I'm 67 and still using my 18 watt Sony receiver here with a pair of Infinity speakers! The only thing I have had to replace is the dial cord due to old age. The turntable is a Yamaha P-450 belt drive and I have over 170 albums. This guy is spot on!
I'm actually looking at that same turntable for my first one! I've had a hifi set up for digital for years but am inheriting a record collection of about 100. So excited. That tables looks got my attention. How have you liked it? What cartridge are you using?
Picked up a filthy Sansui 331 at my local recycling shop. Piece of plastic fascia broken off one side, it had likely been dropped or knocked at some stage. It powered up, so I threw down $50 (AUD) and took it home. Disassembled, cleaned everything and removed all the dust and crap from years of sitting in a shed. I measured and reproduced the plastic fascia end pieces with a laser cutter I have access to, glued them on and then I rebuilt and polished the whole thing up. I then paired this with a set of B&W DM110's I also picked up at that same store for again, $50. People throw away amazing stereo gear. You just have to know where to look to pick it up for peanuts.
The 2nd hand places are beginning to learn how to look up prices on the internet though. It's more rare to get extreme bargains these days, though still possible. But if it needs fixing, then many people basically give things away. Except one place that prices almost maximum 2nd hand price BUT it also needs fixing or is trashed lol
I remember in 1979 busting my rear end as a teenager to make money to buy a receiver. I paid 699 US dollars for my receiver. That was a lot of money back then. I still have it and it still works. The only thing I had repaired was the power switch. The unit was gone over and everything was fine. I tried to find a modern receiver but they could not match the sound quality of my vintage unit. Like they say, they just don't make them like that anymore.
I am certain that if you did some research you would find a few new options that would match or surpass your fine old receiver for sound quality and value for money.
Id say the new recievers for stereo sound,the 5.1,7.1 surround are total trash!!500 watts,800 watts??? Hahaha yeah right.id say less than 50rms watts per channel
The build quality and "eye candy" effect was much better back then. Once the "home theater" craze took hold, then the overall quality went down (along with price) since "audio" was now competing with flat-screen TV's and home computers. Also many (if not all) of the Japanese firms merged into a consortium and SONY even got out of the high-end audio business entirely. Today the 100% digital displays and cheap buttons all look like sh_t. (IMHO).
Well, ok, but have you seen the original mission Cyrus amplifiers. There is nothing aesthetically pleasing about them. Just 3 knobs on the front panel. One for volume and the other two for input selection and recording.That’s it. They basically look like a shoe box with knobs on one side. They have classic AB type circuitry, and are capable of high current delivery (up to 40 amperes depending on the musical complexity) and can drive difficult speakers loads down to 4 ohms. No bells no whistles just good performance.
@@jackedkerouac4414 I'm sure it has something to do with the target audience and affordability. Something about markets being trash and people these days don't earn as much money as they could have back then. Also, most people don't care too much about audio systems when a really good pair of headphones do just as well. Oh and interests such as video games and movies taking focus away from pretentious audiophiles world. Yes Audiophiles ruined their own thing
In my opinion, the 1970's Vintage audio was 100 times better then the equipment they make now. I have a 70's Pioneer receiver and it works beautiful and the quality is top notch. I still have have my Technics separate components that I bought in the 80's and it still works perfectly to this day and I used it everyday for at least 2 hours. The vintage stuff was much better quality. Now if something you buy lasts five years, your lucky
Generally true, though the high end stuff today will outclass the best stuff from the 70's. 50+ years is a lot of time in the electronics world and advances have been made.
I remember the 1970's living in the Valley and driving past Marantz Factory (in big bold GOLD letters M A R A N T Z in front of the building) in Chatsworth Ca. And HK right down the street in Northridge. The Valley (San Fernando) was crazy during the stereo Wars (especially late 1970's), A stereo store on every corner.
i grow up out there and worked holden pest control and i went there to service that place it was huge and no i can't remember the street but i think it was on parthenia or nordhoff..the valley was GREAT in the 70s
My TT is 44 years old and I'm so pleased. Pioneer PL-300, with five headshells for five different carts. I'm only into vintage stuff, including cassette decks (one of them, a SONY, from 1977).
You make some excellent points in this video. In 1977 I purchased a Marantz 4270 for $699 USD. In today’s money that’s almost $3,000. Given that I still use this receiver as the heart of my main stereo system, it was money well spent. At one time I thought I needed to update my system and I purchased a circa mid-1990’s Marantz 5.1 AV receiver that supposedly had 350 watts. My 4270 with 25-70 rms watts blew the knobs off the new unit which was promptly returned. The vintage receivers were built to last and with some periodic servicing, they will do just that, and sound great doing it.
I agree with all that you say. I own a Pioneer SX-950 receiver and a Pioneer PL-71 direct drive turntable. I'm 66, live in the States. We grew up in a amazing time. Today younger people don't know or care about the precision that went into vintage audio gear. I also have a collection of direct to disc albums. Great video by the way. I look forward to more of your videos.
It’s 2021, I bought a new 1974 Marantz 2270 ($450/$650 USD). It moved to many USA locations, & was in storage for a good while. It needed a reconditioning ($220.) @ a local HiFi repair shop 3 years ago. @ that time this Marantz 2270, 70 W rms @ 8 ohms posted 95/97 W. Fitted a Bluetooth adapter & can now stream modern components, phono, & other components that can attach with RCA jacks. The headphone jack makes many to almost all sound great.
Completely true, I built my "vintage vinyl corner" around a Pioneer SX550, beautiful to look at, sounds great and don't let those only "20 watts per channel" fool you, it's plenty powerful and I rarely have the volume passed 4-5. The best $150.00 I ever spent on gear. Thanks for you great and down to earth videos!
Dude you could of did better. The Cyrus one amp by mission electronics from 1984 is true performer. Ugly to look at but very capable. How capable you ask? Well at only 25 wpc it can drive difficult speaker loads down to 4 ohms (basically 25 wpc into 8 ohms and 40 wpc into 4 ohms) and it’s high current design can deliver up to 40 amperes on musical peaks. It’s ugly, but will out perform your SX550.
@@jogmas12 Never heard of it but looked it up and you're right, it's ugly as sin. My Sx 550 is still playing well with no issues and still a pleasure to look at. Not bad for something over 45 years old and costing me $150.00 including shipping and just serviced prior of getting it. I'll stick with it for the time being. What happened to our host? He hasn't posted a video in a long time, I truly hope he's alright.
Oh yes. I love having physical things on the devices. Be it audio, video, modular synths or whatever. There is this certain satisfaction when you can actually feel the interaction, when you can see actual things moving when you change stuff.
I had a getto blaster with VU meters and servo motors under the switches. I still remember pressing the metal button in - click click shoong - dancing dials, flashing lights and DEAFENING NOISE!.
Bought my pioneer sx 780 in 78 the following year I bought the pioneer PL 518 turntable and technics SB-L200 speakers what a great system miss it a lot I'm now 67.
About '76 I bought a Hitachi SR-700 receiver (40W RMS) & a pair of ported Cerwin Vega HED (10" woofer) speakers. About 2000 I figured it was time to upgrade & bought a very high end Pioneer Elite Home Theatre system with all the bells, whistles, "concert hall" effects & more speakers than the houses of parliament. Pioneer system is long gone & not much missed... I still have my beloved Hitachi SR-700 & the sound is still amazing!
Yes, the 1970's was the sweet-spot of the audio era. Companies did more R&D to make the BEST product at ANY cost and competed against each other at all costs. When you look at the cost back then factored in today's dollars, they were expensive in its day, but today are still classics and still sound great. Aluminum engraved faceplates, knobs that are milled with 3 different finishes. I think as the mid and late 80's came, snake oil techniques were being pushed in the audio industry, as cheaper & compact systems came along and became the flavor of the month, and those still longing for a traditional stereo system, well there really was not any new technology, as the sound reproduction of 20hz-20khz electronics was already perfected, those folks had limited choices and then the esoteric market came in. To think that McIntosh tube equipment was available in the mid 60's at Allied Electronics for a few hundred dollars back then (still a lot of money, but doable if you really wanted it), and today that same unit is one of the most highly regarded amplifiers for beautiful sound and design. Personally, I remember "upgrading" in the late 80's to an Adcom Amp/Preamp from a '70's Yamaha CA-810, CT-810 Integrated Amp & Tuner. To look at that upgrade today, was it really an improvement???
@@mag4633 Open that thing up and you'll see why it weighs 2-lbs and why 1.8 of those lbs is the case and connectors... I can almost guarantee that it won't survive to become a "vintage" amp itself... I hope the warranty is at least three years.
@@nodaysback8390 You know the processing power needed to go to the moon is porbably about 0,0000000001% of the processing power a 0.1 gram chip has now a days? Sure build quality is nice but that ic is going to do a better job at producing clean audio than the transistors in the old receiver ever will. Also there is no reason to assume it would break. If you don't use a lot of parts there is not as much that can go wrong and I'd much rather trust the caps on the new amp than the ones on the older ones, even if they where somehow frozen in time for 50 years and didnt wear down at all.
I picked up a late 70's realistic receiver for a song from the original owner, it was rated at 25w. A pair of klipsch KG 3.5 in excellent condition (including the original box) from craigslist for $99. And I have a 10 yr old no name dvd player collecting dust. I was blown away when I played a chris botti cd while testing it.
I have vintage and modern audio equipment set up in my home. Two of my systems are powered by Parasound New Classic amps. One of those has a Pioneer SX939 receiver connected to it which I am currently using as just the preamp for the Parasound amp. There is nothing wrong with the Pioneer but my full sized Polk Audio speakers like power to deliver their best sound and the 70 watts per channel of the Pioneer just didn't and couldn't offer the same clarity, detail, base and yes headroom of the 200 plus watts per channel of the well engineered and modern Parasound! That Parasound amp was surprisingly affordable too for its performance! Some higher end vintage units were over engineered and they were great products for their day. Often their performance hit above their weight; however I would not discount the improvements in audio quality from some of the entry level audiophile brands of today such as Parasound! Speaker technology also has improved (to my ears anyway) and it is much better than SOME of what was considered high end at the time. Look I get it! There certainly is something about the styling of vintage equipment and my Pioneer SX939 makes for one hell of a great preamp! I do think, however, that there is something to be said about the understated beauty and clean lines of some modern units too. Another thing to consider is that contrary to what some may believe, vintage units like anything else have a shelf life. That is especially true of speakers! They don't last forever. They can be recapped/repaired and that's fine if you don't need or want to significantly upgrade; however there is a bigger and surprisingly affordable world out there when you are ready!
Just purchased the Pioneer SX-450 and its currently getting a service and some new speaker connectors added to it rather than the bare wire that it currently has. Even after a quick setup, I was amazed at the sound that is pumped out. Marvellous.
