Classic Indian amps of late 70's

[longshanks]

nice thread.

 

[hemantwaghe]

The Aprhi looks leagues ahead of the Sonodyne. In fact it looks like a Sony Dyna Power Series.

I have strong feeling that this arphi nis "re-badged " product!But woh kya din the! That time japanese brands used to manufactured in Japan !!!!:lol::lol::lol:And due import rstrictions some of the used to be rebadged by companies!

I remember there was Maru shop in andheri and once he showed us Sony minicompo where sony logo was "hidden"by black tape!!

In fact have ya noticed that in arphi leaflet "arphi" word is darkened?

 

[hemantwaghe]

Kenwood was also there (rebadged !) in 80's.
My first secondhand system was this kenwood tape deck, pre Uranus sonodyne amp and sonodyne speakers with 8" woofer!Tape deck had soft controls
Unfortunately i never used the speakers much as I paired this with Bose 201`'s! (Used) Although in testing I felt that sonodyne spears sounded better than Bose ( in fact far better) my mind was not ready to accept that how a Indian speaker sound better than bose!( Than time i was %&*P( bosophile- whatever it means!!!

Later I sold those speakers for 800 or 1 K! - Now I felt those were good speakers!

Anyway people still swear by arphi speakers!!I've seen one with elaborate wood carved grill! I think the drivers were 15"not 12 and sound was rocking!

BTW I heard a lot about a Sikh Getelman in dadar ( central mumbai) who was expert in speakers building-especially 12 inch woofer one! k was told tht this guy is keeping the legacy of arphi alive ! Now any member can throw any light if this gentelman still functioning? Who is he?I heard similar stories about a parsee gentelman ...In fact founder of PULZ was earlier quiet active in HOME hi Fi -but now his focus is totally commercial....

I had appx 10 years old DNM Pace leaflets -but unfortunatly I lost them. Sad ..
Anyway in 1 Blog I found an Akai Bush scanned Ad
Ref(akai bush - Google Search)

 

[reju]

I have the Sony Orson System (Tape Deck + Amp + floor speakers) bought from Zarapkars (Dadar, Bombay) in 1987, for a total cost of Rs. 10800.

Any idea where I can have the amp repaired?

 

[hemantwaghe]

Reju what is the exact problem?
What is sony model number?
What is your location in Mumbai?
Is the amp is with remote or in built digital tuner/
Have you tried some DIY repairing/ Testing?

 

[reju]

Not checked it lately. There was some humming sound.
Shall check out the model soon, it's at my parent's place.
No remote, no tuner.
Had once repaired the volume control through a local repair shop. No DIY.

 

[Anil kumar]

Hi reju, please contact our forum member Akshay Jha on 9867359109, located at Mumbai for amp repair.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Anil

I have the Sony Orson System (Tape Deck + Amp + floor speakers) bought from Zarapkars (Dadar, Bombay) in 1987, for a total cost of Rs. 10800.

Any idea where I can have the amp repaired?

 

[rahimkv]

friends. i have this uranus but named as teac..made in korea when i opened,i found it as its made by goldstar!!! performance is excellent.. i have AMPLIFIER with 5band equalizer version model GSA5300..DECK model GSW5300..12band equaliser GSQ5300 tunerGST5300 +60watts 3way speakers.

 

[hemantwaghe]

friends. i have this uranus but named as teac..made in korea when i opened,i found it as its made by goldstar!!! performance is excellent.. i have AMPLIFIER with 5band equalizer version model GSA5300..DECK model GSW5300..12band equaliser GSQ5300 tunerGST5300 +60watts 3way speakers.

Goldstar! It is older name of LG!!:yahoo::yahoo::clapping::clapping:

So sonodyne was also rebadger ---gusess from where their new technology is coming!!!
And all th bull and high headedness we receive from from their booth-bunnies (demo Babes) in exhibition!!!!

Anyway anyione noticed that all these Norge,Sonodyne,Cosmic, Craftel ,Arphi never introduced a CD player???

 

[alpha1]

^ Because these guys are primarily analog players ... ?
And for digital equipment you need to have a certain expertise.


... am just guessing here though.

 

[sandeepmohan]

Goldstar! It is older name of LG!!:yahoo::yahoo::clapping::clapping:

So sonodyne was also rebadger ---gusess from where their new technology is coming!!!
And all th bull and high headedness we receive from from their booth-bunnies (demo Babes) in exhibition!!!!

Anyway anyione noticed that all these Norge,Sonodyne,Cosmic, Craftel ,Arphi never introduced a CD player???

None of them had the know how to manufacture CD Players. Philips introduced their single disc CD player to pair with power house systems but then they just took the technology from their cousins in Holland. However this CD player was assembled in India & had a remote. I guess it was priced at Rs. 8000.

