What old gear are you running?

[piece-it pete]

Howdy, everyone!

Erics' mention in another thread got me thinking, there's a lot of vintage gear out there, and we haven't done any type of list for some time.

I've currently got a bunch of old stuff:

Main system:

Marantz 1152dc (amp section)
Hafler 110 pre
Dual 604 tt
Dahlquist DQ-10s'
The only "new" thing is my Philips DVD/CD.

Bedroom:

Project One rec'r (from about 1980)
Old LXI cd player (from 1983)
University TMS-2 speaker system (from about 1960)

Anyone else running the old - junk? :D

Pete

[topspeed]

"Old" is a relative term as it's hard for me to deem equipment from the '80's as old but in this day and age of disposable electronics, I 'spose you're right.

In that case, I have a Marantz 2230 (circa '70's) in my br rig, Mission 780 Argonauts (c. 1987) in the office and a Denon tape deck (c. early '80s) in my main rig. I don't really consider the latter two as 'vintage' but whatever.

[piece-it pete]

"Old" is a relative term as it's hard for me to deem equipment from the '80's as old but in this day and age of disposable electronics, I 'spose you're right.


TS,

Agreed. Call '80s old, '70s and earlier "vintage" ?

Pete

[kexodusc]

Hmmm, I power my Axiom speakers in my dining room with a NAD 3140. My Dad bought'er back in '83. Still going strong.
I have a NAD 3020 I think I'll put out in the garage soon...not sure if it'll survive a January in Canada but we'll find out pretty soon :D
Most of my secondary gear is early/mid 90's stuff. Not quite "old" yet.

[llcabe]

hi, is there any effect on my system with different impedance in my speakers?

i have a current setup of:
onkyo tx sr 501
left & right speakers monitor audio, 6 ohms
center definitive tech c2, 8 ohms
surround - def tech pro monitor 100, 8 ohms
sub -def tech pro sub 100
dvd player pioneer dv 533k

pls help?

[ericl]

My main system is in my profile but:

Thorens 126mk2 (shure v15 cart) > Fisher 500c > Kilpsch Cornwalls
(also have dvd player/computer/dac, of course)

I love each of these components, and they love each other. although the Klipschs are obnoxiously big. I think I need to replace the tubes on the 500c, they're mostly original(!) The fisher is just an awesome piece, a real bruiser. replaced a couple tubes and a couple caps when I bought it and its done nothing but play great music ever since. 40 years old, and it is just so reliable and sweet sounding. The thorens is great too. Other than curiosity I feel no need to change any of this equipment. I'm really happy with the sound.

For other old gear, I was on a kick with old receivers for a while:

Yamaha CR 2020. really nice receiver but its too damn wide to fit in any of my racks, so it is unused right now. Nice wood case.

HK 730. sweet twin powered receiver which, unfortunately at the moment has a grounding problem in one channel. Sounds AWESOME when its working.

HK 630. similar to above but a lesser model, with a cheaper plastic face plate (ironic that this one works and the 'better' model doesn't). This is in the bedroom right now but i will probably give it to my younger brother at college.

-Eric

[piece-it pete]

Welcome llcabe!!

I doubt if it'll hurt anything, you might have to adjust the level controls (as you probably already did), but apart from that I can't think of anything. Maybe the wiser :) ones will chime in.

Eric, soooo, you're one of those strange tube guys....... :D . Your system's a real classic! I've got a hk 630, I've just abused it and abused it and it just won't die.

kex, a NAD for a garage system, sweet!!

Pete

[dean_martin]

My office system used for headphone listening -
Sansui AU-5900 integrated
Marantz 112 tuner
Akai GCX-730D cassette
headphones are relatively new though (Grado RS60s)

I have a Yamaha T-1 tuner in my bedroom system

In my main 2ch system I have a Yamaha CT-44 tuner and an older Yamaha K-130 cassette deck (probably late 80's).

[Worf101]

Old stuff I have and rotate into use.

