Skylabs Audio's top 5 Vintage Amps

[Squishman]

A Y'all Tube channel I watch sometimes, Skylabs Audio ranked his top five vintage integrated amps under $1000. This guy has a vintage audio store in Des Moines. His list was:
5. Sony TA-1130
4. Sansui AU-7700
3. Kenwood KA-7100
2. Pioneer SA-8500
1. Yamaha CA-1010
I was certain that the Marantz 1060 would be on the list, even high on the list. So I asked him about that. He replied "The 1060 was off, then on, then off. Pushing a grand at 30wpc, we'll put it at number 6 "
That's interesting. I got a crazy good deal on mine with a wood cab and not a scratch on the faceplate for $250 earlier this year. Plus mine has never been tampered with (except by me when I cleaned the pots) and sounds gorgeous.
Do you guys agree with his list? I once owned a KA-7100, but not familiar with the others.

 

[davidscott]

I like to watch Skylabs occasionally I'm surprised he didn't include a NAD in the list. I owned a Kenwood 3500 back in the day, but the NAD I replaced was much better.

 

[lovinthehd]

Haven't ever found integrated amps to be all that interesting to begin with. Just limited generally. What kind of criteria/performance is the ranking based on?

 

[Squishman]

Haven't ever found integrated amps to be all that interesting to begin with. Just limited generally. What kind of criteria/performance is the ranking based on?

I think sound, input options, pre-outs. He mentioned quality of knobs and faceplate iirc, but not sure if that was a criteria or just about a certain unit. Can't recall every criteria.

 

[lovinthehd]

"Sound"? Lots like the asesthetic it seems, especially with fancy faceplates and good knob feel To me they're mostly just old 2ch receivers minus the tuner.

 

[TLS Guy]

A Y'all Tube channel I watch sometimes, Skylabs Audio ranked his top five vintage integrated amps under $1000. This guy has a vintage audio store in Des Moines. His list was:
5. Sony TA-1130
4. Sansui AU-7700
3. Kenwood KA-7100
2. Pioneer SA-8500
1. Yamaha CA-1010
I was certain that the Marantz 1060 would be on the list, even high on the list. So I asked him about that. He replied "The 1060 was off, then on, then off. Pushing a grand at 30wpc, we'll put it at number 6 "
That's interesting. I got a crazy good deal on mine with a wood cab and not a scratch on the faceplate for $250 earlier this year. Plus mine has never been tampered with (except by me when I cleaned the pots) and sounds gorgeous.
Do you guys agree with his list? I once owned a KA-7100, but not familiar with the others.

There is one vintage integrated amp that stands head and shoulders over all the rest and that is the Sugden A21 from 1967.

 

[lovinthehd]

There is one vintage integrated amp that stands head and shoulders over all the rest and that is the Sugden AR21 from 1967.

How so?

 

[TLS Guy]

How so?

Arthur Sugden was a brilliant engineer. This little class A integrated amp just exudes quality. It has superb SNR and sounds just perfect. It is about the only class A solid state amp I know that is incredibly reliable. I used one in a system I put together for my sister in the late sixties. It has been in daily use since then, so for over half a century now without an issue. They are still highly sought after. Richard Allen also made them under license and badged Richard Allen, but they are the same amp.

The amp has an exceedingly low part count due to its excellent design which contributes to its longevity.

 

[lovinthehd]

Arthur Sugden was a brilliant engineer. This little class A integrated amp just exudes quality. It has superb SNR and sounds just perfect. It is about the only class A solid state amp I know that is incredibly reliable. I used one in a system I put together for my sister in the late sixties. It has been in daily use since then, so for over half a century now without an issue. They are still highly sought after. Richard Allen also made them under license and badged Richard Allen, but they are the same amp.

So any measurements to back that up? Why would one want a class A amp in any case?

 

[dlaloum]

The sugdens were good...

I was always a fan of the Quad setups a Quad 33/303 or 33/405 ... they do need to have the circuits updated to get close to modern SINAD response, but all of that is available in the public domain for DIY... or there are a number of places that will do it for you!

Also the later generation (my personal favourite) the Quad 34 or 44 with either a 405 amp or 606 - the aesthetic of a later generation, with that superb TILT knob... - again input circuits can be updated for improved SINAD

Either of those pairings should be possible under $1k

(cheating a bit as these are pre/power combos... but they are quite compact and great performers)

 

[TLS Guy]

So any measurements to back that up? Why would one want a class A amp in any case?

Not that I can find from the early days, but distortion was 0.25% at 12 watts. Sugden would not lie about specs. It was 1967 and solid state amps were awful and unreliable.

1967 was also the year that Quad produced the 303. That was A/B but the first solid state amp to have decent power for those days, 45 watts per channel into 8 ohms.

The 303 is an incredibly reliable amp. It is a power amp designed to be used with the 33 pre amp. I have two 303s not currently in use, but as far as I know still in working order. The oldest is 55 years old, and was my first solid state amp. The design used triple output transistors, so three output transistors per channel. Peter went back to this in the 606 and 909 power amps. So my 909s have six output transistors per channel.

The BBC put in a huge order for 303s, and used a modified version extensively for line amps between studios and transmitters.