That was the first stereo I ever bought and that was back in 1978 at circuit city in North Charleston SC . Sold it in California to a dorm rat for cheap , 70 bucks and I went and bought Yamaha and Carver t preamp and amps + dsp.
My 1st taste of vintage hifi, was a Harman kardon 330b receiver with a pair of EPI M100 speakers. There are many vintage audio pieces that can be had for little money, that sound amazing!!
The problem is that people in general are not interested in how it sounds anymore, but more into if it produces a lot of “noise”. So the market shifted into making noisy stuff. You still have some brands making quality sounding products these days, but it will cost you a lot of money. I also refurbished a 70’s pre and end amplifier because it just sounds so much more detailed and warm. Not many people really take the time to really listen to a record these days... only audio enthousiasts still do :-)
I agree 100% ... I have a new Marantz 50 watt receiver with individual, discrete amplifiers for each speaker, and it sounds much more dynamic than my previous 90 watt per channel integrated Yamaha. I totally agree with your views on older equipment.
Vintages creates an aura in the room, changes the air pressure, generates electricity currents and magnetic fields, makes the hair on your neck stand up with anticipation!
Kevin, from the late 80's and up to about 2010, we went through a period where the word "Bass" was almost a dirty word! Many audiophiles wanted "purity in the midrange"and so it was suggested that, bass notes "mudded' that so they had to be controlled / removed / tamed!.. Manufacturers responded by eliminating tone controls, loudness booster circuits etc. Some "audiophile" systems came to sound - almost - like telephone lines!.. The liberal use in amplifier circuits of IC chips (instead of surface mounted components), had a very negative effect as each "chip" had a certain sound signature. In fact some manufacturers suggested an 'upgrade' of their product with a different / better IC chip!.. The Receivers you have on display are _real_ HIFI designs with everything in them 'top - notch', even the metal knobs as you correctly suggested. Having said this, there is now good sounding components but, one has to pay in excess of 4k or 5k ! Also, modern speakers became much more demanding ( less efficient in dB terms) so, more power was required to drive them.. but, that's a subject for another video I guess. Thanks for the video and the memories that came along with all this lovely equipment.
I've got a nice harman kardon 330c receiver paired up with a set of b&o cx100's and the sound is just so warm and crispy, thank you for recommending these speakers in one of your vids!
This was my first receiver and had it for years. I just gave it to my 14 year old niece this past summer who’s getting good use out of it. I’m so glad I kept it.
@@toddblanks Experiment is fact. I have done that before by replacing the rectifier network with a great big industrial bridge The results were fantastic.
@@toddblanks Yep it transformed an ordinary B&O 4000 amplifier into something that was totally different. I can understand hardly anything about thermodynamics but yes your probably right.
@@toddblanks I grew up in the silicon revolution. When I was very young my Father came home from work one day and asked me , guess what I have here? And it turned out to be a silicon rectifier. That was before they had reached the market. I don't go out of my way to collect amps I buy them and try them and pass them on. I only keep a few oddities like my old Ferrograph F307 and I have a Quad feed forward which I hope to replace the semis with new stuff from China Rock On.
@@toddblanks oh yeh they sent rockets to the moon on Ge02 but manufacture was a mucky business with having to dip into hot melts. It is a lot nicer to work off a wafer and that was what enabled other degrees of sophistication to be achieved such as biased doping.And where would we be without it?
I had a Kenwood Kr5400 receiver cranking 50 watts per channel. Paid $255 plus tax circa 1974 which was a lot of money for a lad earning $150 weekly. Great receiver, it lasted forever. It actually gave it away to a charitable organization while still operational.
I own 2 Yamaha 7 channel av receivers, a pioneer elite av receiver, as weak as a Realistic State 2100 receiver{1979] and a Marantz 2245 vintage receiver[1973] The sound of the av receivers tend to be rather flat in 2ch stereo mode but do really well in multi channel sound with sub woofers in use. My Realistic State 2100 receiver has a lot of bass without the use of a subwoofer. Now for the marantz 2245, it has over all warm sound to it, not as much bass as the Realistic STA 2100. Sufice to say, it appears that the majority of modern receivers are engineered to bu used with speakers and subwoofers.My Realistic STA receivers was 600.00 u.s. dollars in 1979 new, roughly $2500.00 today!
Subscribed! Vintage 1970 Sansui 4000 here... Best $200 I have ever spent in regards to audio, along with my Zu Dirty Weekends @ $1000. Not looking back. And the FM tuner! No static at all! That receiver in 2023 dollars would cost $3112.06 today, as it retailed for $395. My Zu speakers would have cost $154.52 if purchased in 1970 dollars. The sound out of these two pieces of gear continue to impress me, the Sansui does something that modern gear cannot do, at least the modern gear I have owned. The modern gear is and was lifeless, flat and boring, at least what I owned. Not even enjoyable after comparing to this old Sansui. I put a pair of modern KLH Model 5 speakers on the Sansui, these speakers dip to 3 ohm, they handled them without breaking a sweat. No clipping. And no, I do not play the gear that loud, just a test. In fact, the Sansui and the Zu's sound fantastic at low volume, which is my preferred listening level. And power? The Sansui has plenty, more than I will ever use, even with the KLH Model 5's I once owned. And the dynamics, simply incredible on this old Sansui, along with the incredibly huge soundstage.
I got my parents 1978 Sony Stereo setup and I love it and use it every day. I know it was probably lower middle class back in the day, but I am sadisfied with the sound and the looks of it. Also the record player that came with it is still working great. With a new stylus/cartridge listening to my records is one of my favorite things to do. I even repaired the old stereo speakers and now they are back in my room and sound good.
I was very young in the 70's. I got my first taste of hi fi sound in 1973. Wowww! I had never heard anything like it. It was a Sansui system matched with beautiful Sansui 5 way speakers. This was the beginning of the disco era and the music on FM radio WBLS back then was superb. I have no words for how wonderful this system sounded. The only thing better was the crazy sound system at the disco. Kids today don't have a clue! Albeit I guess it doesn't matter since today's sounds suck big time!
All well said and true enough. Nowadays it seems "bit-perfect" and analytically leaning sterile flat curves are the pursuit on one end, and ultra-portable wireless bass-boosted in-the-bin-in-3-years piece at the other end of the spectrum. Just those two bit you've got front & center there are right after my own heart. For 2 decades (was my father's before mine) I had a lovely Pioneer SX-737 (or 727 I can't recall now) that my dad bought new. For the past 10 years now I've gotten along for 95% of my home listening with my Marantz 2235B. It'll never depart, but it is powering some relatively new Wharfedales that I quite love, likely because they sound between worlds - crispy sparkling highs and deep lows like newer kit, and musical mids and lower treble, very warm all around... like the older bits. It definitely is a maze out there.
Couldn't agree more. The introduction of the integrated circuit changed everything - for the worse. I'm listening to your video on my restored 1976 Marantz 2325 on a pair of JBL Century L100's. I use them in my recording studio for my amp and monitor. Cheers.
Everyone should give this channel a thumbs up and write a comment I here it will help him with the TH-cam algorithm This dam lockdown is a nightmare but after I found this channel I have been much more relaxed he has such an honest delivery and gives you his opinion no Bull. I have been influenced in to getting a vintage Kenwood receiver from the 70s and some Monitor audio speakers from the 80s This is a really nice hobby so Thanks a bunch Keep it up
Alfalfa Not every Vintage is audiophil, a lot of stuff, but nice look and haptic... not more, old loudspeakers most of them midrange. Today a 300€ box more soundfull and high end like the vintage monsters...
Hi! You're right, but I think the old flagships were also in horroristic price as in our days. I had lot of marantz amps/receivers and I could tell the pm-7005 sounds as good or better than some vintage marantz. I had marantz 2245,than sr520, pm80, pm52se, etc. Interesting but the most comfortable for my ears and warm sounded was the "commerce" sr520. It is a basic receiver with IC power amp stage but I loved it. Now the pm-7005 sounds clearer, more powerful highlight on the edge of the freq ranges. Wider stage, not that forced mids and not so much treble. Bass is tight and powerful without tone adjust or use subwoofer. Best regards
$1000. in the 70's is around $5,000. today. In 1974 you could buy a Datsan 240Z sports car for $2,500. Parents bought a house for $54K in 1971. Sold that same house in 2007 for 1.1 million.
I have owned a handful of 70s receivers over the last 10 years, As you mentioned, the build quality was fantastic even if you only had 12 W per channel. They are also very serviceable. Metal chassis, machine screws holding everything together. You could fix them.
Love this. Yes you can have 200 watts a side and higher as long as you have that dynamic headroom he talks about for those intense & delicate moments in the music. Rock & Roll is awesome, but Classical can tax an amplifier to no end. I run all early 80s Nakamichi. PA-7ll, CA5ii preamp, LX 5 deck, and an ST-7 tuner Love the sound and the quality.
Hi, it's so nice to hear that👍 Yes...into the 70th the "HiFi" was build maybe for the next 100 years. I own since years a set of Sony pre and poweramp from 1970 and I'm happy with the sound. It's so massive and well build...no plastic.👍 Have a nice and sunny day! 😎
Soooo true! You really should hear the old Czechoslovak reel to reel recorder, which can be used also as an amp. It is Tesla B73. You would be blown away. It had some 75 watts power consumption but only 2x10 watts into sound, but you would be blown away by the quality, vividness, and liveliness of the sound. I am only 32, and heard quite a lot of modern Denons, NADs, Yamahas, but none of these approximates that old TESLA B73. Exactly what you are saying. So true.
I know where your coming from & agree with you I got my first true hifi in 1976 at the age of 16 and it was all about the latest review in what hifi or other mags and the watts & distortion figures. It was a marantz receiver & wharfedale speakers and dual turntable, happy days.
Really enjoyed this. Getting into vintage stereo repair in my free time as a millennial. Sound is hard to explain as everyone perceives things differently but this did a great job of putting into words what I have struggled to tell people for a long time. Il take my old pioneer and marantz speakers over my newer Yamaha/Klipsch surround theater setup every day. The new system sounds good but it doesn't have heart. That's the best way I can describe it.
My 1st receiver in 1979 was a technic sa202 I still have this sweet. little piece of history currently using a recap rotel rx603 And a recap Kenwood 5700 nothing can touch vintage nothing!!! 👍
I'd also like to add that the mentality or approach to manufacturing and selling consumer electronics was different back then. In addition to what you said in your video, they were honest manufacturers and no doubt they used to build to last. They not only used to compete with other manufacturers due to the high demand of the public for stereo products they also compete within their own organizations and own products. They wanted to take the new products in line to reach the next level and they wanted to be proud of what they made all the time. Today however the consumer electronics market relies on consumers changing their products every 2-3 years so that they can make a profit. In order to do that, they no longer build stuff to last in fact they want consumers to go out and purchase new stuff or change what they have completely so we all should beware that after the warranty runs out your electronics can break down anytime. They compromise with the quality of the materials all the time to make money unless it's a high-end product. The problem with the high-end products is they use ridiculously expensive materials and to be fair they don't sound that good compared to what you pay for them. There is not enough demand from the public today as for most people listening to music means using the stock headphone that comes with their smartphones and playing something off of youtube or Spotify! Today the game is all about marketing and selling you things that you don't really need. Audio Companies also discovered that selling side products like cables is more profitable than selling the actual electronics. No one can persuade me paying 5-10-20K USD per meter for a stupid cable is nothing but the dumbest thing to do! They get you and get you good!
