Released around 1977 the Advent 300 receiver was an interesting piece of equipment. It was built to meet an affordable price point which meant that the build quality was not up to high end audio standards. However, the phono preamp stage was designed by Tom Holman of LucasFilm THX fame and is one of the better phono preamps in existence. It can hold its own even today.
The Advent 300 retailed for about $265. As you can see its design is not traditional as it does not have a long horizontal dial face but rather a geared rotary knob for tuning. It only produces 15 watts of power per channel and only has an FM tuner. The tuner gets mixed reviews with some loving it and others less enthusiastic.
As we mentioned the build quality was somewhat dubious. Early models suffered from background hum which was later resolved by adding a grounding strap. The output transistors are also sketchy. Many times if you pull the bottom from one of these Advent 300 receivers you’ll see a number of different colored transistors which means it’s been repaired. Some have said that the 2SB633/2SD613 transistor is a good replacement for the originals.
If you want to see a comprehensive restoration process check out David Reaton’s site. He covers the most common problems with the 300.
Advent also produced a silver face model of the 300 which is much harder to find than the black face model.
Despite its shortcomings the Advent 300 is a nice little receiver. If you have a small room or garage and want a top notch phono stage then this might be the unit for you. You can pick up a restored unit for under $300 and a workable one for around $200.
This is a great little unit many buy just for the preamp. Even rated at 15wpc, they still drove the original large Advents or my pair of early ARs very well. I still have my original, but it has developed some FM issue I need to trace. Don’t forget, they also made a 12VDC model some used in mobile homes!
Hi there,
I recently inherited one of these and ran into some issues while installing it. In light of our current circumstances sending this out for repair would be difficult, but wonder if you may have any tips.
The tuner worked as well as connections to a CD player and computer (AUX input), but then suddenly stopped. I wonder if something shorted internally? I can hear the speaker response and have independently tested to confirm they work. The power light still comes on and when the dial is set to tuner and the stereo light comes on as well when toggled to a new station. I just wonder if having the computer connected was too much?
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Becca
I too loved the Advent 300.
I ran mine into my home built stereo tri-amp, but sadly I could not find a low noise
electronic crossover at the time then gave up on hi-fi when mortgage and kids changed
my priorities.
Retired now I am getting into YouTube music videos but still wanted good audio.
I discovered the Emotiva PT-100 Tuner Pre Amp with optical in with sub and pre-outs.
To me it has the design “spirit” or the Advent 300.
To keep things simple I run the optical out of my Samsung SmartTV into the Pt-100
then the sub out into a Paradigm powered sub and the pre outs into a pair of Yamaha
HS-7 powered monitors.
The audio quality on on VEVO music videos featuring vocals is exceptional and I am
very happy but still wish I had a Advent 300 just for nostalgia.
Well, Gerrard,
I have one that I just dug out from under a work bench that has been there for years since I had it repaired in 1995. It is in the original box and I just fired it up with a couple of ads L300E speakers but it looks like there is something wrong with one stereo channel. In mono both speakers volume seem equal but in stereo the right channel is there but very weak. It was so long ago that I had it repaired that I can’t remember what the problem was but I have the invoice with info on it. If you are techie enough to figure out what’s going on with it you can have it for the cost of shipping and $20.
I’m interested! Do you still have it?
francis.husnik@gmail.com if you will sell it to me.
Frank, are you still interested in the Advent?
Sorry to not get back to you sooner.
Yes, I still have it, in original box along with the owner’s manual and bill of sale from Magnolia Hi-Fi in Seattle on 4/12/79!
I replied to your e-mail. I am most definitely interested! Maybe check your spam folder if you don’t see it.
Did you sell your Advent 300? I have repaired a few and would be very interested!
am in Boston MA
I had an Advent 300 receiver that was paired with a B&O turntable with homemade speakers that was a 4 way system with pots on all speakers built into crossover {had 15inch woofer} built out of birch ply. Had a Sunn Magna 3800 powering system, 160 watts per channel into 8 ohms. What crystal clear sound that system made especially when turned up and rockin. All was stolen very sad. Hard to find a system back in the 70’s that would sound better than this one.
I had a 12v version. Paired with a Nakamichi 700 cassette deck, I thought it would make my truck mobile stereo the best ever. For 1978 anyway. But something was fragile, and the Advent had to go to the shop for repairs multiple times. Ultimately it was at a repair shop that went out of business, and I never got it back. Fun when it was working.
This is quite something: I traded in a Pioneer SX-1010 receiver for a new Advent 300 (from the same place I bought the Pioneer over a year before, Tech Hifi in midtown Manhattan). Yes, it sounded subjectively better than the bir-bruiser Pioneer, but build-quality, as most everyone seems to agree, left a good deal to be desired…the thing died on me exactly one week after the warranty expired. I had it repaired anyway, but the shop doing the work couldn’t seem to get things right, and I ditched it just a handful of months later for a Yamaha A-1 integrated (which was an adventure in itself). Advent managed to make a unit that was tiny and beat the pants off many another receiver at the time, but which ran its electronics within the proverbial inch of their lives.
Pro tip: Most of the silver-finish 300s were earlier-production models built in the U.S., while the black-finish models were later-production and “assembled” in Mexico.
Hi I have an Advent Receiver 300 and a local video dealer is interested in anything I have. I also have Technics Speakers and an MGA Stereo Cassette Deck Model DT-4105. Does anyone have suggestions on what I should ask for them?
Hi All
If there is anybody out there I could use some help. I have a 300 that that gives off a pretty good feedback hum when I touch the Bass control knob. It happens in all modes with and without sources plugged in. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated…Thanks, Rocco
I loved this as it was the heart of my 1979 stereo system, dual Advent speakers per channel, at least until it was all stolen.
Here’s a fun fact. The preamp was subject to a strange interference with a faint broadcast seemingly in Spanish with a French tinge. Turns out that it was a Cold War Canadian government channel aimed at Cuba. If I recall there was a fix offered by Advent.