As a former musician I have to admire and can relate to your enthusiasm for vintage gear. $15 Sansui 2000A from Salvation Army in Y2K has the sweetest treble/bass adjusts I've ever heard. Smooth/wide bass roll off dovetails perfectly with bright treble to avoid cloudy/tinny snare & vocals and thonky kick bass unlike the two fairly modern $15 Goodwill 5.1 surround Yamaha RX-V495 & new $100 Kenwood amps both having internal crossover networks you can't fully turn off to get full bass even with Mains set to Large/no center spkr or sub or DSP modes. Twist back/forth the treble/bass knobs and barely hear a change. Very flat, lifeless stereo soundstage. Gave away the Kenwood to Goodwill, using Yamaha for Blu-Ray/CableTV. Sansui>'92 Technics CD player with 1985 Model 82 Norman Lab spkrs preserves perfect timbre of Hanne Hukkelberg "Little Things" CD vocals (mixed upfront in studio) putting her in my living room. Freaky psychoacoustic effect. Gives me chills listening to her on this system.

I have memories as a kid in the 70's hearing our stereo system in the living room that was by no means top of the line. However I recall the crisp clear sound that I no longer hear these days.

@Piwork69

9 жыл бұрын

carpo719 True, and you got these hip hop headphones today that is ALL exagerrated bass.

@jogmas12

6 жыл бұрын

Mywork777 You just not spending money top rated modern stereo gear.

I am the only girl in my town that buys sells and cleans this type of equipment. I am running a vintage Onkyo TX3000 with a pair of Marantz speakers. I love it so much! I just picked up a Sansui QS500 rear amplifier that I plan on flipping for 50 or 100 bucks. Nothing sounds better than vintage. Thanks for posting.

Pound for pound, nothing beats old school audio. I'm glad some of you, younger than me guys, are appreciating these beasts. I've rescued many from the evil recycle bin. My video showing the Marantz unit was about to be loaded into a recycle truck! Right now, I'm using a Sansui AU-11000A that I got for FREE!! I also have turntables like a Lenco L75, Pioneer PL-518 & a newer Pro-ject Debut lll. All these tt's were bought for under $20. Problem is that now people are catching on and this stuff is getting harder to find at basement prices. Love the Pioneer SX series. I've had a 450, 550, 2x 650 & an 850...Would love to find a SX-1980. Cheers!

@cukedaddy

8 жыл бұрын

+thisisunreal1 An SX-1980 for under $2000 is difficult, if not impossible.

@JohnLeaf

7 жыл бұрын

hey man if ypu finmd another rarity send to me in brazil my cep is 70294090 LOL

@Sallyhearts

7 жыл бұрын

thisisunreal1 yeah a technics sa-5760 has a lot of pounds and performance lol.

@itsronyith

6 жыл бұрын

thisisunreal1 m

Let me blow your mind...just hear me out. Watch movies on a vintage hifi VHS player hooked up to those vintage receivers. They sound phenomenal.

probably the biggest distinction is that 70's receivers used exclusively discrete component architecture, every part was large and sturdy and more than it needed to be. there were no chips so the signal was never chopped down into microvolts then amplified. Personally I like Marantz, then Pioneer. Sansui has some great stuff.

Love the old receivers, they look so cool, and sound much better. I like the simplicity. You can tell how good it is going to be just by how heavy that thing is. Pioneer in the 70s made the best looking and sounding equipment. Unfortunately the price for vintage equipment has skyrocketed. You scored A killer deal on that receiver.

You just spoke to my heart brother. I buy and repair old audio equipment. I recently bought an older McIntosh system for $35 which came with the receiver and two amps. You say you want surround sound. Use old amplifiers on newer surround systems with line level outputs. You just need a multiplexer to have vintage surround. The system i bought was old, rusted, and most of the tubes were gassy. Having replaced most of the components using new old stock when possible with new capacitors & resistors, they work beautifully now. The sound is amazing. There is a warm place in my heart for vintage audio. Thanks for the video.

So spot on. I walked into a thrift store a year ago, got me a late 70s all-in stereo for an eq. of 30 bucks, got it repaired for 70 more, bought a new stylus and hooked up some soviet-time speakers. Now I can connect it to most anything, it just sounds so right.

Some of the finest audio equipment ever made was made in kit form by Heath Company and us old school nerds who hand built our audio from Heath had the biggest secret and the best stuff and it still works perfectly today. And we saved the cost of assembly and got mil-spec parts.

This is what I have hooked-up at the moment: GAS Son of Ampzilla, Thoebe preamp, Mitsubishi DA-F10 tuner, Pioneer PLX1000 turntable with Denon 103R mc cartridge and Bellari step-up transformer. Speakers are DCM Time Windows (circa 1980). Speaker wire is Q Audio Time Stream. Interrconects are AudioQuest Silver Extreme's (bought on sale for $100 each - not the list price of $500!). CD player is a Pioneer PD103 (bought used for $20 at GW). Everything I have here was bought for a fraction of list price (except for the TT, cartridge and sit). The Time Window speakers sold new for $1200 a pair - I paid $219 + shipping! Found on EBay! Yes, there are still bargains to be had with some searching!

Good points. Surround sound was the worst thing that ever happened to good sound.

