What vintage amp? (and tuner)

[AlfaGTV]

...to power a nice pair of Celestion Ditton 44's?
I was thinking of setting up a vintage system where the source could be either my early Heybrook TT2 or a tuner made for the requested amp?

I belive the Celestions need some good clean power to deliver, but not too much of the 70's style big ass bass...

bring it on!
/Mike

[wiicrackpot]

Hi Mike,

I am currently selling a early 70's vintage Sansui AU-101 amp, others might chip in with it's suitability as i've never heard Celestion Dittons before, really nice amp.

Others on top of my head from that era would be the ubiquitous Nad 3020 or A&R A60, something to get rid of that 70's fat arse sound would be a Pionner A400,
i personally didn't like it's bright nature but plenty others do, happy hunting.:)

wii.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Maybe an old quad 66 or 77 pre and power combo might help? Else anything by sansui will make a good match, have used both amps on my 44s and they sound great.

[AlfaGTV]

Hmmm, Quads or Sansui ehh? Well that might just fit the bill...
I'll see what can be found locally!

Thanks!

[DSJR]

No disrespect fellas, but it's obvious that few or none of you actually know what Ditton 44's sound like :) These DO NOT need an amp like an A60 or 3020 to ADD warmth, rather, they ought to have something with a tightly controlled and possibly not too extended bass but with a fine midrange. Amps of the period could be a well fettled Quad 303 but with a modern preamp driving it (Croft sounds fantastic into a 303 and the gain of the 303 can easily be reduced to give more range of the volume control and actually improves performance a little). I had a customer once who got great sounds from 44's driven by a Naim 42/110 combination, harsh as anything into other speakers, but good into these old Dittons, so for tweaking sake, I'd suggest a Naim 32.5 and a ZAP250 (check with user "Zener" on PFM) with Avondale/Teddy Pardo tweaks to power supply for the preamp. A ZAP250 equates to a NAP180 loosely...

Obviously loads of alternatives. More modern cheapies could be from Arcam - Delta 60 or 90, there was a Kenwood 3020 model which was good..

[Wakefield Turntables]

No disrespect fellas, but it's obvious that few or none of you actually know what Ditton 44's sound like :) These DO NOT need an amp like an A60 or 3020 to ADD warmth, rather, they ought to have something with a tightly controlled and possibly not too extended bass but with a fine midrange. Amps of the period could be a well fettled Quad 303 but with a modern preamp driving it (Croft sounds fantastic into a 303 and the gain of the 303 can easily be reduced to give more range of the volume control and actually improves performance a little). I had a customer once who got great sounds from 44's driven by a Naim 42/110 combination, harsh as anything into other speakers, but good into these old Dittons, so for tweaking sake, I'd suggest a Naim 32.5 and a ZAP250 (check with user "Zener" on PFM) with Avondale/Teddy Pardo tweaks to power supply for the preamp. A ZAP250 equates to a NAP180 loosely...

Obviously loads of alternatives. More modern cheapies could be from Arcam - Delta 60 or 90, there was a Kenwood 3020 model which was good..

Dave,

Quad 77 sound great with the 44's I have had the old bangers for about 12 months and have driven them with Quad/radford/atc amps, and out of all of them Quad sounds the best.

A

[wiicrackpot]

No disrespect fellas, but it's obvious that few or none of you actually know what Ditton 44's sound like :) These DO NOT need an amp like an A60 or 3020 to ADD warmth, rather, they ought to have something with a tightly controlled and possibly not too extended bass but with a fine midrange.

Obviously loads of alternatives. More modern cheapies could be from Arcam - Delta 60 or 90, there was a Kenwood 3020 model which was good..
Pssst.....thanks for scuppering my prospective sale, :steam::D though i did say i've never heard Dittons before and others would advise,
infact never heard Celestions period.

Funny enough i did thought about Arcam Alpha but opted for the A400 recco. :rolleyes:

[seoirse2002]

...to power a nice pair of Celestion Ditton 44's?
I was thinking of setting up a vintage system where the source could be either my early Heybrook TT2 or a tuner made for the requested amp?

