Receivers were the thing back in the70s; big bold power houses with more knobs and switches than Concorde's cockpit!Warm, rich and smooth sounding with tremendous low frequency depth. Partnered with huge Tannoy or Klipsch speakers, the ground shook and that warm, effortless sound filled the room. In the 80s, the separate amplifier came to rule. Reviewers of the day telling us that having an integrated tuner was a bad thing because of cross-talk/channel bleed issues and extra demand on the power supply. Receivers quickly fell out of favour. They could be found in second hand and thrift stores for beer money. There are a few great Japanese amplifiers out there by the likes of; Sansui, Sony and Yamaha that were worth their proverbial salt, however, the massive receivers of old were the real Rolls Royces of amplification; beautiful to look at and beautiful sounding. Well done again, Kelvin.
1980 was the turning point in Japanese consumer audio when receivers and integrated amps turned to shit. Flimsy plastic construction, ICs everywhere and small, barely adequate power supplies. There were signs of cheapening in the late 70s but after 1980 it was all down hill for the majority of brands like Pioneer, JVC, Technics and Sansui.
@@socksumi Technics are undre relatively new management and have brought out some new products aimed at the high end market, including a revamp of their SL-1200/1210 turntable. Unfortunately back in the 70s and 80s, their high end components didn't reach the UK and could only be obtained from Japan by those that knew of them. Their SEA,-1/SUA-2 pre and power amp, SP-10 turntable and SB-9500 speakers were considered mythical beasts, here in Britainn. JVC gear had great build quality but are now a mere shadow of their former selves. Pioneer went on to build the A400 amplifier, which for a while had NAD 3020 like status and was the," little darling" of the hifi press. They also went on to form TAD and built several speakers of monitor status under that moniker. Sanguine, after the late 80s just seemed to disappear and I'd be lying if I said that I knew what happened to them... the same with AKAI, although, AKAI were having great success in the professional audio market with their S series samplers, sequencers and MPC series drum machines/workstations.
Oh, about the Cambridge audio: It´s a Class AB with a THD of 0,15 having 35 watts per Channel, whilst the Pioneer also is AB with THD 0.3 at 20 watts/Channel. I tend to think, the difference in Sound the "richer " or larger Sound of the Pioneer is related to the THD, that's 2 times higher than the Cambridge One. The reason for the Volume knob of the Cambridge is, that there is no potentiometer in the Signal Chain, that´s all. The Volume is changed with a Digital Circuit, which may change the gain of the Amp itself. Maybe... But the Amp itself is AB. And as you tell us, its sound was designed to be really flat - but that matches a little bit the holy grail of the Industry in the 2010s. A flat Sound with as much as possible low THD was sometimes done with more negativef eedback, and as we know today, this is what makes an amplifier sound flat.... and lifeless...
Human ears can't detect 0.15 or 0.3 percent distortion (and these values are at max power,on normal level volume it's much less ,it's not about distortion at all) . it's all about the electronic circuit and power supply which are different in both cases.
@@kobush18 You think so? OK, Look for audiophiles Forums in the Internet, and you will meet People that are capable to hear the DIFFERENCE between 0,15 and 0.3 immediately...on a signal of 50.000 Hertz! And why? Their cables make the Difference, so they clearly can hear such things...😜😜
Hi Kelvin! Seeing a new video from you is always a treat! Good luck with trying out the new digital stuff. I started hearing good things from the internet crowd about the new chinesium digital components that have become available in recent years and became interested in cobbling together a small system for everyday computer/desktop use. To try it all out I ordered up three different amps, two streamers, a phono pre-amp and a couple pairs of speakers. (It was Amazon Prime Day...) It was shocking to me how thin and uninteresting everything was when played through any of that junk. It was such a remarkably unenjoyable experience, I returned every last bit of it. It's probably unfair to compare the new age stuff to my 1977 Marantz receiver, but I can't help it. I keep telling everyone how I am becoming a Luddite, but I think I need to start telling them I've already become one. I still read paper books too.
The little affordable d-class are technically very good. But nice music doesn't correlate to tech spec unfortunately. You can get nice warm modern class-AB amps but not for under 500 quid really. The thing is, silicon solid state discrete components back in the 70's were 'inferior' in spec but sounded great. And at the time all the engineers would have grown up with valve gear which influenced how they sounded.