@FullFrameFotography

9 жыл бұрын

Peter Martin Hear hear...I'll drink to that. HATED when surround sound made the scene. Just before that happened, and I DO mean exactly the last year before Yamaha went surround sound with their receivers, I grabbed a pure stereo receiver just as they had started to discount them so they could bring in the new surround models. That was in 1987 or 88. I still have it to this day and it happily cranks out 100 w per ch into my 6 ohm Angstrom Reflexion speakers (also old skool circa 1987) What a beast when I wind it up!

@richardschroeder7525

8 жыл бұрын

+Peter Martin i agree peter surround sound was exiting for about 2 minutes just got back into some vintage stuff with a yamaha CR220 and some bose 21s bookshelf speakers lots of yamaha and bose bashers out there but i love my new system always liked to refer to as THE SYSTEM

@carlosoliveira-rc2xt

8 жыл бұрын

+richard schroeder I love the Yamaha stuff from the late 70s. Your CR 220 is the littlest brother to my CR 3020.

@vintagecollector6034

6 жыл бұрын

Peter Martin I agree 100% although my main unit is a 1972 quadraphonic Sony riding the waves from my tv, 8 track recorder and phono, not enough inputs for a reel to reel though sadly unless i get splitters. -_-

The main reason the older vintage equipment is better is because it uses discrete driver components... Power transistors, large power supply caps, adequate heat sinks. The newer equipment does not use discrete components. They use power packs that are mounted onto smaller heat sinks inadequate "tracking" power supplies and cheaper parts all around. The older vintage receivers could deliver high current into their speaker loads where the newer items cannot. In short a "vintage" watt of power sounds better that a current "watt" of power. Now to keep the vintage equipment sounding good the old power supply capacitors need to be replaced with new ones. Granted everything may sound great now but the caps (especially ones that are 30-40 years old) do have a tendency to dry out, if you start hearing 60 cycle hum the caps are the first thing to replace. Happy listening!!!!

I couldn't agree more. I bought a Denon 4 or 5 years ago. What a waste of money for JUNK. It worked for 4 months past warranty. I dug out my old Sanyo Plus 75, programmed up a Raspberry Pi for Internet radio and couldn't be happier.

You said it right my friend. I just found the deal of a lifetime! I bought a vintage 1977 (REALISTIC STA-2000) Monster Receiver off ebay for a total of $436.00 a couple of days ago. It sold for $500.00 way back in 1977. Here's the most exciting part! It's 38yr's old, it's from the original owner, it's been kept in the original box and doesn't even look like it's ever been used. It's as if i time warped back to 1977 and bought it brand new! For those who don't know! Realistic was Radio Shack's house brand that was competitive with Pioneer, Marantz, Sansui, yet much more affordable. As a matter of fact they looked very simular to Pioneer at the time. And the build quality was right on par with them too! I was 11yr's old in 1977 and my older brother had a few different big Receivers at that time and i clearly remember how AWESOME they looked and sounded! I am so freakin excited to get my new vintage beauty and set it up! Vintage 70's Receivers + Vinyl = Happiness :-)

@dwighta8655

6 жыл бұрын

Just bought an STA-95 Realistic Receiver, and it's like what you describe with the 2000, rarely used and in excellent condition. I couldn't believe how great it looked when I picked it up. The guy I bought it from rarely used it, and then stored it for over 30 years in his basement. No damage whatsoever and performs/looks great. You're spot on about Realistic, theirs were nearly neck and neck with the big boys.

@Criterion515

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah, they looked very similar to Pioneer... because that's what a lot of them actually were. Mid-late '80s I was friends with a bunch of RS people and was always told that many of their products were rebranded Pioneers. Speakers and other audio equipment.

Im addicted to shopping at the Goodwill. I live in Las Vegas and we have about 20 Goodwills. I go almost everyday. I'm in 100% agreement with you on old stereos. They are made so well it's amazing. Not only that but the silver and woodgrain look DOPE. Nothing beats an old-fashioned stereo. This past year I started fixing electronics . Shit I found a 32 inch Polaroid HD TV 2 weeks ago that someone threw out. Its totally mint but the picture wouldn't come on. I popped it open and realized it was the main capacitors. I replaced them for $10. Boom! Got me a badass TV now. Im heading to the Goodwill right now. Awesome videos bro. I like your style.

I have an early 90's unit (1993) Optimus STA-795, It's a radioshack receiver and gives me everything it has [50w RMS by 4 channels] it's an incredibly reliable and powerful and only gets mildly warm over loud jam out sessions, I don't know if any today's low to mid-end receivers would come close to it. The receiver has all original parts and never been to a repair shop, I take regular maintenance of it, and clean it every once in a while. No doubt, the best radioshack receiver I've owned.

I have a system part of which is 40yrs old. Sony tuner/amp, Dual belt drive table, Marantz deck, 3way speakers with 12' woofers Tandy equalizer. It has needs, The Sony volume switch is sometimes scratchy and the Dual needs a cartridge. Was going to sell it, haven't used it in over 20yrs but I hooked up the Sony to the speakers and it made me smile. So if it makes it past our spring yard sale I'll tune it up and keep it for the rec room I plan to build. I remember listening to it with those speakers 20' apart, awesome

Japanese in 60 to the 80 they cared about quality control.

