BillFitzmaurice.info

For Christmas I gave my parents' HT system a renovation. I replaced a malfunctioning 8 year-old HTIB (the VHS/DVD kind) with a nice component AVR, component subwoofer amp, and miniDSP. They already have a Table Tuba and will be getting TLAH's when we can get around to building them together.

Onto the amp...

What a find! I was demoing the latest Pioneer AVRs at the local hi-fi shop. After a thorough look and listen through all the fancy new stuff, I strolled over to their used-gear rack and spotted this little gem. I scored this floor model for $125. Check out what this thing fetches new and you'll see why I almost did cartwheels across the parking after the purchase.

It's a fully featured 250W A-B chassis amp similar in design to the Dayton 230, but with an even more quality feel to it's construction. All the controls are located on the back providing a streamlined faceplate. The biggest surprise of all was the "volume control" feature on the back. It splits the input gain into two stages. The first stage is user adjustable on the front of the amp with a big, easy to use knob. The second stage, a small pot on the back, is only adjustable using a screwdriver. By cranking the the volume knob on the front to max, then driving the input signal from the AVR to max using a test signal, I could then effectively limit the maximum output voltage of the amp to any desired value. If the nephews come over and "tweak things to the hilt" while no one is looking, at least we'll know the TT is safe the next time folks drop in a movie with the AVR at war volume.

Wow,what a good deal !

If only all consumer kit came with an option to 'idiot proof' it. I could just install it without fear of someone playing with it and murdering something.

Nice find!

A hi-fi retailer I spoke to mentioned that Speakercraft is a very popular AE product with installers, ranking right up there alongside Crestron. That would explain the stratospheric MSRP, but also means there's a lot of this type of stuff flowing in and out of the corporate markets.

If someone's looking for a good deal on an amp, it might be worth their time to pimp a few installers or contractors to see if they have any demo units (like I found) or any other electronics they have pulled or are going to pull from a remodeling project or canceled bid. It's great stuff.

Radian wrote: If the nephews come over and "tweak things to the hilt" while no one is looking, at least we'll know the TT is safe the next time folks drop in a movie with the AVR at war volume.