Hi Kelvin, I have that Cambridge amplifier. No, I’m not going to promote it particularly. I’m sure your analysis is correct, every confidence in your experience and expertise. In my defence, it was a £50 eBay purchase for my 2nd system (when I’m banished from the lounge for telly viewing). It does have a phono stage, my main reason along with price for purchase. It sounds, at least to my ears, perfectly acceptable. Other components - Rega 3 turntable, Revolver AVF speakers, all bought for buttons on eBay / Facebook. As said, not my main system but better than watching “casualty”. You have given me some pointers. Previously I thought the speakers were the bottleneck but it is most likely the amp. Honestly though, I’ll live with it for a while, any excess cash tends to get blown on the main system or frittered away on food and utilities. Love the channel.
I am old enough to remember those days, but overlooked the big Japanese brands simply because of the company NAD. The NAD sound was so highly rated at that time, that I bought the 7020 receiver which had superb clarity in both FM tuner and amplifier departments.😊
Cheers from Austria! Same here: My 1978 Philips AH683, AH684, and Philips AH686 are still running too! The 684 had needed 1 single new Diode for the Speaker security Solenoid, but I think it just was a cold solder Joint... however, it works now!
Really enjoy your videos, very informative. I am looking for an amp and a set of speakers for a large listening room. I have some vintage amps the Pioneer x 450. Leak 30 amp and a pair of KEF Concerto speakers. Sound nice at low to mid volume. But at higher volume, the system gets distorted. Any points or other products I should be looking at to get a clean sound at a higher volume. Thanks
well the concertos are kind of fussy I had them myself I would tighten the drivers for sure . give them a more polite amp . those amps cane too brash / you might have to get something classy like naim
Cambridge kind of lost it after the 340/540/640 series is what I gather. But now they are back with very good stuff AXA25/35 CXA61/81 are very good. It's not a class D btw. A/B. Review the Fosi audio ZA3! Or British the Cambridge AXA25 or 35.
So nice to see more videos Kelvin you have helped me in my Hifi journey and now I’ve just ordered a pair of Tannoy Mercury Gold M20s Hifi is more addictive than my main gig car detailing 😉
Lord Kelvin, I can tell you that cheapo class D amps are unlistenable and fit only for landfill. The decent ones with Hypex or Purifi class D modulea are better but still sound thin and fatiguing in my experience. Others may know some good class D amps you should listen to.
Yeah, heard alot of good stuff about Aiyima A07 amp so I got one on sale. I preferred my 1974-77 Rotel RX 202 receiver to be honest. I sold the Aiyima after one month. Not a terrible or bad amp, in fact quite good, just wasn't to my taste. A 50 year old receiver won out!
I'd love to hear a review of one of the Temple Audio class D amps. Not cheap like all the Fosi/Aiyima stuff, but a very interesting option from a very small UK business…
Looking forward to your review and thoughts on one of these class D small amps that seem to be all the rage at the moment with some channels raving over them, but I have my resovations about them
@@vinylmagic2050 I got a Fosi V3 to tide me over while I find someone to repair my vintage Audiolabs. On its own its competent but not as enjoyable as the Audiolab, and sounds slightly harsh with a few digital recordings. But with an £800 tube pre-amp in front of it, dang it, the pair are sounding very nice indeed. I will be repairing the Audiolabs though… I wouldn't expect Kelvin to think that it's much cop TBH
@@GrahamAtDesk One good thing I think we can trust here is that Kelvin will give a true and honest opinion of any he tries as I am sure reading between the lines of other reviews they are not and I think most others are getting units given to them for nothing for a glowing review. I also thank you for your opinion as well. If I did buy one I would not be in the position of putting a £800 tube pre amp in front of it that is for sure.
@@GrahamAtDesk Thank You for posting your thoughts on the Fosi, sounds like for their low cost they are not to bad. I will have to get one I think just to satisfy my intriguing mind
If you can, please review the Audiolab 6000A. I think a couple of friends' dads had that Pioneer amp back in the 80s; we used to play our Bowie LPs on their Hi-Fis. Enjoying seeing your effusive reviews back on the 'Tube, Kelvin. Cheers from saarf of the river.
