Among radio amateurs, Soviet amplifiers are still popular. Based on them are built radio transmitting devices, speakers for home theaters, electric guitars and other musical instruments. One big minus of lamp instances is that they need AC voltage of 220 volts, since the power transformer can only work with it. Therefore, in the "field" conditions, such amplifiers are problematic to use. And the dimensions, weight, of these devices are very impressive. What low frequency amplifiers were produced by Soviet industry?
"Electronics 50U-017S"
The appearance of this Soviet sound amplifier is very attractive - the silver case is in perfect harmony with the adjustment knobs coated with chrome. The power button is located on the left front panel in the upper corner.
Next, in order, the location of the controls and displays:
- A fluorescent indicator, almost eternal, is able to last a couple of hundred years for sure. It is only necessary to take proper care.
- Switching bodies of two pairs of speakers.
- Bass and treble controls By the way, a feature of this amplifier is the presence of filters that cut off the high-frequency part and leave only the low.
- Loudness control buttons.
- Switching between “Stereo” and “Mono” modes.
- On the right side are the volume and balance controls.
There is still inconvenience - a 5-pin plug is used, which you will not find now. But if you want, you can install adapters or completely get rid of the old connectors by installing new RCA in their place. If you do not modify the amplifier circuit, then in terms of playback quality it is much inferior to the Brig ULF. But it wins in all respects with "Radio Engineering U-101" or "Vega".
"Radio engineering U-7111"
This is one of the best Soviet amplifiers, at one time it was the most "budget" option. But when compared with modern Chinese-made amplifiers, Radio Engineering U-7111 is far ahead of them. The ULF kit included a tuner ( radio signal receiver ) and a player.
Outwardly a very attractive amplifier, there is an equalizer with adjustment in five bands. The following controls are located on the front panel:
- The button of inclusion of the Mono mode.
- Button turns on the high-pass filter.
- Loudness.
- Adjusts the tone for high and low frequencies.
- Volume control.
On the rear panel are connectors for connecting sound sources - there are four in all. A maximum of two speakers is connected to the VLF output. There is also a ground terminal, a fuse and sockets. In general, music lovers evaluate the sound as not bad, but out of 5 points they put a maximum of 4 with a plus.
"Brig U-001": description
One of the best Soviet amplifiers of the highest class is the "Brig U-001". The sound quality is very high, but only if a good speaker system is used. ULF holds bass very well, there are no extraneous sounds. When listening to music at high volume, the speakers do not lock, which allows you to fully enjoy the music.
Mid and high frequencies are also transmitted by the amplifier well - they stand out clearly, so listening to jazz, blues, orchestral music will be great. Everything is great, but the mass of the amplifier is more than 25 kg. With excellent reproduction of live music and films it is worth talking about the drawback - listening to rock and metal on it is uncomfortable.
Appearance "Brig U-001"
The front panel is silver and the following controls are located on it:
- Bass and treble controls.
- Balancing the right and left channels.
- Loudness enable button.
- Button for cutting high frequencies.
- Headphone jack 5.25 (it is better to connect through the appropriate adapter).
The output selector has many positions, which allows connecting several sources and speakers to the amplifier. And while listening, you can quickly switch. In general, a very high-quality ULF, but it’s only more difficult to buy it, especially in the original version.
Corvette 100U-068S
Another Soviet amplifier, in some respects, is not inferior to the “Brig” described above, but in general it is slightly worse.
On the front panel of the ULF there are such controls and displays:
- Adjusts high and low pass filters.
- A selector to select an input.
- Smooth loudness.
- Indicator of exceeding output signal level (overload).
- Volume control
- Short circuit protection, overheating.
- LED indicator.
When you connect an 8 ohm speaker system, the power is 60 watts, 4 ohms - 90 watts. Maximum power consumption - 275 watts. A huge minus of the device is the plastic case, since the mass of the amplifier is very large. The very reliable technical part of the amplifier is balanced by the poor quality of the case and controls.
"90U-2 Kinap"
You can’t get past such a legend, because it was with his help that most of the Soviet people heard the voices of their favorite actors. This is a Soviet tube amplifier, which was used in mobile film installations.
The number of adjustments is not staggering, as described above - there is a setting for volume, bass and treble, overload indication lamp. Also on the upper part there is a window to which a device is connected that reads the sound from the film strip.
On the side of the tape were applied sound tracks that were read by optical devices. 90U-2 were produced in the 60s, when they could hear about magnetic tape only in the KGB. It has not yet been used in civil engineering. It is perhaps better to remain silent about the sound quality - it leaves much to be desired. But still, some musicians, lovers of "tube" sound, use these amplifiers as a base for ULF guitar.
If you need to play music, then it is better to choose one of the above Soviet sound amplifiers. Power supply 90U-2 from a network of 110 volts, to connect to 220 V you will need to use a special unit. This will not add convenience, and the input for connecting a signal source of impressive dimensions is about 4-5 cm in diameter and three holes. Even the euro plug freely enters these holes, it is not fixed.