Old V's New.....from a dif angle......

Hear goes

About a year ago I owned a Marantz CD10,Audio research SP8
Krell KSA 50,and a pair of QLN Model one's ... I bought all this in one go in 1988 following an Absolute sounds demo........

now a while back some bastard nicked them from me for some beer money, drugs or both.
only left the speakers cos he would prob look a bit suspect
with a speaker and stand under each arm walking down the street.....

untill said bastard nicked my gear,I was perfectly happy with my kit, did'nt buy mags or read reviews,nor looked at other gear
no upgradeitis........end of............

now a year down the road,several grand later and still continuing the search ,I happenedquite by chance, to strike up a conversation with a guy in the hairdressers.......turn's out that he's got a Marantz 6000KI, SP8 and a Ksa50 mk11 and a pair of old spendor BC1 with some cable neither he or I new what it was
well I,ve been listening this afternoon to a several of my fav artists that he Also had/ like's {dire straits & Van morrison }

Well F**K me .......the old magic was back...big time

for whatever reason this combi just made me grin and enjoy

then the sickener......the whole lost owes him less than £2200

now the question

has Hifi really moved on in the past 2 decades?

which part of the chain has moved on the most ?

am I just unknowingly biased ?

am i just kinda thinking/believing it was better in the good old days

the floor is now open.........just wait for me jump back over the wall first











:

 

2 Most important ingrediants missing from most of 2days systems, Fun & Bass verbaitum. Wm

 

I'm not surprised Ya boo and agree with WM.

Too many modern systems just sound so anaemic, there's a good reason class A and valve amps are still popular.

I would happily buy amplification from 20 years ago, although IMO there have been advances in some areas, noticably voice coil technology and CD replay.

The trouble is that many people mistake differences for improvements out of boredom with their existing setup. The typical audiophile bears a striking resemblence to a crab in the way they naturally seem to be taking steps sideways all the time.

 

I agree mostly that technology seems to be moving sideways. My sisters 1970's setup prooves this although I've mentioned it before on here.

Its interesting when you considered a 1980 amplifer compared to a modern one, the basic electronic circuilt is probably almost identical.

Then consider that 1KB RAM cost £16 in 1980.

 

Merlin

whilst mag's perpetuate the "this is the latest hot snot amp/cdp ect" perhaps they should do some 80's V's 2004 shootouts

amp v's amp ect

I have the lastest AVI lab series.......great reviews ect loved by one and all..........Yes its a great amp........ best of the new "hot snot" IMO but in 20 yrs time?
will it be remembered revered a la early Krell audio research quad?........... I think not.........

If I new this guy better I,d ask to borrow the krell off him

I honestly would not bet on the AVI bettering that 20yr old Krell

 

amplifiers and speakers maybe. Advances have surely been made in both though. Digital components have improved much MOre though.

 

Sorted

 

I agree. Until there is a significant technology breakthrough, I think that modern amps will only continue to be incrementally improved at best over older designs.

Thats why the recent introduction of digital switching amps is so interesting. Will the newer technology lead to big sound quality gains? I hope so.

 

CD replay has definitely moved on in the past two decades, although less so I feel in the past 5 years. The venerable Alpha 9 is a tough act to follow sub-£1000. Heh heh! :lol:

 

If you can get on with a Naim NAP250 then whether your amp was built in the 70s, 80s, 90s or last year it'll probably keep you happy.

Less space heater than a Krell too...

IMO the Class Dx amps will do more power for less money, but they won't be/aren't a revelation in sound terms. If you don't need the power...

Paul

 

Just to add that I listened to a Musical Fidelity A1000 integrated today (buying it for a friend in Portugal) and I was blown away!

50W of pure Class A from around 1994 - a sound so fluid, open and musical I could scarcely believe it. Not a hint of the blandness that's so often associated with today's MF products.

The amp doesn't half get hot though :yikes:

Michael.

 

Paul, have you heard any, or is that just you theorising again

IMO any new technology is welcome, and who knows how things will develop in this area.

