navinsinha
Active Member
I read an article by Chuck Hawks about vintage audio about 2 years back. He has high praise for vintage McIntosh and Marantz of 1970s which still command very good price. Then he talks about SAE as below:
"Don't need high power, but want top quality? A vintage SAE Mark XXXIb power amplifier (50/50 RMS) and companion Mark XXX pre-amplifier were recently for sale for $350 the pair. SAE, long defunct, never achieved the international recognition and prestige of McIntosh and Marantz, but they were fine, made in USA components of high build quality and excellent performance. The McIntosh MC250 (50/50 RMS) and Marantz Model 15 (60/60 RMS) are comparable, but will probably command higher used prices."
Since the time I read this article, I was looking out for these beauties (I am not into high power and high bass). About a year back I found the set for sale at Innovative Audio, Canada for around USD 500 and was willing to bite the bullet but the cost of shipping was USD 700, so I chickened out. (They are still available today for USD 450)
About 3 months back I found another set for sale on Ebay Germany and I bid for it. I could win it for Euro 167 which I feel, was a reasonable price. The problem again was shipping, I was planning to go to Germany for some office work, but it could not happen, so asked the seller to send it by post (DHL). It cost another Euro 200. Paid customs duty of INR 8,000 and got hand delivery from FPO, Mumbai.
Brought the beauty home and set it up with my AR 18 speakers and AR XA TT. The sound was OK but found one channel to be weak and I felt disappointed. I had no alternative but to give it to a local mechanic who took 2 months to repair it. Finally got it back about a week back and set it up with my above gear but still the SQ was not 100% fine. 3 days back I got the M75 ED 2 stylus from JICO and tried again - there was a world of difference, the SQ was simply sublime. I am quite happy with this set. Here are a few pictures.
"Don't need high power, but want top quality? A vintage SAE Mark XXXIb power amplifier (50/50 RMS) and companion Mark XXX pre-amplifier were recently for sale for $350 the pair. SAE, long defunct, never achieved the international recognition and prestige of McIntosh and Marantz, but they were fine, made in USA components of high build quality and excellent performance. The McIntosh MC250 (50/50 RMS) and Marantz Model 15 (60/60 RMS) are comparable, but will probably command higher used prices."
Since the time I read this article, I was looking out for these beauties (I am not into high power and high bass). About a year back I found the set for sale at Innovative Audio, Canada for around USD 500 and was willing to bite the bullet but the cost of shipping was USD 700, so I chickened out. (They are still available today for USD 450)
About 3 months back I found another set for sale on Ebay Germany and I bid for it. I could win it for Euro 167 which I feel, was a reasonable price. The problem again was shipping, I was planning to go to Germany for some office work, but it could not happen, so asked the seller to send it by post (DHL). It cost another Euro 200. Paid customs duty of INR 8,000 and got hand delivery from FPO, Mumbai.
Brought the beauty home and set it up with my AR 18 speakers and AR XA TT. The sound was OK but found one channel to be weak and I felt disappointed. I had no alternative but to give it to a local mechanic who took 2 months to repair it. Finally got it back about a week back and set it up with my above gear but still the SQ was not 100% fine. 3 days back I got the M75 ED 2 stylus from JICO and tried again - there was a world of difference, the SQ was simply sublime. I am quite happy with this set. Here are a few pictures.
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