Warm and crisp. Those two words sum up the 70's Hi Fi. I honsetly dont think I have ever heard anything as satisfying as the systems I used to listen too back then. I was at a UK boarding school and the richer kids had systems that I dont think have ever been bettered for sound quality since. Music was everything back then and everyone vied to have the best sounding stuff possible. Pink Floyd played crystal clear at high volume just took your breath away every single time. The Glory Days of High Fidelity. Just got a Sansui 221 for only £20 and I cant wait when the mail man delivers it to me. My first dip into the treasure house of old Hi Fi. Watching this vid has confirmed my feelings about this era. Thanks Carpo.719.

I have assembled a pair of Pioneer CS-R580 speakers with a vintage Japanese made Denon stereo receiver, Pioneer 70's turntable and a Kenwood graphic equalizer. All from thrift stores, in wonderful condition and under 100 dollars! The sound is like a dream.

I have an SX1050 that I got for $350, sounds sweet and reminds me of my old Pioneer that I had as as teenager. But the reason I love it most is that I can understand the controls, knobs, switches, dials, buttons. I have a Denon and I cannot understand how to operate it. The Pioneer rules, and cranks with new Bowers and Wilkins speakers.

I used my mother's KEF Cantor II speakers from the early 90's for about a year with my dad's Marantz pm5005 amplifier, and they sounded ok. At the time, they were playing alongside his Monitor Audio Bronze BR2s. Fast forward a year, I plugged the KEF speakers back in to their original Sony TA-F55 amp, and they almost literally blew me away. The old amplifier had a lot more power, too. 320w total power, 80w into each of the four channels, that's good even by today's standards. The Marantz amp struggles to push 25 watts into each of the 4 channels, therefore making every speaker sound like a tweeter.

I agree 100%. Back in 80s when I was a school boy I always dreamed of owning a high end stereo system like akai, sansui, kenwood etc but had no money. Now when I can buy I cant find those systems. Home theaters and surround sound receivers suck on producing quality 2 channel music.

Imho you pretty much nailed it. Real quality is nowadays way above what a normal wage earner can afford. Most products in the consumer class come with a inbuild expiration date and are non servicable throw away`s.

I am a vintage collector that some of my friends call junk (the ones who listen to those very low quality sound destroying mp3s) and i tell them, one mans junk is another man's treasure. I got an old GE alarm clock that sounds way better than any crap they make today. Ive also got an old fisher brand combo stereo, even though the tape deck does not work, so i got an addon, but it sounds so nice, and with the added feature of a vinyl player, its heaven to my ears. Im a man who sticks with mostly vintage stuff, a man who likes tube tvs more than the flat screens of today, and perfers a vcr over a dvd player. But sadly a person has to own a dvd player at least if one is to own new releases, such a shame. But one plus however is they make vinyls brand new, so at least as far as music goes, we still got choices lol. Some say im stuck in the old days, which does not make sense since im 23, so i like to say i just merely found the difference between crap and quality lol.

I totally agree with you on this! My father in law gave me a Technics SL 13OO Turntable and a Pioneer SX 737 Receiver, both work fine. I got lucky enough to pick up a pair of Klipsch KG 2.5 Bookshelf speakers for $80. I also picked up a RCA CDRW 140 dual cd player for $125. The combination of it all sounds great, rich , and robust! I guess I'm just proud of owning low budget gear!

I agree! I've got a Pioneer system that I've built up over the last few years. SA-7800 amp and TX-7800 receiver that my brother bought used when he was in the Air Force back in the 80's. He gave them to me when he moved to NC a few years ago. I picked a PL-512 turntable with a nice Empire cartridge for $50 on Craigslist, and an almost mint CT-F8282 cassette deck for $50 on eBay. I just need to replace the belts. I'm running them all through a pair of JBL L-100 Century speakers my Bro-in -law was throwing away when he moved into a smaller apartment. So, I grabbed them, cleaned them up and fixed a couple of minor problems. (I just bought a pair of used grills for them on Ebay) So, I have a great sounding vintage system that I've only got about $250 into.

I am not obsessed by overpriced junk. But I am obsessed with quality. And something about the way we rate quality in the US of A today seems to have missed the mark as to what Quality is all about. The very fact that there are things around that were made from 1976 to 1982 proves its point that it is quality. Look on the freeway and count how many cars from 1976 to 1982 are still on the road. Now the ones that you can count. What brand are they? Are they Mavericks or BMW's? Fords or High End cars? See what I mean. Just to still be around after 37 years is the definition of quality!! But to get quality that is that old takes a lot of studying and shopping. It doesn't just fall into your lap. You have to know what your looking for cause the guy who is selling usually knows what he has! And you have to be smart enough to pay the extra $20 cause you know the dif.

...takes me back to my youth. I had a pair of Infinity Qa speakers, a Yahama mid-line receiver, and a BIC turntable- I wish I still had them. Now, I use earbuds and a matchbox-sized mp3 player. It's not the same.

