Classic High-End Gear

McIntosh MC2255 :idea:

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I think someone already mentioned KLH Model Nines - the "cleanest" speakers made.
As to Amps, McIntosh MC2255 (I have 4) and MC2205 (2) and MC2500 (2)
As to Tuners, McIntosh MR78
As to Pre-amps - any of the last three generations of McIntosh tube pre-amps.

Thanks

Jim
 
I have a B & K AVR-307 that I bought a few weeks ago. Monster unit. But...it powers on and the display reads "please wait" and that is a far as it goes. Anybody have anything like that and how to get it repaired?
 
"Overall, I consider the KEF 107s to be an engineering marvel and, by a clear margin, the best full-range conventional speaker money can buy. This is a smart speaker (two brains, remember), so it's not surprising that—in my opinion—it blows away all other conventional speakers in our Class B recommendations. They are that good!"

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/550/#ig8kpx4OxtztOzDl.97

Let's have the 107s go up against the Ohm Walsh 5s! About the same coin back then.

"driven by the Threshold SA-1 monos, the Walsh 5s' bass was excellent in terms of extension, dynamic power, and definition. I remember JGH going gaga over the bass quality from several of his CDs, and declaring the bass reproduction as the best he's ever heard in his listening room. The revised Walsh 5 strikes me as a GAS: a Great American Speaker—one of the best American box speakers made, a clear Class B choice, and a clear vindication of the Lincoln Walsh driver technology. In its present incarnation, it is one of the few dynamic speakers that my jaded electrostatic taste buds could live with.—Dick Olsher
 
Let's have the 107s go up against the Ohm Walsh 5s! About the same coin back then.

"driven by the Threshold SA-1 monos, the Walsh 5s' bass was excellent in terms of extension, dynamic power, and definition. I remember JGH going gaga over the bass quality from several of his CDs, and declaring the bass reproduction as the best he's ever heard in his listening room. The revised Walsh 5 strikes me as a GAS: a Great American Speaker—one of the best American box speakers made, a clear Class B choice, and a clear vindication of the Lincoln Walsh driver technology. In its present incarnation, it is one of the few dynamic speakers that my jaded electrostatic taste buds could live with.—Dick Olsher

I'd LOVE to. Don't even care which one wins, I've never heard any Ohm speakers yet.
 
is .my technics su v9 high end ?
As a fellow owner of the su-v9 I say it qualifies. Have mine setup with a Luxman C-1010 preamp, Technics SH-8055 Eq, Luxman k-17 tape deck, Technics Sl-1210m5g turntable, Technics ST-S6 Tuner, Marantz cd-74, Pioneer HPM200 speakers(main) Cerwin Vega 15T speakers (remote)
 
My TOTL stuff..
Mcintosh MR78 Tuner
Luxman C-1010 Preamp
Marantz cd-74 CD player (not quite TOTL)
Technics SU-V9 integrated amp
Pioneer HPM 200 speakers
Cerwin Vega 15T Speakers
Polk RTA12c Speakers
Technics SL-1210m5g (not quite vintage)
 
TOTL and High End are not the same thing. Very few, if any receivers are considered to be High End regardless of their being TOTL, McIntosh being a notable exception. They have never made anything other than high end gear.
 
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I betcha a Rotel RX-1603,Sansui G-33000,Concept 16.5 or Pioneer sx-1980 could give some high end gear a run for their money.

That's not the point. Most receivers are not now nor have they ever been considered to be "high end". Yes some are TOTL. They are still not high end. The notable exceptions being anything from McIntosh, although I'd add Magnum Dynalab to that list. As I posted earlier, TOTL and high end are not necessarily the same.

It has nothing to do with power or specs. SET tube amplifiers are considered to be high end and they have possibly the worst specs of any amplifiers ever made. It's not about output power either. The Mark Levinson ML-2 (25 Watt Mono block) is a quintessential piece of high end gear. If you can find one be prepared to pay North of $5K for it. The same applies to something like an Audio Research SP3 preamp which will cost you around $2K.

While many receivers are definitely classic and may sound very good they are just not high end.
 
That's not the point. Most receivers are not now nor have they ever been considered to be "high end". Yes some are TOTL. They are still not high end. The notable exceptions being anything from McIntosh, although I'd add Magnum Dynalab to that list. As I posted earlier, TOTL and high end are not necessarily the same.

It has nothing to do with power or specs. SET tube amplifiers are considered to be high end and they have possibly the worst specs of any amplifiers ever made. It's not about output power either. The Mark Levinson ML-2 (25 Watt Mono block) is a quintessential piece of high end gear. If you can find one be prepared to pay North of $5K for it. The same applies to something like an Audio Research SP3 preamp which will cost you around $2K.

While many receivers are definitely classic and may sound very good they are just not high end.
Ahh,I see so high end is mainly about paying more money for equal or less performance. Thanks for clearing that up.:)
 
Oh boy Dave. You'll defend receivers till the very end. That's fine. Regardless, they are not now nor have they ever been considered to be high end. Once again, "high end" and "TOTL" are not the same thing.

It's not about the money as so many anti high enders always bring up. Compare the sound of a SX-1980 with a pair of ML-2's as I have and then comment. Those "underpowered" Class A amplifiers simply walked all over every receiver available when driving Magnepans. With ESL's the difference was even more obvious.

In any case, the cost of those old Pioneer TOTL receivers has gone through the roof. The cost is not reflected in the sound. It's mostly nostalgia for one of those giant receivers that drives the cost.

I'm not saying those old TOTL receivers can't/don't sound good. For me and many others true high end separates simply sound better. We say this because we've listened and compared.
 
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Ahh,I see so high end is mainly about paying more money for equal or less performance.
You really oughta get out more often. :)

It is all about superior performance. Transparency. Depth perception. Focus. Dynamic shadings.
 
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Yeah I was wondering when someone would bring up accuracy, transparency etc. But if you had to build a "half and half" system, which I see a lot of, you're better off using current or recent top shelf electronics with 30-40 yr old speakers than the other way around.
 
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Yeah I was wondering when someone would bring up accuracy, transparency etc. But if you had to build a "half and half" system, which I see a lot of, you're better off using current or recent top shelf electronics with 30-40 yr old speakers then the other way around.
That would be my garage system. Late 70s vintage New Advents with a couple of minor mods and updated crossovers.

Source is LMS feeding a battery powered RPi using DigiOne board at various resolutions up to 192/24 to a Music Hall DAC with Burson FETs driving a Hypex Ncore amplifier via balanced connections. No blue dials, just great sound.

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Oh boy Dave. You'll defend receivers till the very end. That's fine. Regardless, they are not now nor have they ever been considered to be high end. Once again, "high end" and "TOTL" are not the same thing.

It's not about the money as so many anti high enders always bring up. Compare the sound of a SX-1980 with a pair of ML-2's as I have and then comment. Those "underpowered" Class A amplifiers simply walked all over every receiver available when driving Magnepans. With ESL's the difference was even more obvious.

In any case, the cost of those old Pioneer TOTL receivers has gone through the roof. The cost is not reflected in the sound. It's mostly nostalgia for one of those giant receivers that drives the cost.

I'm not saying those old TOTL receivers can't/don't sound good. For me and many others true high end separates simply sound better. We say this because we've listened and compared.
Well I wish somebody would do an ABX comparison cause I would love to see the results.
 
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