Leeman78 Posted October 6, 2020 Posted October 6, 2020 Hello guys and girls, it's my first post so I hope its in the right place. My brain is fried due to so much research in regards to purchasing a new amplifier, please help My grandfather gave me a 1976 pioneer integrated amp (sa7500) 40wpc, I've had it fully restored and love it! I purchased a tx7500 and a very nice pair of used transmission line speakers, custom built in the early 90s utilising 4 Audax drivers, 10" bass, 8" mid, 3" super tweeter 1 1/4" tweeter, 50kg each, I don't have any other specs on them unfortunately. I'm using 2 bic f12 powered subs, and had dedicated 15a circuit fitted, room is 8m x 3.5m. As much as I love my system I'm curious as to what I could achieve by upgrading my amp if that is the best way to achieve better sound. Atm I'm looking at a sa9500/tx9500 combo or a sa9900, available to purchase now. Or am I better off purchasing a power amp to run from the preamp output from my sa7500 and maybe purchase a separate preamp when funds permit. My budget is around $2300 (the asking price for the sa9900) hope the wife doesn't see this, lol. Any advice as to what direction I should head toward would be very much appreciated, I'm only 9 months into the hobby and keen to learn from others more experienced. I mostly play from spotify to a chromecast audio device into the amp. ( a weak link maybe?) And cds occasionally. Happy Listening, Lee. 1
mbz Posted October 6, 2020 Posted October 6, 2020 Great to see another vintage lover... While the SA-7500 is nice, moving up the food chain will give improvements however suggest getting into separates. The pioneer spec series is highly regarded as to is the yamaha series though there are plenty of others. I refurb'd a Kenwood C1 and was surprised by it's performance, however I prefer my Yamaha CX-1000 and CX-1, I run a HK Citation 19 power amp with a Yamaha M-70/C-70 waiting repair. Also it comes down to what sort of sound you want, eg, that warm sansui sound great for vinyl, Budget Luxman pre/power would be desireable but maybe still too expensive.
Leeman78 Posted October 7, 2020 Author Posted October 7, 2020 Thanks heaps for your time Mbz Sounds like I should be moving towards separates. Would purchasing a power amp to use with my sa7500, give me a better sound or just an increase in volume? My volume knob sits comfortably at 1/4 throttle, sound starts to loose quality with some recordings if pushed beyond this point, so a little more headroom would be nice but not nice enough for me to spend 2k on an amp for a little more volume as I'm happy with the volume level 90% of the time, I'm more interested in a larger/better sound stage as my vocals are projected very low, like the artist is sitting on the floor, I keep asking them to stand but they won't. Lol Good luck on your journey to audio nirvana bud. Thanks, Lee. 4 hours ago, mbz said: Great to see another vintage lover... While the SA-7500 is nice, moving up the food chain will give improvements however suggest getting into separates. The pioneer spec series is highly regarded as to is the yamaha series though there are plenty of others. I refurb'd a Kenwood C1 and was surprised by it's performance, however I prefer my Yamaha CX-1000 and CX-1, I run a HK Citation 19 power amp with a Yamaha M-70/C-70 waiting repair. Also it comes down to what sort of sound you want, eg, that warm sansui sound great for vinyl, Budget Luxman pre/power would be desireable but maybe still too expensive.
t_mike Posted October 7, 2020 Posted October 7, 2020 I'm going to throw a spanner in the works here, get yourself a Tidal trial and start streaming at a better resolution, then you may have a better idea of what your set-up is capable of. They regularly do $5 -$15 three month trial deals, just keep your eye out. 2
mbz Posted October 7, 2020 Posted October 7, 2020 On 06/10/2020 at 4:12 PM, Leeman78 said: My budget is around $2300 (the asking price for the sa9900) Yikes, while the SA9900 is a beast, it would want to be fully refurb'd for that money. That is almost Yamaha CX-1000/MX-1000 territory. Certainly get the CX-1/MX-1 or others from Luxman/pioneer... 7 hours ago, Leeman78 said: Would purchasing a power amp to use with my sa7500, give me a better sound or just an increase in volume? Improving any component should give you better sound. The SA-7500 is probably due for a refurb, however I'd resist the refurb urge unless you have a strong attachment to the amp. While 40W is not a lot it, from internet spkrs are probably SPL 92-95db (1W/1m) so it should be plenty loud. "Noise" at quarter volume is a bad sign of a tired amp, so a power amp would be a good idea. I think you need to listen to some gear before you consider buying, though CV19 restrictions doesn't help. The Tidal suggestion is a good one. I run a consonance CDP, however at those prices a trial seems like a no brainer...
Leeman78 Posted October 7, 2020 Author Posted October 7, 2020 5 hours ago, t_mike said: I'm going to throw a spanner in the works here, get yourself a Tidal trial and start streaming at a better resolution, then you may have a better idea of what your set-up is capable of. They regularly do $5 -$15 three month trial deals, just keep your eye out. Thanks t_mike Love a good spanner in the works! I'll definitely give Tidal a run, is the quality better than cd? And would the chromecast audio be a major bottle neck with Tidalor Spotify? Cheers, Lee.
