Any Soundcraftsmen owners in here?

avguytx

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
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. :music:

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.....

MiscPics021.jpg
 
Nice score!

I've been up and down with Soundcraftsmen for years, seems i'm currently on the "up" as i bought a couple components from a fellow AKer earlier this year to add to a couple i already had.

I think the preamp section of your DX is the same as a DX-4000, one of the best sounding SS preamps you can buy in it's price range without question.

Sorry i cannot help you with any manuals at this time, as i find them i'll gladly share.

EDIT: actually, now that i think about it, i think the soundcraftsmen test record has some pretty explicit instructions regarding EQ adjustment, if memory serves i think you're supposed to use the unity gain controls to "balance" the activity between the upper and lower lights for each channel. Hopefully someone will be along to verify or refute this.
 
Very nice. I love Soundcraftsmen gear. The Unity-Gain Controls are intended to be set so that the upper and lower indicators are equal as much as possible insuring zero gain from the preamp. I owned one of the 2215R EQ's many years ago (before some thief decided they needed it more than I) and it had the same set of controls.
 
I have an MA5002.... It is damn close to my Marantz 500 in sound quality.

Ebay is were I picked a user and service manuals.


jk
 
I have an A200 PRO that I let my darling cup cake and her hen friends use. They seem quite happy with it. :yes:
 
I have a 2217 equalizer/preamp and use it as a substitute for the preamp in my H-K 630 receiver. Preamp section is rather good, the equalizer is typical Soundcraftsman that made their name but the phono preamp is only so-so. The unity gain control is as has been described. After adjusting the equalizer sliders, adjust the unity gain sliders so the upper and lower lights for each channel are equal in brilliance. This compensates for the gain resulting from the increase flat positions. This prevents overload on the outputs. A great feature.

Nice looking stack. Soundcraftsman was a company that seemed to fly in the face of most in that s many put all they got into thier first products and then cost cutting seems to set in whereas, with Soundcraftsman, the earlier products seemed more cost conscience in production engineering and then improved with each generation. Probably the worst cases I ever saw on any separate components were theirs on the likes of the early units such as mine.
 
My Sig should say it all
I have owned Soundcraftsmen since 1979 and still am running them in 2 separate systems with spares to create another:thmbsp:
The gain controls are used to balance the preamp out should have a equal amount of flashing from the top and bottom led.
You can look for posts from me I have provided a bunch of Info on the Amps
Have fun with the system
 
I have three amps and love them all, the A5002 is best of breed to me, Dave. :yes:
 
I have an SP4001 and a MA5002...

I have a SP4001 preamp/equalizer and an MA5002 amp. I really like the black and silver industrial/pro look about it.

I have had the SP4001 for a long time - since the mid-late 80's - got it as a present for one of my early teens birthday from my uncle who was a mobile DJ type person. I wanted an EQ for my stereo system. At first I thought it was really ugly, but over the years it has grown on me and now I think that the look of it is really sharp. I have just recently found a MA5002 with some nice meters on the front that matches it perfectly. The amp needs a bit of work - it stays in protection mode and every 2 or so seconds tries to come out of protection, but then it instantly goes back into protection. If I have any lights or whatever connected to the same outlet you can see the light dim slightly as it cycles back and forth into protect. BTW, if any one has a copy of the service manual for either of these two pieces that they wouldn't mind sharing... :scratch2: PM me.

I will try and get some pics of the two units together when I dig them out.

There's something about soundcraftsmen product that just says - brute force.

EDIT: actually my two units look fairly similar to goat67's avatar...

Cheers
 
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I have a SP4001 preamp/equalizer and an MA5002 amp. I really like the black and silver industrial/pro look about it.

I have had the SP4001 for a long time - since the mid-late 80's - got it as a present for one of my early teens birthday from my uncle who was a mobile DJ type person. I wanted an EQ for my stereo system. At first I thought it was really ugly, but over the years it has grown on me and now I think that the look of it is really sharp. I have just recently found a MA5002 with some nice meters on the front that matches it perfectly. The amp needs a bit of work - it stays in protection mode and every 2 or so seconds tries to come out of protection, but then it instantly goes back into protection. If I have any lights or whatever connected to the same outlet you can see the light dim slightly as it cycles back and forth into protect. BTW, if any one has a copy of the service manual for either of these two pieces that they wouldn't mind sharing... :scratch2: PM me.

I will try and get some pics of the two units together when I dig them out.

There's something about soundcraftsmen product that just says - brute force.

EDIT: actually my two units look fairly similar to goat67's avatar...

