jhoak Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 So I'm scanning the local craigslist this morning and there's an ad for an Onkyo P-306RS preamp and M-506RS power amp. Both pieces for $150. I've been looking for a new amp to drive the La Scalas but being "financially challenged" at the moment I haven't been able to do much. I took about a 45 minute drive to give them a look. Needless to say they came home with me. Cosmetically they're only fair. The amp needs just about all of the lamps replaced but that doesn't look to be a bad job at all. I cracked it open to blow the dust out and check for obvious problems like leaking caps. It was surprisingly clean inside. No stand out problems. I hooked her up and she's pushing the La Scalas quite well. Very nice sounding amp. I like it a bit better than the Emotiva that it replaced. Warm but detailed. Great low end "slam". Drum head strikes can be felt. It seems to good match for the La Scalas. Here's a shot of her... I can't wait to get the VU meter bulbs replaced. I've always been a sucker for big honking VU meters. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the preamp. I don't need it at all. I'm very happy with my Emotiva USP-1. If anyone is looking for a cosmetically challenged but fuctionally nice Onkyo preamp drop me a line. Perhaps we can work something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Nice find for that price. The lamps are (were) available on epay and are not hard to change at all. I did have photos on how to do it but they went the way of my old work hard drive. Me thinks our friend Noah can speak to Onkyo stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Jeff, Nice find. I am very surprised I did not see that ad. For $150.00, jumping on that would be a "no-brainer". Have you noticed that the Tampa Bay area C-list usually smokes the doors off any major FL city C-list when it comes to good gear deals? Orlando has been very stagnant for some time now. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted May 30, 2010 Author Share Posted May 30, 2010 This actually turned up on the Lakeland edition of CL. Out here in the "sticks" of Polk County very few of us have indoor plumbing much less new fangled stereo systems... From time to time a deal turns up here. A couple of months ago I missed a McIntosh receiver in Winter Haven by minutes. On the other hand if you're trying to sell something nobody sees it. I had a pair of Heresys at $250 and a pair of Cornwalls at $500 that ran for months without a single nibble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyhawg Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Nice find. Looks like you got yourself a good deal. Anytime something comes up like that on my local CL, I always seem to miss it by just a few minutes or it is extremely overpriced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HudsonValleyNoah Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Yes, that's a wonderfully vintage Onkyo pair. The 506 pre has nice twin outputs that can (and do, for me) run twin sub woofers with my La Scalas. I only pulled my 5060 amp (Japanese version of the 506) to "up-grade" to a 508 (more watts.) But the 5060 (506) kicks butt, I had it DRIVING my RF-7's and the 508 is only a small improvement. At $150 for THAT pair - you did so well. Did they come with the special cable that limits feedback distortion or something? N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted May 31, 2010 Author Share Posted May 31, 2010 Did they come with the special cable that limits feedback distortion or something? Yes but it's not in use since I'm not using the preamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted May 31, 2010 Author Share Posted May 31, 2010 The 506 pre has nice twin outputs that can (and do, for me) run twin sub woofers with my La Scalas. Noah, How are you doing low-pass to the subs? Or are you feeding them a full range signal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HudsonValleyNoah Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Did they come with the special cable that limits feedback distortion or something? Yes but it's not in use since I'm not using the preamp. Jeff, My p-508 and m-508 did not come with that cable so I would be interested to borrow it to see if it really makes any difference. Noah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HudsonValleyNoah Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 The 506 pre has nice twin outputs that can (and do, for me) run twin sub woofers with my La Scalas. Noah, How are you doing low-pass to the subs? Or are you feeding them a full range signal? Yes, I'm feeding them full range and using the amps in the SW-12 and SW-15 to cross them at around 90Hz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted May 31, 2010 Author Share Posted May 31, 2010 My p-508 and m-508 did not come with that cable so I would be interested to borrow it to see if it really makes any difference. PM me your address and I'll send them to you. They don't appear to be any more than a "Y" cable. I think I'm going to spend a little meter time with them and see if there's something else going on inside the molded plugs. The are marked for the "servo" and "output". I wish I still had my scope. It would be interesting to see what's going on. I would like to try the preamp but I don't have a good way to feed the sub. My subwoofer is an IB with a Behringer Feedback Destroyer working as EQ then feeding in to a Behringer EP2500 amp. Right now the Emotiva USP-1 is doing the low pass filtering at 80Hz. I really don't want to feed a full range signal to the sub. I guess what I need to find is an outboard line level crossover of some kind. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HudsonValleyNoah Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 My p-508 and m-508 did not come with that cable so I would be interested to borrow it to see if it really makes any difference. PM me your address and I'll send them to you. Jeff Jeff, I have you in my PayPal account from when I bought that SONY FM Digi thingi from you; I'll PP you $5 to cover a USPS "Small Flat Rate Box" and I will get the servo cable in just a day or two after you send it. My PP payment will come with my address - Is this OK with you? Noah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HudsonValleyNoah Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Works for me. Jeff Jeff, I sent PayPal, Noah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HudsonValleyNoah Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Jeff, I got the "click 'n ship" notification; did you create a scan form with it? The Scan Form (once scanned at the p.o ) makes the box "trackable"... N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 12, 2010 Author Share Posted June 12, 2010 Well I finished replacing all of the bulbs in the amp and the burned out bulbs in the preamp. It's kind of nice to be able to see the needles dancing. [] You can't really tell from the pictures that they're lit up though. I can't wait for it to get dark tonight. Here's the amp... And the preamp... An overall of the rack... And the view from the "sweet spot"... I'm listening to the Onkyo 2-channel system right now. It sounds very good. Of course as soon as my Emotiva preamp gets back from being serviced it'll go back in replacing the P306RS preamp. I miss the remote control. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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