Stopped at 2 garage sales this morning. The first one had about 500 polka LPs and 1 sealed Jethro Tull Past Masters LP among them, which I bought.
Thesecond one had no LPs but two silver boxes on top of a shelf. I inquired about them and was told they didn't even think of selling them because no one would want them -- but $5 a piece would do. I walked out of there with an Audio Research SP-4 preamplifier and an Audio Research D-100A power amp for $10. I don't know anything about them, but I'llgive them a listen tonight.

AUDIORESEARCH
PRE, SP-4 SS
Manufacture Years: 1976 - 1979
MSRP: $1,200.00
USED: $370.00

AUDIORESEARCH
PWR, D-100 SS
Manufacture Years: 1976 - 1980
Power: 100wpc
MSRP: $900.00
USED: $320.00

The SP-4 was from 1976-79 and sold for $1,195.
Orion doesn't list a D-100A model, but the D-100 is 100 wpc, and $895.
The D-100B is also 100 wpc, but sold for a whopping $1,695.

:drool: :drool: :drool: :thmbsp: :thmbsp: :thmbsp: :banana: :banana: :banana:
Nuff said!

AUDIORESEARCH
PRE, SP-4 SS
Manufacture Years: 1976 - 1979
MSRP: $1,200.00
USED: $370.00

AUDIORESEARCH
PWR, D-100 SS
Manufacture Years: 1976 - 1980
Power: 100wpc
MSRP: $900.00
USED: $320.00

Thanks for the info. It'll be interesting to compare these separates to my Mac MA-6200 integrated. I couldn't believe how heavy these pieces were when I lifted them off the shelf. They are not very deep, but extremely chunky.

I hate to jump the gun & all like that, but I think this prolly qualifies for the AK "Steal-Deal of the Week..." <grin>

There was a post the other day at AA about the guy getting his SP-3A back from the shop. He was using, IIRC, a McIntosh C-27 as a substitute.
He was ecstatic to have the SP-3A back in system.

Sounds like a very good deal or steal.Nothing better than coming away with that quality of equipment for less than $20.

Those 2 components were Audio Research's first foray into transistor amplification! They almost went down because of these components lol! Critics were very harsh of these 2 products sadly!

I think you got yourself a heck of a sweet deal! I'm quite sure ARC still stocks parts for these units, enjoy ;)!!!

Well, the preamp works fine; the volume is a little scratchy. A little Deoxit should do the trick. The power amp might be a different story. I checked the fuses before testing it and the fuses on the left channel were missing. Past experience tells me this is not a good sign. I'll have to try to find a couple of 6A 250v MTH type fuses before firing it up.
The next question will be, if the left channel is blown, will it be worth it to send it back to ARC for repair?
I've read that the D-100 wasn't well received. I wonder what changes were made to this "A" revision...

wow - enjoy :tresbon:

Oh...My...Gawd! That's a great deal.

I AM a tad concerned about the missing fuses. I got an AR amplifier via EBay that had a missing fuse holder. Got the fuse holder from the shack and the proper fuse, but never got it to run. Finally discarded it. I hope your experience is better, but even so, if the amp is dead, the preamp is still a fantastic deal.:thmbsp: