Amber series 70 amplifier

Back around 1982, or so, my Crown D150 picked up some distortion in one channel. As the original owner, Crown asked me to send it back for them to look at. During it's absence I bought an Amber to fill in since I'd read about them in Absolute Sound...and the manufacturer was right here in town back then. It worked fine but when the Crown returned repaired with clean bill of health it made the Amber sound weak, so I sold it to my boss who paired it with his JBL L65s and used it to augment the whimpy output from his Marantz-Superscope receiver. He loved it. Until one day it caught fire. I doubt I'd walk across to street to save an Amber today. But I think I still have that review. I'll look for it.
 
Very pleasant sound. Many people are very fond of the sweet smooth sound.

Very good build quality.

Around 70wpc.

Does not like lower impedance ohm loads- anything under 4 ohms (and perhaps even 4 ohms according to some) can make them act persnickity and may result in amp failure.
 
Would these be an improvement over my Yamaha M-85? I could get hold of a pair of these 70's.
 
Age is getting to the Amber amps. They are going down in droves. An internal circuit card which is difficult to replace is going down on many of the amps. Right now it's easier to find a down one than one that is still operating.

Marty
 
It is now 2018. I placed one of these along with a Citation 12 preamp in a friend's system back in 1979. It is used almost daily and is still going strong. I just picked up one, and after being broken in a couple of days is sounding just fine. They may be rare, but if they are working properly they are a true bargain in high end sound. Not as transparent as amps built late 80's on (due to better capacitor transparency at that later date) but with a wonderful, accurate lower mid-range that many amps simply fail to achieve. Just enough of that "vintage sound" to make you forget the gear and listen to the music.
 
I know that this is a Prehistoric Thread at this point, but anyone searching for Amber Info might still find this interesting. Amber amps, and Preamps, were (very well) built in Charlottesville, Virginia. They earned a spot in the High End room at Stereo Sound in Chapel Hill, NC. Sounded great with the Linn Sondek and whatever speakers we hooked up. Very warm and lush without
over-doing it. I don't remember any problems at all, but of course that was a very long time ago...early Eighties. Michael Jordan was a college kid playing at UNC at the time ; )
 
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I know that this is a Prehistoric Thread at this point, but anyone searching for Amber Info might still find this interesting. Amber amps, and Preamps, were (very well) built in Charlottesville, Virginia. They earned a spot in the High End room at Stereo Sound in Chapel Hill, NC. Sounded great with the Linn Sondek and whatever speakers we hooked up. Very warm and lush without
over-doing it. I don't remember any problems at all, but of course that was a very long time ago...early Eighties. Michael Jordan was college kid playing at UNC at the time ; )
I've owned Amber gear since 1984. Other amps have come and gone since then, but I still have and use my Amber Series 70 on regular basis. Yes, it may have it's flaws, but it's a very pleasant piece of hi-fi gear to listen to.
 
If I didn't already have 3 Belles Model l amplifiers I would most likely have an Amber to pair with my Amber Model 17 Full Function Preamp. Outstanding phono stage that supports both LOMC and MM with loading options, paid $150 about 2yrs ago.

Still on the hunt for the matching Amber Model 7 Tuner in silver, black as a second option.
 
Any opinion on these amplifiers? Thank you

that was one of two amps that really sparked the audioworld to take a listen at the good sound. The other was the Apt Holman power amp.

Both were considered pricy for their day relative to the cost per watts.
 
We used an Amber 70 as the amp for the stage monitors in our band back then. Who knows what kind of mismatch that may have been. It lasted for a couple of years or so before it died. :)
 
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