From 1975 to 1980, the great "Stereo Wars" yielded some of the best gear ever heard. All the black plastic crap that followed the Silver-Faced era paled by comparison. My Pioneer SX-1250 receiver and HPM-100 speakers rock the house. I also have 4 vintage turntables and 3 reel-to-reel decks.....my wife thinks I`m nuts, but I don`t care :-)

@carpo719

10 жыл бұрын

You sound like me :)

Nice to see someone who loves the vintage stereo equipment. Even lower end stuff from the 70's and early 80's looks significantly better than the flimsy, black plastic crap of today. Silver faces, metallic knobs, VU meters, more power than you'd ever need unless you were holding a concert outside... yes please. :)

You said it!! I am a big vinyl collector, and for the past 2-3 years have gotten into vintage audio! I find craigslist has some killer equip. I especially like someone who is selling broken speakers for cheap because I will refoam them or repair. Some people don't know what their missing!

Vintage Equipment never dies! You are able to fix nearly any Problem with some small Electronic Parts. Todays Equipment tells you what you have to do and you have no choice! After 24 Month of use the Display shows "System Error" you can take it to the Dump! and the next Generation of Equipment is with No Knobs, No Switches and of course with no Quality Building Standards maybe this thing is smarter then the user? .... So I still use my Revox B710 Tape Deck - sounds & looks so nice! :) In service since 1987!

Oh boy, you are so wrong. When I swapped my 25-year-old Denon stereo amplifier for a digital Yamaha 7.1 receiver, I couldn't believe my ears how much sound quality it squeezed out of my old stereo cabinets. Audio equipment has improved so much over the last decades that anyone is an idiot to ignore it.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this. I understand totally what your saying about the sound from old school equip. In 1984 my father dumped a bunch of cash on a Rotel 2000 rack. 6 components total (loaded) with four BIC speakers. Long story short. Three days ago I received all of it. It's been sitting at his falling apart camp not being used at all. I fired up the tuner, preamp and amp last nite with two of the bic speakers. Man how exciting! It's got a beautiful cherry laminate cabinet. Ok kind of long winded.

I could not agree with you more. I like the way that you stated "competition mode" referring to the way audio equipment was engineered back in the 1970's. A perfect analogy. I owned mainly mid-level Pioneer equipment, and recently purchased a Pioneer SX 939 with ESS speakers at an estate sale. I did not "steal" it, but I though that $650 was a fair price considering the overall condition of the equipment and the extras that came with the purchase. I really only wanted the receiver, but they would not break the set. I will have to put in some bench time with the speakers, but the receiver only needs to be cleaned. Presently, I am using an older Rotel receiver (Japan) and it sounds very good for 20 watts. Lastly... to me the unspoken word is that substantially all of the components today are built or assembled in China. You will still pay (big time) for the high end name brand, and receive only a fraction of the quality because of "production mentality." Great video, all the best !

As far as connecting cables go make sure the ends are clean. I would recommend spraying the ends with silicone lubricant after cleaning. This prevents oxidation which will degrade the sound quality. What you said about the bullshit expensive cables is true. Nobody needs to buy the expensive solid silver or gold plated cables. Good quality copper cables are good enough. If you feel comfortable with them a vintage tube amplifier is an option as well

That's right! Remember that there is one other test. Pick it up and compare the weight and you will feel the difference. I hung on to most of my vintage equipment when I seen what was coming. You are right there is a sonic difference from old to new. And remember this "The speakers are the spokesman of your system. But a new black faced barley lit receiver is no match for a well lit gold or blue or white 70's style receiver.

In my own universe, Class D amplification is (COMPLETE SHYTE). Now that I've gotten that out of the way, we can all be assured of the incredible equipment produced from the 1960s throughout the 1980s. A truly gilded age of spectacular achievement in design, and execution in the realm of high fidelity audio. As someone thoughtfully mentioned earlier, big sonics need big real estate. I'll also add my other two cents in that good power conditioning, yields good results. Happy listening, and thank you Carpo

I too like the sound of old receivers and amps. For people looking for a vintage receiver or amp, my advice is to find units with output transistors and not output ICs (chip amps.) Output transistors push more bass and have a lot more headroom than ICs, and in my subjective opinion, sound a lot better than ICs. Output ICs started to appear in the late 70s usually on lower end gear. Early to mid 80s receivers and amps were split with the mid to high end using transistors and the budget end using ICs. When AV receivers started to hit the market in the late 80s, most manufactures went to output ICs as they had more channels to amplify and IC outputs were both easier and less expensive to design. Output transistors have 3 legs (or 2 if it's a TO-3 package) and are usually in complementary pairs of 2 per channel. Output ICs have several legs but usually a minimum of 10. There is usually only one output IC per channel. Several companies make output ICs, but the most common is STK. Both output transistors and output ICs are usually mounted onto a heatsink although many 60s and some early 70s receivers mounted TO-3 transistors directly onto the back panel.

A friend of mine gave me a Pioneer SX-1280 back in the late 90's when I was a teen. DAMN it was loud and my mom made me throw it out as it was "old" technology at the time. Now its beautiful vintage and I wish I still had it!

I'd take a 70's metal turntable over a modern plastic one any day. Vintage FTW!

@jazzman1626

9 жыл бұрын

CoolDudeClem Now that's something I forgot about! I've noticed how much you have to spend for a modern turntable compared to a vintage one just to get the same quality. There was some beauties made in the '70s.

