Is Phillips a good vintage amp?

[Squishman]

That is probably a good idea. I would not push it hard. The hardest thing ever to assess is reliability. However, I get the sense it is a unit not to push hard.

We are off Westcott Road, on one of the little lakes round here. We have another member nearby in Eagan. He is on Johnnycake Ridge Road, between Diffley and Cliffe Roads.

We will have to get together soon.

Before I bring it into that room, I will hook up my Forte II's and play some LP's like Steely Dan, Doobies What Were Once Vises are now Habits and maybe Ziggy Stardust. I will probably see how it does. If that means "pushing it", so be it.
Todd

 

[TLS Guy]

Before I bring it into that room, I will hook up my Forte II's and play some LP's like Steely Dan, Doobies What Were Once Vises are now Habits and maybe Ziggy Stardust. I will probably see how it does. If that means "pushing it", so be it.
Todd

It is how loud you play it, not what you play!

 

[Squishman]

Well yeah. I will play it loud. I want to know how it does after 3 or 4 albums. Only way I will know, right?
Maybe after the 3rd or 4th LP, it plays crisp (enough) makes my Klipsches sound good and what not, I'll be plenty satisfied. That is the hope.

 

[Jerkface]

Well yeah. I will play it loud. I want to know how it does after 3 or 4 albums. Only way I will know, right?
Maybe after the 3rd or 4th LP, it plays crisp (enough) makes my Klipsches sound good and what not, I'll be plenty satisfied. That is the hope.

Good news for you: You won't have to crank that amp, "upgraded" or not, to blow your head off with those Fortes.

Bad news: The closest Philips has ever come to making high-quality audio was when they bought Marantz in 1980. So, yeah, hopefully you didn't pay much for this thing, and hopefully it sounds decent for you. I wish you all the luck in the world.

 

[Squishman]

Good news for you: You won't have to crank that amp, "upgraded" or not, to blow your head off with those Fortes.

Bad news: The closest Philips has ever come to making high-quality audio was when they bought Marantz in 1980. So, yeah, hopefully you didn't pay much for this thing, and hopefully it sounds decent for you. I wish you all the luck in the world.

$280. A lot.... not a ton.

 

[Jerkface]

$280. A lot.... not a ton.

Definitely more than it's worth, but not a bank-breaker, so hopefully you get some use out of it.

 

[Squishman]

Well, great news for me. I asked him if he shipped yet and he said "no" but he was planning on going to fedex after work. I asked him if it would be any trouble if I changed my mind and had him refund me. He was super nice about it and sent me the refund on Paypal.
I had started to notice a lot of options for a similar price. I just bought a very clean Kenwood KA-7100, recapped and restored. Super excited now! This one will ship from Virginia. Here is a text of his description:
"

Up for consideration a Kenwood KA-7100 Integrated Amplifier. KA-7100 is one of the best (if not the best) sounding Kenwood amplifiers of the late 1970's. 60 WPC output with minimal 0.02% harmonic distortion. This unit is fully recapped and optimized with top quality Nichicon, Elna, and other high quality electrolytic capacitors. Additional audio bypasses that include film capacitors, normally found in high-end audio, were installed across the new main power capacitors. This trick brings out the "air" and spatial information in some recordings. All switches and controls deoxidized using Caig D5. Center and bias voltage set per factory specification. Don't miss the boat, these units are going up in value like hot bread as of late. Great phono stage to play all those LPs now for sale at Walmart. Original box. "

 

[Jerkface]

Well, great news for me. I asked him if he shipped yet and he said "no" but he was planning on going to fedex after work. I asked him if it would be any trouble if I changed my mind and had him refund me. He was super nice about it and sent me the refund on Paypal.
I had started to notice a lot of options for a similar price. I just bought a very clean Kenwood KA-7100, recapped and restored. Super excited now! This one will ship from Virginia. Here is a text of his description:
"

​

Up for consideration a Kenwood KA-7100 Integrated Amplifier. KA-7100 is one of the best (if not the best) sounding Kenwood amplifiers of the late 1970's. 60 WPC output with minimal 0.02% harmonic distortion. This unit is fully recapped and optimized with top quality Nichicon, Elna, and other high quality electrolytic capacitors. Additional audio bypasses that include film capacitors, normally found in high-end audio, were installed across the new main power capacitors. This trick brings out the "air" and spatial information in some recordings. All switches and controls deoxidized using Caig D5. Center and bias voltage set per factory specification. Don't miss the boat, these units are going up in value like hot bread as of late. Great phono stage to play all those LPs now for sale at Walmart. Original box. "

You'll be much happier with that Kenwood. Late 70's, they were decent amps. Not top of the line, but definitely much nicer than that Phillips.

