Amps

stuwee

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#1
As most of you know, I'm a HUGE James Bongiorno fan, not just because he's a fabulous dresser :cheers: , but the dude knows how to build an amp and a preamp too for that matter http://www.ampzilla2000.com/James_Bongiorno.html

His amps are known for driving a short curcuit, no small feat, that :angryfire:

Anyhoo, I don't own one of his masterpieces at this time, but, soon I have my heart set on a Mark with big yellow VU's WooHoo :mrgreen:

That should make the vintage MartinLogans sing

Right now the big Yamaha MX-800U is doing just fine, tho I hate the LED meters, looks like Darth Vader
 

stuwee

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#3
Rex Everything said:
stuwee said:
Right now the big Yamaha MX-800U is doing just fine, tho I hate the LED meters, looks like Darth Vader

Luke......I'm your stepfather..... :lol:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lichmalignus:

Of course, the Pilot is still my favorite, I gotta get it tuned up, I love to hear the Logans nice and low with that tubed be-U-T

I just hate to have it taken out of the cabinet, it's never been out in what? 60 years??
 
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#4
stuwee said:
Of course, the Pilot is still my favorite, I gotta get it tuned up, I love to hear the Logans nice and low with that tubed be-U-T

I just hate to have it taken out of the cabinet, it's never been out in what? 60 years??

All it takes is a screwdriver and maybe a wrench.

You have a local guy to work on it, right?

My SP-210/SA-232 set up is a lil'MONSTER!
 

stuwee

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#5
Rex Everything said:
stuwee said:
Of course, the Pilot is still my favorite, I gotta get it tuned up, I love to hear the Logans nice and low with that tubed be-U-T

I just hate to have it taken out of the cabinet, it's never been out in what? 60 years??

All it takes is a screwdriver and maybe a wrench.

You have a local guy to work on it, right?

My SP-210/SA-232 set up is a lil'MONSTER!
Yeah, I know, it was my first stereo experience, my pride and joy, it's got the 690-A pre/tuner with the SA-232 amp, 4 little EL84's sweetness

Yeah, I have a local tech, it's just gonna cost a bundle to bring it up to date, everything needs to be redone, it's so old, but as you know, it sure sounds purty
 
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#6
stuwee said:
Rex Everything said:
stuwee said:
Of course, the Pilot is still my favorite, I gotta get it tuned up, I love to hear the Logans nice and low with that tubed be-U-T

I just hate to have it taken out of the cabinet, it's never been out in what? 60 years??

All it takes is a screwdriver and maybe a wrench.

You have a local guy to work on it, right?

My SP-210/SA-232 set up is a lil'MONSTER!
Yeah, I know, it was my first stereo experience, my pride and joy, it's got the 690-A pre/tuner with the SA-232 amp, 4 little EL84's sweetness

Yeah, I have a local tech, it's just gonna cost a bundle to bring it up to date, everything needs to be redone, it's so old, but as you know, it sure sounds purty

From a parts point I don't think the price is to bad depending on if you need tubes. The labor might get ya.
 

Elite-ist

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#7
Hey stuwee, the guy's name, Bongiorno, almost translates to" Good Day" in Italian. Sounds like his name belongs in an older James Bond movie. How good can his amps be? Stick with the Yamaha.

Nando.
 

stuwee

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#9
Elite-ist said:
Hey stuwee, the guy's name, Bongiorno, almost translates to" Good Day" in Italian. Sounds like his name belongs in an older James Bond movie. How good can his amps be? Stick with the Yamaha.

Nando.
Nando, buddy you have to hear this mans work, he was a buddy of Saul Marantz, nuff said there, he understood the reactive speaker load, his amps never crapped out for anything :alien:

I can't remember the model # but he made a 1,000wpc + beast that had a warning label on the back, that said Caution, incorrect speaker connection could result in Death, Ya don't see that everyday :cheers:
The Yammie stays for now, but I can't help wanting my SAE Beastie :druid:
 

jbeckva

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#10
stuwee said:
I can't remember the model # but he made a 1,000wpc + beast that had a warning label on the back, that said Caution, incorrect speaker connection could result in Death, Ya don't see that everyday :cheers:
Now THAT's cool. :thumbright:

Should have nicknamed it the "death amp".. dum de de dum..

what's that lurking 'round the corner
it just took a chunk out of Tom Horner
It's..
THE DEATH AMP


:druid:
 

Fairchild

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#11
I'm with on James Stuwee, i am still using in my main system one of his Thoebe preamplifiers. At one point in time I was using it with a pair of Sons of Ampzilla, prior to that I had SAE pre and power amps, I still use the preamp from time to time.

Anyone who can design an amp you can arc weld with is alright in my book.

And saying he is a snappy dresser is an understatement.