@jazzman1626

9 жыл бұрын

CoolDudeClem Nice to hear from you again Cool Dude. :-)

@Hellcommander245

9 жыл бұрын

CoolDudeClem I second that comment. Even a low-end turntable from back in the day rivals a modern so called "high end" turntable in terms of design, build quality, wow and flutter/rumble specs, etc. The Japanese sure did know how to build a decent turntable.

@carlosoliveira-rc2xt

8 жыл бұрын

+Hellcommander245 I call BS on that statement. A "low-end turntable from the 70s and 80s were horrendous. I owned a decent turntable back in 1978 that cost $1000 and a receiver that cost over $2300. Do you know what that would be today ? You get better performance today for less money. All my friends own Clearaudio turntables that look like pieces of art that sound fantastic with an equivalent price to my 1978 turntable. Don't get me wrong I love the highend vintage stuff and owned some of the best but modern highend gear has come a long way. I'm not speaking of the midfi crap you can buy at BestBuy. With respect to companies like Sony, Yamaha, JVC, Denon etc. only their top models were built like audio jewellery but being almost entirely direct drive, their tested rumble figures were poor.

@Hellcommander245

8 жыл бұрын

carlos oliveira I retract my statement.

Is that an acoustic cover of Metallica's Orion I hear in the background? :) Also, I could not agree more. I work with this guy who swears his new Bose system that he spent 2k on will blow the doors off of anything I can bring to the table. I've got a couple vintage Fisher units from the 70s and two Technics units (SA-505 and SA-600) all running daisychained so I can hear them all at once. All are running 4 speakers too, mostly larger ones. A pair of Sansuis, a few sets of KLH, my Bose bookshelf Interaudio 4000s, Cerwin Vega VS-150s, and others I can't remember. I am in sonic heaven. I keep telling my coworker he has no idea what he's up against. Go vintage gear!

Never thought Orion unplugged could sound so good. Too bad the video ends right at the best part of the song. R.I.P. forever Clifford Lee Burton. MetallicA died september 27, 1986.

Sansui made some amazing receivers in the mid to late 70s. My favorite was the G9700. What made this receiver unique besides the quality was the analog tuner had the digital display. Here's a video of the G9700. Look at 2 minutes and 10 seconds to see the digital display. kzread.info/dash/bejne/aKSXpdOoY9DNdMY.html

Running a vintage (1974) Marantz 2285 receiver in my cave. No problems driving my 4 ohm Bose 401s and complimenting anything I spin on my Marantz model 6300 or Thorens TD-160.

@carlosoliveira-rc2xt

8 жыл бұрын

+djdepaolo You mean complementing unless of course the Marantz can talk. :)

@djdepaolo

8 жыл бұрын

+carlos oliveira Yes, complementing was what I meant.

This video sums up what I always tell people. I'm more then happy with my Sansui G-5500 that was gifted to me from a very nice security guard at my school. His recently deceased father was an audiophile in the golden age so it's in great shape! Enjoy your stuff as I certainly do. They don't make em like they used to: as in like a tank! Cheers!-Oliver

@TheSpeakerseeker

9 жыл бұрын

carpo719 haha i never thought of that :)

@TheSpeakerseeker

9 жыл бұрын

carpo719 oh i was just gonna say that. I found some near mint Dynaco A10s, great minds think alike

@FullFrameFotography

9 жыл бұрын

TheSpeakerseeker What a beauty that receiver is :-) Congrats on the lovely gift. I envy you. Always LOVED Sansui receivers. They are such handsome brutes! www.classicaudio.com/value/san/G5500.html

@TheSpeakerseeker

9 жыл бұрын

FullFrameFotography thank you! in terms of power and size its quite the upgrade from my 350A :)

I have a complete Sansui system. 881 receiver,3060 turntable,SE9 compu equalizer,four SP2000 speakers. This stereo is bad ass. I would put it up against any $5000 new system. It is loud and clear with heart pounding bass. I also use a first generation SONY CD player from the early 80s,sound is awesome!! Best of all I only have $450 invested in this system.

Vintage Rules.... Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood, Scott, JVC. All those old brands had recievers in the 70's pushing 200 plus watts. And HEAVY!!! My gosh, you could put your back out trying to carry one of those things. And love the sound.

The chances of finding a true vintage quality receiver at your local Thrift Stores is slim to none. However, I agree that the old vintage gear from the seventies is Rock Solid and amazing. It's just not as easy to find as you lead on.

No question that one can get great gear for little money in the vintage audio world. I have two systems, a surround system with NHT speakers all around. My 2.0 stereo system uses Nakamichi integrated amp, Harman/Kardon CD player (sounds fantastic), and old JBL 4206 Studio Monitors. I just bought a pair of Advent Minis in mint condition for a bedroom stereo. It's hard to beat the quality of vintage gear. Plus it's fun to treasure hunt for them.

I have an Arcam integrated amp, bought it new about 15 years ago. I do think it sounds great, but I love those 70s receivers too. My first real audiophile experience was listening to records on my aunt's old turntable and receiver. It will be fun to set up a listening comparison to the Arcam once I find a decent vintage receiver.

So true, I STILL have my Luxman Receiver (60RMS watts) , matching CD player, Cassette deck, with DBX 100 speakers....I bought all new 27 years ago for 2600$...other than replacing the woofer cones myself, still all works fine (though I never use cassette anymore). I remember the thrill of a remote for the receiver way back then

I've been buying old stereo gear and restoring it for years, you can get some great gear if you pick and choose carefully. Replace the caps and clean the controls. you set to go.