I Kelvin , super nice video. For my part i have a litle amp the Sony TA-AX310 from (1984) . i buy , Yamaha ,Onkyo and Sony receivers from 2000 to 2013 and for stereo i come back to my old Sony . The sound like you said is more punchy, less refined, more analogic, round. This litle amp have just 32 watts per channel but the sound are so surprising. I know you don't really talk of the amp in the 80's but i think some amp in the 80's sound like the 70's. I used for my speakers the Canadian brand Mirage m390is from the start of the 90's and that are a perfect match. Mirage don't exist anymore but makes really good speakers.
Great to see you again, and thanks for the review. All the American reviewers have been wetting themselves about the Fosi VA3 (German widgets and Japanese watsits) It's a cheapish Chinese class D amp and I'd love to get your take on it.
Agreed…the newer stuff not made the same, I have a 1973 - 75 Sansui 771 receiver / 32 WPC…under rated super sensitive & loud volume control…sounds like 80WPC…with older JBL speakers….amazing!
Thanks Kelvin.IRight now; I'm playing an Ella F Cole Porter Songbook with my Sansui 7070 and I absolutely agree with you,vintage receivers will always bring you joy everytime you listen to them!!!
Quite enjoyable and informative review. Your personal, even though subjective opinion, kind of makes more sense than a very technical approach. Definitely more fun. I own a Luxman L580 and would love to have you compare it to a current model, let's say L-507uXII. Curious if the huge price difference translates into SQ difference.
Very nice review and matches my experiences, My first receiver was a sx-680 I got new as a teenager. Loved the power that thing had, As I aged I migrated to newer stuff. They all had a tremendous amount of clarity and detail and sounded wonderful. Then about 2 years ago I needed a stereo for my office and decided to go retro picking up a 1978 Yamahas cr-820, a very detailed natural sounding receiver compared to its competition in the 70's I was impressed by how much more life it brought to my music over the newer equipment. Over the past couple of years Ive replaced every stereo with vintage gear. It has more depth, and just adds joy to the sound, the new stuff seems cold and clinical by comparison. I now use a pioneer sx-737, sx-650 , SA-6800 sansui 7070, G5700, au-5500 and a Marantz 2235B on a weekly basis in various rooms around the house. Love them all. They lack the accuracy of the newer stuff, but add more body and fun to the music. Thanks
Little class d amps next ? Do upgrade them myself in small amounts . Hi end power caps with tripath chips are interesting with new old stock paper in oil capacitors for driving older efficient speakers ,way better than my HK from 30 some years old and some what close enough to my 1982 su-v8 ... Kinda of a two mono blocks design with heavy on the class A side of things , most versatile amp for driving anything , Prefer vintage Rotel above all
Vintage all the way as far as Amps go. My Sansui 881, Marantz 2245, Technics 5570 are all hot and creamy sounding. My PM 8004 is spot on but polite. Good vid.
Great video kelvin ,after hard working day , you are my relax!! I enjoy very much from the little details and wait for your new vid , keep it up Tnx !!
Hi Kevin, I would love to get your take on the Fosy Audio V3. It even got an award from the British Audiophile and many reviewers rave about it. The problem is, almost no reviewer is pitching them against vintage audio. I hope that's where you come in :)
Your subjectivity is very understandable because I have had practically the same experiences with hi-fi over the decades. At first it was just a youngsters obsession with music and sound,than it became "homework" as a speakerbuilder in pre CAD/CMS times as a young adult. Anyway. Class D amps are now (!) just becoming comparable to good class ab amps in soundquality. Decades after they first got widely marketed. Well,probably what i wanna say is that regarding power amplification technical advancement is in practice waaaaaaaay slower than on paper. Especially in price regions common people can afford. Quality trickles down very slowly nowadays,because we`re living in a time where anything that just oozes quality has a "high end" price tag on it. This is probably due to the fact that manufacturers in the last decades prefer advertising campaigns rather than investing in device development. "Make believe" is cheaper - and more profitable - than delivering the goods....... That said,personaly i also would prefer a Sansui over a Pioneer around that timeframe...... And that it is a shame that the tuner part nowadays rarely get used anymore because back in the day it was the preferred source for discovering new music. Back in the day FM was a must have imho. Nowadays irs sadly mostly just stupid radio with the yesteryears cheeap pop hits.. And that is real shame because soundwise FM can be very good. I miss the moderated programs of the past who introduced me to lot of music beyond my horizon. Back then - living in germany - i loved "in Between" by Michael Rüsenberg and "Rock In" by Winfried Trenkler. They expanded my musical horizon and spoiled me for pop for live......
