Ancient Akai Amp + Remote

Amal99

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I have an ancient stereo Akai amp lying around which I want to use for music.

As old as it is, it performs extremely well, especially with the heavy bass music I listen to, my Sony home cinema amp doesnt come close without a sub using the same speakers (although it is designed for 5.1).

The only problem is, it has no remote :(

I only need the remote for volume up and down, are there any solutions?

Thanks for your time!
 
Hi,

A long stick would be one suggestion!

Seriously though ... it might be possible, so two suggestions.

1. If your av amp has pre-out connections and your Akai has split pre/power connections* then it's possible with a couple of stereo leads.
The split connection is a u-shaped link between a pre-out and power (amp) -in connection. It was relatively common on amps from this period.
If you have those connections then you may be able to link the pre-outs for your main (L+R) channels from the Sony to the power-in connections on the Akai. You would be using the Akai as a power amp with the volume controlled from the Sony. You would need to re-balance your speaker set-up.

2. Another (more expensive) option would be to buy a passive pre-amp (search for a Creek OBH-22 on the net) and link it into your Akai.
The passive preamp is designed to sit between a source (CD player or similar) and a power amp. If your Akai has power-in connections then it can go directly into the Akai. If the Akai has no direct inputs to the power amp then you could go into a CD input (if it has one) or the AUX input. If you go into the CD or AUX input, you'd have to turn up the volume on the Akai to a high level and leave it there and then use the passive preamp to control the volume (via it's IR controller). The danger in this method is that you can "blow" your speakers if you forget to turn down the Akai when you are finished.

(* if your Akai doesn't have a pre/power split, it might be possible for a electronics/tv repair shop to fit one)

hope that helps

Brian
 
May seem obvious but why not just buy a replacement remote from Maplin or such. Should be pretty cheap. May be worth checking that it can do the Akai before buying.
 
Last edited:
Sorry but had to cut earlier answer short - work snoopers.
All I was going to add was - do as bxd suggest if poss.
 
Hi,

I think that Amal99 means that the Akai doesn't have a remote control in the first place.

Brian
 
Hi,

I think that Amal99 means that the Akai doesn't have a remote control in the first place.

Brian

Ah ! :suicide:
Please ignore my answer altogether then and try what bxd has said. :D
 
Lol! Yeah bxd's right mate, but thanks for your suggestion :D

bxd, I want to put the Akai amp in a seperate room with difference source to the Sony amp, and as good of a suggestion that is, I thought about it but the Sony does not have preouts >.<

The second method you've described looks good, and its the way I want things. This would definetly be ideal as things would be just the way I want them. I looked at the Creek OBH-22 but thats £300, and quiet a bit more than I was looking to spend, if this was the case, I might be better off buying a new amp, but thats a whole new story. I just want to make use of this since its an excellent amp and just collecting dust.

Are there any items similair to the Creek OBH-22 but cheaper? Im not so much after 'quality' since I dont want to spend much, just make use of the amp.

Thanks alot for your reply mate.

PS: The long stick was your best idea :D
 
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Hi,

Sorry Amal99 _ your mention of the Sony threw me off track a bit.

Yup, I guess the Creek is expensive for what you want to do.

I'm sure there are cheaper preamps with remote controls. You might want to have a look at Maplins, Lektropacks or Keene on the web to see if they have anything that might do the job. Another option would be to try and pick up a cheap av amp (one with pre-outs obviously) or a stereo pre-amp (although you might not find a good quality stereo preamp that has a remote volume control) and use that to feed the Akai. You can always put a wanted add in the "classified ads" forum or you might find something suitable for sale second hand, either on the "classifieds" or you could look at the 2nd hand dealers list "sticky" at the top of this forum.

Brian
 
Hi,

Sorry Amal99 _ your mention of the Sony threw me off track a bit.

Yup, I guess the Creek is expensive for what you want to do.

I'm sure there are cheaper preamps with remote controls. You might want to have a look at Maplins, Lektropacks or Keene on the web to see if they have anything that might do the job. Another option would be to try and pick up a cheap av amp (one with pre-outs obviously) or a stereo pre-amp (although you might not find a good quality stereo preamp that has a remote volume control) and use that to feed the Akai. You can always put a wanted add in the "classified ads" forum or you might find something suitable for sale second hand, either on the "classifieds" or you could look at the 2nd hand dealers list "sticky" at the top of this forum.

Brian

I had a look on Keene, they have one, but it only has one input and one output lol >.<. Maplins dont seem to do anything like what im after.

I think the idea of trying to hunt down a cheap AV amp with preouts or a stereo one with preouts will be best.