Thank you Kelvin for your videos. It's obvious to me that you know your subject matter and I'm navigating lots of information in order to choose a quality vintage receiver. I am sixty three and can fully relate to what you say about the costs of these things back in the day. I simply could never afford to purchase decent equipment. One thing I will say after going down this rabbit hole is that it is all so very subjective for most non audiophile folks. What got me to this point is my recent purchase of a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 225 bookshelf speakers. I thought they would sound so much better but now realizing that it's my amp and not the speakers. Cheers!
I have a lower version of your Marantz receiver. Got it in about 9th grade. Still in my living room with the matching Bolivar speakers. 8 watts per channel and it will rattle my windows. I am 58 years old. This was fun.
I have one of those Marantz and lots of other gear vintage and modern. The main difference that makes the old gear more enjoyable for me to listen to is the loudness curve. It seemed to accentuate the low end at lower volume making it seem fuller sounding. For me this makes the music pleasing. As for dynamics ....horns are the key.
A lot of people recycle these because they're old and assume no one would want them. Husband dies and the wife and kids want to clean out all the old 'junk'. Breaks my heart to learn what has happened to the sound systems my friend's dads used to have. All discarded and they tossed the records too!
I have also some Vintage Hifi equipment. The throughs in the past 70s, early 80s also a lot stuff was sold, only some special equipment sounds good. Also the loudspeakers. Sound is okay also today, most of it you can repair cheap. Feel factor is very good, solid knobs and aluminium front plates. High End like Revox, NAD costs in the past a lot, esoacially in Germany or Austria, not in the USA. Today Hifi between 500€ and 1000€ you get good sounding Hifi! More better than old Pioneer, Sansui etc. Today to expansive, only for people that like this old Vintage style... Old Vintage, nice look, mostly cheap repairs, but repairings of Revox also realy expensive !
Quality sound is what its about. And pride of ownership. Just picked up a Japan only release, class A, d/c, Pioneer integrated with unbelievable specs for 1979. 60wpc...30 watts in real/pure class A!! Considered by many to be the best of the best. Apparently much more musical and accurate and dynamic than the big boy collectibles..... Yep, it was a solid $80!!! (last week) (Around $1000 in Japan in '79).
Vintage is hard to beat in alot of cases especially amps, rotel 1412, luxman l85v, sansui au-7900, pioneer sx-880 etc just to name a few, very tough to beat for the money, but modern speakers well there are alot of good ones out now at decent prices, the audio game is a strange hobby sometimes and what ive noticed for me is that "neutral" really isnt for me so much and really just adds up to boring in most cases for me anyway, ive had some speakers that just are too clean and tight, and amps that are too clean also and doesnt sound full bodied which is what ive noticed also with alot of newer amps, but to each his own, its a neverending journey of a hobby and everything is just different sometimes i guess, not necessarily better i would say.
Yes sir, I have vintage equipment and I stand on it that it definitely sounds better. Soundcraftmen power amp, vintage speakers, polks sda 1, Polk monitor 10, time window speakers, oringinal Bose 601’s. But I did get some updated equipment from Nad power amp, with all its components, newer Polk speakers sounds okay but it DOSENT have the depth like the soundcraftmen amp and the older Polk’s
I have that same Pioneer [the one on the top] Bought it new back in 76 .Its still working as good as ever .i have listened to friends modern stereo systems with all their bells and whistles they all sound ok but my old Pioneer wipes the floor with them all
in late 80´s things start to improve a bit but from 79 to 80 ,some components were in brushed aluminium ,next year they look the same but mostly made of plastic ,i had a philips system that had a high quality sound next year the look was the same but instead of aluminium ,just grey plastic with some bit´s in aluminium ,pioneer did the same but in sound quality they keept some with other brands it seems the dark ages of hi-fi,this with mainstream brands others kept the quality but the price was high and they had to close doors or bought by other companies
@@toddblanks yes it´s true but some were just used to never clean the records and still using those needles that you could rotate to the other side and other spike there ,some said 33 on one side and 45 on the other, but those records only played once with those nedles when played in a diamond stylus the sound was already damaged ,so with cd´s they notice a super improvement in sound quality , i had some cd´s in the 80´s but prices were high, i could buy two vinil records with the money of one cd ,but early cd´s were made of a better and more expensive material ,only in the 90´s they start to release cd´s made of a cheaper material and prices came down but only started to buy cds instead of records in 93 ,most of the stores closed and opened only selling cd´s , this after a fair was held where you could buy any record even from independent labels at 50 cents each, this new records , i had to go there twice and fill the back of a mercedes (a big one from the 70´s) with new records, even some that i had but with some defects or to use as a dj ,i don´t remenber how many but i had to buy a new big piece of furniture with shelf´s to fit all the new records, at the time i remenber buying all catalog from 4AD and beggars banquet, regards
@@toddblanks I know a lot of what you say is true but I would dispute what you say about amstrad entering people's homes because you probably never had to hear rigonda which was also in the homes of the less well off. You have to wind this one back to the beginning. It was either a Sinclair PZ 60 or the externally compensated OA Texan but you had to build both your self. I think the key is minimalism and high current. Long live Kelvin.
@@toddblanks I am terribly sorry you missed the golden age of import hi fi. I was around in the 70 s and got Tandberg 310 three motor cassette deck. My dad had a top of the range FM receiver which I still have to this day.
You said it all at 6:26. Such a shame stores like Best buy do not appreciate good quality audio anymore. Some people just want to sit back in their recliner and listen to their favorite tunes
I have both beautiful vintage equipment and modern new equipment, and they don’t really sound “better” to me just “different”….but in a good way. You know you crossed over the “audiophile bridge” when you realize that your equipment will put out exactly what the software puts in. So, ultimately it is the software….that you focus on.
I just picked up a Technics SA-5070 receiver this week off a guy locally. When I auditioned this unit at his place, he connected it to a large pair of floor standing speakers (Technics not sure what model) I was very impressed with the warm sound as well as the ease at which it could drive them. The receiver is in surperb condition and just needs some cleaning of the pots. Note this receiver is rated for 15 watts per channel. Amps in this vintage of receiver are just made well.
Being a baby boomer myself I remember well those hifi days during the 70s and now watching your videos I am looking at setting up a vintage system myself based around my Goldring GL75 turntable which I have had from new (purchased from Greens in Upton Park 1970), imagine that, a hifi shop next to Upton Park station!! Anyway I am my interest in this is the many low power amps that were around then so I would like some direction on the speakers (vintage not modern) to purchase next that would be best suited to these amps. Great videos and very inspirational.
Vintage separates do sound amazing yet I’d try using some new speakers. It seams to me that old speakers don’t hold up as well as the components. Ok, some belt driven tape decks are prone to failure. But it does make sense to keep up maintaining and servicing them if you already have ‘em🤷🏻♂️
This was an eyes opening video for me. Your explainations how the preferences for some technical spects destroyed the better 70s sound according to advertising needs, I heard of for the first time.---- Now I understand why the standard hifi gear of my parents from 1970, with bowl formed speakers, sized maximally like a soccer ball, sounded that good . Thank you very much.🙏👍🤗
Of course there are differences in audio equipment qualities, but everythings stands or falls with how(the quality of) the song is mixed in the studio or during a concert.. I think.
everyone had a stereo at home. i remember in the 70s and 80s every middle class home i went to has a stereo system. today i have been to upper class homes and most have cheap mini systems. boggles my mind. I opt for vintage because they built it to last. there was no built in obsolescence. even the japanese were copying and improving american and european audio products. they pulled on the stops on most equipment. No wonder this equipment even after 30 years and brought up to specs with a qualified technician, still sound good.
@@hoggravyandchitlins 70s and 80s, for me. Man. I had a ball. Went watching my first two bands in late 77. Thin Lizzy, Bad Reputation, and Motorheads first tour. WOW. I thought I was a fucking bloke. I was just turned 14. Ha ha ha. But. Yeah. Everyone had a stereo of some sort. Quite a few had pretty decent stuff. Virtually everyone I knew, certainly all my mates, we were all mad into music. Even though we were spoiled to all fuck. We had so much choice of incredible music, with more incredible new stuff all the time. I remember about half a doz of us, sat waiting at Collie's for Hursty to come back from Bolton, with the brand new, just released Boston album. Heady days. LOL.
@@socksumi AND (as the AMPM guy says) there was so much good stuff to choose from! That was an era when consumerism worked for the consumer, the stereo manufacturers knew their customers were a demanding bunch, if they don't give you what you want and need, the next manufacturer surely would.
Hey Calvin, I remember that it was right around 1980 that things in hifi changed drastically here in N america. I would walk into hifi shops and it was like a lot of the equipment had shrunk and turned into black plastic crap-there were still some exceptions , but as a young guy who was still struggling to afford my first system my options in the world of new gear had changed. To say that it was depressing was an understatement. I heard that a lot of the best engineers in Japan had taken early retirements. I don't know if that's really true but things sure felt and sounded different.Until this point, some of the best japanese gear was built to last, and the market was a little over saturated as people here didn't need to upgrade what they already had. A while back I heard a usa manufacturer refer to Sansui as Crapsui. I was a little surprised that he would say this, and frankly I would be shocked if any of his class d amps are working in 20 years let alone 40-50 years like my Sansui 661.
After the landing on the moon things changed culturally. Photo realism in the arts. Manufacturing with an eye and desire to target for perfection . My point is, these manufacturers of high fidelity components were attempting to live up to that integrity and innovation being displayed in their era. They did well.
You hit it dead on. I have a 1971 Harmon Kardon 330A. Bought during my college frat house days stereo wars. Still using totothis day. Only in the shop once to have lights replaced. A neighbor laughed and joked with me about having old-school equipment, including my two way floor standing Advent speakers and Dual turntable. He was blown away we I demonstrated the sound including the newer CD/DVD through it. What also shocked him was the "instant" sound from when off! But you are so dead on about vintage receivers!
Nice one I just switched back to a vintage lamp from a naim power amp Accu phase preamp It’s not technically as exactly correct but it does deliver a gorgeous sound That’s sansui au 101 btw
I worked my ars off when I was 15 and bought an Akai receiver (AA-1115), and a technics SL-D2 turntable. They still work and sound pretty good. However, I upgraded to a Technics SA-700 receiver and some refurbished JBL 4312G speakers; that sounds good
I’ve delved into the “silver-front” vintage scene. It’s not bad but that was the last step that convinced me to build my own Dynaco ST-70 clone. That was a few years ago and someone would have to try really hard to convince me something better is out there for the money.
