A classic power amplifier from the 80's. What a beauty!

[taydin]

My father gave this classic power amplifier, which was sitting idle in his house for, um, probably 25 years? But look at this design, the elegance. They really don't make them like this anymore 

[taydin]

It's the Universum System HIFI 7500 SL. Universum is a brand of the famous German retail chain called "QUELLE". So far, I have just powered it on and was glad that it was uneventful Next step, I need DIN to RCA converter cables to drive this thing. And the specialty speaker jacks at the outputs will have to go and replaced with proper screw type terminals.

BTW: Are those speaker terminals still being used? I don't even know what they are called, so no idea what to google for

[taydin]

It's amazing how smooth the bass/treble and balance pots are after so many years! I love how the bass/treble pots have intenten positions at the numbers in the scale, You can quickly adjust to the number and you will feel it "clicking" in there.  Ooooh I love it

And the volume knob is also clicky, moving in very small discrete steps.

[Gyro]

They are also DIN connectors - DIN Speaker sockets. 

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=DIN+speaker+socket&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

[madires]

Yep, and you can still buy them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_connector#Loudspeaker_connector

[taydin]

Oh, cool. Then I will definitely try to get them. Would hate to cannibalize this beauty just because I can't get speaker jacks

[taydin]

And those input select buttons, so precise and so light to press after all these years, just like the trigger of a well oiled Glock 9mm Huge respect to the engineers that built this!

[Benta]

You do realize that Universum was the lowest end brand in those days? If you want to talk about beauty, there are amplifiers from those days with a much finer pedigree.

[nctnico]

You do realize that Universum was the lowest end brand in those days? If you want to talk about beauty, there are amplifiers from those days with a much finer pedigree.

I agree. There is a big fat warning on the rear saying not to use a load less than 4 Ohm. This makes me wonder whether the amplifiers are short circuit proof.

BTW I'm still using a JVC amplifier from the late 80's every day. The only thing that needed replacing was the relay which connects the outputs.

[Gyro]

I agree. There is a big fat warning on the rear saying not to use a load less than 4 Ohm. This makes me wonder whether the amplifiers are short circuit proof.

Probably not. Few consumer amps in the '80s were short circuit protected. Not something to put to the test, regardless. I have a JVC JR-S100 Receiver  in the garage still, It sounds really nice.

[taydin]

You do realize that Universum was the lowest end brand in those days? If you want to talk about beauty, there are amplifiers from those days with a much finer pedigree.

I know there were much better amps in those days. But comparing this to the shit I'm seeing nowadays, there are many things to be liked about this model.

Once I have the cables in, I'll measure the specs of this. I'm not expecting greatness, but I'm sure it won't be crap, either

[oldway]

Using one STK-3042 more 2 x STK- 0050 II as power amplifiers.....Not that great at all.....but if you like it, enjoy it.....

[TheUnnamedNewbie]

But look at this design, the elegance. They really don't make them like this anymore 

Oh, I'm sorry. This must not be made anymore then:


or this?


What about this?



The amplifier has now been integrated and is everywhere. But that just means there are more of them. They didn't suddenly stop making good, "elegant"  amplifiers. It's just that they also now make amplifiers for a much lower-end market too.

[Cliff Matthews]

Yeah, but where is the FM tuner? This one has a tuner with 1200 watts into 4ohms (just tacked on the back..)
All this wood-trimed goodness (46kg and 175V/uSec performance) celebrates her 40th anniversary this year.
http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-84-17073.html

[taydin]

Yeah, but where is the FM tuner? This one has a tuner with 1200 watts into 4ohms (just tacked on the back..)
All this wood-trimed goodness (46kg and 175V/uSec performance) celebrates her 40th anniversary this year.

That looks wonderful!!! Must be a pleasure to use

The universum 7500 SL also had a receiver unit, but my father said he threw it out after nobody was able to fix it. Here is an idea about how the whole set looked like when everything was working:

[taydin]

Oh, I'm sorry. This must not be made anymore then:

At some point it will be a subjective matter whether one design is more elegant than the other. I do own the Marantz PM6005, but the 7500 SL looks and feels much more appealing to me It's partly because it has sentimental value (gift from my father), but you really have to try the buttons, the volume and bass/treble knob on this thing to appreciate what I'm talking about, they are amazing

[oldway]

Each one has its conception of beauty and technical perfection.

Here's mine.

[newbrain]

When in Italy, I use daily my Luxman L2.


After exactly 40 years, I still think it looks amazing.

Here in Sweden I have a Pioneer compact. I keep it well hidden.

Ps: not my L2, picture from this site

[taydin]

Each one has its conception of beauty and technical perfection.

Here's mine.

Yep, that's right Those analog VU Meters alone are so much more pleasant compared to the LED band rubbish going on these days. It's almost hypnotic watching those scales dance to your favorite beat

[PChi]

The beauty is that they are all still working decades later. How many of the current compact music systems will be working after a similar time period?

[frozenfrogz]

Just today I could reunite a friend with a Marantz 1072 he bought from the small ads for little money. Technically it was in bad shape, had blown fuses, a couple of fried transistors and burnt resistors and needed new caps.
Someone tried to "fix" it before as it looked like, because there was a wire soldered on the back of the main PCB that did not belong there. That someone wired the +35 VDC rail to the -35 VDC rail - bloody genius!

The service manual with very nice and detailed schematics that are available on the net made it a really fun project for me. I learned quite a bit on that repair and my friend is now a very happy owner of a superb 1980s amplifier. He already had the matching tape deck and I found a TT4000 that might be up for grabs as well
Never really looked into Marantz until now, but I really like the sound of that amp. I have a Sony TA-E86B / TA-N86B in the "record room" and a small Akai amp in the living room. The TA-N86B is a pain in the butt though. The dual output symmetric -whatever- switching power supply in that thing is making trouble on a regular basis :/

[labjr]

I think you have to go back a couple more decades to find the real classics. I've been restoring this early 60's vacuum tube FM stereo receiver. Made in Long Island NY. Only about 35watts/channel but sounds heavenly. 

[Cliff Matthews]

Nice! In case you can't find a replacement for the el-cap on the left, there's a guy up here in Canukistan selling vintage parts.
http://www.justradios.com/capacitors.html

[labjr]

Nice! In case you can't find a replacement for the el-cap on the left, there's a guy up here in Canukistan selling vintage parts.
http://www.justradios.com/capacitors.html

Thanks! I've been putting off finishing this project for some time because the power supply needs quite a bit of work. I'm not sure how I want to attack it. I don't like some of the aftermarket PCBs people are using. I want to preserve the original circuit and appearance as much as possible.  There's actually 2-3 more cans on top of the chassis. Blown resistors in the power supply etc., among other problems. There's a guy in Wichita, Kansas who makes multi-section caps to order, in original size and configuration. I may go with him.

I've located all missing parts except the vent screen on the top, rear of the cabinet. I could buy a reproduction, but would rather an original.

[raptor1956]

What appeals to us is about as subjective as it gets and getting two people to agree on what makes a beautiful bit of kit is fraught with impossibilities.  You are likely to get agreement on what makes a pretty girl more easily than who's amp is more aesthetic.  Apple has done a good job in convincing a large percentage of customers that they have the secret to make a turd palatable -- even an unpolished turd, but even there not everyone agrees.  And, that's before your get into the Audiofool area...


Brian