 

Hey! Everybody be quiet about the quality of older kit - someone might overhear! If the general hifi-buying public realised how good older equipment can be, we wouldn't get such great second-hand bargains! :cowboy:

Dunc

 

I think we must remember that the ARC SP8, krell KSA50 and Spendor BC1 were all designs that had a huge impact on the 'high-end' in their day. I recall the shock when reviewers such as Alvin gold inserted the krell KSA50 into their Linn/naim systems - it was a bombshell.

The SP8 reminded the world that simple valve circuits with few active devices could be so much more transparent than their solid state conterparts. Likewise the BC1 redefined 'speaker neutrality through it's cabinet construction and driver selection. it was to remain a reference for many years.

These products 'made' companies like Absolute Sounds and enabled the American high end some credibility for the first time in the UK. In some respects such seminal products cannot be improved upon only cherished for their sweet, natural, open reproduction of music.

Darren

 

I wonder if anyone has listened to the MF A370 recently. A real class A powerhouse in it's day, ranked up there with the Krell. They can be picked up for less than 500 quid now!

So let's have an imaginary bake off! A lot of magazines are publishing recommended system reviews around the four thousand mark. So what would you buy second hand for that, cd based, and do you think it would better the typical Cyrus, Naim, Arcam setup recommended by our favourite publications.

An idea would be Theta Pearl Transport, Audio Research Dac1-20, Audio Research SP9Mk111, Krell KSA100Mk2 and Apogee Duetta Signatures. OK, total is just over 4K, but how do you think this would compare with a Cyrus setup

 

Merl - I think it would eat it up, and shit it out into little pieces!!


I nearly bought a Krell KSA50 once, because I liked it. Its a shame Krell moved away from class A power houses like the KSA50/100.

I suppose the downfall of Class A products solid state or valve is the effect that all that heat will have in the long run on the components. Something may eventually go pop!.. mind you when it does, its never cost me more than £150 to fix, so its not soo scary I guess.

An old Skool Class A bake off? sounds fun!... Another cracker is the Conrad Johnson MF series which is solid state class A.

I borrowed the MF2300 about a year ago (240w p/ch.. and I think all of it class A!?) very heavy (about 40KG), and so powerful when I booted it up the overhead lights dimmed!. I didnt prefer it to my valve amp which I bought instead, but some people may have done. The bottom end control was amazing.

NB I saw a Krell KSA50 in the classifieds this month (Hifi World) for £700ish. I can dig it up if anyone wants. NB The MF2300 was about £1400 used.

Heres a link

http://www.conradjohnson.com/It_just_sounds_right/classic-products.html

 

Oh yea ! ... what a thread!!!

Now we are talking boys... Four grand to spend. here we go; it's back to 1980s high end for me:

ARC Sp10.............................................................................£1200
Krell KSA100.........................................................................£1000
Magnaplanar MGIIIa............................................................. .£700
Pink Triangle TT with Alphason HR100MCS and Koetsu Red £1100

I have seen all these items at this price in the last year. The Koetsu Red had been Rebuilt and the SP10 had been serviced by Absolute Sounds.

John Atkinson of HFN ( now editor of Stereophile) assembled just such a system for the Heathrow show one year. he said that the 'slam' produced by the Krell/Maggie combination just had to be heard to be believed.

Got to go - I think I need to peruse the used ads...

Darren

 

I also loved the maggies, but I,ve 3 kids......dont think they would survive long

 

hey Yaboo,

my kids know that to play with Daddy's Maggies would mean death. I'm not a strict Dad ; but the line has to be drawn somewhere.

Currently using a pair of SMGb - only 4ft tall and 20inches wide- sweet as a nut, great stereo image, drives the room well.... la, la ,la la.

Darren

 

I've heard a couple in non-representative surroundings. And I've read the Tripath data sheets...

But I don't think there's been much advance in power amplification from a sound pov over the last 50 years, so long as it is operated within its limits. Class D definitely offers more power and less heat, possibly reduced cost. I don't see that there is much room for sound revelations. Colour me cynical.

Paul