 

[Eppie]

Well, great news for me. I asked him if he shipped yet and he said "no" but he was planning on going to fedex after work. I asked him if it would be any trouble if I changed my mind and had him refund me. He was super nice about it and sent me the refund on Paypal.
I had started to notice a lot of options for a similar price. I just bought a very clean Kenwood KA-7100, recapped and restored. Super excited now! This one will ship from Virginia. Here is a text of his description:
"

​

Up for consideration a Kenwood KA-7100 Integrated Amplifier. KA-7100 is one of the best (if not the best) sounding Kenwood amplifiers of the late 1970's. 60 WPC output with minimal 0.02% harmonic distortion. This unit is fully recapped and optimized with top quality Nichicon, Elna, and other high quality electrolytic capacitors. Additional audio bypasses that include film capacitors, normally found in high-end audio, were installed across the new main power capacitors. This trick brings out the "air" and spatial information in some recordings. All switches and controls deoxidized using Caig D5. Center and bias voltage set per factory specification. Don't miss the boat, these units are going up in value like hot bread as of late. Great phono stage to play all those LPs now for sale at Walmart. Original box. "

Yes, should be much nicer than the Phillips, but good Lord, why do they have to spout crap like "brings out the air and spatial information". Increasing the capacitance on the filter caps in the power supply will do nothing of the sort. It's pure wishful thinking. I bet most of the caps they replaced were probably ok. Caps in 1950's tube amps are bad, yes, but this trend to recap anything over 20 years old is overkill. It's good that he cleaned out the switches and reset the bias voltage, so you should get a good working amp. Just be leery anytime you read an ad that claims that the mods somehow improve the sound using flowery language and no measurements. Enjoy your new purchase!

 

[Squishman]

He did say it was an easy restore because "it has low mileage". From the photos, I detected zero wear and tear on the knobs, front or case. The back also looks pristine and new. This thing just glistens. He also sent several photos of the restore process, but I'm like Sgt. Schultz when it comes to that. Based on how it looks, it probably sounded good before he worked on it. But still, that is a bonus. For me anyway.

 

[TLS Guy]

He did say it was an easy restore because "it has low mileage". From the photos, I detected zero wear and tear on the knobs, front or case. The back also looks pristine and new. This thing just glistens. He also sent several photos of the restore process, but I'm like Sgt. Schultz when it comes to that. Based on how it looks, it probably sounded good before he worked on it. But still, that is a bonus. For me anyway.
View attachment 47349View attachment 47350

I think that is a much better bet than the Philips. It was produced 1977 to 1979.

It is all discrete transistor, but the front end of the preamp is oddball, with a dual FET integrated circuit in the front end. I would say it should all be serviceable except for that. If that blows, it will be lights out.

 

[mtrycrafts]

$280. A lot.... not a ton.

It's relative, isn't it?

 

[Squishman]

So the Kenwood came today. It is huge. And heavy. Is it ok to place it temporarily on top of my Heresy II center speaker? Thinking about magnetic issues. I'll wait until hopefully someone can tell me! This is where I want to have it hooked up as a trial with my Klipsch Forte II's.

 

[TLS Guy]

So the Kenwood came today. It is huge. And heavy. Is it ok to place it temporarily on top of my Heresy II center speaker? Thinking about magnetic issues. I'll wait until hopefully someone can tell me! This is where I want to have it hooked up as a trial with my Klipsch Forte II's.

I can't see why that should be a problem.

 

[lovinthehd]

If the receiver were instead a crt type television I might be concerned.....

 

[Squishman]

Sounds great! I'll hook it up and let you know how it sounds.

 

[Squishman]

Another question. I have a long RCA for my ProJect Carbon turntable. But I want to leave the ground hooked up to the AVR for convenience. Should be fine, correct?

 

[TLS Guy]

Another question. I have a long RCA for my ProJect Carbon turntable. But I want to leave the ground hooked up to the AVR for convenience. Should be fine, correct?

You NEVER use a long RCA cable from a turntable. If you have a cable longer than 3 ft. or so, then you need a phono preamp at the turntable, and then you can use a long cable to a line input. The capacitance of a long RCA cable is far too high for a phono cartridge. Your grounding scheme sounds problematic also. A turntable ground should go straight to the grounding terminal on the receiver, integrated amp, or preamp.

 

[Squishman]

Well dang. Then I'll wait to set up up. I may have to wait until tomorrow night or Saturday. Too busy. I only had a couple minutes because I am working. Thx for stopping me before I went too far.

 

[Squishman]

Probably better. I need to play an LP with the AVR set to direct. Then hook up the Kenwood and play the same LP while that sound is still fresh in my memory.