Jim
 

Fast Forward

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#12
You Know I,m a Big Yamaha fan,,I use 2 M-50s running through a C-80 Pre,,but a couple of week s ago and ex employee offered to sell me his MciIntosh MA-6100, at a price I couldn,t refuse ,The unit condition wise is probablly a 9.8 out of 10 so I said WTF why not it was easily less than 1/2 of what they go for on the Bay and I always wanted to be able to drop the M word when discussing audio gear ,,any way I can,t believe how clean the power is and while the Yammie has a great Phono section , the Mac is Cleaner it,s only rated at 70wpc but a test paper i found with the Instruction manual measured the amp at 85wpc ,,I,m thinking of jacking one of the M-50s into it this week end just to see how it sounds FF
 

jbeckva

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#13
Fast Forward said:
You Know I,m a Big Yamaha fan,,I use 2 M-50s running through a C-80 Pre,,but a couple of week s ago and ex employee offered to sell me his MciIntosh MA-6100, at a price I couldn,t refuse ,The unit condition wise is probablly a 9.8 out of 10 so I said WTF why not it was easily less than 1/2 of what they go for on the Bay and I always wanted to be able to drop the M word when discussing audio gear ,,any way I can,t believe how clean the power is and while the Yammie has a great Phono section , the Mac is Cleaner it,s only rated at 70wpc but a test paper i found with the Instruction manual measured the amp at 85wpc ,,I,m thinking of jacking one of the M-50s into it this week end just to see how it sounds FF
Definitely let us know how it sounds. When I got my M-80 it came as a combo deal with a C-60 Pre. I'm now using a Carver CT-6 that I repaired (props->Larry), and it really is a night and day difference. Moreso than the C-60 (which really did suprise me), the CT-6 sounds much clearer and imaging is great. I also like the fact that the CT-6 is only little more than an inch high (more headroom in the "literal" sense there to have more gear ready to listen to).

One more thing about Yamaha "M's" real quick - did anyone see that Yamaha actually has a current recall notice out on the M-70? Yep, but only the 220/240V versions. Check that out here..

http://www.whathifi.com/news/Yamaha-issues-safety-recall-on-amps-30-years-on/
 

jbeckva

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#15
stuwee said:
The Yamaha 800U After a lengthy session hehe
With the Logans & the JBL's approx ohm load 1.5, current???
Yeah man, I'd say with a 1.5 load they'd probably get pretty toasty. I have two sets which are pretty easy to drive. I think 8 and 6, so that's about 3.5. But with a fairly even curve compared to the Logans.

How long did you have it cranking?
 

stuwee

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#16
jbeckva said:
stuwee said:
The Yamaha 800U After a lengthy session hehe
With the Logans & the JBL's approx ohm load 1.5, current???
Yeah man, I'd say with a 1.5 load they'd probably get pretty toasty. I have two sets which are pretty easy to drive. I think 8 and 6, so that's about 3.5. But with a fairly even curve compared to the Logans.

How long did you have it cranking?
Ya know, it was just an Lp of Alan Parsons Project, maybe 22mins, I smelled something hot, the JBL woofs were banging, all sounded fine but, as you know with the little Sanyo, I take care......no damage was done, the Yammie just got hot to the touch, ot's a very big space over the outputs to the outer casework, silly little heatsinks for the output on this amp, the pic was just me being overprotective of my baby :knob: ya know Jer, I take care of my stuff, I jus pushed it cuz it sounded soooo fine, Logans & JBL's ouch :la:
 

orange

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#17
Fairchild said:
I'm with on James Stuwee, i am still using in my main system one of his Thoebe preamplifiers. At one point in time I was using it with a pair of Sons of Ampzilla, prior to that I had SAE pre and power amps, I still use the preamp from time to time.

Anyone who can design an amp you can arc weld with is alright in my book.

And saying he is a snappy dresser is an understatement.


Jim
Wpuldn't notice him as much at the Breast Cancer night of the Snake River Stampede. He'd still be the best dressed one there though.
 

DolbySProject

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#18
I have used an SAE Mark IIIA as my main power amp for several years. I bought it used. I think it's 120wpc. I'll never know for sure because there is no way I'll ever get that thing full bore in my listening room without peeling shrapnel from my behind. (...maybe when I wind up in the garage...) I love tubes and plan on building a pr of Dyna Mark III's; but, if I had two Ampzilla 2000's, I'm not sure I'd ever use the Dyna's.

You wear that suit, James! Wear it out!
 

DolbySProject

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#20
Rex Everything said:
DolbySProject said:
I love tubes and plan on building a pr of Dyna Mark III's

Are you planning on rebuilding a pair or building a new kit pair?
I've been looking at the Dynakits from Triode Electronics...... ...since, ahem, I can't afford Ampzilla 2000's at present. Got a line another source???
 
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