What a time to be young . We were having wattage wars with our stereo equipment , and horsepower wars with our cars , all while listening to some of the most iconic music ever recorded.
You said it, im 61 and I was there as well and have a couple stacks of that eras receivers to prove it mostly pioneers in the 80 to 120 watt 950 - 980 - 1180 class as well as a massive one year only Onkyo transition receiver sporting 160wpch and both digital and analog tuning, its a real tank with two large transformers and four large caps.
Exactly! And now, we have cultural appropriation wars, personal data wars and Apple Airpods wars - all while isolated from our fellow man - and while listening to some of the worst and most hateful music ever recorded.
I seem to remember it quite differently. While the wattage wars were starting to take off around 1973, the horsepower wars were being choked to death by emissions regulations that basically neutered every car that was being built. By 1980, which was the height of the wattage wars, The standard motor in the Corvette, was a paltry 190 horsepower. Quite a long distance from the almost 500 hp 1971 454 equipped Corvette. But hey, we had AMC Pacers, and Ford Mustang II's, and Chevy Chevettes to cruise around in. It's hard to believe that for 3 years straight, from 77-79, the most powerful vehicle being produced was The Dodge Lil Red Express Truck. And that was basically Dodge using holes in the emissions laws.
I was in the Navy in 76 , service members had access to AFEES , ( armed forces exchange services or something like that ). You could save almost half of retail on select items only. Lucky for most of us that the " buyer " had obvious good taste in audio equipment. Mostly high end Japanese with some European equipment. We were constantly trading and upgrading! Thanks for the trip down memory lane , I've got to go put my hearing aids in! Thanks to Bose , Klipsch , Quad and some Sansui for good measure! Thanks again!
It is a fantastic video! Thanks for the memories. I'm the original owner of a Marantz 2270 purchased in 1972. Goodness, that was 49 years ago! A favorite stop was a Pacific Stereo show room to audition speakers. In 1977 I finally got speakers to match the Marantz. The JBL 166 sounded fantastic then and now but my ears have lost audio bandwidth and sensitivity.
I remember them well. In 1975 when I was in the Navy I bought my first stereo component, a Sony TA-1130. 50 watts per channel with super wide bandwidth and superb specs. in 1978 when our ship was in Japan I bought a Kenwood KA-6100. 60 watts per channel but with the best specs I had ever seen. All of the other guys were buying the huge monster receivers, but I never was that fascinated with massive power. In 1984 I bought a Harmon Kardon PM 650. only 50 watts but a real gem that I still love today.
Nicely stated. This video did take me back. As a mid 60's Brooklyn teen I loved hanging out at the Acoustic Research Sound Room they had in Grand Central Station. Got my first FM radio in 1967. After military service (and broke) I assembled my budget system. A Pioneer SX-434 receiver, BIC 920 turntable and KLH model 31 speakers all for under $240. The most amazing thing to me wasn't the super receivers but that each company offered a "line" of components. A receiver for every budget. I never had a TOTL model but I have had a few; SX-434, SX-650, 2252B, 1090 (integrated amp), KR-A3060, SA-80 and my most used SR-804 that I purchased in 1979 and still use today. A good vintage system ain't half bad, fuhgeddaboudit.
I stumbled upon your channel after you posted a link on a FB "audiophile" group page. I have been a professional video producer for decades and I really enjoy your unique storytelling after watching most all your videos. My quick story: when I was in my early teens, I was given a long term "loan" of a Pioneer SX-1010 that really inspired me to pursue quality Hi-Fi gear. After years of enjoying that monster reciever, I went Yamaha separates that was a beginning of my home theater phase. Decades later I started collecting vintage gear and a SX-1010 finally got back into my possession. Fully restored. I also have a Yamaha CR-2020 and other vintage recievers from Marantz, Sony, Scott and even a Technics quad - all professionally restored. Crazy fun hobby with SO much nostalgia. Keep up the good work. I have already mentioned your channel to other audiophile buddies. Hopefully more subscribers and likes.
You don’t know war until until you’ve hung out a barracks full of stoned GIs on a Saturday night. Let me set the scene. The military overseas had stores called the Audio Club which stocked the latest electronics and cameras directly from Japan at cost. Every couple of months there was a catalog listing: receivers, pre-amps, turntables, reel-to-reels, speakers, etc. available at the club. Throw into this mix testosterone charge young men with money and a taste for REAL music (pre-disco). I had a Sansui receiver, Bose 501, a Teac 10 inch reel-to-reel and Dark Side of the Moon. Picture a hundred guys trying to show who had the best and biggest equipment! It was a real disappointment when I got out of the Army and my only competitors were kids with a Radio Shack combo system playing disco. Time has taken its toll, all my tunes are loaded on a Brennan B2 because I don’t have the space. Your video brought back an earlier time when music was music and you could push that sound.
Yes indeedy, I was there (and here)! My first 'real' receiver was a Pioneer SX-780 (either purchased from Tech HiFi or Stereo Warehouse, I forgot), which I still have to this day! Obtained it way back in High School in the late 70's, and it's still hooked up in our house now (driving a vintage pair of Polk Audio Monitor 10 speakers), where I have 9 stereo systems in operation! You might say I am obsessed with audio gear and speakers (and Amateur Radio & shortwave, but that's another story)! This all started when as a young kid grade schooler, I discovered that this huge gaudy wooden console piece of furniture that my dad had in the living room, housed a 'cool looking radio' inside. It turned out to be a FISHER 500C tubed receiver, which brought a ton of joy to my ethnic Dentist dad, who blasted his Greek music from it, usually after Church on Sundays, while dancing like a Zorba The Greek whirling dervish! I was hooked bigtime since! I still have the 500C, which is of sentimental value to me after dad passed on in 2015. We ditched the console though.
Had a Kenwood 8010 receiver was only 125 watts per channel, but was truly a beast. I wanted the biggest 160 watt Kenwood or a Marantz, but I couldn't afford them at the time. I used it as a DJ amp as it had 2 turntable and tape loops along with a front mounted mic jack with volume control. Sold it years ago at a garage sale. Still have my Yamaha R-100 at 100 WPC it isn't in the top of the receiver wars and was a little later. Still sounds great and is 17" wide and fits with normal consumer equipment. Now with the speculators and scammers even a decent Pioneer 45 WPC receiver is $750-$1000. Will keep looking and get a decent analog receiver and refurbish it myself and just enjoy it. I'm not in a hurry and like the equipment I have....