1. Akai 1030 Receiver. Sounds fantastic.

2. Allison Fours - Rears on my puter system.

2. Ohm Walsh 2's - Rears on my main system.

I've tons of other "old and vintage" speakers but they're not "in rotation" as we speak.

Da Worfster :D

[JDaniel]

Pete,

I've got a few pieces of vintage gear that I really like. These include:

Technics SA-700 (Beast of a true 100 wpc receiver - about 45 lbs, retailed for $800 in late 70s)

Marantz 2220 (sweet sound, esp. with a TT)

Sansui 2000X (love the looks and sound, but have one channel that needs work now)

Elac Miracord TT (beautiful looking, beautiful sounding)

Advent 3 speaks, KLH Model 24 speaks.

If I just had room for all this gear. I'm slowly establishing a vintage system to give to each of the kids when they are older.

JD

[ericl]

Hey JDaniel,

I gave a Sansui 2000x to my other brother at college (twin brothers). Thats a great receiver. I had a channel problem too, it was making a "woosh" sound out of one channel. A tech nailed it down to a bad transistor (? i think thats what it was). That fixed it. I also had a 2220b great sound also. sold that one to a friend.

eric

[Number9]

speakers? Hello, Could you or anyone else, be able to give me an idea as to how old these are? They were given to me by a friend who thinks that her husband had them in the early 1960's.The speakers have a 3 way "High Frequency Level" switch on the bottom & 3 settings;"Normal" "Increase" & "Decrease." At the heart of it is a KLH Model Twenty Receiver/Amp/Turntable combo. All components are on the original & very heavy KLH metal stands. Sadly, it's not functioning right now, although I may try hooking the speakers up to an old receiver that I have. I can't seem to get the grills off the speakers so that I can check them out. I think that I may have found my winter project.Thank you, Michael

[Pat D]

HK 730. sweet twin powered receiver which, unfortunately at the moment has a grounding problem in one channel. Sounds AWESOME when its working.

HK 630. similar to above but a lesser model, with a cheaper plastic face plate (ironic that this one works and the 'better' model doesn't). This is in the bedroom right now but i will probably give it to my younger brother at college.

-Eric
I have a HK 730 but the left channel is blown, apparently due to said grounding problem. Not even the distributor could fix it at the time--this was about 12 years ago. If I could get it fixed, I would, and I understand there are people that know how to do it, but I haven't found them. I still use it as a tuner and to some extent as a switcher and feed the pre-outs into the Radio input of my Quad preamp.

[ericl]

I have a HK 730 but the left channel is blown, apparently due to said grounding problem. Not even the distributor could fix it at the time--this was about 12 years ago. If I could get it fixed, I would, and I understand there are people that know how to do it, but I haven't found them. I still use it as a tuner and to some extent as a switcher and feed the pre-outs into the Radio input of my Quad preamp.

You know, this is a very common problem with these receivers. My friend actually bought one on ebay on my advice, and he loved it until this same problem showed up. He took it to a tech to fix, and then returned it to the tech three times, because the tech couldn't fix it. SO I haven't even bothered with it since it appeared on mine. Its a real shame, its a really great reciever. I'll probably use mine as a tuner if i ever go to separates.

-eric

[piece-it pete]

Boy, a lot of people like the old HKs'!

The 730s' (actually, all the twin powers up to the mighty 930) go for very little IMO on eBay, probably for less than you can get yours fixed.

If you want yours fixed I will put in a plug for my tech: He's very reasonable and VERY good, repairs and mods. He works on top gear sent to him from all over the country, new and vintage, I've seen some of it on his bench, jeez I wish I had more stereo money!!

If you're interested, PM me with your email and I'll have him drop you a line. He goes by dr*audio in various groups. Maybe I can get him to stop in here.