Good observations! I'm very impressed with both the build and sound quality of my old Sony STR-6800. But then again, in today's money it would have cost about £5000 originally! However I'm still convinced nothing today is really still built to the same standard of quality as these old pieces of kit. Even for equivalent cost.
Not true Take a look at Naim. Cyrus. PS audio Top end Marantz to name but a few. Some of those older receivers had very poor quality transistors that get noisy over time plus the inevitable leaky capacitors and noisy carbon pots, they are not all they are cracked up to be I have serviced quite a few. once the Transistors are replaced with modern quiet equivalents and re-capped they can sound very good, but not as good as equivalent high end equipment of today.
Great review of what works and what doesn’t. I still have my Marantz 2252b and a host of Quad amps, tuners etc. Also now have modern Naim equipment too all sound great. As for modern Speakers the good ones knock the old stuff into the weeds.
2252b is an awesome piece of gear complete with enough tonal adjustments to bring out the best in any speakers, new and old! Add a passive 4in-1out source selector and add the common source material, Bluetooth included! Like heaven.
Definitely, vintage is much, MUCH better. Take my wonderful 1959 vacuum tube, 19 inch black and white TV set. The image is warm and fuzzy. On this screen all women look beautiful! Compare with the new 4K flat screens, that show humans so realistic, even the most beautiful woman shows wrinkles and skin imperfections. So, let us forget about new high definition TV technology and stick with the warm images of vintage TV sets. Same with sound.
And we can also put some free range eggs near those 70’s BandW TV within 3 weeks we can have chicks as pets. Wow hopefully those cathode ray tubes TVs will come back someday as the new “in” thing. We never know...
After being stored in a closet for over 20 years, I decided to unbox my old system from 1978. The system is a low/mid price set-up, but it was all I could afford back then. I have a JVC JA-S22 amp, JVC JT-V22 tuner, and a JVC KD-55 cassette deck along with a Technics SL-230 turntable, and play these through Ohm C2 speakers. The speakers need to be re-foamed, but I thought I would at least try the components to see if they still functioned. The cassette still works fine, but the knobs are a little stiff. Unfortunately, the amp only played for about an hour before a loud "pop" and then no sound. It still gets power, but probably needs recapping throughout. I replaced the disintegrated belt on the Technics turntable, and it also worked fine for about 2 albums and then stopped turning. It still has power and the auto tonearm works if I turn the platter by hand, but no motor power. I'll try some oil first, and go from there. On a separate note, I picked up a Akai GX-260D reel-to-reel off Facebook a year ago and it works fine, and I can play it through another modern Onkyo receiver. Not a top-end tape deck, but it is totally sufficient for what I need. Anyway, it looks like I have some repairs to do to the old components, and hopefully can get this system back and working.
I really enjoyed this video. I like the way you talk about things in a down to earth sort of way. I can remember in 1981 when I was a senior in high school I set my sights on a high end stereo system. I started saving for a Realistic STA-2300 receiver which was $699. A short time later it came on sale for $399 and I scooped it up. That and 4 Mach one speakers, and several others items to complete my system. That was 40 years ago and you know what? I still have the whole setup and it still works well. It's a testament to the build quality of vintage stereo equipment. I just can't seem to warm up to surround sound with a subwoofer, I prefer stereo because it's what I am used to.
Hey stereo x how about an update on where you are and what your up to, plans for the channel etc. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would love to know. Cheers
I own a Pioneer SX-5990 I use in a home office system driving TeKton Lore speakers spectacularly well , I tried a Accuphase 280 integrate with the high efficiency Lore speakers however when I tried the Pioneer SX 5990 it lit them up ,.I sold the Accuphase .
Very truthfull experience ,I share about the same impression , another interesting witness of this vintage story is the Grundig Story of Massimo in Italy , thanks dear , happy to watch this
The thing is Hifi was for over a decade a very competitive mainstrean buyers market,which resulted in an on average rising quality during the seventies and early eighties. And no,most of the gear was pretty affordable and some had even a stellar price/quality ratio. Especially in the middle class bracket of the market. Additional the buying power of the dollar,pound or mark was way higher than today.
Hi, just saw your review on older hifi equipment. Bought mine in 1978, Monitor Audi speakers from one store, Dual 704 turntable from another store and a Luxman R 1030 amplifier from another one, in those days they even let you take them home to see how the sound was in the room you put them. Can't see anyone doing that now. Wonderful system, however, as systems were getting smaller I followed the trend and my larger speakers etc were wrapped up and put in the garage. The smaller Sony all in one never matched the performance and the deck was removed and binned after a few years. After spending 25 years in the garage with the revival of Vinyl or should I say records I brought my old system back into my lounge. It needed cleaning, sanding, revarnishing and new speaker covers. Worst of all I had removed the Shure V15 111 cartridge and stylus for safety and forgot where I put it. It took me three months to find a shop that knew what I needed. The deck is now fitted with a Nagioka M10 which is brilliant, cannot find fault with these vintage components and both old and new records sound marvellous. Always nice to hear what you're doing
Usually the power rating was measured a ONLY 1Khz and not fully at 20hz to 20Khz. There were so many ways to cheat as it comes to specs. In my second system I now have a measly 30 watt US made Philips 7831 receiver that reminds me of my old Sherwood. Very, rich, organic, round and whole sounding. But the Sherwood definitely had more real world power.
My solution to buying a modern system was to buy a professional JBL PA system with a 1200 W sub suitable for a small club. I rarely turn it up more than a quarter of its full power, but that bass is ALWAYS there. (:
I think a lot of the blowback regarding the high watt receivers/amps from the '70s comes from A) not having speakers that can handle the higher volume without distorting, or B) not having enough space to give the sound the necessary room to expand. I have owned a Pioneer SX-1050 (120 watts/ch.) receiver for just over 40 years. Unfortunately, the speakers I could pair with it was limited by the size of my residence. About 15 years into my SX-1050 ownership, I rented a 30 x 50 workshop with 16' ceilings in an old industrial building. That seemed like a good time to get a well-kept pair of used Klipschorns. That receiver pushed music through those speakers at a level of clarity that seemed to actually improve with volume. Often, I started out at a level that would have permitted a conversation but at various points I just wanted to HEAR IT BETTER. Each time I would turn it up incrementally so I could hear a little more separation, hear the nuanced bits just a little louder. At a point, it would drown out the sound of my table saw but still didn't seem loud to me. I completely understand what you mean by dynamic headroom and I'm telling you that no matter how loud it was, there was plenty of dynamic headroom. In the late '90s, I went for a hearing test to satisfy my girlfriend who insisted I must be hard of hearing. After it was done, the nurse who was looking at my results with some concern, told me to wait. The audiologist came back to see me and told me that I had perfect hearing (very rare), meaning I hear all frequencies equally well. I asked him the same question my girlfriend asked me; Why do I listen to music so loud? He replied: "Because it sounds so good to you." There's a reason that the sound is so loud at live shows...with all the other variables in place, louder is better.
Good story. More than one symphony conductor has gone into their eighties, perfectly able to do their job at a high level, yet sustaining more than 100 decibels of sound pressure at times. Audiologists say 80db for more than a few minutes leads to deafness. Off hand, what would you say your ears weigh?
I bought a Pioneer SX 1050, with a Pioneer PL 570 turntable and a pair of Accusound speakers in 1977 for $2000. I blew the speakers up twice while they were under warranty and the guy in the store said he wouldn't replace them again. He suggested I go to radio shack and get a watt meter, which I did. When the new pioneers came out a year or two later, they had watt meters built in. I still have the set up now, although the speakers only have one tweeter and one midrange each now (I installed the midrange and tweeters in the back of my 73 mustang in the 90's but put them back in the enclosures after the car rusted out from under me)
My Father passed away a few weeks ago and he had a Pioneer SX-650. I now use it all the time and love it!
I use mine everyday and it works great !
Hang on to it!
I'm 67 and still using my 18 watt Sony receiver here with a pair of Infinity speakers! The only thing I have had to replace is the dial cord due to old age. The turntable is a Yamaha P-450 belt drive and I have over 170 albums. This guy is spot on!
I'm actually looking at that same turntable for my first one! I've had a hifi set up for digital for years but am inheriting a record collection of about 100. So excited. That tables looks got my attention. How have you liked it? What cartridge are you using?
Picked up a filthy Sansui 331 at my local recycling shop. Piece of plastic fascia broken off one side, it had likely been dropped or knocked at some stage. It powered up, so I threw down $50 (AUD) and took it home. Disassembled, cleaned everything and removed all the dust and crap from years of sitting in a shed. I measured and reproduced the plastic fascia end pieces with a laser cutter I have access to, glued them on and then I rebuilt and polished the whole thing up.
I then paired this with a set of B&W DM110's I also picked up at that same store for again, $50.
People throw away amazing stereo gear. You just have to know where to look to pick it up for peanuts.
The 2nd hand places are beginning to learn how to look up prices on the internet though. It's more rare to get extreme bargains these days, though still possible. But if it needs fixing, then many people basically give things away. Except one place that prices almost maximum 2nd hand price BUT it also needs fixing or is trashed lol
Great job mate! Estate sales are a great place to get gear too.
I picked up a Leak stereo 30+ for a mere £10 in perfect working order! Result!
I remember in 1979 busting my rear end as a teenager to make money to buy a receiver. I paid 699 US dollars for my receiver. That was a lot of money back then. I still have it and it still works. The only thing I had repaired was the power switch. The unit was gone over and everything was fine. I tried to find a modern receiver but they could not match the sound quality of my vintage unit. Like they say, they just don't make them like that anymore.
Minimum wage was not even $2 per hour then
What model receiver is it?
I am certain that if you did some research you would find a few new options that would match or surpass your fine old receiver for sound quality and value for money.
I totally agree they dont make them like they used to.ive bought quite a few new recievers,plug it all in and hated it.sold it.
Id say the new recievers for stereo sound,the 5.1,7.1 surround are total trash!!500 watts,800 watts??? Hahaha yeah right.id say less than 50rms watts per channel
The build quality and "eye candy" effect was much better back then. Once the "home theater" craze took hold, then the overall quality went down (along with price) since "audio" was now competing with flat-screen TV's and home computers. Also many (if not all) of the Japanese firms merged into a consortium and SONY even got out of the high-end audio business entirely. Today the 100% digital displays and cheap buttons all look like sh_t. (IMHO).
I wouldn't argue
Well, ok, but have you seen the original mission Cyrus amplifiers. There is nothing aesthetically pleasing about them. Just 3 knobs on the front panel. One for volume and the other two for input selection and recording.That’s it. They basically look like a shoe box with knobs on one side. They have classic AB type circuitry, and are capable of high current delivery (up to 40 amperes depending on the musical complexity) and can drive difficult speakers loads down to 4 ohms. No bells no whistles just good performance.
