What defines Vintage Gear?

[Hyfi]

Is a Counterpoint Amp or VAC pre from early 90s considered vintage?

[thekid]

Some use the quality of the gear others use the calendar and still others use the technology to define vintage. Having said that ((with no knowledge of the quality of this gear) that by the last two definitions anything from the 90's would not be considered vintage.

[Hyfi]

Some use the quality of the gear others use the calendar and still others use the technology to define vintage. Having said that ((with no knowledge of the quality of this gear) that by the last two definitions anything from the 90's would not be considered vintage.

Thanks, the quality is very good. The VAC was a reference pre-amp in it's day while the Counterpoint was one of the first hybrid (half SS-half Tube) amp.

Maybe in another 10 years I could consider it vintage. I suppose it's close to Antique which is 30 years or older.

[nightflier]

If it doesn't have HDMI or play MP3s, it's vintage, LOL.

[Hyfi]

If it doesn't have HDMI or play MP3s, it's vintage, LOL.

That is almost all my gear. I have figured out how to make an MP3 sound reasonable.......Play it through $15k worth of gear.

[atomicAdam]

if a 10 year old doesn't know what it is it is vintage - if you dont know what the 10 year old is into - than you are vintage - like a fine wine or a really 'kick you in the teeth' beer - technology moves quickly

[Poultrygeist]

represents the Golden Age of HiFi which is primarily the 1970's when Japan became the world producer of good affordable gear. Sadly enough the 80's and 90's saw a marked decline in quality as companies bought each other out and cut corners to increase profits.

That's why Marantz lovers pay much more for the old silver faced units from the 70's vs the gold faced units of the 80's. Same for Advent which stopped making good speakers in the 80's when Jensen bought them out. A 1970's black faced Sansui will fetch much more than one from the 80's. KLH is nothing today but when Henry Kloss ran it back in the 70's they made fantastic speakers. His Model Six design sold by Cambridge Soundworks is still one of today's best bargains and it sounds and looks just like the KLHs from the 70's.

Anyone old enough to have argued the virtue of belt drive vs direct drive is also considered vintage.

[Auricauricle]

If it's got fuses...it might be vintage....

?

[Glen B]

Vintage = at least 25 years old.

[Hyfi]

Vintage = at least 25 years old.

That is what I am looking for. In 6 years I will be back to post about my VAC and Counterpoint gear.

[Auricauricle]

By then my green will have faded....from deep, forest to lime green!

[audio amateur]

It's vintage when something goes wrong everytime you turn it on.

[Auricauricle]

Heehee....It's vintage when you turn it on and you smell ozone....

[MikeyBC]

Vintage to me is any equipment that predated the CD boom of the early 80's, nothing from the 90's is even close to vintage.

[nightflier]

Any preamp/integrated/receiver/processor w/o a remote?

[emaidel]

KLH is nothing today but when Henry Kloss ran it back in the 70's they made fantastic speakers. His Model Six design sold by Cambridge Soundworks is still one of today's best bargains and it sounds and looks just like the KLHs from the 70's.

Anyone old enough to have argued the virtue of belt drive vs direct drive is also considered vintage.

This comment got my attention. When I first started selling audio equipment, in 1966, the single loudspeaker out of all that Lafayette Radio carried in the day that impressed me the most was the KLH-6. I preferred it over the far costlier AR-3, as well as costlier EMI and Empire and Fisher speakers. I even liked it better than the "improved" model, the KLH-5.

I finally bought myself a pair in 1968, and actually had four of them at one time when I had a quad system, and remember then very, very fondly.

The current "Model 6" sold by Cambridge Audio isn't the same thing, as it has an 8" instead of a 12" woofer. Price is also an indicator, as the original KLH-6 sold at a "fair-traded" (read: "Not discounted") price of $134 each. The Cambridge Audio model sells for $149.95 each. Still, if the newer model comes even remotely close to the performance of the original, the price of $149.95 is an out and out steal.

And, I'm certainly old enough to be considered vintage, as I'm 64, and will be 65 in January, and have also posted a thread on my very positive impression of my "vintage" Dual CS-5000, acquired almost 2 years ago, which is belt drive, and sounds better than any direct drive turntable I've ever owned. I don't know exactly what specific feature of the CS-5000 is responsible for its fine sound quality, but I strongly suspect one of those features, if not the main one, is that it is a belt drive. And it fits the bill as "vintage," as the last production was in 1987, not quite, but almost 25 years ago.

[Poultrygeist]

Hey emaidel,

I picked up a pair of KLH Model 24's for $5 at a garage sale a couple of years ago. I was sure I would have to re-foam them but the surrounds were still in great shape. They are made of fabric and not the cursed foam. They are living happily in my garage powered by an old Sherwood receiver from the 1970's. They sound very much like my current Cambridge Sound Works Model 6's and that's a good thing.

Being vintage like yourself I get a kick out of finding the old stuff that I coveted back in the day. I recently bought a pair of Advent Legacy II's for $10. The owner thought they were shot as the surrounds were crumbling. I had fun re-foaming them and polishing up those beautiful cabinets. I sold them for a nice sum but only to make room for the next find. They sounded sweet powered by my tiny 7 watt t-amp which moved those big 12" woofers with ease.

What cartridge do you have in the Dual? Do you still use a discwasher ?

[emaidel]

Hey emaidel,



What cartridge do you have in the Dual? Do you still use a discwasher ?

The Stanton W.O.S Collector's Series 100. It was essentially a hand-tweaked, improved 881-S that had a sapphire-coated beryllium cantilever, a nude Stereohedron stylus, and came with individually run frequency response graphs. I obtained mine while working as the VP of Sales and Marketing for Stanton, but use it to this day just because I like it - not because of the fact I was a longtime Stanton employee. I prefer it to the Shure V/15 Type V mxr, the Ortofon MC-20 MKII and the Denon DL-103D, which says a lot (I think).

[Poultrygeist]

I still have one of those with the cute little brush. It doesn't compare with yours but was a real workhorse in it's day. Mine must be 35+ years old. I see you live in Moore, SC. I went to college in Spartanburg in the 60's.

[Auricauricle]

Geeze, Chicken Man! Spartanburg in the 60's....I had so much hope....You coulda gone to Newberry, ya know!

[Hyfi]

Any preamp/integrated/receiver/processor w/o a remote?

Nah, My Sound Valves pre had no remote. and the VAC I am using now has no remote as well as two volume knobs, one for each channel.

[Auricauricle]

How's that VAC doin' there? I'm gettin' itchy again....Shoot!

[Poultrygeist]

from "The Beacon" but Wofford is only 2 miles away.