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Amplifiers of the Past and ARs


charger3834

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The Dynaco Stereo 70 or Mark III were probably most often used in AR's early years. For the more affluent enthusiasts, McIntosh MC75 and 275 were big, along with the Marantz 8 or 9. Among solid-state amps, Crown (DC-300), McIntosh, and the larger Dynas were pretty commonly encountered. I once blew up (literally...there were flames, smoke, and flying parts) a Dyna Stereo 120 feeding a pair of AR-3as from a Crown preamp...that Dyna really hated the 3a's load, and the Crown's response went down almost to DC. Ker-blam!

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Guest rickcee

Hi for a guide as to reccomended power, the AR reciever ( and inte. Amp ?) weere I think rated at 55 w/ch ? good info on the Dynacos on the Dyna site - links - Rick

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>The Dynaco Stereo 70 or Mark III were probably most often used

>in AR's early years. For the more affluent enthusiasts,

>McIntosh MC75 and 275 were big, along with the Marantz 8 or 9.

>Among solid-state amps, Crown (DC-300), McIntosh, and the

>larger Dynas were pretty commonly encountered. I once blew up

>(literally...there were flames, smoke, and flying parts) a

>Dyna Stereo 120 feeding a pair of AR-3as from a Crown

>preamp...that Dyna really hated the 3a's load, and the Crown's

>response went down almost to DC. Ker-blam!

Boy does that sound familiar! The AR-3 and AR-LST were probably the hardest on solid-state amplifiers, what with the low impedances (both) and reactive loads (especially LST). I completely destroyed a Dynaco Stereo 400 amplifier -- nearly every output device in both channels -- driving a pair of LSTs very hard over a long period of time and several blown fuses later. Don't ask me what I was doing. Later I tried a lower-powered (all that I had available at the time) Marantz 250, and it ran so hot that it failed also. I went out and purchased a used McIntosh MC2200, and never looked back. The McIntosh solid-state amps, and certainly the Crowns, always seem to work well with AR speakers.

--Tom Tyson

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The Crown DC300 and DC300A are practically bulletproof. While so called audiophiles hate them, they have proven to be one of the most reliable amplifiers ever built. They followed in the tradition of the incredible Crown tape deck, possibly the finest tape machines ever offered to the consumer. These tape decks were rated to survive a parachute drop in their own cases. McIntosh also built largely bulletproof amplifiers. Their use of autotransformers on the output stages undoubtedly made their early solid state amplifiers much more rugged.

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In the 1970's, Phase Linear aka Bob Carver and crew were the leaders in "dollars per watt". Given the inefficiency of AR designs and the relatively low cost of Phase amps, you can bet that a LOT of these two were paired together. Sean

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