Gosh Thanks for the Memories I had just gotten out of the military in the mid-70s while I couldn't afford any of those stereos I did get to hear them they were great
This is such a good primer for someone starting down the trail of understanding the vintage amps.. I knew the names Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer.. but I go and look at the models and realize I don't know where they 'fit'.. this helps!
I have an 8500 series 2 pioneer amp that is my prized piece of audio equipment, it's 100% untouched and works perfectly, none of my other sound systems can even compare
Hello !! there I just subscribed to this channel cause I was engulfed during that war a lot of recievers did not make it but I did ,I remember I was in high school when I noticed the war happening during highschool I worked in a record store part time where I was introduced to my first reciever the owner had a nice system hooked up to play records and lots of 45's to entice customers the reciever was a sansui do not remember the wattage or model but I do remember it was a big boy it was very loud and sometimes we would amp it up where it would klip speakers which were high up on two columns and of course I had to jump ladder to reset speakers good times , after high school I remember reading a stereo review mag and subscribed to it and I saw a lot of adds for those same recievers you showed I could not peel my eyes from those pics those recievers were beautiful at the time did not have a girl friend but if I was placed in a room full of recievers and another full of girls I know I would of chosen the receivers ,every page in mag had advertisements for lots of receivers ,TT's & cartridges ,I remember getting a pioneer amp but I wanted more power I kept trying to upgrade reading voraciously every review on recievers what improvements they had it was maddness!!!! could not afford the marantz type but did my best , I kept trying two more recievers each one better than the last but I wanted more power I finally got a Technics reciever with digatal tuner about I think 100 watts I forget the other recievers I had gotten rid of [I kind of feel for them they were casualties of war!] but it was the best I could afford at time I still cheated on said reciever once in a while I would go to audio store to flirt with the other recievers just to see never touched them just needed to see them ,the last one I got before I got married was a Pioneer receiver VSX-5300 from 1985 I still have it and it still works 100 watts per channel til this day ,we sometimes sit back and think back to the day when audio equipment was great ,I have bought as married life was progressing happily a Sony receiver movie theater sound it was the big thing during the 90's my pioneer took a back seat for several years sadly in a box in a lonely basement but we reunited several years ago and now we still reminisce about the good times we had it is my good old faithful friend through it all,it is a shame how newer recievers are not the same as in my time thet lack something I noticed on my sony reciever and another one I bought from a friend of mine an Onkyo receiver TX-2100 the bass seems limited compared to my pioneer it lacks the punch and they do not go up to high the pioneer when you open it up you can see the difference inwhat was put in the pioneer is packed compared to the sony and onkyo but thank god for my equalizers the really have saved the day but thats another story ,am looking to check out the second half of this vid this one was EXCELLENT!!!!! glad I subscribed thanks for this vid JRo
yep i was there then - got kind of sucked into it for a while until i discovered british hifi! whole other ball game and such a game changer! never looked back since. so glad i wasn't a casualty of the 'receiver wars'
Cool vid. Yes I was there and an adult at the time. Never owned anything that big, but had some nice pieces. Two problems. Idle current could drive your utility bill beyond what you wanted to pay. And, price was not reflective of sound quality, or FM reception. The best FM sections lived in Mitsubishi's Da-R series. And since roof top antennas and pulling in distant stations with cool play lists was the name of the game, that's where you went. My Mitsu fed a Pioneer 909 Reel so I could listen and make cassettes of what I heard. Yeah, the end result was not audiophile, but in a car with V-8 and twice pipes who cared ... Cruisin with cool music was better than the AM play lists any day ... Full album sides - yeah baby : -) Funny thing is those AM play lists and real disc jockeys put today's broadcast music to shame ... : -(
I don't need all this wattage. My speakers produce almost 100 db with just 1 watt of input at 4' on axis. With my big, beautiful 1978 Fisher RS - 2007 receiver. Fisher (USA) patents and Sanyo's Japanese build quality made one fine package with four VU meters, 75 watts RMS per channel and a FM section that pulls strong stereo signals from Los Angeles - 100 miles away with just a 300-ohm dipole TV antenna draped over the component rack! I am lucky to have a straight line-of-sight shot up the coast, since I'm across the street from the ocean facing west and my receiver is in the NW corner. The VU meter on the mint Fisher receiver typically never goes over 1/4 watt for mid-auditorium sound pressures. Any louder than that and John, the Hollywood screenwriter across the hall complains. I favor my horn-loaded Altec 846 speakers that rise majestically on their stands to 48" above the carpet. They, too, are from the 1970s. Fisher and Altec - A dynamite combination.
I was in the middle of it. It took me forever to save enough to get a marantz 2265 reciever. I'd like to get a 100% refurbished & recapped new blue lights. Right now I'm using a onkyo tx 4500 mkii. 1979 vintage. It's awesome 😍
1978-Graduated high school-off to college. Traded in my "hand-me-down" McIntosh 240 with "old fashion tubes" for a shiny new Kenwood KR-9600 Receiver. 160 wpc. Worst stereo mistake of my life!
yes I was there! really spent a lot of time choosing my Sansui but a good friend of mine owned the store where I bought it and steered me in the right direction........
7:37 I love the industrial design of vintage receivers regardless of wattage or amps or features. Aside from other vintage receiver brands, I have a Marantz 2270, 2230, and 2235B as well as an SR2000 model I bought at a Salvation Army Thrift Store for $25. The Marantz 2270 cost me about $750 (in Canadian dollars) on eBay a year or two ago and I had been tracking prices for years realizing that that particular model consistently sold for $750 to $850. Recently, I've seen the same model sell for over $1,000 in aggressive bidding wars, so they're still very much in demand and fetching higher and higher prices. It's pretty crazy.
In the late 70s I got a Marantz 2030 amp hand me down from my Dad along with a Scott FM tuner. Dad had upgraded to all Luxman gear for the stereo room. Really wish I would have kept that Marantz (and my '67 Mustang but that's another story). Mine was paired with a Technics SL-2002 TT and some Infiniti bookshelf speakers and some great vintage Koss headphones.
I always go back to Sherwood. the 8910 and 9910 do not have the on/off connected to volume but even then they sound so good. the first Korean Sherwoods were pretty good too.