Optonica introduced their rack system & as I had mentioned earlier; one of the models had a CD player as a part of the rig (not optional) but I do not know who partnered with them for Hi Fi. Could be Sharp cause television technology was borrowed from them.

 

[Anil kumar]

I still remember my old rig..............

 

[rikhav]

Hi Anil ji,
Very good systems you had
I also have a cosmic amp but sadly i sold off the matching cosmic speakers which i really regret now
I have a LAB concert series 6 amp which is from the 909's rather then the 80's. I think Cosmic shut down few years after i bought the amp.
I have send you a PM regarding the cosmic amp. Can you advice me on that whenever possible
Thanks

 

[murali_n]

Hai Anil,

Nice pictures that you have posted. I still have a COSMIC CO-60 amp in working condition. I have a catalog of COSMIC and PHILIPS products which I will scan and post shortly.

N Murali

 

[hemantwaghe]

Hi Anil
Read a lot about Technics Micro - I am asking is this really that good? Web is going gaga over it....I had a chance to acquire it and may get it aain!

Also it seems you used sony 2 channel amps in past - so how good is vintage sony as 2 channel setup? Was it the audiophile series?

 

[linuxguru]

The Technics C-01 Micro-component series from 1979 is indeed very good, as is most classic Technics equipment from the late '70s to the early '90s. Here's an ad for the Technics C-01:

Technics C-01 Series on TVK

They're still widely available in the used markets in Singapore and Chennai, so if you want to restore one, go for it. It's mostly discrete and better substitutes for almost every component are available.

My own personal favourite Vintage Technics unit from that era is the SU-Z11 integrated amp. About 2 x 30W, and sweet sounding. BTW, the SU-Z11 sounds way sweeter than my Class H+ Technics SA-TX50:

http://hinhuatdj.com/images/clearance/SATX50.jpg

On a vaguely related note, I'm looking to buy a few Bevox amplifier cases (late 70's, germanium transistors, and generally crappy electronics). I want to put in a few 2-channel gainclones inside them, and I love the walnut veneer on the cabinet - the only thing that was world-class about it.

 

[Anil kumar]

Thanks for posting, i added this to my vintage collection in 2007, an unusual beast.

MY DIY PAGE

​

The Technics C-01 Micro-component series from 1979 is indeed very good, as is most classic Technics equipment from the late '70s to the early '90s. Here's an ad for the Technics C-01:

Technics C-01 Series on TVK

They're still widely available in the used markets in Singapore and Chennai, so if you want to restore one, go for it. It's mostly discrete and better substitutes for almost every component are available.

My own personal favourite Vintage Technics unit from that era is the SU-Z11 integrated amp. About 2 x 30W, and sweet sounding. BTW, the SU-Z11 sounds way sweeter than my Class H+ Technics SA-TX50:

http://hinhuatdj.com/images/clearance/SATX50.jpg

On a vaguely related note, I'm looking to buy a few Bevox amplifier cases (late 70's, germanium transistors, and generally crappy electronics). I want to put in a few 2-channel gainclones inside them, and I love the walnut veneer on the cabinet - the only thing that was world-class about it.

 

[grubyhalo]

Very nice, congrats! :clapping:

 

[ur-dude-samy]

Here is what i had during 1990's. here is the product brochure from Sonodyne, i still have the turntable. It came with Philips & Bolton drivers.

I remember that sonodyne... also remember the gold they had for sale. competing along side was Sony's Dynapower, woodstocks and Akai Bush.

I still have the Akai as my primary music system.

[IMG=http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/2949/akaiama1.jpg][/IMG]

Shall post pics of the equalizer, tuner, Tape Deck and towers soon.

Would love to hear the gold sonodyne if someone has it in good condition.

Thanks
Samy

 

[Adhiraj]

Oh man COSMIC is what got me started out into audio.I still have my fathers Cosmic Lab 3000 MKII with the beautiful large VU's in pristine condition.I regularly power my Klipsch RF-7s with it and I am telling you this amp has soul,my yamaha pales in comparison,yes it is not as fast,but by god its good.Beautiful tonality,warmth and excellent power.
I also use the amp to power my headphones ,it delivers rocking power to the cans at a resistance level that just makes them sound better than any other amp I have paired them with.Still love staring at those VU's ,hypnotic stuff that.

There is a shop in Kolkata where a friend of mine recently bought a Lab 3000 ,they sell a whole bunch of other vintage stuff,all refurbished,saw a few technics some old akai's. Will give the number if anyone wants.

I was also thinking of creating a new set of speakers along the lines of the Arphi Aquarius using two 12 inch eminence or RCF drivers with a high end ribbon tweeter.Basically the Aquarius in a newer avatar.Two big 12 inch mid basses with tweeters crossed over at 2000 Hz.Just have to find the damn room to put them in hehehe..............