I belive the Celestions need some good clean power to deliver, but not too much of the 70's style big ass bass...

bring it on!
/Mike

What about the AR acoustic research A-06 amp and matching tuner?Im letting it go in favour of my Morgan Audio Deva
Well reviewed right here! scroll the thread for Hi Fi News review
Have a look:http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7518 (http://http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7518)

[walpurgis]

I can give you a solid recommendation for the Denon PMA-350SE from a generation ago, really fine sound quality, bags of grip, transparent, powerful and very clean. Best Jap integrated amp I've heard! It would match the Ditton 44s very well, I know because I've owned both.

[DSJR]

Pssst.....thanks for scuppering my prospective sale, :steam::D though i did say i've never heard Dittons before and others would advise,
infact never heard Celestions period.

Funny enough i did thought about Arcam Alpha but opted for the A400 recco. :rolleyes:

I never mentioned the AU101............ Good amp that!

I'm stunned the Quad 77 works so well with Ditton 44's, not because the 77 is a bad amp - it's actually a sleeper right now because people don't like the lack of RCA inputs and the remote control can be flakey at times - but because the 77 sounds more "valvey" than many other amps, sweet toned with bags of atmosphere, but in my thoughts a little too warm in balance when possibly, an Audiolab 8000S might have been better????

I stand humbly corrected and hope you sell the AU101 as it's a nice little thing I remember.

[istari_knight]

Heybrook Integra are pretty cool amps - If you can find one !

What about early Cyrus ?

[DSJR]

The Cyrus 1 almost rings if pushed and its limited power is all too easy to hear with decent recordings on modern sources. Like the A60, the phono stage has very severe filtering of low bass. The Cyrus 2 with PSX does a good enough job though, but check for blown caps on the phono input power supply and also bulging supply caps in general now.

For unburstability and a sweeter tone than astringent Audiolabs, try a Myryad MI-120 if you can get one. Lovely build, styling and very solid design with the option of a rather special phono stage. Fairly rare as these came before Myryad went all Sevenoaks, but lovely products.

[AlfaGTV]

I've never seen (or heard) the AR A06 but i do like the visuals! :)
Very 70's "futuristic" styling from the 80's, actually have a similar design to the old Quads imo.

And the Heybrook Integra was also new to me, would fit lik e a glöve in an 80's vintage system i believe!

/Mike

[AlfaGTV]

It turned out a little different! A used amp from the early eighties surfaced just a couple of km's from where i live! And at a good price also!
Luxman L-530 (http://audio-database.com/LUXMANALPINE-LUXMAN/amp/l-530-e.html)
One of my old favourites, with good power, decent basscontrol and foremost, a really good clean midrange!
And, its beautiful too!
Regards
/Mike

[Canetoad]

:drool:

[wiicrackpot]

It turned out a little different! A used amp from the early eighties surfaced just a couple of km's from where i live! And at a good price also!
Luxman L-530 (http://audio-database.com/LUXMANALPINE-LUXMAN/amp/l-530-e.html)
One of my old favourites, with good power, decent basscontrol and foremost, a really good clean midrange!
And, its beautiful too!
Regards
/Mike
Good snag Mike, funny enough my Sansui AU-101 that i mentioned earlier in the thread is heading Scandinavia as well, Denmark to be exact.

[Rare Bird]

Trio 'KA2000'/'KA2000A' are dead cheap to pick up & great sounding amps, both have matching tuners.

[AlfaGTV]

Trio's are known as Kenwood in Sweden I discovered after some googling! :scratch:
And those might be nice also, but for now this item is generating great sounds!
http://www.ollars.net/hififorum/L530.JPG

/Micke

[Wakefield Turntables]

If your after a tuner, I have one for sale. Have a look at this

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19852&highlight=SANSUI+TU217

Make me an offer!

[PLINIUS]

What about the AR acoustic research A-06 amp and matching tuner?Im letting it go in favour of my Morgan Audio Deva
Well reviewed right here! scroll the thread for Hi Fi News review
Have a look:http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7518 (http://http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7518)
Hi George, the AR is the best suggestion so far, a friend has pair of 44s that he drives with a PR10( the 200wpc bigger brother of the 06) & a valve pre.
These speakers really respond when given a decent amount of current.

[Floyddroid]

Inca Tech Claymore will do the job. Stay clear of the seat of the pants Jap sound if you can.