I will never get those home theater bundles or soundbars. Sure they'll do the trick but I know cheap build when I see one
@@jackedkerouac4414 I'm sure it has something to do with the target audience and affordability. Something about markets being trash and people these days don't earn as much money as they could have back then. Also, most people don't care too much about audio systems when a really good pair of headphones do just as well. Oh and interests such as video games and movies taking focus away from pretentious audiophiles world. Yes Audiophiles ruined their own thing
Nothing like the glow of and old reciever in a dark room with some great music on. One of my favorite places to be.
In my opinion, the 1970's Vintage audio was 100 times better then the equipment they make now. I have a 70's Pioneer receiver and it works beautiful and the quality is top notch. I still have have my Technics separate components that I bought in the 80's and it still works perfectly to this day and I used it everyday for at least 2 hours. The vintage stuff was much better quality. Now if something you buy lasts five years, your lucky
My 60ties record player and 70ties r2r work fine so the quality is beyond doubt.
Generally true, though the high end stuff today will outclass the best stuff from the 70's. 50+ years is a lot of time in the electronics world and advances have been made.
I remember the 1970's living in the Valley and driving past Marantz Factory (in big bold GOLD letters M A R A N T Z in front of the building) in Chatsworth Ca. And HK right down the street in Northridge. The Valley (San Fernando) was crazy during the stereo Wars (especially late 1970's), A stereo store on every corner.
Robert, what street was the Marantz factory on - Desoto or Topanga Canyon? I seem to remember HK being on Nordhoff. Am I right?
i grow up out there and worked holden pest control and i went there to service that place it was huge and no i can't remember the street but i think it was on parthenia or nordhoff..the valley was GREAT in the 70s
My brother got his first job at Marantz in the valley. Worked in the wood shop making speakers. $100 dollars a week. I thought he was rich!
That’s awesome to grow up there at that time.
Don’t forget Rogers Sound Lab…. DeSoto north of Roscoe, and somewhere in Van Nuys or North Hollywood before that. Just had my 3800’s overhauled.
My TT is 44 years old and I'm so pleased. Pioneer PL-300, with five headshells for five different carts. I'm only into vintage stuff, including cassette decks (one of them, a SONY, from 1977).
You make some excellent points in this video. In 1977 I purchased a Marantz 4270 for $699 USD. In today’s money that’s almost $3,000. Given that I still use this receiver as the heart of my main stereo system, it was money well spent. At one time I thought I needed to update my system and I purchased a circa mid-1990’s Marantz 5.1 AV receiver that supposedly had 350 watts. My 4270 with 25-70 rms watts blew the knobs off the new unit which was promptly returned. The vintage receivers were built to last and with some periodic servicing, they will do just that, and sound great doing it.
I agree with all that you say. I own a Pioneer SX-950 receiver and a Pioneer PL-71 direct drive turntable. I'm 66, live in the States. We grew up in a amazing time. Today younger people don't know or care about the precision that went into vintage audio gear. I also have a collection of direct to disc albums. Great video by the way. I look forward to more of your videos.
It’s 2021, I bought a new 1974 Marantz 2270 ($450/$650 USD). It moved to many USA locations, & was in storage for a good while. It needed a reconditioning ($220.) @ a local HiFi repair shop 3 years ago. @ that time this Marantz 2270, 70 W rms @ 8 ohms posted 95/97 W. Fitted a Bluetooth adapter & can now stream modern components, phono, & other components that can attach with RCA jacks. The headphone jack makes many to almost all sound great.
Completely true, I built my "vintage vinyl corner" around a Pioneer SX550, beautiful to look at, sounds great and don't let those only "20 watts per channel" fool you, it's plenty powerful and I rarely have the volume passed 4-5. The best $150.00 I ever spent on gear. Thanks for you great and down to earth videos!
Dude you could of did better. The Cyrus one amp by mission electronics from 1984 is true performer. Ugly to look at but very capable. How capable you ask? Well at only 25 wpc it can drive difficult speaker loads down to 4 ohms (basically 25 wpc into 8 ohms and 40 wpc into 4 ohms) and it’s high current design can deliver up to 40 amperes on musical peaks. It’s ugly, but will out perform your SX550.
@@jogmas12 Never heard of it but looked it up and you're right, it's ugly as sin. My Sx 550 is still playing well with no issues and still a pleasure to look at. Not bad for something over 45 years old and costing me $150.00 including shipping and just serviced prior of getting it. I'll stick with it for the time being.
What happened to our host? He hasn't posted a video in a long time, I truly hope he's alright.
I had the SX 750 ( 60 WPC ) . Technics 1950 tt
Spot on , you sound just like me . These are the components i dreamed of back in the day. It’s like finding gold to our generation now .
I can't tell you how much I miss VU meters!
And buttons and toggle switches and bass and treble adjustments.
Oh yes. I love having physical things on the devices. Be it audio, video, modular synths or whatever. There is this certain satisfaction when you can actually feel the interaction, when you can see actual things moving when you change stuff.
@@toddblanks Are you meaning because the Yamaha dsp gives you a digital vu read out anyway lol by any chance?
What are you waiting for? eBay is for your convenience. Lots of good old stuff.
I had a getto blaster with VU meters and servo motors under the switches. I still remember pressing the metal button in - click click shoong - dancing dials, flashing lights and DEAFENING NOISE!.
Bought my pioneer sx 780 in 78 the following year I bought the pioneer PL 518 turntable and technics SB-L200 speakers what a great system miss it a lot I'm now 67.
About '76 I bought a Hitachi SR-700 receiver (40W RMS) & a pair of ported Cerwin Vega HED (10" woofer) speakers. About 2000 I figured it was time to upgrade & bought a very high end Pioneer Elite Home Theatre system with all the bells, whistles, "concert hall" effects & more speakers than the houses of parliament. Pioneer system is long gone & not much missed... I still have my beloved Hitachi SR-700 & the sound is still amazing!
Those 70's Marantz receivers sound as good as they look. Too bad so many people's main sound source are their smart phones now.
lot´s of power on those stereo receivers
Why is it a shame? You can’t carry your Marantz receiver around in your pocket can you...
@@JUNO-69 yes I can, along with my rotary dial phone.
Classic 60s champagne look.
Or spotify, even a worse sound source
Yes, the 1970's was the sweet-spot of the audio era. Companies did more R&D to make the BEST product at ANY cost and competed against each other at all costs. When you look at the cost back then factored in today's dollars, they were expensive in its day, but today are still classics and still sound great. Aluminum engraved faceplates, knobs that are milled with 3 different finishes. I think as the mid and late 80's came, snake oil techniques were being pushed in the audio industry, as cheaper & compact systems came along and became the flavor of the month, and those still longing for a traditional stereo system, well there really was not any new technology, as the sound reproduction of 20hz-20khz electronics was already perfected, those folks had limited choices and then the esoteric market came in. To think that McIntosh tube equipment was available in the mid 60's at Allied Electronics for a few hundred dollars back then (still a lot of money, but doable if you really wanted it), and today that same unit is one of the most highly regarded amplifiers for beautiful sound and design. Personally, I remember "upgrading" in the late 80's to an Adcom Amp/Preamp from a '70's Yamaha CA-810, CT-810 Integrated Amp & Tuner. To look at that upgrade today, was it really an improvement???
It was all analog which sounded way better than digital that I had to get used to, like the class D AMPs.
Now you can get an amplifier for $250 (USD) that would blow away these vintage amps in sound quality (ie: S.MS.L DA-9)
@@mag4633 Open that thing up and you'll see why it weighs 2-lbs and why 1.8 of those lbs is the case and connectors... I can almost guarantee that it won't survive to become a "vintage" amp itself... I hope the warranty is at least three years.
70s the sweet spot for solid state, the 60s for tubes.
@@nodaysback8390 You know the processing power needed to go to the moon is porbably about 0,0000000001% of the processing power a 0.1 gram chip has now a days? Sure build quality is nice but that ic is going to do a better job at producing clean audio than the transistors in the old receiver ever will. Also there is no reason to assume it would break. If you don't use a lot of parts there is not as much that can go wrong and I'd much rather trust the caps on the new amp than the ones on the older ones, even if they where somehow frozen in time for 50 years and didnt wear down at all.
I picked up a late 70's realistic receiver for a song from the original owner, it was rated at 25w. A pair of klipsch KG 3.5 in excellent condition (including the original box) from craigslist for $99. And I have a 10 yr old no name dvd player collecting dust. I was blown away when I played a chris botti cd while testing it.
I have vintage and modern audio equipment set up in my home. Two of my systems are powered by Parasound New Classic amps. One of those has a Pioneer SX939 receiver connected to it which I am currently using as just the preamp for the Parasound amp. There is nothing wrong with the Pioneer but my full sized Polk Audio speakers like power to deliver their best sound and the 70 watts per channel of the Pioneer just didn't and couldn't offer the same clarity, detail, base and yes headroom of the 200 plus watts per channel of the well engineered and modern Parasound! That Parasound amp was surprisingly affordable too for its performance! Some higher end vintage units were over engineered and they were great products for their day. Often their performance hit above their weight; however I would not discount the improvements in audio quality from some of the entry level audiophile brands of today such as Parasound! Speaker technology also has improved (to my ears anyway) and it is much better than SOME of what was considered high end at the time. Look I get it! There certainly is something about the styling of vintage equipment and my Pioneer SX939 makes for one hell of a great preamp! I do think, however, that there is something to be said about the understated beauty and clean lines of some modern units too. Another thing to consider is that contrary to what some may believe, vintage units like anything else have a shelf life. That is especially true of speakers! They don't last forever. They can be recapped/repaired and that's fine if you don't need or want to significantly upgrade; however there is a bigger and surprisingly affordable world out there when you are ready!
Just purchased the Pioneer SX-450 and its currently getting a service and some new speaker connectors added to it rather than the bare wire that it currently has. Even after a quick setup, I was amazed at the sound that is pumped out. Marvellous.
That was the first stereo I ever bought and that was back in 1978 at circuit city in North Charleston SC . Sold it in California to a dorm rat for cheap , 70 bucks and I went and bought Yamaha and Carver t preamp and amps + dsp.
My 1st taste of vintage hifi, was a Harman kardon 330b receiver with a pair of EPI M100 speakers. There are many vintage audio pieces that can be had for little money, that sound amazing!!
The problem is that people in general are not interested in how it sounds anymore, but more into if it produces a lot of “noise”. So the market shifted into making noisy stuff. You still have some brands making quality sounding products these days, but it will cost you a lot of money. I also refurbished a 70’s pre and end amplifier because it just sounds so much more detailed and warm. Not many people really take the time to really listen to a record these days... only audio enthousiasts still do :-)
Yes interesting points you make are people interested in the finer points of it all
and there are still lots of audio enthusiasts and like somme call themself Audiophiles
just by taking a listen to what most people listen to you can see the love for real good music has vanished
These days most noobs idea of good sound is... it goes loud and has lots of bass.