I lived through that time, but could only dream of affording even the more modest receivers. I had my Radio Shack Realistic Modulette, which did not even have a rated output. Probably something like 5 watts. But I can recall drooling over the shiny Kenwoods and Pioneers at the store. And promptly getting shooed away by protective sales people who did not want "kids" messing with them :-) On the plus side, I did manage to scratch up enough for a Pioneer PL-530 turntable, which I still have.
They used to make receivers to remind the user of space-ship control panels... The more complicated, the better. Starting up a receiver and setting all the dials and switches right - was almost like an engineering project. You have to remember, 1969 and the moon landing was just a few years in the past back then...
The good ol days when you could walk into a store and buy 1, Pacific Stereo, Roger Sound Labs, Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, how I miss these. Grew up in the Valley in 1970's home of Marantz (Chatsworth) and HK (Northridge). I remember having to finance my 1st receiver when I was 16.
I worked at Recycled Stereo in North Hollywood, Cal stereo and Pacific stereo in Van Nuy's and loved the "Midnight Sale" at Roger Sound Labs in Van Nuy's AND worked at Superscope in Chatsworth ,(Marantz) for a while. So Cal in the 60's and 70's was THE hotbed for Hi Fi. Miss those Valley days also bro.
@@MODAC, some swell stores too in Fun City back then. In addition to Crazy Eddie's and Tech Hifi was Harvey Sound, Lafayette Electronics, Great Sounds, Stereo Warehouse, Churchill Audio, Audio Graveyard (across from the Trinity Church cemetery on Rector Street), Uncle Steve's and Sounds Great. Heck, even E. J. Korvette's sold audio.
@@MODACI also had the Yamaha YPD 8 and 10 turntables. Traded the receiver in and picked up 3 Yamaha B2 amps and a C2 preamp. I was 17 years old and then a couple of years later I went really high-end. I do wish I had the 3020 today for a secondary system.
Very nice video. Receivers weren’t so popular in the UK from memory, separates were the thing. Pioneer and Technics had a good reputation out of the Japanese brands but British was the way to go. Not as flashy but when sound quality was paramount then British was the best.
I'm 64 but I never bought a "monster receiver". Who the hell needs 300 watts per channel except in a discoteque. I found models in the 30 to 70 watt range usually sounded sweetest to my ears. One of the nicest sounds I ever heard from a vintage piece of consumer gear was a Kenwood KA-8006 integrated amp. Much better than any monster receivers I ever heard many of which sounded unbearably steely and irritating.
You showed a Sanyo JCX-2900. I had a JCX-2400, (55wpc), and it was as well-built a receiver as any of the big-name companies. I would love to get my hands on the 2900.....
I don't have any of the "monster" receivers, but I do have a few of their little brothers. A Hitachi SR-904 and a Yamaha CR-1040, as well as a few baby brothers. It just started out as a hobby, If I saw a cheap receiver at a thrift store or garage sale, I'd buy it, take it home, clean it and tune it up and use it for a while before retiring it to the spare room. A lot of them I sold for a price similar to what I paid for it, or even occasionally gave them away for free to friends and family. I wasn't collecting for speculation purposes, but given the renewed interest in vintage audio and the escalating prices they're commanding now, I unintentionally made a good investment.
Yessir , i was just being born, but I have had a chance to own a few of those mid to late seventies monster receivers , the Technics sa5670 , sa 800, pioneer sx 1280, pioneer sx939, And currently only have Fisher rs1080 170wpc 8ohm. Enjoyed the cool and informative video
1978 I own a sansui R30 b'cause of its low power I sold it and bought the top of the line R70 DC SERVO amp receiver 60 watts X 2 THD 0.05 but sold it again, need the money. yr 1984 bought another Sansui a DC Super feed forward amplifier 70watts x 2 THD 0.005. and it sound so good using a 15 inch speaker of 350 watts each. although minor repair needed for its crackling volume. still own it this day april 29 2020.
I still have two Kenwood giants the kr9600 and kr8010. I kept these because of the sonics over the Yamaha, Realistic and Marantz. Though I do still have a Marantz 2270 and 2215. The 2215 is only 15 watts per channel but is the best sounding of any Marantz receiver i ever had.
This is all very interesting. Thing is, we are in the middle of another war. This is much broader, and way more important. Back when the CD was introduced, the Record companies didn't understand the CD. All they seen was a formate change. They were counting their millions, as people rebought all their collections of music in CD. What they didn't understand was a CD wasn't a format change, but they were actually selling music for the first time. Before, if you bought a vinyl record, it had a very limited life span. The moment you took vinyl out of it's cardboard, it had dust on it. Also, every who collected vinyl, fought the war against scratches. I lived that life. I would buy a record, and just out the blue, their would be a blip in the record. Everyone did this. What minor mistake, you didn't even notice would ruin a record. For the life of me, I don't know how people can like vinyl. I understand it now, because the industry has turn against it, and worst, it never fully expoited what CDs are. CDs are not a format, but a data file. I don't use a CD player to listen to music. The first thing I do, is pop my CD in the computer, and make a few copies. My car has a CD player, but I don't use it. I just blue tooth my music to the car. I have my entire music collection in four devices, and the music I actually listen to, in two more devices. How in their right mind would buy vinyl? There is war being fought to day. Everyone is listening to streaming music, and it sucks. I'm not saying todays music is bad, but they big companys have it locked up tight, and you only hear, what they want you to hear. Payola used to be illegal, but that's just how the industry works today. The war is on, and no one is fighting back. If you don't fight know, in the future, you're going to have Taylor Swift piped right into your skull, and you will not be able to fight it.
One thing that ended the wars was that detour of foolishness that was quadrophonic. And the sheer size weight and heat output of those monster receivers!
Oh I was definitely there for the receiver wars-! (61) - and Ive got about ten or fifteen old units to prove it, mainly 900 series white faced Pioneers and a really large one year only Onkyo with two transformers and the hard to find tuner with both digital and analog tuning, 160 wpch I think it is.
2:42, what about Swiss Revox (Studer)? Talking about big and heavy industrial design and high tech equipment like their Tape Decks. It seems like Americans are never been familiar with Revox yet every serious studio always had Studer equipment. For the price of old Receivers that some people asking for, you can almost get a brand new Accuphase receiver. In my opinion, the built quality of Accuphase is superior to any of that mass-produced stuff.
