Phase Linear 700 Power Amplifier

A rare opportunity to own a vintage Phase Linear 700 power amplifier. The 700 was the legendary Bob Carver’s first commercial product.

Introduced in 1970, it was, for a while, Phase Linear's only amplifier. When the Phase Linear 700 was commercially released in 1971, few took 27-year-old Robert W. (Bob) Carver’s claims for it seriously. The Phase Linear 700 got its name from the 350 watts per channel stereo it supplied to speakers; it was one of the first really good transistor design architectures after the vacuum tube era. Remember, this was Carver’s first commercial product, and he was then completely unknown to audiophiles. The 700 put both Bob Carver, the amp's designer, and Phase Linear on the high-end audio map.

The 700 turned the audio world on its ear, and it quickly became a reference amplifier used by recording studios, jazz and rock bands and discriminating power hungry audiophiles. At 19-inches wide, it was designed for rack mounting. The Phase Linear 700 was priced at $749.00 in 1970 (approximately $5000 in 2019) and gave Phase Linear recognition in the high-end audio industry.

I have owned the Phase Linear 700 since the early 1980’s and used it with an Accuphase C-200 pre-amp. It is unmodified and stock standard. The original rotary power switch was replaced with a toggle switch. The original switch wiring is still in place and replacement rotary switches for the 700 are available on eBay. Open to reasonable offers. Price R15 000.00