Phase Linear 400 Amplifiers
Phase Linear 400 Amplifiers
USER REVIEWS
[Jul 17, 2021]
stussy
Strength:
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none so far Purchased: New
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[Jul 15, 2021]
olivernicholle
Strength:
Super true reproduction in sound,seperation, and high and mid.Highly recommended! -- Tree Care Weakness:
None so far Purchased: New
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[Jul 21, 2019]
Deftec
Strength:
Lots of power reserve for those that need it with a clear musical sound. The PL400's were a bargain in 1972. I have the early 4 fin model. One channel was doggy with parts that are now EOL. A nice company called White OAK sell kits or updated boards for several of the Phase Linear. So I ordered the kit forms of the bulk caps and control board for around $190. They are doing a booming business with several people doing full custom refurbs or just get it running if you wish. No other amp will let YOU rebuild unless you go the mega buck factory McIntosh or Krell rebuilds. My amp is now fully restored in original half complimentary with original 40 year old Motorola drivers. I did add the speaker protection relay that all my other amps have from factory ..decade later. More expensive than adding fuses but eliminates the old turn off thump. Again, White Oak wil update your drivers and back plane for full complimentary, your choice. I'm using my PL with my latest score, a near perfect pair of Snell Aiii. Awesome sound! Weakness:
Idiots that do not / will not fuse their speakers. Same clowns that call them flame liners? Lol, at a Warehouse concert in NOLA I watched ticked off roadies yank McIntosh MC2500 amps out of the rack, straight down to the deck. BAM! Three times during the show. Turn off thump..easy fix. Price Paid: $50
Purchased: Used
Model Year: 2000
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[May 26, 2016]
Izzy
Audio Enthusiast
One of the greatest amps made for the money, I had my amp rebuilt by Circle Stereo near Austin Texas. Bill did a wonderful job restoring the Phase to a better than original condition. The secret to repairing these amps is the tech who works on it (knows how to work on a phase) and the parts that go in. It makes my Klipsch Heresy HIP's come alive. If you have one and would like to restore it, Give Bill a call. |
[Jun 01, 2013]
george nakamoto
Audio Enthusiast
i bought my 400 back in the early seventies. at that time for $500.00 it was the best buy for a 200 watt per channel amp. over the years it worked fine but in the early 2000's it fried 3 of my bose 901 series 2 speakers. i have been told that phase linear amps are known to fry speakers with dc current. i currently own mcintosh. i've had my 901's rebuilt for more than what i paid it for it. i happy now. i won't ever worry about damaging my speakers with my mcintosh even though i have 600 watts per channel. my e-mail address is g.nakamoto@yahoo.com
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[May 18, 2012]
Sutton Rigg
AudioPhile
I origianlly owned a Phase Linear 400 when I was in college, back in the early 1970's. In the day it was a wonderful sounding amp with tons of power and was affordable. The problem was that the amp was very unstable, and mine would blow, taking my speakers with it. This happened on so many occasions, I finally traded the amp for a Luxman M-2000. About a year ago, I found that there had been a lot of wok going on refining the Phase Linear amplifier line. White Oak Audio had SPICE modeled the amplifier and had discovered many of the original design problems which made the amp unstable, and had created a new PCB driver board which addressed the problems with the design. Another individual had designed a DC protection circuit which turned the amp off if it sensed any DC current in the output signal of the amp. Also there had been a new LED light board for the meters developed and a new kit for replacing the storage capacitors with three times the storage capacity. With all these improvements, the Phase Linear 400 (as well as the 700, 700B and all Phase Linear amps using PL14-20 PCB boards) were back in my sights. This amp lives again! And it is not the same amp you might remember. The frequency response is now ruler flat to below 20 hz, and to abover 40 khz. Distortion is lower than the original amp. I think it could compete with any amplifier on the market today. The new production driver and output transistors recommended for this amp, combined with the new PCB now give this amp the ability to produce about 550 watts RMS into an 8 ohm load. I see a resurgance of popularity and renewed interest in this venerable old road warrior. With all the fixes incorporated into the newly designed parts, I think this amp is ready for another 40 years of producing music. Over the years I have owned many different brands of amplifiers, most of them come and go, but this amplifier has been reborn. If you want a powerhouse of an amp, cloaked in a vintage wrapper, this is the amp for you. If you need more than 500 watts you might want to consider the Phase Linear 700B. This amp is now capable of producing over 1,000 very clean and thunderous watts. My rack now houses two Phase Linear 700B and four Phase Linear 400 Series I amplifiers.I can listen in stereo, or 7.1. These amps are hard to beat. I could use all the audio phrases to describe the sound of these amps, but suffice it to say they sound GREAT. It is not the same amp I owned in the 70's. |
[Apr 20, 2012]
vocalium
AudioPhile
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[Sep 06, 2011]
Gene Stump
AudioPhile
I own a Phase Linear 400 power amp, matched with a Phase Linear 4000 pre-amp and 5000 tuner. I purchased them all in 1975, and have been using them ever since then. They are awesome, and make my Infinity Reference Standard IIIb speakers sing. Whether it be classical, jazz, rock, pop, funk, blues, or country--the 400 (being the foundation), is amazing. I feel I have received more than my $450 investment in this power amp. Throughout the years, I considered switching to tubes, but did not because of problems I had with my musical instrument tube amps (300 watts with 6550 tubes)--I am a bass player. The 400 never fails, never disappoints. The 4000 and 5000 have also been bullet-proof. Thank you Bob Carver for designing and building such a great classic amplifier. |
[Jul 27, 2010]
fran750
Audio Enthusiast
informacion |
[Apr 11, 2010]
scott callinsky
Casual Listener
I'm no audiophile and I don't play my music very loud anymore. I seen this amp sitting on a shelf in a used lp store about 15 years ago with a hundred dollar price tag on it and couldn't hardly believe my eyes. I took it home and have been using it ever since without so much as a hiccup. I use an old Maratz 2238 that I picked up at a garage sale for $10 as a pre-amp and have had several pairs of speakers hooked up to it, and I simply love it. I also have a pioneer spec-2 amp (500watt) that I got at a pawn shop for $100. The owner told me that I was getting a pretty good deal on that 100watt amp as I was walking out the door with a big smile on my face. I did have to take in the shop once, they said all it needed was cleaning. I have the phase linear and the spec-2 hooked up side by side in my living room and my girlfriend thought I was nuts when she first came over, now she just loves coming over and listening to my collection of L.P.'s |