Obviously Revox made great gear, but it wasn’t as popular or mainstream as the Japanese stuff in N America. The Viet Nam vets coming back from Asia with hifis that they bought over there made a huge impact.
I was there in the early Seventies, and I believe only the Marantz, Harman Kardon, and Tandberg are the only ones worth owning. The only thing good about the Pioneer receivers was their tuner. Their amps had really weak power supplies and would shut down when dealing with a 4 Ohm impedance.
Thoze were the days to live with home/ car esp/ audio...cause everyone, knowz, the best sound system, was a , pioneer kef,,round dial reciever, hooked up to a set of mindblowers, was the best ive errd..yes, i know thiz about home audio...if u had a early 70z , gran torino, and that pioneer, mindblower setup...you were good ta go in audioland Great video by ya Had fisher, kenwood home recievers .even some the radio shack, realistic recievers , would sound fantastic...weight recievers..
No, harman kardon mention?? Juzt kidding..I think back then in the mid ta late 70z, most people were piling there money into there car audio..ya could take great sounds , with ya anywhere..but great review by ya...foe zhure..peace
I like your videos, full of information and lovely made, also funny. Great entertainment!. One thing: The more we talk about how good this and that is- the smaller the chance to be able to afford in the future. But I don´t care, please go on... dreaming to own one is allowed, I am married (-; Greetings from Germany
In 1980 I stumbled across a NOS 2325 tucked away in a local stereo shop....was able to get it for $400, as a upgrade to my Sherwood....that had been purchased from Pacific Stereo. Lost my whole system in a burglary, 1984......
I have a marantz 2270 Great 👍!!!!! The box casing however is broken in the back section and has no grill would be nice to have that replaced is it possible?
Had one of those monster Sansui - GS-7500, I think. It was a beast. Never exploited the 90 watts RMS per channel...level 4 would blow me out of my mobile home. Sadly, it wasn't very reliable...the balance control crapped out in short order. Replaced it with an NAD 7140.
I wouldn't leave out the labs divisions. Much say like Shelby was to ford there were labs divisions at kenwood(kenwood/trio) Hitachi , Sony And others. Much was not exported or in limited quantities. There are actually heritage laws in place for dealers. Let me list a few examples. L-0D 9200 Hitachi . Kenwood L8m with external power packs , Yamaha B series especially the 3 and the almighty VFET Sony N7. Forget the monster recievers .... The sound Quality was the real war . Models like the L7II will dust off something say like a Hagel. I have fully modified 100v labs gear and I promise it will run with anything that's not cheap house money.
Yeppers I was I chased after quaity audio again in the late 80s and 90s and again in the early 2000s shortly after discovered I atill had my Kenwood KR-8010 I hqd bought new In 1978. I hooked it up and twisted the noisy pots it soon was obvious to me I had what I was looking for the whole time since that day I have aquired all the gear I never would have been able to consider all pre 1980 gear I am analog all the way no subs but old school drivers SL k horns 1968 cornwall ll ( verticals ) atecs . HPMs Infinitys and JBls Im blessed with a wife who humors my hobby. Analog is indeed the golden age and it was wattage that meant power at the ready stored in caps not silicon on demand digital gotta love it!
What a time to be young . We were having wattage wars with our stereo equipment , and horsepower wars with our cars , all while listening to some of the most iconic music ever recorded.
Agreed...The best of times. Please subscribe. Thanks, Dave
You said it, im 61 and I was there as well and have a couple stacks of that eras receivers to prove it mostly pioneers in the 80 to 120 watt 950 - 980 - 1180 class as well as a massive one year only Onkyo transition receiver sporting 160wpch and both digital and analog tuning, its a real tank with two large transformers and four large caps.
Fact!
Exactly! And now, we have cultural appropriation wars, personal data wars and Apple Airpods wars - all while isolated from our fellow man - and while listening to some of the worst and most hateful music ever recorded.
I seem to remember it quite differently. While the wattage wars were starting to take off around 1973, the horsepower wars were being choked to death by emissions regulations that basically neutered every car that was being built.
By 1980, which was the height of the wattage wars, The standard motor in the Corvette, was a paltry 190 horsepower. Quite a long distance from the almost 500 hp 1971 454 equipped Corvette. But hey, we had AMC Pacers, and Ford Mustang II's, and Chevy Chevettes to cruise around in.
It's hard to believe that for 3 years straight, from 77-79, the most powerful vehicle being produced was The Dodge Lil Red Express Truck. And that was basically Dodge using holes in the emissions laws.
I was in the Navy in 76 , service members had access to AFEES , ( armed forces exchange services or something like that ). You could save almost half of retail on select items only. Lucky for most of us that the " buyer " had obvious good taste in audio equipment. Mostly high end Japanese with some European equipment. We were constantly trading and upgrading! Thanks for the trip down memory lane , I've got to go put my hearing aids in! Thanks to Bose , Klipsch , Quad and some Sansui for good measure! Thanks again!
In 87, I remember a dude in the barracks that have four klipsch la scalas in his room. $750 a pair refurbished at the NEX in Subic bay.
I didn't realize it at the time, but the late 70s was the peak in stereo component quality. It's been down hill ever since.
It is a fantastic video! Thanks for the memories. I'm the original owner of a Marantz 2270 purchased in 1972. Goodness, that was 49 years ago! A favorite stop was a Pacific Stereo show room to audition speakers. In 1977 I finally got speakers to match the Marantz. The JBL 166 sounded fantastic then and now but my ears have lost audio bandwidth and sensitivity.
The 2500 was my centerpiece for over 15 years. It produced some very good sound for what it was. Some of the best build quality of the the era.
I remember them well. In 1975 when I was in the Navy I bought my first stereo component, a Sony TA-1130. 50 watts per channel with super wide bandwidth and superb specs. in 1978 when our ship was in Japan I bought a Kenwood KA-6100. 60 watts per channel but with the best specs I had ever seen. All of the other guys were buying the huge monster receivers, but I never was that fascinated with massive power. In 1984 I bought a Harmon Kardon PM 650. only 50 watts but a real gem that I still love today.
Mike Campbell very sensible person. We can all thank the servicemen for introducing fine Japanese electronics to North America.
You guys were the cash influx creating the boom in all the research divisions. People didn't want to watch TV . They wanted to listen to music.
