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SAE two channel setup


Dave A

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I have a guy who called me with an old stereo system and I want to get feedback on the components. They are as follows.  SAE T102 turner, SAE C102 cassette, SAE P102 pre amplifier, SAE A502 power amplifier, Sound shaper equalizer/analyzer model SS-525X and finally a Pioneer PD-M450 CD player. I have looked online for info and there is some but not a lot of feedback on reliability and actual user comments on quality. Normally on something this old I would have absolutely no interest but I don't want to pass up something worthwhile. Boat anchor or vintage thing of beauty? Whats a fair price on a system like this assuming it all works right?

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Jim Bongiorno was the go to guy for audio excellence in the early days of SS and was involved with a lot of big names was a loss to the community when he passed away. Jim was not just a pretty face he was also an RF designer, His Charlie the Tuner was started at G.A.S.(Great American Sound) and later revamped at Sumo while Jim worked there on the early 1980's.

https://www.sst.audio/about/

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In the late 1970s I visited Pacific Stereo in Crestwood, MO. They had just set up a pair of prized Infinity Quantum Line Source speakers, and were extremely frustrated because these speakers had embarrassed every powerful amp they had attached to them - HK Citation 16, Heath Super Amp, others that I can no longer remember. Finally, not really expecting anything different, they connected a 200W SAE amp (probably a 2400), and the speakers sang.

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More likely the SAE 2600 on the QLS, the 2600 had 2x the number of outputs (compared to the 2400). The QLS was a very low impedance load, and the protection circuits in the Citation 16 would make it pop and bark on loud bass notes.

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54 minutes ago, djk said:

More likely the SAE 2600 on the QLS ...

 

As I thought about that incident after I had posted my reply, I remembered that I was surprised at the time that the SAE model had less power output than the Citation. That would tend to indicate a 2200, not a 2400 or 2600. It was quite the subject of discussion at the time - how a lightweight amp could so significantly outperform the heavyweights.

 

Nonetheless, Bongiorno had a way with amps, even if he was not the most pleasant person with whom to deal.

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5 hours ago, Edgar said:

In the late 1970s I visited Pacific Stereo in Crestwood, MO. They had just set up a pair of prized Infinity Quantum Line Source speakers, and were extremely frustrated because these speakers had embarrassed every powerful amp they had attached to them - HK Citation 16, Heath Super Amp, others that I can no longer remember. Finally, not really expecting anything different, they connected a 200W SAE amp (probably a 2400), and the speakers sang.

Good ol Pacific Stereo! Did you have a KSHE tee shirt on at the time? They were right down the street.

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OK does anyone who is reminiscing have an opinion of fair price or whether these are worth getting? My questions were is it worth getting equipment this old and if so what would be a fair price to pay. I have a limited amount of time to respond before these go away and I have no idea of what I am looking at. Personally I am happy with a good PC with an HDMI signal splitter and Crown XLi 800. I have been to all the sites referenced and more but no current real world values and they are sites with an SAE love fest going on so they are not impartial sources of information. Very few sites too I might add which has always been an alarm bell for me.

  I really like what I have now  where I can hook up to my Quadro M4000 graphics card HDMI port and get pretty good quality sound and this older stuff has no where near the hook up options.

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1 hour ago, Dave A said:

I really like what I have now  where I can hook up to my Quadro M4000 graphics card HDMI port and get pretty good quality sound and this older stuff has no where near the hook up options.

 

My humble opinion: Buying vintage audio gear is kind of like buying vintage cars. If you don't have a passion for them, then you will probably be disappointed because the new stuff has so many modern features that the old stuff lacks. But the old stuff has character (and sometimes performance) that the new stuff cannot even approach.

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11 hours ago, MookieStl said:

Good ol Pacific Stereo! Did you have a KSHE tee shirt on at the time? They were right down the street.

 

Yeah, I really miss the audio scene as it used to be in St. Louis - Flip's, Antech Labs, Don & Kathy's, even Pacific Stereo. KSHE still going strong at 50, though. Crestwood Plaza gone.

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4 minutes ago, Edgar said:

 

My humble opinion: Buying vintage audio gear is kind of like buying vintage cars. If you don't have a passion for them, then you will probably be disappointed because the new stuff has so many modern features that the old stuff lacks. But the old stuff has character (and sometimes performance) that the new stuff cannot even approach.

Thanks Edgar for clarifying that. This SAE stuff comes attached to a Cornwall I would like to get but I think I will pass. My setup will not yield the very best audio experience and I know that since my "sound room" is out in my metal working shop where hard flat surfaces abound so I think I will stick with what I have for amplification and source. Oddly enough I go through cabinet speakers and invariably end up back with my Pro La Scalas since they seem to have the ability to overcome my listening environment limits better than anything else I have had in here. I do like the bass in the Cornwalls though.

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SAE, think it was scientific audio(acoustical) engineering, based in California as may recall by a genius typ whose name is well known in the vintage audio circuit.

Had a nice condition SAE XXX pre and an SAE XXXIB 50 watt per channel, 2 channel amp. Early works yet a favorite for audio collectors. Owned it from craigslist, Ocala for maybe 4 years before passing on to another here local on craigslist.

It was a very decent and clean sound and the phono stage as good or better than some. Have other stuff but, will always remember the power of this 2 channel setup. Powered everything from KG-4's to Chorus with good results. Can still find the SAE group online although they may not be quite as active. Did have a website saved that had the specs, models, etc. There are also photo of their parametric eq's, SAE, racks full of equipment and well, they did build some heavy hitters in the amp department. Some is more desirable than other models, mine were built like a tank and built to last. If they can be had right, in decent enough condition...Good fortune in your decision.

BTW, did read somewhere that was building or designing super high end audio in Europe somewhere. Not inexpensive of course.

@Wardsweb had a nice SAE amp piece in the garage sale section at one time not too long ago.

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On 11/30/2017 at 4:36 AM, Dave A said:

I have a guy who called me with an old stereo system and I want to get feedback on the components. They are as follows.  SAE T102 turner, SAE C102 cassette, SAE P102 pre amplifier, SAE A502 power amplifier, Sound shaper equalizer/analyzer model SS-525X and finally a Pioneer PD-M450 CD player. I have looked online for info and there is some but not a lot of feedback on reliability and actual user comments on quality. Normally on something this old I would have absolutely no interest but I don't want to pass up something worthwhile. Boat anchor or vintage thing of beauty? Whats a fair price on a system like this assuming it all works right?

@Wardsweb is one of the most knowledgeable people on SAE anywhere.  He has had/has multiple systems, knows resources for parts, repair, etc.

 

He may see this or you can send him a PM

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1 hour ago, djk said:

I doubt the 2200, it would have blown in a heartbeat.

 

Perhaps the 120W MKIII, it has twice the number of outputs that the 2200 has.

 

Could be. That was 40 years ago. I'm surprised that I can even remember the incident, let alone the details. But the SAE gear impressed me so much that I later bought GAS.

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