spare (electricsound), Friday, 20 November 2009 05:18 (fourteen years ago) link

won't that just push dust into other parts of amplifier? it's all in a nice even topside layer now.

will try, as i suppose that's why they put air in the can in the first place.

― contenderizer, Friday, 20 November 2009 05:21 (fourteen years ago) link

one year passes...

I blew out one really expensive speaker...until I can replace it, I am surprised at how well those old-fashioned boomboxes work! Found one in the garage from the early nineties and another at a thrift store. If you don't have a lot of money you can hook your computer up. They work better than the crap computer speakers at Radio Shack and you can re-live your childhood!

― Die, Foghat, Die (Mount Cleaners), Wednesday, 14 September 2011 00:57 (twelve years ago) link

four years pass...

I've just put together a system for my garage/shop area.

Onkyo TX-84 (late 80's?)
Pioneer 6 CD magazine that's junk from early 90s (and which i've never trusted, and don't like to load/unload)
Kenwood 3-head Auto-Reverse cassette (fine pro-sumer model from mid-90's)

...and i plug in my Sansa Clip through a $30 headphone amp into the AUX for MP3s

Cheapo Pioneer tower speakers and the matching pressboard rack/glass door.

I rigged the rack with a 110V fan, cut a hole in the opposite side and covered with air-duct filter material (and weather-stripped all other airgaps), and plugged both the fan and a USB charger into the "switched" power plug on the back of the receiver. Power it up, and the Sansa stays charged and the fan keeps it all relatively clean and cool.

Just have to hang the speakers in the rafters to save on floor space, but i'm rocking hard for less than $100, all-in.

I put a Kill-a-watt meter on it to measure power consumption and i can keep the unit powered-up and ready in the winter for less than the juice it takes to run a 60W incandescent.

― bodacious ignoramus, Monday, 27 June 2016 00:56 (seven years ago) link

oops, wrong board - never posted on ILE

― bodacious ignoramus, Monday, 27 June 2016 01:33 (seven years ago) link

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.