Al.M Posted October 7, 2020 Posted October 7, 2020 (edited) Vintage is nice to look at, but you should look beyond 40 year old amps with maintenance issues and consider what is on offer in the last 5-20years with much better reliability, design and sound quality. For that money $500-1000 separates like Stereo Coffee, tube preamps Audio Research Ls7 and several others, Sonic Frontier, Freya, Conrad Johnson PV10 etc and others, with much more powerful 100-200w amps $500-1000 like Rotel, Electrocompaniet, Adcom 555, ME, Parasound, Audiolab, Quad, Meridian, Accuphase etc. There are many other posts discussing vintage vs other options. Edited October 8, 2020 by Al.M 1
Leeman78 Posted October 7, 2020 Author Posted October 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Al.M said: Vintage is nice to look at, but you should look beyond 40 year old amps with maintenance issues and consider what is on offer in the last 5-20years with much better reliability, design and sound quality. For that money $500-1000 separates like Stereo Coffee, tube preamps Audio Research Ls7, Schiit Freya, Conrad Johnson PV10 etc and others, with much more powerful 100-200w amps $500-1000 like Rotel, Electrocompaniet, Adcom 555, ME, Parasound, Audiolab, Quad, Meridian, Accuphase etc. There are many other posts discussing vintage vs other options. Thanks bud, It's difficult as everyone has a different opinion in regards to old vs new (dollar for dollar), I for one can tell the older gear is made so much better IMO, but in regards to sound I have not been able to compare the two as I haven't had any experience with newer gear yet, time to do just that I think. Thanks for your advice, I'll be sure to research the options you have mentioned. Separates appear to be the way forward Lee. 1
Al.M Posted October 8, 2020 Posted October 8, 2020 14 hours ago, Leeman78 said: Thanks bud, It's difficult as everyone has a different opinion in regards to old vs new (dollar for dollar), I for one can tell the older gear is made so much better IMO, but in regards to sound I have not been able to compare the two as I haven't had any experience with newer gear yet, time to do just that I think. Thanks for your advice, I'll be sure to research the options you have mentioned. Separates appear to be the way forward Lee. The old gear only appears to look better built than current gear when comparing current and recent cheaply lower cost and built low to low midfi gear to higher end and cost vintage gear for similar money. However, when you compare more equally something like a modern day Yamaha AS2100 $5000 rrp used for $2000 only 1-5 years old and has the vintage look anyway ancient vintage gear makes less sense. Many vintage solid state preamps don’t sound that great to modern or recent (20 year old) stuff, lumpy slow and blurred.
mbz Posted October 8, 2020 Posted October 8, 2020 $2000- for a Yamaha AS2100, that sort of money would get you a refurb'd Pioneer SA-9800(fluro) or a sansui alpha (907 series). You would need $2500 for the yamaha CX/MX-1000 and maybe $1500 for the CX/MX-1 combo. Sold my full refurb'd Yamaha CA-2010 for $1000-, ok it only does 30W+30W in Class A, interesting choices, fortunately we all have different tastes...
Mike13 Posted October 8, 2020 Posted October 8, 2020 On 06/10/2020 at 4:12 PM, Leeman78 said: I mostly play from spotify to a chromecast audio device into the amp. ( a weak link maybe?) Definitely. It won’t work with Tidal either. When you’ve upgraded you can do the free trial as suggested and see if you can hear a difference to Spotify. Great advice by @Al.M to buy something 2nd hand, modern, with a vintage look. You could look at an integrated then add a cheap streamer. SOtM SMS200 is good, has Spotify and airplay, but no Tidal (by far better than a chrome cast). Love the massive speakers. I’m sure your wife hates it!
Leeman78 Posted October 8, 2020 Author Posted October 8, 2020 8 hours ago, Al.M said: The old gear only appears to look better built than current gear when comparing current and recent cheaply lower cost and built low to low midfi gear to higher end and cost vintage gear for similar money. However, when you compare more equally something like a modern day Yamaha AS2100 $5000 rrp used for $2000 only 1-5 years old and has the vintage look anyway ancient vintage gear makes less sense. Many vintage solid state preamps don’t sound that great to modern or recent (20 year old) stuff, lumpy slow and blurred. Thanks for your advice bud, I totally get it, I haven't been comparing apples with apples, or maybe I'm just too focused on solid billet aluminium knobs, lol. I definitely think I need to get out (soon being in Melbourne) and check out some gear.
Leeman78 Posted October 8, 2020 Author Posted October 8, 2020 4 hours ago, Mike13 said: Definitely. It won’t work with Tidal either. When you’ve upgraded you can do the free trial as suggested and see if you can hear a difference to Spotify. Great advice by @Al.M to buy something 2nd hand, modern, with a vintage look. You could look at an integrated then add a cheap streamer. SOtM SMS200 is good, has Spotify and airplay, but no Tidal (by far better than a chrome cast). Love the massive speakers. I’m sure your wife hates it! Thank for your input bud. Apparently chromecast audio now works with Tidal, but I hear you, the quality should be much better with a decent streamer (it never ends hey) I'll put that on the shopping list, the wife will love that almost as much as she loves those speakers
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