Cheers
Here is the amp schematic link from another thread.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=50698&d=1180889750
 
I am still thoroughly enjoying these Soundcraftsmen components and they, combined with the Klipschorns, have been one sweet combo. No, the Khorns don't need that much power but good God they sound phenomenal with them. I can't wait to get the caps replaced in the Khorns with Sonicaps and see what next level that brings. Other than that, I really have next to nothing I care to do in my office setup...at the moment. :D
 
avguytx- I have exactly the same set-up- except the tuner- and concur 100% with your rave. I have been using tube amps for the last year but swapped the Soundcraftsmen units in a month ago- and they will be staying :yes:. You forgot to mention the cool blinking light show when using the 4200 and A5002 power amp!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure you turn the preamp ON first, then the power amp. Then power the amp OFF first, then the pre-amp. There are many stories about the A5002 frying when powered on at the same time as the main system (and preamp).

Here's a link to a nice Soundcraftsmen ad:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y117/wizargoz/Vintage Stereo/SoundcraftsmenAD2_86.jpg
 
Here's an excerpt from a previous Audio Karma post about the power on/off sequence:

"The 5002 series of Soundcraftsmen amps have sensitive pre/driver transistors along with no input protection. A switching transient from a preamplifier being switched off before the power amp can be all it takes to bring that big beautiful sounding amplifier down. These are tricky amps to troubleshoot for techs not familiar with them. Unlike most power amps they cannot be simply plugged into a variac as the switching supply has a triac that requires full line voltage to function properly.

It's a cardinal rule with any power amp, and especially these- that they are ALWAYS powerd on last, and off first."
 
Oh yeah....I've always done that with ANY separates I've owned and always recommended that to customers that bought them from me thru the years at the retail stores I've been at. Thanks for that great information on the Soundcraftsmen gear from the generation we own! If I could only find an owners manual for the stuff I would be overjoyed! :D
 
I love Soundcraftsmen.

I used to own a PE-2217 and another eq/analyzer, model number gone with the wind. Never got a Soundcraftsmen amp to go with them. Used a Kenwood KM-207 with the 2217. All were destroyed in a house fire along with everything else about 7 years ago.

But just recently, i picked up a couple of 2217's on Ebay, one for a good price, the other i feel like i raped the guy! One has a knob missing, both need cleaning, but work.

Today, I sent a money order to the seller of a MA-5002! I've been wanting this amp for at least 20 years. The amp is supposed to work properly except for a bad meter.

I'm about to pee myself.
 
PM840 owner since 1989 here- plenty of power.This series doesn't have ANY headroom it seems.At 205 watts per -that's it.Power consumption seems fairly low,too.I'm with some of the previous comments on the power up-power down sequence.Now ya gotta pay attention to gains down-amps on last-amps off first. My local lighting/sound contractor keeps sayin'..... "Now you're dealing with power management.Don't make a 5,000 dollar mistake."
 
Here's an excerpt from a previous Audio Karma post about the power on/off sequence:

"The 5002 series of Soundcraftsmen amps have sensitive pre/driver transistors along with no input protection. A switching transient from a preamplifier being switched off before the power amp can be all it takes to bring that big beautiful sounding amplifier down. These are tricky amps to troubleshoot for techs not familiar with them. Unlike most power amps they cannot be simply plugged into a variac as the switching supply has a triac that requires full line voltage to function properly.

It's a cardinal rule with any power amp, and especially these- that they are ALWAYS powerd on last, and off first."

The amps that had this issue where the MA5002 and before a certain Serial Number. Revisions where made to eliminate this issue. The MA5002 is the amp with the VU meters.

This all being said I am in full agreement on the power on and off sequence.
Just trying to keep provide info that I have.

As far as the trouble shooting a variac can be used but it must be put into the power transformers line in connection not at the AC power connector.
 
I used to own a PE-2217 and another eq/analyzer, model number gone with the wind. Never got a Soundcraftsmen amp to go with them. Used a Kenwood KM-207 with the 2217. All were destroyed in a house fire along with everything else about 7 years ago.

But just recently, i picked up a couple of 2217's on Ebay, one for a good price, the other i feel like i raped the guy! One has a knob missing, both need cleaning, but work.

Today, I sent a money order to the seller of a MA-5002! I've been wanting this amp for at least 20 years. The amp is supposed to work properly except for a bad meter.

I'm about to pee myself.


Just hold it a little longer, man. It will be on its way next week. But here is a pic to help you get by until then. :smoke:

08260003.jpg
 
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