Lo-D (Hitachi) HMA 9500 Mos Fet power amp

[southpeak]

When I contacted the seller, my first question was of course “is the unit still available?” yes sir..
Then the next question was “may kasama bang electric fan yan?” ;D
Tumawa yung seller. “ Wala akong Hitachi electric fan sir, amp lang. Pero baka mangailangan kayo pag mainit na yung unit”.., And the rest is history..

A new member, the Lo-D HMA 9500 Mos Fet power amplifier.
From what I’ve gathered, Lo-D is the Japanese domestic brand name of Hitachi.

Thanks to sir sandawa, I was able to learn that the model was selling at 69,500 (P30k) to 158,000 yen (P68k) on Japanese eBay . Luckily, the seller might not have known it. I was just surprise that a Hitachi could command so high a price, more so for a 28 year old unit. Something must be right with this equipment.

Knisi site only had the Mk II as attached. I’m assuming almost the same specs.
page.freett.com/knisi/hma-9500mk2.html

Sharing with you some pictures. If you will notice the innards, fresh as new. Medyo may konting gasgas narin sa labas, but still, bigatin parin ang dating. It’s roughly the size of two Hafler XL 280 (I miss my XL280) and twice as heavy also at 29kg.





First impression? ;D ;D ;D

thank you very much for viewing. it's always a pleasure sharing with all of you these "treasures".
of the 3 sites i visit, i consider PINOY audio as my home site. very friendly atmosphere.. and members too..

[sandawa]

ben,

ang swerte mo talaga. Hitachi monster receivers are very expensive and highly valued by vintage collectors in the US. your power amp is an example that Japan's best were kept and not shared to the international market. i'm quite sure even European AK members, a few of whom owned Jap collectors' hifi, would be awed by your new toy.

BTW, on a per capita basis, i think PinoyAudio provides the most number of hifi photos - with higher ratio compared with other domestic and even international audio websites. in a nutshell, that's PinoyAudio comparative advantage over others. i also think this is the best and my home audio board. we owe this to the PinoyAudio team!

POSTSCRIPT:
i was wrong. your amp was distributed internationally and was sold late '70s in the US at $1.3K. i guess distribution was limited though. if it's a Japanese unit, it has the original parts, which could be downsized in the international unit.

[southpeak]

nani,

thanks. it would have been impossible to track down these "gems" without your guiding light. very much appreciated..

and yes i agree. thank you very much also for the PinoyAudio team for providing us our "audio home" board. congratulation.

and last but not the least, i also have to thank sir hans (henry) for inviting me to this site. i think it all started with my inquiry about the wharfe evo 30 on the other board. from then on, i was hooked..

hope to find some more gems. btw, when does this stop? ;D

[iceman90a]

Sir mukhang padami nang padami gamit natin ah ;D

[Superman]

ben, congrats!

[narayan]

southpeak,

very nice looking unit parang ung mga earlier bryston amp ang harap with those heavy-duty looking handles congrats

[southpeak]

ice, yan din ang sabi ni commander n chief. ;D
ang counter ko, "mama naman, mas mahal pa yung cellphone mo dyan ng di hamak".. ;D ;D ;D.. end of topic..

sirs superman, narayan.. muchos gracias..

thanks for looking.
again.. when does this stop? ;D

[Superman]

where do you source out your toys??

[southpeak]

no special source jen.
of the gears i presently have, i only used the following sources:
1. on line Buy and Sell magazine
2. pinoyDVD assorted buy & sell
3. wiredstate audio buy & sell
maybe i was just lucky enough na matapat sa akin yung unit.

sample is this unit. as far as i know, the Buy and Sell add in the internet is about two weeks older than the newsstand issues. i've been brousing the pages of the Feb 3 on line issue for about a week. pabalik-balik lang, fine proofing baga, baka may something unusual. then i saw it :

"LOD AMPLIFIER, 11K, (neg) HMA 9500, 2400 watts (what the ...) , for mobile use"
teka, what's an LOD amp? then something just came back. sabay google, HMA 9500, image.. aha !!!
sana available pa... etc, etc.. done

that's all. no secrete weapon, konting tiaga, may nilaga..

[diego]

congrats on your unit sir. i think i saw a lo-d preamp in one of the shops here in davao. will check

[southpeak]

diego said:

congrats on your unit sir. i think i saw a lo-d preamp in one of the shops here in davao. will check

thank you sir diego.. sent you PM the other day re your speaker collection and amp.. ;D

good luck on the Lo-D pre amp..

[southpeak]

the difference between the 9500 and 9500 MkII are the markings on top of their transformers. i'm assuming pictures below are diagrams on how they are configured? ;D
would somebody be patient enough to enlighten us untrained members what's the supposed improvement in layman's term? .. thank you

HMA 9500


HMA 9500 MkII ("non cut-off circuit")

[s2kov]

congrats ben, you're a truly treasure hunter! ;D

[southpeak]

s2kov said:

congrats ben, you're a truly treasure hunter! ;D

thanks andy. medyo treasure nga ata. using sir sandawa's figure @ $1,300 in 1978 (Mk II came out 1979) and the Inflation Calculator i posted somewhere ;D, resulted to :
:
What cost $1300 in 1978 would cost $3961.01 in 2005

at present P52/$ rate, brand new unit would cost Ph 205,972..
even 1/10 of that is still P20K.. i got mine for less than 10K ;D
panalo pa rin

[zetroce]

Hi Southpeak,

I happen to have a Lo-D Pre-amp, model is HCA-8000. Do you have any info about this item? I remember John Poscablo sold it to me for 1.5K together with a 2.5K Technics turntable. I just used the phonostage of this unit when i started with analog. Here is a picture of the unit that i have:

[southpeak]

zetroce said:

Hi Southpeak,

I happen to have a Lo-D Pre-amp, model is HCA-8000. Do you have any info about this item? I remember John Poscablo sold it to me for 1.5K together with a 2.5K Technics turntable. I just used the phonostage of this unit when i started with analog. Here is a picture of the unit that i have:

hi zetroce,

sorry, not much luck also on my search for additional info other than it still sells from 7k to 10k yen in Japan.
also, its higher models, the HMA-8300 ("G" class?)and HCA-8300 combo are wanted in the Vintage Knob Separates collection.

[sandawa]

if it still sells at 5 yen figures in the land of the rising sun, that preamp is a bargain at P1.5K. i don't want to mention brands and models, but many of the amps sold at the Pier originally priced at 150,000 yen are now quoted at less than 10,000 yen at Yahoo Japan. mid-level to upscale preamps, not on the premium list, are sold way below the integrated amps - or less than 5,000 yen. i believe re-sale figures at Japanese auction sites reflect demand and quality.

one site that could provide you with such figures and other current info on Jap-made gear is: www.fresheye.com/

[southpeak]

after 28 yrs of service, i just thought the unit deserves some modifications. ;D



just got it back this morning. konting pa pogi naman

[Superman]

ben, mabangis ka talaga!

[john1977]

the unit will sound much better once it is recapped as well