Nicely stated. This video did take me back. As a mid 60's Brooklyn teen I loved hanging out at the Acoustic Research Sound Room they had in Grand Central Station. Got my first FM radio in 1967. After military service (and broke) I assembled my budget system. A Pioneer SX-434 receiver, BIC 920 turntable and KLH model 31 speakers all for under $240. The most amazing thing to me wasn't the super receivers but that each company offered a "line" of components. A receiver for every budget. I never had a TOTL model but I have had a few; SX-434, SX-650, 2252B, 1090 (integrated amp), KR-A3060, SA-80 and my most used SR-804 that I purchased in 1979 and still use today. A good vintage system ain't half bad, fuhgeddaboudit.
I stumbled upon your channel after you posted a link on a FB "audiophile" group page. I have been a professional video producer for decades and I really enjoy your unique storytelling after watching most all your videos. My quick story: when I was in my early teens, I was given a long term "loan" of a Pioneer SX-1010 that really inspired me to pursue quality Hi-Fi gear. After years of enjoying that monster reciever, I went Yamaha separates that was a beginning of my home theater phase. Decades later I started collecting vintage gear and a SX-1010 finally got back into my possession. Fully restored. I also have a Yamaha CR-2020 and other vintage recievers from Marantz, Sony, Scott and even a Technics quad - all professionally restored. Crazy fun hobby with SO much nostalgia. Keep up the good work. I have already mentioned your channel to other audiophile buddies. Hopefully more subscribers and likes.
Wow, thanks! I try to be entertaining...it’s a lot of work! I appreciate you sharing your journey. Dave.
I love how you can hear the drum track looping in the background. Adds to the charm of the video.
Wow! This was a lot of fun to watch, and I look forward to more. I consider my 1973 JVC 4VR-5456 as a monster receiver.
"Over the Receiver Wars?"
"No, I don't think I'll ever get over the Receiver Wars. Those wounds...run pretty deep..." ;)
What brand is your overall winner?
You don’t know war until until you’ve hung out a barracks full of stoned GIs on a Saturday night. Let me set the scene. The military overseas had stores called the Audio Club which stocked the latest electronics and cameras directly from Japan at cost. Every couple of months there was a catalog listing: receivers, pre-amps, turntables, reel-to-reels, speakers, etc. available at the club. Throw into this mix testosterone charge young men with money and a taste for REAL music (pre-disco). I had a Sansui receiver, Bose 501, a Teac 10 inch reel-to-reel and Dark Side of the Moon.
Picture a hundred guys trying to show who had the best and biggest equipment! It was a real disappointment when I got out of the Army and my only competitors were kids with a Radio Shack combo system playing disco. Time has taken its toll, all my tunes are loaded on a Brennan B2 because I don’t have the space. Your video brought back an earlier time when music was music and you could push that sound.
Yes indeedy, I was there (and here)! My first 'real' receiver was a Pioneer SX-780 (either purchased from Tech HiFi or Stereo Warehouse, I forgot), which I still have to this day! Obtained it way back in High School in the late 70's, and it's still hooked up in our house now (driving a vintage pair of Polk Audio Monitor 10 speakers), where I have 9 stereo systems in operation! You might say I am obsessed with audio gear and speakers (and Amateur Radio & shortwave, but that's another story)! This all started when as a young kid grade schooler, I discovered that this huge gaudy wooden console piece of furniture that my dad had in the living room, housed a 'cool looking radio' inside. It turned out to be a FISHER 500C tubed receiver, which brought a ton of joy to my ethnic Dentist dad, who blasted his Greek music from it, usually after Church on Sundays, while dancing like a Zorba The Greek whirling dervish! I was hooked bigtime since! I still have the 500C, which is of sentimental value to me after dad passed on in 2015. We ditched the console though.
Had a Kenwood 8010 receiver was only 125 watts per channel, but was truly a beast. I wanted the biggest 160 watt Kenwood or a Marantz, but I couldn't afford them at the time. I used it as a DJ amp as it had 2 turntable and tape loops along with a front mounted mic jack with volume control. Sold it years ago at a garage sale. Still have my Yamaha R-100 at 100 WPC it isn't in the top of the receiver wars and was a little later. Still sounds great and is 17" wide and fits with normal consumer equipment. Now with the speculators and scammers even a decent Pioneer 45 WPC receiver is $750-$1000. Will keep looking and get a decent analog receiver and refurbish it myself and just enjoy it. I'm not in a hurry and like the equipment I have....
Gosh Thanks for the Memories I had just gotten out of the military in the mid-70s while I couldn't afford any of those stereos I did get to hear them they were great
This is such a good primer for someone starting down the trail of understanding the vintage amps.. I knew the names Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer.. but I go and look at the models and realize I don't know where they 'fit'.. this helps!
I have an 8500 series 2 pioneer amp that is my prized piece of audio equipment, it's 100% untouched and works perfectly, none of my other sound systems can even compare
I was there. Couldn't afford one.
Now I own 8.
Pioneer 1500TD sounds great.
1969. 52 watts rms.
How does it sound?
Hello !! there I just subscribed to this channel cause I was engulfed during that war a lot of recievers did not make it but I did ,I remember I was in high school when I noticed the war happening during highschool I worked in a record store part time where I was introduced to my first reciever the owner had a nice system hooked up to play records and lots of 45's to entice customers the reciever was a sansui do not remember the wattage or model but I do remember it was a big boy it was very loud and sometimes we would amp it up where it would klip speakers which were high up on two columns and of course I had to jump ladder to reset speakers good times , after high school I remember reading a stereo review mag and subscribed to it and I saw a lot of adds for those same recievers you showed I could not peel my eyes from those pics those recievers were beautiful at the time did not have a girl friend but if I was placed in a room full of recievers and another full of girls I know I would of chosen the receivers ,every page in mag had advertisements for lots of receivers ,TT's & cartridges ,I remember getting a pioneer amp but I wanted more power I kept trying to upgrade reading voraciously every review on recievers what improvements they had it was maddness!!!! could not afford the marantz type but did my best , I kept trying two more recievers each one better than the last but I wanted more power I finally got a Technics reciever with digatal tuner about I think 100 watts I forget the other recievers I had gotten rid of [I kind of feel for them they were casualties of war!] but it was the best I could afford at time I still cheated on said reciever once in a while I would go to audio store to flirt with the other recievers just to see never touched them just needed to see them ,the last one I got before I got married was a Pioneer receiver VSX-5300 from 1985 I still have it and it still works 100 watts per channel til this day ,we sometimes sit back and think back to the day when audio equipment was great ,I have bought as married life was progressing happily a Sony receiver movie theater sound it was the big thing during the 90's my pioneer took a back seat for several years sadly in a box in a lonely basement but we reunited several years ago and now we still reminisce about the good times we had it is my good old faithful friend through it all,it is a shame how newer recievers are not the same as in my time thet lack something I noticed on my sony reciever and another one I bought from a friend of mine an Onkyo receiver TX-2100 the bass seems limited compared to my pioneer it lacks the punch and they do not go up to high the pioneer when you open it up you can see the difference inwhat was put in the pioneer is packed compared to the sony and onkyo but thank god for my equalizers the really have saved the day but thats another story ,am looking to check out the second half of this vid this one was EXCELLENT!!!!! glad I subscribed thanks for this vid JRo
Was there and still here.
