An absolutely fantastic buy when bridged and used as a monaural amplifier.

In stereo mode, the bass seams spindly by comparison with what it produces when bridged into mono.

I agree to a considerable degree with the first reviewer of this product. I purchased two of these amplifiers in the mid-1980s, and it was one of the smartest audio purchases I ever made. However, I will add that I am glad I purchased two of these things, because after using them bridged (i.e., as a pair of monaural amplifiers), I would NEVER want to go back to using them in unbridged mode. For this reason, I would not recommend this as a stereo amplifier. In my opinion, this amp is best thought of as a monaural amplifier, and as a monaural amp it is hard to beat -- at ANY price. Both my amplifiers required servicing over time. At the time of servicing, it became apparent that the soldering in my amps was not the best but the service technician fixed that up real well.

Similar Products Used:

I am currently using Onkyo amplifiers from 1975 that are A-class FET transistor amplifiers and I like them just as much as the Hitachi HMA-8500s. In fact in some ways I like them better, because they sound fantastic as stereo amplifiers, even though they only put out 35 Watts into 8 ohms. Sadly, my Onkyos were never sold outside Japan. I have also used MOSFET Marantz monaural amplifiers that I liked a lot. I just like the sound of FET and MOSFET A-Class amplifiers. The nice thing about A-Class amplifiers is that you can cook on them and keep your coffee warm too. Very versatile amplifiers. The electric company likes them too . . .

Clean power. Discrete power amp section, symetrical layout (which looks cool) and understated, classy design. Other than power and bridging switch, the only thing on the front are two big VU meters. Even the VU meter bulbs are still good after 15 years of use.

None

This amp is classy and built like a tank. If I could find another I would buy it in an instant. Very clean output, very classy design. Previous page said production ended in 1983, however I bought mine new in 1986 (when I was in W. Germany serving in the Army) and mine has a production date of 1986.

Similar Products Used:

Other than the ART linear amp in my studio, all my other stuff has been integrated amps or recievers NAD, Pioneer, and NAD.