So recently my stereo crapped out on me. I'm positive that it's the poweramp. I need a new one badly because the new Beherit album is coming out.

This is the exact model I have, but as you can see, this one isn't working either:

http://cgi.ebay.com/KENWOOD-KM-106-STER ... 7C294%3A50


I'm mainly looking for a really popular vintage model of any brand. It should be easy to find on eBay. Any help at all is greatly appreciated.

Well, you're somewhat sparse with information (your budget, and how powerful an amp you need), but here's some guesses:

Rotel

Rotel

Onkyo

Marantz


Theres a couple of Crowns on ebay too, I've heard nice things about those. And theres a somewhat used NAD 2600...
But yeah, a little more info wouldn't hurt.

I don't want to spend more than $150.

My current one was 75 watts so that should be fine.

Well the second Rotel I posted should be just outside your budget, if you include shipping.
There's also this

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rotel-RB-1050_W0QQi ... rms=66%3A2

There's a Luxman too, but seller is clueless, and can't guarantee its working. Too bad since Luxman made some quality stuff.

But yeah:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Crown-D-75-Power-Am ... rms=66%3A2


Did you ever establish why your amp crapped out?

All good stuff listed so far, all of them are good pieces. I'll toss in a suggestion for some of the older Yamaha amps, like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/YAMAHA-M-45-Natural ... 7C294%3A50

The M-45 is close to your budget, 125 watts per channel (conservatively) with the capability of the first 5 or 10 watts being in pure Class A operation, and has cool-looking led power meters. I am currently using one in a secondary system and have found it to be a killer little amp for the money. Yamaha, Onkyo, Kenwood, Nikko, Adcom etc all made very nice amps in the 80s that can be picked up dirt cheap these days =)

Is it possible to have too much wattage? Like 125 per channel?

Here's a better idea:

Go to a flea market, 2nd hand store, or whatever shitty little place where you can get old electronics and haggle.
People there are fucking clueless and will give away excellent stereo's for pocket change, people on e-jew will not (or at least not that often).

Short answer: No.

Your speakers can usually handle much more power than rated ( or rather, they will not draw more power than they need). Using an amp with a excess power just means it can handle whatever needs for power the unit will have. On the contrary; having a weak amp, ie. one with a lesser rating than the speaker, just means that as you raise volume (and thereby the powerneeds of the unit) the amp will struggle to keep up. This will often be noticeable as distortion at higher volume-levels, and can ultimately result in a blown speaker (and sometimes also damaging the amp itself).
In fact having an amp with a somewhat exaggerated powerrating re. the speaker is a good thing.



Yeah. Excellent idea.

Unsane69 is dead on about amp power. It -is- possible to blow speakers with too much power, but you're in much more danger of damaging things with a weak amp struggling its way into clipping.

However, one issue with thrift stores is that they are starting to use eBay and the internet to price their gear, but without any real understanding of the real market value of the pieces. Collecting vintage stereo gear is another hobby of mine and I have increasingly noticed this phenomenon: it doesn't matter if that beat up, filthy Kenwood amp has a blown channel and a knob or two missing, it once sold for $350 on eBay (in mint condition) and by god, that's what they're gonna charge for it! Maybe this is just the thrifts in my area, ymmv.

I am having better luck with Craiglist. Or Audiogon.com, though that's more for higher-priced stuff.

I still haven't got one, and I'm getting pretty desperate. Any poweramps with between 125 and 200 watts power on ebay? I don't know any brands that I can search for. There's absolutely nothing on craig's list in my area, and the nearest flea market is a 2 hour drive.


Less than $100 please.