Hi David love your videos. My Uncle used to reside in Florida.
The intro was genious! Keep it up, man. This is good stuff.
yep i was there then - got kind of sucked into it for a while until i discovered british hifi! whole other ball game and such a game changer! never looked back since. so glad i wasn't a casualty of the 'receiver wars'
Cool vid. Yes I was there and an adult at the time. Never owned anything that big, but had some nice pieces. Two problems. Idle current could drive your utility bill beyond what you wanted to pay. And, price was not reflective of sound quality, or FM reception. The best FM sections lived in Mitsubishi's Da-R series. And since roof top antennas and pulling in distant stations with cool play lists was the name of the game, that's where you went. My Mitsu fed a Pioneer 909 Reel so I could listen and make cassettes of what I heard. Yeah, the end result was not audiophile, but in a car with V-8 and twice pipes who cared ... Cruisin with cool music was better than the AM play lists any day ... Full album sides - yeah baby : -)
Funny thing is those AM play lists and real disc jockeys put today's broadcast music to shame ... : -(
Great video. I remember these models very well. I had a Marantz 2325 and it had excellent sound.
I don't need all this wattage. My speakers produce almost 100 db with just 1 watt of input at 4' on axis. With my big, beautiful 1978 Fisher RS - 2007 receiver. Fisher (USA) patents and Sanyo's Japanese build quality made one fine package with four VU meters, 75 watts RMS per channel and a FM section that pulls strong stereo signals from Los Angeles - 100 miles away with just a 300-ohm dipole TV antenna draped over the component rack! I am lucky to have a straight line-of-sight shot up the coast, since I'm across the street from the ocean facing west and my receiver is in the NW corner. The VU meter on the mint Fisher receiver typically never goes over 1/4 watt for mid-auditorium sound pressures. Any louder than that and John, the Hollywood screenwriter across the hall complains. I favor my horn-loaded Altec 846 speakers that rise majestically on their stands to 48" above the carpet. They, too, are from the 1970s. Fisher and Altec - A dynamite combination.
I was in the middle of it. It took me forever to save enough to get a marantz 2265 reciever. I'd like to get a 100% refurbished & recapped new blue lights. Right now I'm using a onkyo tx 4500 mkii. 1979 vintage. It's awesome 😍
I remember those days well. I have back issues of Stereo Review and High Fidelity from that period. I had a relatively modest Pioneer SX-727.
1978-Graduated high school-off to college. Traded in my "hand-me-down" McIntosh 240 with "old fashion tubes" for a shiny new Kenwood KR-9600 Receiver. 160 wpc. Worst stereo mistake of my life!
It happens to all of us. We were all young and silly.
yup- been there , done that - and im only 51 ! ;-)
Ill take that kenwood!!!
In your opinion, was all Kenwood junk?
Good job on this video. Informative and entertaining!
I have a Sansui DC 6000 pure power/. A Sansui DC 9000 pure power, and a Rotel RX-2200, I am very happy with my vintage Recievers!!!
yes I was there! really spent a lot of time choosing my Sansui but a good friend of mine owned the store where I bought it and steered me in the right direction........
7:37 I love the industrial design of vintage receivers regardless of wattage or amps or features. Aside from other vintage receiver brands, I have a Marantz 2270, 2230, and 2235B as well as an SR2000 model I bought at a Salvation Army Thrift Store for $25.
The Marantz 2270 cost me about $750 (in Canadian dollars) on eBay a year or two ago and I had been tracking prices for years realizing that that particular model consistently sold for $750 to $850. Recently, I've seen the same model sell for over $1,000 in aggressive bidding wars, so they're still very much in demand and fetching higher and higher prices. It's pretty crazy.
In the late 70s I got a Marantz 2030 amp hand me down from my Dad along with a Scott FM tuner. Dad had upgraded to all Luxman gear for the stereo room. Really wish I would have kept that Marantz (and my '67 Mustang but that's another story). Mine was paired with a Technics SL-2002 TT and some Infiniti bookshelf speakers and some great vintage Koss headphones.
im watching your video and have the sound coming through my JVC R-2X i just saw on the photos....hahaha
I always go back to Sherwood. the 8910 and 9910 do not have the on/off connected to volume but even then they sound so good. the first Korean Sherwoods were pretty good too.
Looking forward to the third video..................can't wait to see what you did about that garage find!
I was there for sure. Turning 69 this year. I bypassed the receiver war by just going with an integrated amplifier.
Excellent Video! Very Enjoyable, if you are old enough to remember the "Monster Receivers" or want to learn you should check it out!
I lived through that time, but could only dream of affording even the more modest receivers. I had my Radio Shack Realistic Modulette, which did not even have a rated output. Probably something like 5 watts. But I can recall drooling over the shiny Kenwoods and Pioneers at the store. And promptly getting shooed away by protective sales people who did not want "kids" messing with them :-) On the plus side, I did manage to scratch up enough for a Pioneer PL-530 turntable, which I still have.
They used to make receivers to remind the user of space-ship control panels... The more complicated, the better. Starting up a receiver and setting all the dials and switches right - was almost like an engineering project. You have to remember, 1969 and the moon landing was just a few years in the past back then...
The good ol days when you could walk into a store and buy 1, Pacific Stereo, Roger Sound Labs, Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, how I miss these. Grew up in the Valley in 1970's home of Marantz (Chatsworth) and HK (Northridge). I remember having to finance my 1st receiver when I was 16.
