Got the Soundcraftsmen, thanks to all!

[00p225]

I received the Soundcraftsmen PM640 amp from fellow member Woody yesterday, and it arrived in fine shape, excellent packing Woody! Also thanks to Steveinaz, for taking such great care of his equipment. It truly is near mint.

I tried it with my homebuilt Foreplay tube pre clone, and I was really suprised at the sound quality. I can see why the tube guys like these. Very smooth, yet retaining good detail. It really works well with the SDA-1C's. It seems to take control of the speakers in a way that standard solid state amps can't. It could be the SDA's may have some complex impedance dips at certain frequencies that are a hard load for many amplifiers. I will say, it seemed to open up the soundstage quite a bit more than the McIntosh MC2100 Iv'e been running, and the extra power made a difference as well. It doesn't sound strained at any listening levels. The midrange is just as sweet as the mac, and the highs are very smooth. The higher dampening factor of the soundcraftsmen also helped in the bass regions speeding things up quite a bit. Bass is very quick and tight.

Anyway if you are looking for amplification for you SDA's at a reasonable price, I have to give a big recommendation for the Soundcraftsmen amplifiers. Great sound and great bang for the buck!

Zane

[madmax]

Congrats! Just keep a close eye on the fan to insure it keeps working.
madmax

[steveinaz]

Glad you're enjoying it. One of my 2 PM-840's spent 3yrs in storage, and I'm pretty sure it's the one you have, if I remember right.

Max is right about the fan, it's very quiet, so check it every now and then. Easiest way is just touch the top of the amp, it should only be warm, never hot.

[gidrah]

Congratulations! Soundcraftsmen is probably at the top of my list of "companies that I wish were still around or even their glory". I remember when Steve had the pair up for sale. He even had the bridging unit too. If I could've, I would've bought the package in a heartbeat.

BTW - I heard that exact amp over at Steve's house back in '91. I don't know which channel it was driving, but I heard it.

[00p225]

Thanks for the reminder on the fan guys. I seem to remember one of the Soundcraftsmen amps had an issue with the resistor used in their cooling fan circuit. Was that this model or the PCR series? Thanks.

[steveinaz]

Well, I don't know--but the fan you have has been running perfectly for 14+ years, so I doubt it has any problem! :D

[steveinaz]

Ski...
If you ever need the bridger, let me know, I'll shoot it out to you. I'm 99.5% sure I still have it.

[madmax]

Originally posted by 00p225
Thanks for the reminder on the fan guys. I seem to remember one of the Soundcraftsmen amps had an issue with the resistor used in their cooling fan circuit. Was that this model or the PCR series? Thanks.

That was the PCR series but in any case, after 14 years it is worth checking now and then to avoid problems.
madmax