Mono button was/is included for mono records to reduce noise when being played with a stereo pickup or probably got used more to improve the sound of poor fm stereo broadcasts.
Hi Kelvin. Very good description of both amplifiers. One has discrete components and the other has microprocessors and grotty op-amps. The sound you describe reflects the technology exactly. Give me the Pioneer any day. I'd be bored with the Cambridge before I'd even plugged it in. The Cambridge does have a built in phono stage and has a discrete output stage. The volume control is a rotary stepper switch that controls the processor. Cambridge=boring, Pioneer= cool!
Pioneer's SX-650 is particularly good sounding and maybe the smoothest sounding receiver of Pioneer's 50 line. The SX-750 to my ears is not as good and sounds a bit edgy by comparison. Not sure about the SX-550 but the SX-650 hits a sweet spot even compared to the high powered units Pioneer made like the SX-1050 and SX-1250. Modern IC laced amps like the Cambridge tend to sound hard, shrink wrapped and harmonically dead by comparison.
The Topaz is a very basic budget amp using a few NJM4558 opamps and a single LM4766 analog class AB chip for both outputs. It's not comparable to a true discrete amp like the Pioneer. Part of the reason the vintage stuff sounds nice are the superior old transistors. Many companies (Hitachi, Toshiba, etc.) put real effort into making audio grade (sounded nice) components. Modern equivalents are usually faster and superior in many ways, but are not designed with audio in mind (mostly).
Hi Kelvin. I have a SX550 owned it for a few years now. Its had new bulbs the pots cleaned and I made some new side panels from solid oak as the original veneered ones were peeling. I run it with a pair of Wharfedale Diamonds mainly just radio on FM, used as a daily performer. I love it. I enjoyed your review, keep em coming 👍😊
You're 100% correct! I do have the SX550 and it just sounds awesome, big full sound, not fatiguing and don't let those "20 WPC" fool you, plenty of power. Based on the hype and heavily discounted price I bought an Audiolab 6000A, it turned out to be a major disappointment, detailed, articulate sound, yes, but thin with no body and no fun. I sent it back and kept, of course, the SX which cost me $150.00 including shipping and has been incredibly reliable with no issues and even in looks trashes the 6000A. It's good to see you back.
I run a Sony str 6055 and it’s great. Built like a tank Great condition 1971 I think. And I use the radio too. Hitachi Ht 550 deck Pair of 1970 Kef Concorde Arcam CD player Alpha 7 Sounds great in general
Hi K, Great video, the Cambridge Audio AM10 uses the LM3886 class A/B type amplifier chips which were quite popular way back before class D amplifiers took off. There were many high end (questionable) HiFi companies that used these LM3886 tytpe chip based amplifiers like 47 Labs Gaincard amplifier, Jeff Rowland and many others. The qualities you've mentioned sum it up - good but not great, limited dynamics and minute details lost. You cant beat a good old vintage amp for muscle and dynamics.
Kelvin - Your channel is one of my very favorite audiophile channels. I missed you while you took time off. I am in your age group and we share a lot of the same Hi-Fi experiences and opinions. I whole heartedly agree about the Cambridge Audio!! I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 752 BD Blu-ray/media player from 2013 that I've owned since new. Expensive!! Awful!!! I use the same words to describe it that you did in this video! It is indeed veiled and dark. It sounds dead! That only became clear to me a couple of years ago when I upgraded my system and heard what other digital sources can really sound like. If I didn't need it to play SACDs, I'd sell it! Even they sound dead on it. I will never buy another C.A. product.- Matt in Los Angeles.