Miss all of the cool retail chains. NJ had Silo, Tech Hifi, Crazy Eddie's, Bryn Mawr Stereo. Please subscribe. Thanks, Dave
I worked at Recycled Stereo in North Hollywood, Cal stereo and Pacific stereo in Van Nuy's and loved the "Midnight Sale" at Roger Sound Labs in Van Nuy's
AND worked at Superscope in Chatsworth ,(Marantz) for a while. So Cal in the 60's and 70's was THE hotbed for Hi Fi. Miss those Valley days also bro.
@@MODAC, some swell stores too in Fun City back then. In addition to Crazy Eddie's and Tech Hifi was Harvey Sound, Lafayette Electronics, Great Sounds, Stereo Warehouse, Churchill Audio, Audio Graveyard (across from the Trinity Church cemetery on Rector Street), Uncle Steve's and Sounds Great. Heck, even E. J. Korvette's sold audio.
Very creative open to your video, great job!
Very Orignial!! Funny!!! Good Job!!!
Much appreciated. Please subscribe. Thanks, Dave
Awesome intro in the woods, loved it. Great video and info, Good job. You put a smile on my face today and I needed it. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks, have you seen my other videos?
I owned the Yamaha CR 3020 back then. Absolutely beautiful piece.
Wish I owned one. They weren't as well known as other brands back then. Yamaha became more popular in the 1980s. Please subscribe. Thanks, Dave
@@MODACI also had the Yamaha YPD 8 and 10 turntables. Traded the receiver in and picked up 3 Yamaha B2 amps and a C2 preamp. I was 17 years old and then a couple of years later I went really high-end. I do wish I had the 3020 today for a secondary system.
How did it sound though 😳
Just sold both my Pioneers. An SX 650 and an SX 880. The 880 l bought new. Got $650 for both.
Very nice video. Receivers weren’t so popular in the UK from memory, separates were the thing. Pioneer and Technics had a good reputation out of the Japanese brands but British was the way to go. Not as flashy but when sound quality was paramount then British was the best.
Your videos are excellent. I just discovered your channel and I appreciate what you do. Thank you.
I'm 64 but I never bought a "monster receiver". Who the hell needs 300 watts per channel except in a discoteque. I found models in the 30 to 70 watt range usually sounded sweetest to my ears. One of the nicest sounds I ever heard from a vintage piece of consumer gear was a Kenwood KA-8006 integrated amp. Much better than any monster receivers I ever heard many of which sounded unbearably steely and irritating.
You showed a Sanyo JCX-2900. I had a JCX-2400, (55wpc), and it was as well-built a receiver as any of the big-name companies. I would love to get my hands on the 2900.....
I don't have any of the "monster" receivers, but I do have a few of their little brothers. A Hitachi SR-904 and a Yamaha CR-1040, as well as a few baby brothers.
It just started out as a hobby, If I saw a cheap receiver at a thrift store or garage sale, I'd buy it, take it home, clean it and tune it up and use it for a while before retiring it to the spare room. A lot of them I sold for a price similar to what I paid for it, or even occasionally gave them away for free to friends and family.
I wasn't collecting for speculation purposes, but given the renewed interest in vintage audio and the escalating prices they're commanding now, I unintentionally made a good investment.
They didn't sell that many. Most receiver buyers could just lust after them. They were pretty pricey.
Yessir , i was just being born, but I have had a chance to own a few of those mid to late seventies monster receivers , the Technics sa5670 , sa 800, pioneer sx 1280, pioneer sx939, And currently only have Fisher rs1080 170wpc 8ohm. Enjoyed the cool and informative video
Nice Marantz collection.
Great vid. Thanks!
I was there Dave, trying to borrow money trying to get my pioneer monster reciever
1978 I own a sansui R30 b'cause of its low power I sold it and bought the top of the line R70 DC SERVO amp receiver 60 watts X 2 THD 0.05 but sold it again, need the money. yr 1984 bought another Sansui a DC Super feed forward amplifier 70watts x 2 THD 0.005. and it sound so good using a 15 inch speaker of 350 watts each. although minor repair needed for its crackling volume. still own it this day april 29 2020.
Wow. Buy some Deoxit spray for that noisy volume pot. Fixes the problem easily. There are TH-cam videos on how to do it.
I still have two Kenwood giants the kr9600 and kr8010. I kept these because of the sonics over the Yamaha, Realistic and Marantz. Though I do still have a Marantz 2270 and 2215. The 2215 is only 15 watts per channel but is the best sounding of any Marantz receiver i ever had.
All I remember is my older cousin telling us to stay away from his pioneer receiver.
77-79ish I wonder if he has PTSD?
Thanx!! great informations
Looking forward the special Marantz episode.
This is all very interesting. Thing is, we are in the middle of another war. This is much broader, and way more important. Back when the CD was introduced, the Record companies didn't understand the CD. All they seen was a formate change. They were counting their millions, as people rebought all their collections of music in CD. What they didn't understand was a CD wasn't a format change, but they were actually selling music for the first time. Before, if you bought a vinyl record, it had a very limited life span. The moment you took vinyl out of it's cardboard, it had dust on it. Also, every who collected vinyl, fought the war against scratches. I lived that life. I would buy a record, and just out the blue, their would be a blip in the record. Everyone did this. What minor mistake, you didn't even notice would ruin a record. For the life of me, I don't know how people can like vinyl. I understand it now, because the industry has turn against it, and worst, it never fully expoited what CDs are. CDs are not a format, but a data file. I don't use a CD player to listen to music. The first thing I do, is pop my CD in the computer, and make a few copies. My car has a CD player, but I don't use it. I just blue tooth my music to the car. I have my entire music collection in four devices, and the music I actually listen to, in two more devices. How in their right mind would buy vinyl? There is war being fought to day. Everyone is listening to streaming music, and it sucks. I'm not saying todays music is bad, but they big companys have it locked up tight, and you only hear, what they want you to hear. Payola used to be illegal, but that's just how the industry works today. The war is on, and no one is fighting back. If you don't fight know, in the future, you're going to have Taylor Swift piped right into your skull, and you will not be able to fight it.
I subscribed. Thanks for the history lesson !! :)
Thanks for the sub!
I remember them well. I guess you could say "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times". Dozens of manufacturers offering dozens of models.
