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Advent Model 300 and RCA Console Pull EL84 Amplifiers: The Budget Audiophiler

An underrated vintage receiver designed by one of the most respected sound engineers of our time.
Outside of audio circles, it is not well known that Advent manufactured audio hardware other than loudspeakers. Most vintage audio fans know Advent for the Large Loudspeaker and nothing more. I own a pair of the Advent loudspeakers and think that most people interested in affordable vintage audio should own a pair if they can find them for a decent price.
We’ve already covered them in a previous column but this week I want to focus on the Advent Model 300 amplifier. It’s not the easiest product to locate but it has proven to be quite a surprise and further proof that there are some excellent vintage amplifiers available outside of the Marantz and Harman Kardon products that are very popular.
Advent was founded by audio visionary, Henry Kloss, after he left KLH in the late 1960s. Kloss had a huge impact on the affordable loudspeaker category and his products have been part of the vintage audio landscape for decades.
Advent decided in the 1970s to enter the audio receiver category and the Model 300 was introduced into the market after 3 years of research trying to perfect a receiver that, as the catalog states, “most people will value under real listening conditions at home at a price well within the lower half of the current range.”
Designing any piece of audio hardware is a challenge, but it takes a very competent designer to engineer a more affordable piece of equipment that sounds good and is reliable. A lower retail price means cheaper parts and construction quality, but Advent created something rather worthwhile.
They did eliminate the AM tuner section, but then added an auxiliary input and a brand new phono preamp designed by their Chief Electrical Engineer, Tomlinson Holman.
If you love movies, his name should immediately recognizable. Holman designed the very capable Holman Pre-amplifier, but he changed the movie experience as we know it with the invention of Lucasfilm THX.
Fast forward to 2021 and we find him at Apple developing products like the Apple AirPods Pro and leading the development of their other audio products and streaming technology. He also won an Oscar in 2001 for Scientific and Technical Achievement.
He’s one of the most respected sound engineers in the world and tens of millions of people use his products every single day.
The price of the Advent 300 just went up.

This article originally appeared at ecoustics.com and an intro has been published here with permission.
Read the full article: https://www.ecoustics.com/articles/advent-model-300-rca-tube-amp/
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