Help me find this amp...

Racket Scientist · 25th January 2011, 04:19 AM

Kind of a weird post, but I gotta uphold my rep.

I always have need of a simple stereo power amp for various duties - in stereos and in PA stuff for my band. I've flirted with the new class D stuff, and that is probably the way forward overall, but after mulling it over, I'm hoping to identify some candidates for another course that will give good results inexpensively.

Heres the idea. I'd like to look for a very well built older power amp, probably with ICs in the driver stages and mosfets or bipolars in the power stages, that was fairly ubiquitous and at a reasonable price point "back in the day". It needs to have a somewhat simple but good sounding design. It needs to be very robust, especially in the expensive parts. It needs to have some significant power, above 100 watts into 8 ohms. It needs to have easily available documentation. My idea is to watch for deals on them cheap on Ebay or Craigslist and upgrade the small caps, maybe some resistors, and ICs and end up with something that sounds better than it should at a bargain price.

Usually when I come up with a scheme like this, its better in the long run just to wait till it passes.
Any candidate amps that spring to mind?

6L6 · 25th January 2011, 04:42 AM

Hafler DH200 or DH220

Should be perfect for what you are wanting to do!!

Racket Scientist · 25th January 2011, 07:14 PM

Looks like a good choice. How do these sound stock compared to "mass market PA amps" like the Peavey CS line? Also, it looks like they're rack mountable (which I need) but not sure about that. Thanks for the input.

dave_gerecke · 25th January 2011, 11:07 PM

AB International is another good choice. Built for Pro use, still in business and US made. I have a Precedent 600 and Precedent 900. They are over 20 years old and still work fine. And since these are older machines, AB sent me the service manual PDF's without a hassle.

Peace,

Dave

25th January 2011, 04:19 AM	#1
Racket Scientist diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2010	Help me find this amp... Kind of a weird post, but I gotta uphold my rep. I always have need of a simple stereo power amp for various duties - in stereos and in PA stuff for my band. I've flirted with the new class D stuff, and that is probably the way forward overall, but after mulling it over, I'm hoping to identify some candidates for another course that will give good results inexpensively. Heres the idea. I'd like to look for a very well built older power amp, probably with ICs in the driver stages and mosfets or bipolars in the power stages, that was fairly ubiquitous and at a reasonable price point "back in the day". It needs to have a somewhat simple but good sounding design. It needs to be very robust, especially in the expensive parts. It needs to have some significant power, above 100 watts into 8 ohms. It needs to have easily available documentation. My idea is to watch for deals on them cheap on Ebay or Craigslist and upgrade the small caps, maybe some resistors, and ICs and end up with something that sounds better than it should at a bargain price. Usually when I come up with a scheme like this, its better in the long run just to wait till it passes. Any candidate amps that spring to mind?

25th January 2011, 04:42 AM	#2
6L6 diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Denver, Colorado	Hafler DH200 or DH220 Should be perfect for what you are wanting to do!! __________________ Pass Labs Pearl Phono -- Pass B1 Preamp -- Pass F5 amplifier -- Pass Labs Pearl 2

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25th January 2011, 07:14 PM	#3
Racket Scientist diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2010	Looks like a good choice. How do these sound stock compared to "mass market PA amps" like the Peavey CS line? Also, it looks like they're rack mountable (which I need) but not sure about that. Thanks for the input.

25th January 2011, 11:07 PM	#4
dave_gerecke diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Vermont	AB International is another good choice. Built for Pro use, still in business and US made. I have a Precedent 600 and Precedent 900. They are over 20 years old and still work fine. And since these are older machines, AB sent me the service manual PDF's without a hassle. Peace, Dave

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