Bought a Kenwood KA-8006 new in 1975 years later replaced it with a NAD 22 watt receiver which kicked the snot out of it. Hooking that Kenwood to a pair of Dahlquist DQ-12's showed what a dark muddy mess it was. I've owned and repaired lots of vintage amps/receivers/integrated pieces both tube and SS from Luxman, Sansui, Pioneer, Yamaha, Scott, Fisher, Dynaco and others. None are as good as the my new Parasound 2250 v2 & 200 Pre. Having a high current amp with the ability to carry louds as low as 2ohm's opens up so many speaker possibility's that are difficult to drive but can deliver stunning sound. My 4ohm Canton Karat 300's who's spec's said my Outlaw RR2160 was more than enough with it's 165 watts per channel into 4ohms, it wasn't. The Parasound with it's 400 per running at 4ohm's was the ticket. Sorry but the Parasound is better than any vintage or new amp I've ever had and I've had a bunch and Parasound has pieces that are even better. The 200 pre is also a great versatile piece. All my vintage stuff is gone except a Dynaco ST-70,
Popular Class D amplifiers are the Fosi V3 and the Fosi ZA3. I use the ZA3 as a desktop amplifier. With the ZA3 you get XLR connections and a subwoofer out that works over the volume control. For the money it’s a great little amp. Doubt if it has “soul”. Haven’t compered it with my main Class AB amplifiers (yet).
Good review. I have a number of vintage receivers of different makes, Sansui, Marantz, Sony and Pioneer. Also own a few modern amplifiers. Interestingly the one I like and use the most is my vintage Pioneer SX1250 monster receiver. While I understand the harsh reference to the smaller Pioneer, I don’t feel that this is as applicable to the bigger 1250. Perhaps because you generally listen to this at lower volume knob setting, as anything over 50% (-20dB) will result in the police being called for disturbance. Anyway, the attack and speed along with detail and musicality the 1250 has in spades wins prime spot in my living room and as such would recommend to anyone wanting a vintage receiver. I was lucky to find the 1250 many years ago in Edinburgh at a good price and I know these now command high prices but knowing what I do now I would pay the going rate if I didn’t have one. I suspect to get a modern amp setup that sounds as good I’m sure would require even higher cost and require separate pre and power amps.
Good to see you again Kelvin! About a small new amp to review... The Dayton Audio DTA-PRO could be a good candidate. If it drives the B&O cx100 well, that could be a terrific kitchen system. Cheers mate
Great video! I bet the Pioneer would sound awesome with some Klipsch Heresy speakers--more of an old school sound. As for a future (current) amp review, why not a Hegel??
Fact check, the Cambridge is class AB and it's built just like an amp from the seventies. It has a discrete amplifier, made of individual parts. I got the bigger Topaz SR10v2 and in my ears it would blow that SX out of the water.
Hi Kelvin, Steve from Australia here. Good to see you back. I have a Sansui AU 417 with vintage speakers. I'm interested to know your thoughts on modern headphones with vintage stuff. I have an smsl sh6 headphone amp with he 400i's. The Sansui blows it away in every way. Soundstage, bass and texture. Reviewers never talk about vintage. They keep buying more modern headphones amps looking for that special sound. Best device for vintage is Schiit Sys to reduce the input volume into aux on the Sansui as I find modern dacs etc output is a bit high. It controls it without losing sound quality. Looking forward to future reviews.
Hi Steve, and thanks for info I can’t say I’m super up on headphones really but I will tell you a quick story long time ago. I used to cut the plug off the headphones and hire it to the Speaker terminals I would not advise this, K
You should review the Sabaj A5 $100 and A20 $200 class D amps. Yo may love them or hate them, but they seem both neutral and pretty. Also, they have a way if being invisible. Like you can't tell what they are adding to the music. They sounded really good with vintage ARs, KLHs, Pioneers, and Sansui SP3500 speakers. Not so good with Older CTS, Magnavox, Klipsch, and Electro-Voice speakers. They are as different from transistor amps as the transistors are from valves. Maybe even more different! So at first one says WTF! But keep listening. The sound takes some getting used to. But it is NOT sterile or dead. Once you really "hear" it, it is pretty, clean, and immersive like a cool evening breeze after a stifling afternoon . . .
Hi Kelvin, i missed your modern vs vintage comparison reviews. Please keep em coming! Really curious to hear your opinions on current inexpensive hifi gear, like those small class D amps. Seen and liked your reviews of kef ls50, elac and q acoustics speakers - I wonder if there's anything good out there that doesn't cost a lot of money.