The music that the people are listening today is that kind of music wich requires only bass and treble and a lot of noise
I agree 100% ... I have a new Marantz 50 watt receiver with individual, discrete amplifiers for each speaker, and it sounds much more dynamic than my previous 90 watt per channel integrated Yamaha. I totally agree with your views on older equipment.
Talking about what Marantz stole from Harman Kardon?
Vintages creates an aura in the room, changes the air pressure, generates electricity currents and magnetic fields, makes the hair on your neck stand up with anticipation!
minimum
Kevin, from the late 80's and up to about 2010, we went through a period where the word "Bass" was almost a dirty word!
Many audiophiles wanted "purity in the midrange"and so it was suggested that, bass notes "mudded' that so they had to be controlled / removed / tamed!..
Manufacturers responded by eliminating tone controls, loudness booster circuits etc. Some "audiophile" systems came to sound - almost - like telephone lines!..
The liberal use in amplifier circuits of IC chips (instead of surface mounted components), had a very negative effect as each "chip" had a certain sound signature.
In fact some manufacturers suggested an 'upgrade' of their product with a different / better IC chip!..
The Receivers you have on display are _real_ HIFI designs with everything in them 'top - notch', even the metal knobs as you correctly suggested.
Having said this, there is now good sounding components but, one has to pay in excess of 4k or 5k !
Also, modern speakers became much more demanding ( less efficient in dB terms) so, more power was required to drive them.. but, that's a subject for another video I guess.
Thanks for the video and the memories that came along with all this lovely equipment.
We had a Pioneer SX-650 w matching speakers (idk the model), mom gave it to a cousin’s kid. Fuse was replaced and still working in 2024.
I've got a nice harman kardon 330c receiver paired up with a set of b&o cx100's and the sound is just so warm and crispy, thank you for recommending these speakers in one of your vids!
This was my first receiver and had it for years. I just gave it to my 14 year old niece this past summer who’s getting good use out of it. I’m so glad I kept it.
I believe that finding one of the best vintage amps and recapping it will give you better performance than the new units that cost x3 the price...
Recapping the PSU , yep.
@@toddblanks Experiment is fact. I have done that before by replacing the rectifier network with a great big industrial bridge The results were fantastic.
@@toddblanks Yep it transformed an ordinary B&O 4000 amplifier into something that was totally different. I can understand hardly anything about thermodynamics but yes your probably right.
@@toddblanks I grew up in the silicon revolution. When I was very young my Father came home from work one day and asked me , guess what I have here? And it turned out to be a silicon rectifier. That was before they had reached the market. I don't go out of my way to collect amps I buy them and try them and pass them on. I only keep a few oddities like my old Ferrograph F307 and I have a Quad feed forward which I hope to replace the semis with new stuff from China Rock On.
@@toddblanks oh yeh they sent rockets to the moon on Ge02 but manufacture was a mucky business with having to dip into hot melts. It is a lot nicer to work off a wafer and that was what enabled other degrees of sophistication to be achieved such as biased doping.And where would we be without it?
I had a Kenwood Kr5400 receiver cranking 50 watts per channel. Paid $255 plus tax circa 1974 which was a lot of money for a lad earning $150 weekly. Great receiver, it lasted forever. It actually gave it away to a charitable organization while still operational.
I own 2 Yamaha 7 channel av receivers, a pioneer elite av receiver, as weak as a Realistic State 2100 receiver{1979] and a Marantz 2245 vintage receiver[1973] The sound of the av receivers tend to be rather flat in 2ch stereo mode but do really well in multi channel sound with sub woofers in use. My Realistic State 2100 receiver has a lot of bass without the use of a subwoofer. Now for the marantz 2245, it has over all warm sound to it, not as much bass as the Realistic STA 2100. Sufice to say, it appears that the majority of modern receivers are engineered to bu used with speakers and subwoofers.My Realistic STA receivers was 600.00 u.s. dollars in 1979 new, roughly $2500.00 today!
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Vintage 1970 Sansui 4000 here... Best $200 I have ever spent in regards to audio, along with my Zu Dirty Weekends @ $1000. Not looking back. And the FM tuner! No static at all!
That receiver in 2023 dollars would cost $3112.06 today, as it retailed for $395. My Zu speakers would have cost $154.52 if purchased in 1970 dollars. The sound out of these two pieces of gear continue to impress me, the Sansui does something that modern gear cannot do, at least the modern gear I have owned. The modern gear is and was lifeless, flat and boring, at least what I owned. Not even enjoyable after comparing to this old Sansui.
I put a pair of modern KLH Model 5 speakers on the Sansui, these speakers dip to 3 ohm, they handled them without breaking a sweat. No clipping. And no, I do not play the gear that loud, just a test. In fact, the Sansui and the Zu's sound fantastic at low volume, which is my preferred listening level.
And power? The Sansui has plenty, more than I will ever use, even with the KLH Model 5's I once owned. And the dynamics, simply incredible on this old Sansui, along with the incredibly huge soundstage.
What i find neatest about vintage stereo is the work in them and tell they where made to last as quality show on both my vintage Marantz and MCS
I got my parents 1978 Sony Stereo setup and I love it and use it every day. I know it was probably lower middle class back in the day, but I am sadisfied with the sound and the looks of it.
Also the record player that came with it is still working great. With a new stylus/cartridge listening to my records is one of my favorite things to do.
I even repaired the old stereo speakers and now they are back in my room and sound good.
I was very young in the 70's. I got my first taste of hi fi sound in 1973. Wowww! I had never heard anything like it. It was a Sansui system matched with beautiful Sansui 5 way speakers. This was the beginning of the disco era and the music on FM radio WBLS back then was superb. I have no words for how wonderful this system sounded. The only thing better was the crazy sound system at the disco. Kids today don't have a clue! Albeit I guess it doesn't matter since today's sounds suck big time!
I picked up a Fisher 400 stereo receiver and it's incredible.. those vintage tubes are fantastic
Yes tubes are something else
All well said and true enough. Nowadays it seems "bit-perfect" and analytically leaning sterile flat curves are the pursuit on one end, and ultra-portable wireless bass-boosted in-the-bin-in-3-years piece at the other end of the spectrum.
Just those two bit you've got front & center there are right after my own heart. For 2 decades (was my father's before mine) I had a lovely Pioneer SX-737 (or 727 I can't recall now) that my dad bought new. For the past 10 years now I've gotten along for 95% of my home listening with my Marantz 2235B. It'll never depart, but it is powering some relatively new Wharfedales that I quite love, likely because they sound between worlds - crispy sparkling highs and deep lows like newer kit, and musical mids and lower treble, very warm all around... like the older bits. It definitely is a maze out there.
Couldn't agree more. The introduction of the integrated circuit changed everything - for the worse. I'm listening to your video on my restored 1976 Marantz 2325 on a pair of JBL Century L100's. I use them in my recording studio for my amp and monitor. Cheers.
I love my 1979 Marantz SR2000 receiver. Rated at 38 watts per channel, but puts out big beautiful sound. I bought it new, and won’t give it up.
I loved those old stereos and had one of those pioneers like the top one you have there! And also had a good NAD system too!
Everyone should give this channel a thumbs up and write a comment
I here it will help him with the TH-cam algorithm
This dam lockdown is a nightmare but after I found this channel I have been much more relaxed he has such an honest delivery and gives you his opinion no Bull.
I have been influenced in to getting a vintage Kenwood receiver from the 70s and some
Monitor audio speakers from the 80s
This is a really nice hobby so
Thanks a bunch
Keep it up
The mid to high end gear today sounds great also, it just costs 5 times more.
Alfalfa Not every Vintage is audiophil, a lot of stuff, but nice look and haptic... not more, old loudspeakers most of them midrange. Today a 300€ box more soundfull and high end like the vintage monsters...
Recapping ruins it. Metal film caps don't sound as good as film foil caps
And craps out 5 times faster
Hi! You're right, but I think the old flagships were also in horroristic price as in our days.
I had lot of marantz amps/receivers and I could tell the pm-7005 sounds as good or better than some vintage marantz.
I had marantz 2245,than sr520, pm80, pm52se, etc.
Interesting but the most comfortable for my ears and warm sounded was the "commerce" sr520. It is a basic
receiver with IC power amp stage but I loved it.
Now the pm-7005 sounds clearer, more powerful highlight on the edge of the freq ranges.
Wider stage, not that forced mids and not so much treble.
Bass is tight and powerful without tone adjust or use subwoofer.
Best regards
$1000. in the 70's is around $5,000. today. In 1974 you could buy a Datsan 240Z sports car for $2,500. Parents bought a house for $54K in 1971. Sold that same house in 2007 for 1.1 million.
I own a Akai AA-1175 and damn i just love the thing
Zabardast cheers from Toronto....my 1975 Pioneer SX-535 with CS-511 Speakers still chugging along. The Cassette Deck Ct-2121 is now a pre-amp....
I have owned a handful of 70s receivers over the last 10 years, As you mentioned, the build quality was fantastic even if you only had 12 W per channel. They are also very serviceable. Metal chassis, machine screws holding everything together. You could fix them.
Love this. Yes you can have 200 watts a side and higher as long as you have that dynamic headroom he talks about for those intense & delicate moments in the music. Rock & Roll is awesome, but Classical can tax an amplifier to no end. I run all early 80s Nakamichi. PA-7ll, CA5ii preamp, LX 5 deck, and an ST-7 tuner
Love the sound and the quality.
Hi, it's so nice to hear that👍 Yes...into the 70th the "HiFi" was build maybe for the next 100 years.
I own since years a set of Sony pre and poweramp from 1970 and I'm happy with the sound. It's so massive and well build...no plastic.👍
Have a nice and sunny day! 😎
I just put an old Pioneer receiver in the garage. I love the looks, all the options and it sound good.
Soooo true! You really should hear the old Czechoslovak reel to reel recorder, which can be used also as an amp. It is Tesla B73. You would be blown away. It had some 75 watts power consumption but only 2x10 watts into sound, but you would be blown away by the quality, vividness, and liveliness of the sound. I am only 32, and heard quite a lot of modern Denons, NADs, Yamahas, but none of these approximates that old TESLA B73. Exactly what you are saying. So true.
I know where your coming from & agree with you I got my first true hifi in 1976 at the age of 16 and it was all about the latest review in what hifi or other mags and the watts & distortion figures. It was a marantz receiver & wharfedale speakers and dual turntable, happy days.
Really enjoyed this. Getting into vintage stereo repair in my free time as a millennial. Sound is hard to explain as everyone perceives things differently but this did a great job of putting into words what I have struggled to tell people for a long time. Il take my old pioneer and marantz speakers over my newer Yamaha/Klipsch surround theater setup every day. The new system sounds good but it doesn't have heart. That's the best way I can describe it.
