Poll: Best Looking Stereo Integrated Amp

[andreasmaaan]

Was always a fan of that minimalist NAD aesthetic. Owned an NAD amp and cassette deck in the late 80s.

Honestly, I wouldn't be able to enjoy any of these audacious, expensive amps. It would bug me to know that whatever sonic quality they provide could be had for thousands of dollars less. I'm too damn cheap for them! lol. Perhaps if I were a rich man who wouldn't miss 8 or 10 grand it might be different. Although even in my current financial situation I do have the resources to spend more than I choose to. My natural state of operation is always to get the best sound I can for the least amount of money.

I've occasionally considered buying a faulty old Sansui or Luxman, something pretty, and gutting it to use as a housing for my amp and DSP boards. Will get round to that some day....

 

[mhardy6647]

Lookit all those knobs and switches. This thing is gonna require gallons of Deoxit over its operational lifespan.

glass half empty kind of guy?

Oh, that Ferrari has twelve cylinders -- so many more sparkplugs to change than my FIAT Panda.

Just kiddin' -- the flexibility/complexibility thing was king in the days of that Sansui, even though 82% of the controls, knobs, and switches were never used by 97% of the owners of such components*.

Now, if I were gonna break bad on that Sansui -- it would be for that thoughtful inclusion of the block diagram on the top. I can imagine a service tech: "Hey, Morty! Where'd ya put the top of this amplifier? I need ta see tha block diagram!" Or maybe just the proud owner: "And, look here. See how the tone controls are in the feedback loop? And they have two turnover frequencies. Each."



OK I guess I am in a mood today.

EDIT: Oh, the AU-20000 dates from roughly 1977 (give or take a year).



p0063 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

sorry that scan is so bad... I need to do a better one some day...

warehousesound by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
____________
* http://www.bomus.org/

 

[Willem]

For me, the most beautiful audio equipment ever by a wide margin is the stuff designed by Dieter Rams for Braun. Of current offerings my vote goes to the Sonos Amp. It is clean and minimalist, and most of all, it runs cool and has auto on/off, so it can be put out of sight for the ultimate in uncluttered styling. A smaller version of the same idea would be my tiny AVA Maestro 50 (but too anaemic for serious listening).

 

[Robin L]

glass half empty kind of guy?

Got a friend who collects/hoards electronic music-making gear, patch bays, synths, microphones plugged into odd places, multiple keyboards, a mountain of 70's/80's/90's performance gear, mostly shoved into a suburban bedroom, the rest leaking into the rest of the house. Occasionally hooks things up to self-generate some sort of audio signal. Keeps complaining of stuff not working. Gave him a can of Deoxit for his birthday. Doubt he's even bothered to use it yet.

 

[mhardy6647]

Let the record show that I am a big fan of all of the CAIG products -- well, all that I've tried to date.

 

[PortableMusic]

Moon integrated amps>
https://simaudio.com/en/product-category/integrated-amplifiers/

these remind me of a certain period in Mark Levenson's history. iirc, it might be the 1990s.

 

[Frank Dernie]

I've occasionally considered buying a faulty old Sansui or Luxman, something pretty, and gutting it to use as a housing for my amp and DSP boards. Will get round to that some day....

Excellent.
I was thinking about putting a purify module in my Goldmund Mimesis 29.4 enclosures. They would still be too heavy to lift

 

[PortableMusic]

Scott 299b:

View attachment 98007

it's funny how its designer decided that the 3 function lights/indicators must protrude out SO much in order for them to be effective. ha ha. as though a more flush-mounted function light just wouldn't do.

 

[PortableMusic]

I had a Quad 405-2, 34 and FM-4 all in a beautiful (well it was just OK in actuality) timber stand. They were held by the rear and "floated" in space.

Looked groovy, but those wretched DIN plugs, leaky caps and just plain wierd functionality led me to sell it at a vast profit and move on. No regrets.

@restorer-john: if at all possible, i'd love to see pictures of this set up. i recall the Quad look of the 1960s, 70s, 80s, fondly.

 

[Robin L]

it's funny how its designer decided that the 3 function lights/indicators must protrude out SO much in order for them to be effective. ha ha. as though a more flush-mounted function light just wouldn't do.

One of many tactile joys of the product.

 

[Twelvetone]

 

[Robin L]

View attachment 98380

Forgot about that one. My first amp. The thrill of library rejects of classical music via AR-3s, AR amp and AR turntable [Shure cartridge]. Alas, did not last long. Amp was ok, not great.

 

[Twelvetone]

Yup. A significant design. They sounded bright via phono due to cartridge-impedance mismatch. IIRC, that was one of the main inspirations for Tom Holman in designing the Apt preamp (and Advent receiver, previously), with impedance matching phono inputs.

Another endearing AR amp feature was they blew up a lot. DAMHIK....

 

[PortableMusic]

One of many tactile joys of the product.

@Robin L: very true and important! the tactile feel of a product gives us, often, the feeling of high quality versus lower quality. or enjoyable versus less enjoyable to the touch.

 

[PortableMusic]

Stereophile says it's an integrated amp, but looking at it, I don't believe them.

Nobody will believe you paid $15,000 for it.

DQ'ed.

@watchnerd: this Graninote Shinai looks comical! look at those bulbous, unserious-looking feet! even the fonts they chose are oddball. i guess they didn't hire a graphics designer or industrial designer!

 

[watchnerd]

@watchnerd: this Graninote Shinai looks comical! look at those bulbous, unserious-looking feet! even the fonts they chose are oddball. i guess they didn't hire a graphics designer or industrial designer!

Or they hired one and the client wanted it to look like this no matter what.

 

[oldsysop]

From what year?

1975

 

[PortableMusic]

I've occasionally considered buying a faulty old Sansui or Luxman, something pretty, and gutting it to use as a housing for my amp and DSP boards. Will get round to that some day....

@andreasmaaan: great idea, but i'm struggling to think how you'd manage your amp/dsp boards' front switches vis-a-vis the old Sansui/Luxman's faceplate? none of the switches and knobs of your actual functioning amp would fit into any of the Sansui/Luxman's knobs's holes, right?

 

[dougi]

That's not bad looking.

And the price isn't too bad, $6000, either.

Power output is acceptable.

What's the catch?

They would also want to sell you outboard power supply upgrades they have optionally!

 

[PortableMusic]

Let the record show that I am a big fan of all of the CAIG products -- well, all that I've tried to date.

May i ask what's wrong with these CAIG anti-oxidation products? Thanks.