@junder60

7 жыл бұрын

dell177 Is my vintage MacDonald stereo cassette deck with speakers worth money

Anyone comparing the analogue love of vinyl and VCR tapes is foolish. VCR does not look better than DVD or Blu Ray. Vinyl does however sound better than MP3 when mastered right of course lol. Nice vid

I have the same receiver featured in the video. (SX-750). I bought it recently on ebay for $250. The seller stated it was rarely used and was in excellent condition. The pics he posted didn't do it justice. Except for the veneer just starting to peel a bit on the right side, It looks practically new. The faceplate is mint. Of course it sounds fantastic. Using it with a pr. of PSB Alpha (V.1) speakers. Sounds fantastic. Vintage rules. No if's and's or but's.

@cukedaddy

8 жыл бұрын

+Jeff C I just bought a Yamaha CR 820 for $60 at the local pawn shop...It looks like it just came from the factory...even has the plastic plug for the dual headphone jacks (they are scarcer than hens teeth)

I have a half decent AVR for home theatre (Pioneer Elite SC-05) with Paradigm speakers for watching movies that I paid a fair bit of money for but my "best sounding" stereo is actually an old Rotel receiver in my garage of all places with 2 small half decent outdoor speakers and an old Yamaha speaker for good Bass that was also given to me that sounds WAY better for listening to music! A lady gave me the Rotel because she said it was just "getting in the way" :) I think it was built anywhere between 1976 and 1979...

@RonRivet

9 жыл бұрын

Actually....I just found out that the Rotel was built in about 1974😃

@aidanmontgomery9772

8 жыл бұрын

+Ron Rivet My receiver is from 1970.

I'm trying to tell a friend of mine this on a daily basis. Started with a €350 new Marantz amplifier and JBL E80 loudspeakers 4 years ago, because i wanted to emulate my fathers old system's sound. I was very dissapointed, until i switched to vintage. Bought a Pioneer blue line amp and some B&W speakers and that was a huge difference. it's has now become a hobby of mine and my current system has the great Tannoy Cheviot speakers and a Luxman L510 amp. Would love a Pioneer SX950 some day!

@carpo719

9 жыл бұрын

Those pioneer have great sound, very warm. I like them, seem to have better bass dropoff, my other amps can't compete.

Good on you young man......I think that you are 100% right on. When I was 18 and shopped for this stuff.....everyone was tuned into good equipment then....we did not have computers, computer games, etc. We were more auditory. Amazing how much time we spent on just the cartridge.....stay with it.

Vintage perception and vintage stereo equipment Population has gone overboard with everything and anything yet I personally can't grasp any quality from the masses For every climax there is an anticlimax But what the flock! Thanks! You come off straight and unaffected!!!

"Warm sound". Absolutely.

Im 55 yrs old and back in high school we all had vintage stereo setups I just bought a kenwood 6600 & a pioneer sx950 with re30 cv foor speakers & a pioneer dd turntable , guess were all the fri night parties are at after work,can here war,cisco kid a mile away clear as hell

I have a JVC 100w per channel Amp and speakers in my garage hooked up to my Technics 1200s, that sounds great, My parents bought it for my 15th birthday and I am now 48 years old!

I agree with your taste in receivers & your knowledge. I could really kick myself in the a*s for what I have sold & even given away in the 80s & 90s. My dad owned 2 Bars in the 70's, plus had a lot of cats offer him deals at his bars. & he gave me so many stereos, equalizers, tape decks, reel to reels, Technic turntables & amps. Some I would sell for dirt cheap or use & abuse or leave behind after I got married in rent homes? Then like many in the 90s, SURROUND SOUND was suppose to be the sound that would bury the past. Well it did at first, until people went back & compared & said wait a minute something is missing? LIKE REAL RAW POWER & CLARITY!

I know what you mean. I have a pretty powerful Yamaha surround sound but have NO INTEREST in listening to music on it. Its fine for videos or games but thats it. I have a room with a late 70s Sansui 125wpc with some Jbl 4412 monitors and another room Kenwood receiver (same as I had in HS) in the house and just love to set up the turntable to listen to some 70s music on 70s gear as it was meant to be heard. Breakfast in America or AJA sound sublime on fresh vinyl . The difference between stereos is the same as with motorcycles. The Japanese build great bikes. Some people will always put them down and go to Harleys or BMWs but if you want quality the Japanese will deliver it in spades. The 70s was the apex of stereo quality, design, beauty, and function. Simply outstanding. Sure I can rev up my music workstation and record something in dvd quality and have it sound good but it just can't sound as good as music made with a good ribbon mic run through a vintage compressor recorded on tape. Many people strive for this sound but ultimately many producers know that modern music will be downloaded through some crappy mp3 player listened to on a cell phone with crappy earbuds. Sad. Talk about the McDonalds of music, it's here now. but we can still hear how it WAS done right. While digital recording has made music creation much more accessible it has also created plenty of crappy music.

@gregsimpson621

7 жыл бұрын

Perfectly said. I put together my Sansui system while stationed in Korea in 1973. Dual turntable and AKAI reel to reel.