You feel it in your soul not your ears
Pioneer SX-1080, CT-F1000, SG-9500, Akai GX-635D and HPM-100 "200w" down in my lab Pioneer SX-780, CT-9191, RT-707 and NS-690s
My 1st receiver in 1979 was a technic sa202 I still have this sweet. little piece of history currently using a recap rotel rx603 And a recap Kenwood 5700 nothing can touch vintage nothing!!! 👍
I'd also like to add that the mentality or approach to manufacturing and selling consumer electronics was different back then. In addition to what you said in your video, they were honest manufacturers and no doubt they used to build to last. They not only used to compete with other manufacturers due to the high demand of the public for stereo products they also compete within their own organizations and own products. They wanted to take the new products in line to reach the next level and they wanted to be proud of what they made all the time. Today however the consumer electronics market relies on consumers changing their products every 2-3 years so that they can make a profit. In order to do that, they no longer build stuff to last in fact they want consumers to go out and purchase new stuff or change what they have completely so we all should beware that after the warranty runs out your electronics can break down anytime. They compromise with the quality of the materials all the time to make money unless it's a high-end product. The problem with the high-end products is they use ridiculously expensive materials and to be fair they don't sound that good compared to what you pay for them. There is not enough demand from the public today as for most people listening to music means using the stock headphone that comes with their smartphones and playing something off of youtube or Spotify! Today the game is all about marketing and selling you things that you don't really need. Audio Companies also discovered that selling side products like cables is more profitable than selling the actual electronics. No one can persuade me paying 5-10-20K USD per meter for a stupid cable is nothing but the dumbest thing to do! They get you and get you good!
Thank you Kelvin for your videos. It's obvious to me that you know your subject matter and I'm navigating lots of information in order to choose a quality vintage receiver. I am sixty three and can fully relate to what you say about the costs of these things back in the day. I simply could never afford to purchase decent equipment. One thing I will say after going down this rabbit hole is that it is all so very subjective for most non audiophile folks. What got me to this point is my recent purchase of a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 225 bookshelf speakers. I thought they would sound so much better but now realizing that it's my amp and not the speakers. Cheers!
I have a lower version of your Marantz receiver. Got it in about 9th grade. Still in my living room with the matching Bolivar speakers. 8 watts per channel and it will rattle my windows. I am 58 years old. This was fun.
I have one of those Marantz and lots of other gear vintage and modern. The main difference that makes the old gear more enjoyable for me to listen to is the loudness curve. It seemed to accentuate the low end at lower volume making it seem fuller sounding. For me this makes the music pleasing. As for dynamics ....horns are the key.
Real class, love my Quad 505 pre amp, very powerful, and the control unit spot on, massive amp.
A lot of people recycle these because they're old and assume no one would want them. Husband dies and the wife and kids want to clean out all the old 'junk'. Breaks my heart to learn what has happened to the sound systems my friend's dads used to have. All discarded and they tossed the records too!
I have also some Vintage Hifi equipment. The throughs in the past 70s, early 80s also a lot stuff was sold, only some special equipment sounds good. Also the loudspeakers. Sound is okay also today, most of it you can repair cheap. Feel factor is very good, solid knobs and aluminium front plates. High End like Revox, NAD costs in the past a lot, esoacially in Germany or Austria, not in the USA. Today Hifi between 500€ and 1000€ you get good sounding Hifi! More better than old Pioneer, Sansui etc. Today to expansive, only for people that like this old Vintage style... Old Vintage, nice look, mostly cheap repairs, but repairings of Revox also realy expensive !
Quality sound is what its about. And pride of ownership. Just picked up a Japan only release, class A, d/c, Pioneer integrated with unbelievable specs for 1979. 60wpc...30 watts in real/pure class A!! Considered by many to be the best of the best. Apparently much more musical and accurate and dynamic than the big boy collectibles..... Yep, it was a solid $80!!! (last week) (Around $1000 in Japan in '79).
Vintage is hard to beat in alot of cases especially amps, rotel 1412, luxman l85v, sansui au-7900, pioneer sx-880 etc just to name a few, very tough to beat for the money, but modern speakers well there are alot of good ones out now at decent prices, the audio game is a strange hobby sometimes and what ive noticed for me is that "neutral" really isnt for me so much and really just adds up to boring in most cases for me anyway, ive had some speakers that just are too clean and tight, and amps that are too clean also and doesnt sound full bodied which is what ive noticed also with alot of newer amps, but to each his own, its a neverending journey of a hobby and everything is just different sometimes i guess, not necessarily better i would say.
Yes sir, I have vintage equipment and I stand on it that it definitely sounds better. Soundcraftmen power amp, vintage speakers, polks sda 1, Polk monitor 10, time window speakers, oringinal Bose 601’s. But I did get some updated equipment from Nad power amp, with all its components, newer Polk speakers sounds okay but it DOSENT have the depth like the soundcraftmen amp and the older Polk’s
I have that same Pioneer [the one on the top] Bought it new back in 76 .Its still working as good as ever .i have listened to friends modern stereo systems with all their bells and whistles they all sound ok but my old Pioneer wipes the floor with them all
After the 70s, we really went through 25 years of dark ages for audio equipment.
Yeah I would agree with you there
in late 80´s things start to improve a bit but from 79 to 80 ,some components were in brushed aluminium ,next year they look the same but mostly made of plastic ,i had a philips system that had a high quality sound next year the look was the same but instead of aluminium ,just grey plastic with some bit´s in aluminium ,pioneer did the same but in sound quality they keept some with other brands it seems the dark ages of hi-fi,this with mainstream brands others kept the quality but the price was high and they had to close doors or bought by other companies
@@toddblanks yes it´s true but some were just used to never clean the records and still using those needles that you could rotate to the other side and other spike there ,some said 33 on one side and 45 on the other, but those records only played once with those nedles when played in a diamond stylus the sound was already damaged ,so with cd´s they notice a super improvement in sound quality , i had some cd´s in the 80´s but prices were high, i could buy two vinil records with the money of one cd ,but early cd´s were made of a better and more expensive material ,only in the 90´s they start to release cd´s made of a cheaper material and prices came down but only started to buy cds instead of records in 93 ,most of the stores closed and opened only selling cd´s , this after a fair was held where you could buy any record even from independent labels at 50 cents each, this new records , i had to go there twice and fill the back of a mercedes (a big one from the 70´s) with new records, even some that i had but with some defects or to use as a dj ,i don´t remenber how many but i had to buy a new big piece of furniture with shelf´s to fit all the new records, at the time i remenber buying all catalog from 4AD and beggars banquet, regards
@@toddblanks I know a lot of what you say is true but I would dispute what you say about amstrad entering people's homes because you probably never had to hear rigonda which was also in the homes of the less well off. You have to wind this one back to the beginning. It was either a Sinclair PZ 60 or the externally compensated OA Texan but you had to build both your self. I think the key is minimalism and high current. Long live Kelvin.
@@toddblanks I am terribly sorry you missed the golden age of import hi fi. I was around in the 70 s and got Tandberg 310 three motor cassette deck. My dad had a top of the range FM receiver which I still have to this day.
You said it all at 6:26. Such a shame stores like Best buy do not appreciate good quality audio anymore. Some people just want to sit back in their recliner and listen to their favorite tunes
I have both beautiful vintage equipment and modern new equipment, and they don’t really sound “better” to me just “different”….but in a good way. You know you crossed over the “audiophile bridge” when you realize that your equipment will put out exactly what the software puts in. So, ultimately it is the software….that you focus on.
Yes I’m with you sometimes I put on some vintage equipment not even the best I’ve got and I’m just loving it it’s giving me extra in the way
It's like comparing tubes with solid state, I don't think one is better than the other, they sound different.
I just picked up a Technics SA-5070 receiver this week off a guy locally. When I auditioned this unit at his place, he connected it to a large pair of floor standing speakers (Technics not sure what model) I was very impressed with the warm sound as well as the ease at which it could drive them. The receiver is in surperb condition and just needs some cleaning of the pots. Note this receiver is rated for 15 watts per channel. Amps in this vintage of receiver are just made well.
Being a baby boomer myself I remember well those hifi days during the 70s and now watching your videos I am looking at setting up a vintage system myself based around my Goldring GL75 turntable which I have had from new (purchased from Greens in Upton Park 1970), imagine that, a hifi shop next to Upton Park station!! Anyway I am my interest in this is the many low power amps that were around then so I would like some direction on the speakers (vintage not modern) to purchase next that would be best suited to these amps. Great videos and very inspirational.
Vintage separates do sound amazing yet I’d try using some new speakers. It seams to me that old speakers don’t hold up as well as the components. Ok, some belt driven tape decks are prone to failure. But it does make sense to keep up maintaining and servicing them if you already have ‘em🤷🏻♂️
This was an eyes opening video for me.
Your explainations how the preferences for some technical spects destroyed the better 70s sound according to advertising needs, I heard of for the first time.----
Now I understand why the standard hifi gear of my parents from 1970, with bowl formed speakers, sized maximally like a soccer ball, sounded that good .
Thank you very much.🙏👍🤗
Of course there are differences in audio equipment qualities, but everythings stands or falls with how(the quality of) the song is mixed in the studio or during a concert.. I think.
everyone had a stereo at home. i remember in the 70s and 80s every middle class home i went to has a stereo system. today i have been to upper class homes and most have cheap mini systems. boggles my mind. I opt for vintage because they built it to last. there was no built in obsolescence. even the japanese were copying and improving american and european audio products. they pulled on the stops on most equipment. No wonder this equipment even after 30 years and brought up to specs with a qualified technician, still sound good.
Yes man even poor folks back then had stereos they were furniture.
the 70s was the greatest decade ever for so many reasons.
@@hoggravyandchitlins 70s and 80s, for me. Man. I had a ball.
Went watching my first two bands in late 77. Thin Lizzy, Bad Reputation, and Motorheads first tour.
WOW. I thought I was a fucking bloke. I was just turned 14. Ha ha ha.
But. Yeah. Everyone had a stereo of some sort. Quite a few had pretty decent stuff. Virtually everyone I knew, certainly all my mates, we were all mad into music. Even though we were spoiled to all fuck. We had so much choice of incredible music, with more incredible new stuff all the time.
I remember about half a doz of us, sat waiting at Collie's for Hursty to come back from Bolton, with the brand new, just released Boston album.
Heady days. LOL.
Owning good hifi was a status symbol of good taste in the 70s. Next to the car, a kick ass stereo was the greatest coming of age toy for young lads.
@@socksumi AND (as the AMPM guy says) there was so much good stuff to choose from! That was an era when consumerism worked for the consumer, the stereo manufacturers knew their customers were a demanding bunch, if they don't give you what you want and need, the next manufacturer surely would.