One thing that ended the wars was that detour of foolishness that was quadrophonic. And the sheer size weight and heat output of those monster receivers!
My brother bought the Sansui 200 watt/channel receiver and after the first month when my mom got her electric bill she put the kibosh on that beast.
Love vintage i have a pioneer 1050 and a sansui 9090 both like new ! bose 901 speakers ,paradign and Bro 3
Clever presentation! I remember well.
Good video!
i love my sx 1080.
I like the Hitachi, that one is my fav. I'll give you 200 for it. That's a dollar per watt.
Oh I was definitely there for the receiver wars-! (61) - and Ive got about ten or fifteen old units to prove it, mainly 900 series white faced Pioneers and a really large one year only Onkyo with two transformers and the hard to find tuner with both digital and analog tuning, 160 wpch I think it is.
Yep, I love bed through it! I bought by gear from Japan when I was living in Australia in 1977.
Very cool! A lot of servicemen were responsible for introducing Japanese electronics to N America. Please subscribe. Thanks, Dave
" Beautiful pieces of audio art & history 🎼🎵🎶
d 🤕🇪🇺🗺💜🎵
2:42, what about Swiss Revox (Studer)? Talking about big and heavy industrial design and high tech equipment like their Tape Decks. It seems like Americans are never been familiar with Revox yet every serious studio always had Studer equipment.
For the price of old Receivers that some people asking for, you can almost get a brand new Accuphase receiver. In my opinion, the built quality of Accuphase is superior to any of that mass-produced stuff.
Obviously Revox made great gear, but it wasn’t as popular or mainstream as the Japanese stuff in N America. The Viet Nam vets coming back from Asia with hifis that they bought over there made a huge impact.
I was there in the early Seventies, and I believe only the Marantz, Harman Kardon, and Tandberg are the only ones worth owning. The only thing good about the Pioneer receivers was their tuner. Their amps had really weak power supplies and would shut down when dealing with a 4 Ohm impedance.
I bypassed the receiver war and went straight to integrated amps.
Thoze were the days to live with home/ car esp/ audio...cause everyone, knowz, the best sound system, was a , pioneer kef,,round dial reciever, hooked up to a set of mindblowers, was the best ive errd..yes, i know thiz about home audio...if u had a early 70z , gran torino, and that pioneer, mindblower setup...you were good ta go in audioland
Great video by ya
Had fisher, kenwood home recievers
.even some the radio shack, realistic recievers , would sound fantastic...weight recievers..
No, harman kardon mention?? Juzt kidding..I think back then in the mid ta late 70z, most people were piling there money into there car audio..ya could take great sounds , with ya anywhere..but great review by ya...foe zhure..peace
I like your videos, full of information and lovely made, also funny. Great entertainment!. One thing: The more we talk about how good this and that is- the smaller the chance to be able to afford in the future. But I don´t care, please go on... dreaming to own one is allowed, I am married (-; Greetings from Germany
This reciver will get this days
Oh yea! PIONEER SPEC1 and SPEC2. Although not a receiver, it kicked!.
I am Still using my Sansui G8000 and G9000 receivers I did have them recapped
Tremendous! I recently picked up a Sansui 881. Very impressed w/ it. Please subscribe. Thanks, Dave
@@MODAC o have 881, seven, 1000X and many others...881 at top combined with my speakers, sources
Brilliant video.
Thanks!
In 1980 I stumbled across a NOS 2325 tucked away in a local stereo shop....was able to get it for $400, as a upgrade to my Sherwood....that had been purchased from Pacific Stereo. Lost my whole system in a burglary, 1984......
What a happy, and then sad story. Please subscribe. Thanks, Dave
When did the war end? With the Harman/Kardon 730. 40 watts that blew the 100+ watt receivers away.
Luke Skywalker, "You fought in the Receiver Wars?"
Ben Kenobi, "Yes, I was once an audiophile the same as your father." ;)
From a Quality point of view, there can only be one Winner: Accuphase ! And Turntable : Microseiki DQX-1000
Watch this whip a cassette and play my sansui 881 like a red headed step child.
I have a luxman lv111. What do you think about that amplifier?
I have a marantz 2270 Great 👍!!!!!
The box casing however is broken in the back section and has no grill would be nice to have that replaced is it possible?
eBay sells old and modern replacements.
Some people never got over the Receiver Wars...Heck, I never got over the Beta-VHS Wars... ;)
How about pioneer receivers and some teac and some akai reel to reel in a future video
Skunk ape's (Florida's BigFoot) need their tunes too
You left out 1 brand Realistic (RS)
those sansuis at the end of the 70s were freaking HUGE!!!
Had one of those monster Sansui - GS-7500, I think. It was a beast. Never exploited the 90 watts RMS per channel...level 4 would blow me out of my mobile home. Sadly, it wasn't very reliable...the balance control crapped out in short order. Replaced it with an NAD 7140.
SANSUI the humble dude in the room
I recently picked up a Sansui 881. Sounds fantastic. Please subscribe. Thanks, Dave
I wouldn't leave out the labs divisions.
Much say like Shelby was to ford there were labs divisions at kenwood(kenwood/trio) Hitachi , Sony
And others. Much was not exported or in limited quantities. There are actually heritage laws in place for dealers. Let me list a few examples.
L-0D 9200 Hitachi . Kenwood L8m with external power packs , Yamaha B series especially the 3 and the almighty VFET Sony N7. Forget the monster recievers .... The sound Quality was the real war . Models like the L7II will dust off something say like a Hagel. I have fully modified 100v labs gear and I promise it will run with anything that's not cheap house money.
The real answer is there was an economic crash in Japan and the teams were disbanded . And now you know .
Yeppers I was I chased after quaity audio again in the late 80s and 90s and again in the early 2000s shortly after discovered I atill had my Kenwood KR-8010 I hqd bought new In 1978. I hooked it up and twisted the noisy pots it soon was obvious to me I had what I was looking for the whole time since that day I have aquired all the gear I never would have been able to consider all pre 1980 gear I am analog all the way no subs but old school drivers SL k horns
1968 cornwall ll ( verticals ) atecs . HPMs Infinitys and JBls
Im blessed with a wife who humors my hobby. Analog is indeed the golden age and it was wattage that meant power at the ready stored in caps not silicon on demand digital gotta love it!
Concept 16.5
Great video! I was there and switched to separates as a result.