I've attatched a couple of pictures of it. Do you think I can find a fairly inexpensive stereo amp to match its power and sound quality? I really have no idea as i've not bought a stereo amp since this one, well my dad, and this was back in the 1980's or something. Since then, its always been AV amps.

Here are the pictures:





Will have a word with my dad and ill tell him what would be best.

Thanks alot for your time mate.

EDIT: I have no idea what the WPC @ 8ohms is of the amp, if anyone could estimate it, or knows, it would be appreciated. All I know is that it goes very loud and can drive quiet large speakers without any distortion or anything.
 
Last edited:
Hi,

I've got some ancient HI-Fi Choice reviews of amps/receivers so I'll have a look and see if I've got any details of the AA-1150. A quick internet search suggests that it's ~55wpc at 8 ohms. From the photos it doesn't have a pre/power splitter so you would need to feed another pre-amp in via the aux inputs and set the volume at a particular level.

I suspect that good stereo pre-amps aren't very cheap and may not have a remote with them. Most of the available ones are high end and expensive (even second hand). I know it's a bit overkill but you could look for an old av preamp. The Sony TAE-1000esd comes to mind. It was top of the line ~1990 but it's still a useful preamp (although it doesn't do dolby digital) and has a couple of digital inputs that the Akai won't have. I've seen these going quite cheaply on the "bay".

Brian
 
Hi,

I've got some ancient HI-Fi Choice reviews of amps/receivers so I'll have a look and see if I've got any details of the AA-1150. A quick internet search suggests that it's ~55wpc at 8 ohms. From the photos it doesn't have a pre/power splitter so you would need to feed another pre-amp in via the aux inputs and set the volume at a particular level.

I suspect that good stereo pre-amps aren't very cheap and may not have a remote with them. Most of the available ones are high end and expensive (even second hand). I know it's a bit overkill but you could look for an old av preamp. The Sony TAE-1000esd comes to mind. It was top of the line ~1990 but it's still a useful preamp (although it doesn't do dolby digital) and has a couple of digital inputs that the Akai won't have. I've seen these going quite cheaply on the "bay".

Brian

55wpc @ 8ohms seems well underrated :eek: My sony is 100wpc @ 8ohms and I swear the Akai goes louder. But yeah, the best idea would be to use the AUX inputs with a preamp as you suggested. Do you think the newer amps rated at 55wpc @ 8ohms would go as loud as this Akai? Just buy looking at their size and feeling their weight leaves me with the impression that they arent as well built as the Akai.

I just had a quick look at preamps in the latest What HiFi magazine, the cheapest is £600 lol :rolleyes:. The best bet would be to keep a look out for any cheap amp with preouts, such as the Sony you recommended.
 
Hi,

I only have a review of the Akai AA-1030 which is probably from an earlier range. Still, it was considered to sound quite good although the tuner section wasn't considered to be too great. The AA-1030 was measured at ~47 watts so the AA-1150 may well be higher in practice.

It's tricky to "compare" between old and new amps as we're often comparing different designs and components with different construction methods. Many old amps seem to "hold their own" when compared to more modern designs although capacitors age and this can affect sound quality ... ultimately, if you enjoy it then that's great.

There probably aren't huge numbers of pre-amps around as they tend to be more specialised these days, so unless anyone has any suggestions, I'd stick with an av-processor. I'm sure there are second hand preamps from the likes of Linn and Meridian but unless you find a bargain somewhere they are probably going to be more than you'd want to pay.

Brian
 
Hi,

I only have a review of the Akai AA-1030 which is probably from an earlier range. Still, it was considered to sound quite good although the tuner section wasn't considered to be too great. The AA-1030 was measured at ~47 watts so the AA-1150 may well be higher in practice.

It's tricky to "compare" between old and new amps as we're often comparing different designs and components with different construction methods. Many old amps seem to "hold their own" when compared to more modern designs although capacitors age and this can affect sound quality ... ultimately, if you enjoy it then that's great.

There probably aren't huge numbers of pre-amps around as they tend to be more specialised these days, so unless anyone has any suggestions, I'd stick with an av-processor. I'm sure there are second hand preamps from the likes of Linn and Meridian but unless you find a bargain somewhere they are probably going to be more than you'd want to pay.

Brian

I see, the tuners useless anyway :D.

Didnt think about the capacitors wearing out, but yeah, I guess its up to personal taste too.

Will definetly keep a look out for a cheap AV processor, or stereo if im lucky.

Thanks for all your help mate, much appreciated :smashin:
 

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