Hey Calvin, I remember that it was right around 1980 that things in hifi changed drastically here in N america. I would walk into hifi shops and it was like a lot of the equipment had shrunk and turned into black plastic crap-there were still some exceptions , but as a young guy who was still struggling to afford my first system my options in the world of new gear had changed. To say that it was depressing was an understatement. I heard that a lot of the best engineers in Japan had taken early retirements. I don't know if that's really true but things sure felt and sounded different.Until this point, some of the best japanese gear was built to last, and the market was a little over saturated as people here didn't need to upgrade what they already had. A while back I heard a usa manufacturer refer to Sansui as Crapsui. I was a little surprised that he would say this, and frankly I would be shocked if any of his class d amps are working in 20 years let alone 40-50 years like my Sansui 661.
still using mine daily.Sounds as good as class a.
Sansui 4000 here. And so true about the 80's with much of the audio gear.
These class D amplifier don't worth the repair. When they don't work anymore, people throw them in the rubbish where they belong.
After the landing on the moon things changed culturally. Photo realism in the arts. Manufacturing with an eye and desire to target for perfection . My point is, these manufacturers of high fidelity components were attempting to live up to that integrity and innovation being displayed in their era. They did well.
You hit it dead on. I have a 1971 Harmon Kardon 330A. Bought during my college frat house days stereo wars. Still using totothis day. Only in the shop once to have lights replaced. A neighbor laughed and joked with me about having old-school equipment, including my two way floor standing Advent speakers and Dual turntable. He was blown away we I demonstrated the sound including the newer CD/DVD through it. What also shocked him was the "instant" sound from when off! But you are so dead on about vintage receivers!
Nice one I just switched back to a vintage lamp from a naim power amp Accu phase preamp
It’s not technically as exactly correct but it does deliver a gorgeous sound
That’s sansui au 101 btw
I worked my ars off when I was 15 and bought an Akai receiver (AA-1115), and a technics SL-D2 turntable.
They still work and sound pretty good. However, I upgraded to a Technics SA-700 receiver and some refurbished JBL 4312G speakers; that sounds good
I've heard many "experts" talk about audio for years now, and this is by far the most truth I've heard in 12 minutes and 43 seconds.
I have a 1977 mcintosh amp and a pioneer tuner from the mid 70s. Listen thru hoyt bedford monitors. Absolutely beautiful, amp has tremendous headroom.
RIGHT ON! I have a Sansui BA3000 amp and it is so much better than my new stuff.
I’ve delved into the “silver-front” vintage scene. It’s not bad but that was the last step that convinced me to build my own Dynaco ST-70 clone. That was a few years ago and someone would have to try really hard to convince me something better is out there for the money.
Good observations! I'm very impressed with both the build and sound quality of my old Sony STR-6800. But then again, in today's money it would have cost about £5000 originally! However I'm still convinced nothing today is really still built to the same standard of quality as these old pieces of kit. Even for equivalent cost.
I think Marantz still makes some high quality gear, all of their 'Made in Japan' units are great.
Not true Take a look at Naim. Cyrus. PS audio Top end Marantz to name but a few.
Some of those older receivers had very poor quality transistors that get noisy over time plus the inevitable leaky capacitors and noisy carbon pots, they are not all they are cracked up to be I have serviced quite a few. once the Transistors are replaced with modern quiet equivalents and re-capped they can sound very good, but not as good as equivalent high end equipment of today.
Great review of what works and what doesn’t. I still have my Marantz 2252b and a host of Quad amps, tuners etc. Also now have modern Naim equipment too all sound great. As for modern Speakers the good ones knock the old stuff into the weeds.
2252b is an awesome piece of gear complete with enough tonal adjustments to bring out the best in any speakers, new and old! Add a passive 4in-1out source selector and add the common source material, Bluetooth included! Like heaven.
Definitely, vintage is much, MUCH better. Take my wonderful 1959 vacuum tube, 19 inch black and white TV set. The image is warm and fuzzy. On this screen all women look beautiful! Compare with the new 4K flat screens, that show humans so realistic, even the most beautiful woman shows wrinkles and skin imperfections. So, let us forget about new high definition TV technology and stick with the warm images of vintage TV sets. Same with sound.
And we can also put some free range eggs near those 70’s BandW TV within 3 weeks we can have chicks as pets.
Wow hopefully those cathode ray tubes TVs will come back someday as the new “in” thing. We never know...
Dude....you nailed it!
But new stuff has flashing lights... lol
After being stored in a closet for over 20 years, I decided to unbox my old system from 1978. The system is a low/mid price set-up, but it was all I could afford back then.
I have a JVC JA-S22 amp, JVC JT-V22 tuner, and a JVC KD-55 cassette deck along with a Technics SL-230 turntable, and play these through Ohm C2 speakers. The speakers need to be re-foamed, but I thought I would at least try the components to see if they still functioned.
The cassette still works fine, but the knobs are a little stiff.
Unfortunately, the amp only played for about an hour before a loud "pop" and then no sound. It still gets power, but probably needs recapping throughout.
I replaced the disintegrated belt on the Technics turntable, and it also worked fine for about 2 albums and then stopped turning. It still has power and the auto tonearm works if I turn the platter by hand, but no motor power. I'll try some oil first, and go from there.
On a separate note, I picked up a Akai GX-260D reel-to-reel off Facebook a year ago and it works fine, and I can play it through another modern Onkyo receiver. Not a top-end tape deck, but it is totally sufficient for what I need.
Anyway, it looks like I have some repairs to do to the old components, and hopefully can get this system back and working.
I love my record players to include both my 64 cabinet and 70's octogonal magnavox cabinet. Both sound out of this world
I really enjoyed this video. I like the way you talk about things in a down to earth sort of way. I can remember in 1981 when I was a senior in high school I set my sights on a high end stereo system. I started saving for a Realistic STA-2300 receiver which was $699. A short time later it came on sale for $399 and I scooped it up. That and 4 Mach one speakers, and several others items to complete my system. That was 40 years ago and you know what? I still have the whole setup and it still works well. It's a testament to the build quality of vintage stereo equipment. I just can't seem to warm up to surround sound with a subwoofer, I prefer stereo because it's what I am used to.
Sounds good to me and just think you could’ve spent $15,000 by now
😜 cheers K
I found this channel on a search for vintage audio and love it great channel.
Hey stereo x how about an update on where you are and what your up to, plans for the channel etc. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would love to know. Cheers
I own a Pioneer SX-5990 I use in a home office system driving TeKton Lore speakers spectacularly well , I tried a Accuphase 280 integrate with the high efficiency Lore speakers however when I tried the Pioneer SX 5990 it lit them up ,.I sold the Accuphase .
Very truthfull experience ,I share about the same impression , another interesting witness of this vintage story is the Grundig Story of Massimo in Italy , thanks dear , happy to watch this
You speak well and you speak a lot of sense. Thank you.
The thing is Hifi was for over a decade a very competitive mainstrean buyers market,which resulted in an on average rising quality during
the seventies and early eighties. And no,most of the gear was pretty affordable and some had even a stellar price/quality ratio. Especially in
the middle class bracket of the market. Additional the buying power of the dollar,pound or mark was way higher than today.
A great film to see inside a store I’ve heard of but never been down to see thanks
Hi, just saw your review on older hifi equipment. Bought mine in 1978, Monitor Audi speakers from one store, Dual 704 turntable from another store and a Luxman R 1030 amplifier from another one, in those days they even let you take them home to see how the sound was in the room you put them. Can't see anyone doing that now. Wonderful system, however, as systems were getting smaller I followed the trend and my larger speakers etc were wrapped up and put in the garage. The smaller Sony all in one never matched the performance and the deck was removed and binned after a few years. After spending 25 years in the garage with the revival of Vinyl or should I say records I brought my old system back into my lounge. It needed cleaning, sanding, revarnishing and new speaker covers. Worst of all I had removed the Shure V15 111 cartridge and stylus for safety and forgot where I put it. It took me three months to find a shop that knew what I needed. The deck is now fitted with a Nagioka M10 which is brilliant, cannot find fault with these vintage components and both old and new records sound marvellous. Always nice to hear what you're doing
Thanks for the story
Usually the power rating was measured a ONLY 1Khz and not fully at 20hz to 20Khz. There were so many ways to cheat as it comes to specs. In my second system I now have a measly 30 watt US made Philips 7831 receiver that reminds me of my old Sherwood. Very, rich, organic, round and whole sounding. But the Sherwood definitely had more real world power.
True story. A Nakamichi Power Receiver, 21 years old, made in Japan, sold to me for $150 dollars, definitely HiFi lovely equipment.
My solution to buying a modern system was to buy a professional JBL PA system with a 1200 W sub suitable for a small club. I rarely turn it up more than a quarter of its full power, but that bass is ALWAYS there.
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That will definitely do it
I think a lot of the blowback regarding the high watt receivers/amps from the '70s comes from A) not having speakers that can handle the higher volume without distorting, or B) not having enough space to give the sound the necessary room to expand. I have owned a Pioneer SX-1050 (120 watts/ch.) receiver for just over 40 years. Unfortunately, the speakers I could pair with it was limited by the size of my residence. About 15 years into my SX-1050 ownership, I rented a 30 x 50 workshop with 16' ceilings in an old industrial building. That seemed like a good time to get a well-kept pair of used Klipschorns. That receiver pushed music through those speakers at a level of clarity that seemed to actually improve with volume. Often, I started out at a level that would have permitted a conversation but at various points I just wanted to HEAR IT BETTER. Each time I would turn it up incrementally so I could hear a little more separation, hear the nuanced bits just a little louder. At a point, it would drown out the sound of my table saw but still didn't seem loud to me. I completely understand what you mean by dynamic headroom and I'm telling you that no matter how loud it was, there was plenty of dynamic headroom. In the late '90s, I went for a hearing test to satisfy my girlfriend who insisted I must be hard of hearing. After it was done, the nurse who was looking at my results with some concern, told me to wait. The audiologist came back to see me and told me that I had perfect hearing (very rare), meaning I hear all frequencies equally well. I asked him the same question my girlfriend asked me; Why do I listen to music so loud? He replied: "Because it sounds so good to you." There's a reason that the sound is so loud at live shows...with all the other variables in place, louder is better.
Good story. More than one symphony conductor has gone into their eighties, perfectly able to do their job at a high level, yet sustaining more than 100 decibels of sound pressure at times. Audiologists say 80db for more than a few minutes leads to deafness. Off hand, what would you say your ears weigh?
I bought a Pioneer SX 1050, with a Pioneer PL 570 turntable and a pair of Accusound speakers in 1977 for $2000. I blew the speakers up twice while they were under warranty and the guy in the store said he wouldn't replace them again. He suggested I go to radio shack and get a watt meter, which I did. When the new pioneers came out a year or two later, they had watt meters built in. I still have the set up now, although the speakers only have one tweeter and one midrange each now (I installed the midrange and tweeters in the back of my 73 mustang in the 90's but put them back in the enclosures after the car rusted out from under me)