I have the same receiver - Pioneer SX750. I've just acquired an SX1280, and can't wait to pick it up. I've been waiting for one of these monsters for over 25 years. They're almost impossible to find here in the UK.

This is so true I built my Stereo system from all Japanese Technics stuff ,My duel cassette, 5 disc cd player, Direct drive turntable and preamp reviver are all the same made in Japan and sound so much better than any modern stuff, combined with my two big USA made Kenwood speakers I never have to turn the knob past a 3rd of the way up to fill a room with sound. I built the whole system for less than $250 on Ebay. way better than spending thousands on a modern system.

I was lucky enough to start out with that vintage 70's stereo stuff as a teenager in the mid 70's. Yes, you are right most 5.1 stuff sucks but don't trash it just yet use it for movies and tv with the HDMI cables. A separate good old 70's stereo for music LP's CD's a Tape deck 8 track if you are adventurous. In those days 189 dollars bought me a 16 watt per channel Technics receiver. today you can get a killer one for 50 bucks

Way to go Carpo .Been telling younger people for years..most don't know what an audiophile is.We are a proud lot and have been around good stereos for Many years.I for one am happy that younger guys are learning this difference.Save you're money and invest the good vintage stuff.Let you're ears be the judge.

@cukedaddy

8 жыл бұрын

+sheila delaney And then there are audio elitists out there tha say they're audiophiles...But they're just pricks that have to always buy the newest and most expensive...All the while, telling everyone one why they're more knowlegable and trying to prove it.

@sheiladelaney6706

8 жыл бұрын

Until they do a good side by side comparable audio test, they will never know the difference. When and if they do, they will discover a rude awakening. The sound and power of true audiophile vintage equipment can take even us by surprise. When you switch on you're forty or fifty pound amplifier, you begin to understand where Real watts per channel comes from. Big watts kicking you in the chest.

I recently hooked up a pair of Kef C3's into my fathers old Nikko amplifier. I was blown away by the sound quality, everytging sounds so clean and crisp. I started looking for an old amp for myself but haven't found any that are close, yet :D

Great vid Carpo! I am a huge fan of vintage stereo stuff as well. I am in the process of trying to restore a vintage 60's FISHER 500C tubed receiver, which has the original German Telefunken tubes still in it! It was my dearly departed dad's, and it sounds so musical and sweet, compared to the lower quality 'consumer grade' stuff out now! I also have a Pioneer SX-780, which I covet. Great piece of gear, and it can even drive my demanding 4 ohm Magnepan MMG planar speakers! The sound is 'to die for' incredible! Thanks for posting!

my co worker Sam Newbold and I were looking up old stereo stuff, and came across this. He said you have too much time on your hands :)

@carpo719

6 жыл бұрын

Tell Sam he needs drum lessons :D

I have multiple systems to fit my mood. My home theatre has an Onkyo 7.2 receiver with Bose Series I left/right front, Bose 301 left/right rear, (2) high speakers that are Realistic Solo 1B, and the rest are Realistic Minimus 7's with modified crossovers, plus a Bob Carver Sunfire Sub. However, when I'm in a different MUSIC mode, I can choose between a Kenwood KR-9000(G) for a receiver and a pair of Infinity model 115's with modified crossovers.My turntables vary between a Technics Direct Drive, a DUAL 1220 that plays 78's, and a Kenwood Linear Tracking unit. I listen to vinyl, reel-to-reel, 8-track, and cassette through a 60's tube receiver; a Pioneer QM series receiver and a set of KLH Model 17 speakers, complimented by a Klipsch 50 watt sub, ALL running through a Realistic mixer and a Realistic 18 band EQ. If it doesn't glow in the dark, it's not a real radio. I LOVE vintage stereo components. My Pioneer even has shortwave and a dual tuning eye tube!

I picked up a Silvertone 7407 stereo receiver that outputs through 6bq5's in push pull. I got the stereo from an antique store (dead) for $20, and spent $80 repairing it. My speakers are Fisher XP-9c's curb side find, fixed them up for $75, re-foamed them, replaced the tweeters, and re-capped the crossovers. I'll take this system over anything modern.

Hey capro719, Just picked up the James EMB 1000 subwoofer to go with my 'finest' receiver the Lexicon RV 8. What sub do you use?

@carpo719

10 жыл бұрын

I do not use a sub anymore; I finally found a pair of floor speakers that do the job!! I find subs take up space, and i rarely use them. They are great for surround sound, but I don't use it.

As a rule of thumb, the HEAVIER it is, the better it sounds.

