Here’s a comprehensive list of amplifiers I’ve owned that I can recall, anyway!
If I remember others, I’ll add them here. This is a useful exercise for me, so I’ll do it for all the gear I’ve owned, eventually.
| Amplifier | Notes | Rating |
| Monarch SA-40? | I was 14, can’t remember the model number, but John Negus from Audio Equip sold me this one! | D |
| Pioneer SA-8100 | Can’t recall where this one came from, but it could have been John again. Decent if somewhat opaque and unrefined-sounding integrated amp, with superb of-the-era build quality. | C |
| Onkyo M-504 | This was my first serious amplifier, and they are real ballers, lovely things, more musical than my later Luxman M-03. | B+ |
| NAD-302 | My first amplifier, after completing my DipEd, was bought from Mr Frank Prowse when I had no money after post-grad study. A decent-sounding amp, but with too little power to be useful with any normal speakers, and poor build quality. | C |
| Marantz PM-80 | A nice integrated amp, with a lovely sound, especially in class A. I can’t recall where I picked this up, but it did me well for a few years. An old friend now owns it! | B- |
| Luxman M-03 | A powerful and very solid, but cool-running class AB amp with equally cool sound. These are robust units, but they should sound better than they do. Still a very cool power amp! | B- |
| Music Angel 845 Class A tube amp | Sounds great within a narrow frequency range, which is one issue; another is the lack of power. But, in the right system, with sensitive speakers and the right (non-rock) music, nice results are possible. The build quality is poor! | C |
| Sansui AU-317 * | Serves as my workshop test amp. Totally reliable and a solid performer. Donated broken, by my friend Jason. A good bargain integrated amplifier with average sound and excellent build quality. | C+ |
| Gainclone chip-amp * | I built this before I found the Krell and used it only briefly in my system. A superb-sounding amplifier due to its extreme simplicity. I still have this as a loaner unit for customers in need! | B- |
| Krell KSA-150 | My first reference-grade class A power amplifier was a game-changer for me. Purchased around 2010 with issues, from a dodgy dealer called Trevor Lees. I rebuilt her, and she is still running perfectly to this day – that’s how you do it, big Trev. After the flat-sounding M-03, this power amp took my system to another level. | A |
| Quad 405-2 * | Bought as a project and to develop a series of 405 service improvements, this simple project became a labour of love and remains one of my favourite amps. I’ll likely never sell it. Kept as a backup and reference for working with customer 405s. | B+ |
| Perreaux PMF-5150B * | This was the next game changer and took my power amp reference to the next level. Air, slam, punch, just like the 1150, 1850, 2150 and 3150, but more of everything and limitless power and headroom, even with brutally insensitive speakers. Better sounding than my KSA-150, and it’s currently for sale. | A+ |
| Accuphase P-360 | This was a wonderful and fun project, and became another favourite of mine. Smooth, effortless and punchy, the P-360 showed me that Accuphase power amps were the way forward for me, along with all their other incredible equipment, of course. | A+ |
| Accuphase A-75 * | My precious! I’d wanted a class A Accuphase power amp for years. When Wiggs told me I could buy this low-hours one-owner unit, how could I refuse?! With tons of real-world power, air, punch and a liquid smoothness, this is comfortably the best-sounding amplifier I’ve owned, and in the top two or three I’ve ever heard. | A+++ |
Notes
Lots of classic amplifiers here, but you can see a very clear trend. My advice, as always, is to learn from others who actually know a thing or two and save on sidestepping and wasted money. Feel freev to read my Choosing a better amplifier article for more.
As always, there are no miracles, magic bullets or secret high-end bargains. The best high-end bargains I’ve heard are the Gainclone and the Quad 405-2, both of which are very affordable. Beyond this, shoot high, because spending money saves money. My Accuphase A-75 is so much better than anything else I’ve owned that I wish I’d purchased it years ago. I was on the right track, of course, purchasing the Krell KSA-150!
I’ve explained to many over the years that when you speak to genuinely knowledgeable people who are capable of analysing the engineering of equipment, finding good equipment becomes relatively easy. Perhaps surprisingly, I can predict what equipment will sound like and in most cases, I’m pretty close to the mark.
I’ve learned over the years not to hide this experience with, and knowledge of, hi-fi equipment. At one point, I perhaps felt shy about sharing and correcting the misinformation ever-present in the hi-fi space. Then I learned just how little clue so many people really have. These days, I regularly advise people around the world via our advisory service. Happy to help you, too!
Liquid Mike, out.
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