I picked up some damn nice Soundcraftsmen components this past weekend and have been googling around a bit on them. It seems they are fairly well regarded but since the company is defunct, there isn't anyone to contact for manuals, etc. I have 3 pieces....the T6002 tuner, the DX4200 preamp which is damn nice, and the A5002 Class H amplifier rated at 250wpc @ 8-ohm and 500 $ 4-ohm. I removed the Sansui AU-11000a integrated amp that was running the Klipschorns and put the Soundcraftsmen gear on them instead.
All I can say is....Oh My God what a HUGE difference in sound quality. I'm not an eloquent talker and able to express in audiophile terminology that well but the differences between this combo versus the other amps I've run on them is night and freakin' day. The other amps I used included the Magnavox EL84 tube amp, Concept 2.5, Sansui AU-11000a, Sansui AU-D11 ii, Carver M-1.0t/C-1 preamp, and a couple of other basic things. It's like I'm hearing new nuances of the music that weren't there before, better depth of staging, better placement and definition of instruments....all on CD's and LP's that I'm familiar with and have heard numerous times over and over again. It's funny...I would be listening to a CD or LP and hear something that "wasn't there before" and I'd have to rewind (or re-cue the LP) and listen to that segment again. Sure enough....something new. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. But that's the great part about this hobby and the love of listening to music in that discovering a new piece of gear or combo can bring such great satisfaction.
Ok....enough of that. Is there anyone else out there in AK world that has Soundcraftsmen gear? If so, anyone with an owners manual for the DX4200 preamp or a similar one that can tell me what the "Unity Gain Controls" do and their ultimate goal in the preamp? Is it for channel balancing, etc? Here is a picture of them before they were cleaned up, dusted out (minimal), and Deoxit used on all the controls. I like 'em.....
All I can say is....Oh My God what a HUGE difference in sound quality. I'm not an eloquent talker and able to express in audiophile terminology that well but the differences between this combo versus the other amps I've run on them is night and freakin' day. The other amps I used included the Magnavox EL84 tube amp, Concept 2.5, Sansui AU-11000a, Sansui AU-D11 ii, Carver M-1.0t/C-1 preamp, and a couple of other basic things. It's like I'm hearing new nuances of the music that weren't there before, better depth of staging, better placement and definition of instruments....all on CD's and LP's that I'm familiar with and have heard numerous times over and over again. It's funny...I would be listening to a CD or LP and hear something that "wasn't there before" and I'd have to rewind (or re-cue the LP) and listen to that segment again. Sure enough....something new. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. But that's the great part about this hobby and the love of listening to music in that discovering a new piece of gear or combo can bring such great satisfaction.
Ok....enough of that. Is there anyone else out there in AK world that has Soundcraftsmen gear? If so, anyone with an owners manual for the DX4200 preamp or a similar one that can tell me what the "Unity Gain Controls" do and their ultimate goal in the preamp? Is it for channel balancing, etc? Here is a picture of them before they were cleaned up, dusted out (minimal), and Deoxit used on all the controls. I like 'em.....