I've had various "vintage" receivers over the years, back in the 1970's when they weren't vintage yet. I think the highest output one i had was some KR 90something Kenwood, don't remember exactly. The only problem I ever had with that one was speakers. That Kenwood would roast almost anything I connected to it at high listening levels, even when I used 4 or more speakers. Like you I sourced a lot of Sansui's, Pioneer's, and Marantz's from thirft shops or pawn shops for little money. I don't have them any more along with turntables, etc. My new Sony STR DA 5800 ES A/V receiver does just fine. The Sony won't crank-out the power of those giant vintage ones but it's far more useful for today's program material. I'm a fan of music on blu rays, and stereo FM or analog stuff is no comparison. I spent $800.00 on my Sony and I'll take 9.2 channels of lossless audio any day. I've had friends and family say this and that about the newer stuff. Then they hear and see my rig running through four PolkAudio TSi 500's, two TSi 400's, three CS20's, along with a SVS 800 watt front sub, and a 400 watt rear. The older receivers just can't create the same sound field as the newer ones. There's a Pionerr SX 950 sitting in a thrift shop about a mile from my home, they want $275.00 for it, that's crazy. Even at it's mid range 85 watts per channel continous output a person would have to spend over a grand on speakers to use it like it's intended. I think I'm into my sound system for around $5,500.00. Take into account inflation over the last 35 years and that's reasonable. Speakers are the limiting factor, they were then and they are now. A descent set of Altecs or Bose back in the day cost the same as a used car, and they took up a ton of real estate in your den or living room. The older ones do have some nice styling, that's for sure.

Amen! I personally like late 1950's through early 1960's stereo tube equipment. Even the old wooden console sound far superior than many modern day stereo.

@carpo719

9 жыл бұрын

jorge hernandez Yup. I always go back to my vintage gear. In fact, I just made ANOTHER video about them yesterday, after I hooked back up my old pioneer and it blew the others out of the water

Vintage stuff is the best and affordable.

Hi man. You got the Point :) I`ve got a Sony STR 5800 for 25 bucks. It looks like it just came out of the factory. I had 2 different JVC amps before. they were just crap. But now i got a perfect sound with this Sony reciever. it putperforms every new amp. this is awsome. Everyone of my friends who heared that cant believe and think this is awsome, too.

i agree 100% , im picking up a sansui 9090 tommorow.. love the vintage gear. i will be trying it out with some cool heathkit asx 1383 speakers i just picked up, im excited.

Man vintage looks damn good, when I was a kids I remembered vintage stereo clean sound with bass you can feel in your chest.

I got my SX1250 in 1976 while stationed in Korea with Bose 901 II new for $480 each. When I got home to rock out the rest of the 70 's I never heard a better setup then mine. Rock on

That's an awesome Pioneer receiver. I remember that series receiver when it was new. I have a friend that had a 20 watt per channel receiver in that line and it actually was unbearably loud (and clean) on 3. It had incredible punch. You keep on going with the vintage. Nice!

My whole sound system is just my PC connected to either my Z-2300's or Z-5500 5.1. It sounds incredible. Deep and crisp bass (powerful can shake the house) very good mid range and high tones... THX, SRS, Virtual Surround, Dolby certified etc... My grandfather had tons of vintage stuff that was amazing though so I know you're right about the quality back then. However I'm very impressed with what I'm using.

True I picked up a old luxman off eBay man you just can't compete with the sound this thing is a monster it has 6 channels very heavy wood cabinet love it !

The thing that sucks now is GoodWill and the other thrift stores are over pricing their vintage gear. The same receiver that you got for 25 bucks is now $125 at least. Plus it seems like everyone goes thrift store shopping now days which makes it even harder to get a good score.

I have a question for you? I really want to know your point of view. What do you think about the sound bars?

@carpo719

8 жыл бұрын

To be honest...I don't even know what that is :) You mean like the speakers for TV's? I had to look them up.... I am not sure. I like speakers that sound good, if they sound good, I guess I would like them

Awesome Video, Orion breakdown about to begin when video cuts out .:) I own a vintage 70's receiver that my parents bought when i was younger.. good shit

thanks for this great video and wise words

you're 10/10 right too. I have a pioneer sx 1000tw (70s) and a vsx 504 (90s) and the old one has taken much more abuse but outperforms the new one everytime!

I think this was also covered previously by Aristotle, Plato, Einstein, Mozart, also....Ziggy..or...zoogy....someone?

If vintage stuff sounds warmer and crisper that's probably because it adds a pleasing form of distortion. What they should do is make perfectly neutral receivers and amplifiers that you can adjust to add distortion if you want it.

Couldn't say it better

My personally favourite set-up I have owned was a JVC JR-S 401 (Sadly stolen) running Realisic T-100's. Supertramp's School has never sounded as good since, even on different amps with the same speakers. I stupidly blew the tweeters on the T-100's but replaced them with some silk domes from Jaycar, nice but not the same. Ive been laughed at a few times by audio nuts about the T-100's but they still make my spine tingle more than anything I have had the pleasure of owning.

I have my Tandberg model 1 tape recorder with all the original parts from 1952 and it still works fine. By the way Tandberg Radio was one of the big brand in Norway from the 40s to the 70s

Hello I just found a Marantz 2270 in a pawn shop it's 100% original never had work done to it at all paid $200 for that and they have some website here in Florida local people selling things and I found a pair of Klipsch ksf 10.5 floor standing speakers for $75 and I've got to say it sounds fantastic just used so good old 14ga wire!! vintage is where it's at!

Thanks for all the knowledge you share. I'm an old flower child who knows zilch of what is worth buying nowadays. I purchased 2 of the new surround systems a Teak and a Marantz that didn't last but a few years so I think after hearing what you say about the vintage systems I will go that way because I never desired the surrounds anyway.

Back then they tried to out do each other with quality and specs,nowadays the companies try to out do each others numbers of how cheap it was for them to mass produce their junk and make a profit.