JD, you'll have some happy kids!! I've got one nephew set up with a Pioneer QX-949 (over 60 pounds of huge, good-looking old Pioneer with 4 channel scope - pity it doesn't sound a bit better!) driving Altec Model 9s', not up to our aud-e-o-file standards exactly :) , but it's got what he wants: decent power and dynamics. I've got a niece set up with a kinda beat-up Marantz 2230 driving modded-through-neccessity Infinity RS-4000s' (fried Emits- replaced with very old [50's] paper-cone tweets that somehow fit the speaker sound-wise) . I like this system!

Pete

[Feanor]

Howdy, everyone!
...
Anyone else running the old - junk? :D

Pete
For sure: it's only been a year or so since I began to retire stuff I'd been using for 20+ years.

Still used in my main system ...
* Denon analog, FM-only tuner, (c.1979)
* Apt Holman pre-amp (1979); only the phono section is still in use

HT system ...
* B&W DM7 speakers, (c.1981), used as fronts

Bedroom system ...
* Harmon Kardon 330A receiver, (c.1972)
* Radio Shack Minimus 7 speakers, (early '80's)

Retired from service only 8 months ago ...
* Phase Linear 400 amp, (1978); was used with the Apt Holman,B&W's, and Denon tuner as my main system for over 20 years.

[RGA]

Wow I guess my systems are pretty current - Oldest piece are my Wharfedale Vanguards circa 1990 right before the company began to fall apart. They replaced the Rosewood and Vanguards with the Modus line and they flopped.

Next oldest is my Sugden A48b 1992-1997. The A48 line had been around since the 1970s and were largely cosmetic changes. The amp though has been garnered classic status in the UK so we'll call it old in at least design if not in parts and arious tweaks over the years.

My Wharfedales are going to need some serious work I think. They have contour controls for the treble and midrange units which let you control their crossovers. But they cut out the tweeter (staticy) on one speaker so I need to take out the tweeter and midrange drivers get in and see if they just need a cleaning. But the drivers have large metal rings bolting the drivers to the cabinet and I can;t get the muscle up enough to turnt the screws by hand. BUGGER. Time to get an electric screwdriver i think.

[Feanor]

... But the drivers have large metal rings bolting the drivers to the cabinet and I can;t get the muscle up enough to turnt the screws by hand. BUGGER. Time to get an electric screwdriver i think.
An electric screwdriver won't necessarily give you more torque than a thick-handled manual screwdriver. You might need to get sort of device that turns the tip when you strike that other end with a hammer -- that will pretty much turn anything. Or you might try a screwdriver attachment on a box wrench handle.

[RGA]

Sheesh I never thought about that. When Wharfedale said they bolted the sound down they really freakin bolted it down. Maybe one reason they got rid of these controls on speakers over the years. The controls I believe have a 12-15step control for each of the drivers. But something is corroded or a soft contact now or something. Time to go to the home depot.

[toenail]

I've got a Dynaco ST-70 tube amp that is currently under repair. There are some things about the mid and high end that that amp does that are simply amazing.

I used to have an HK but can't remember if it was 630 or 730. It did have a problem with one channel being waaaaay louder than the other. You could compensate with balance control but the problem was intermittent and frustrating. Plenty of power out of that thing though.

[Mr Peabody]

A month or so ago I picked up a Sansui AU-9500 for $20. I didn't realize what I had gotten until I checked Bluebook but what really blew me away was when I hooked it up. I had played with a couple Sansui receivers and wasn't impressed but the AU-9500 is awesome. It's an integrated amp, Bluebook says it was rated at 50 wpc but a website gave a rating of 75 wpc into 8 ohms. I set the AU-9500 in place of my Adcom 5400/450 pre/pwr combo, everything else remained the same, a vintage Denon cd player (which vintage digital is not usually a good thing) and Dynaudio A60's. The 9500 sold for about $550. new in 74-76. I was not expecting what I heard. The 9500 blew the Adcom separates away. The 9500 had a larger sound stage with much more air between the instruments, there was more detail throughout the frequency range, especially bass, it even seems more powerful and the 5400 is rated at 125 wpc. The 9500 doesn't have more bass, just better bass, it sounds tighter and deeper where the Adcom booms more. Some may be put off by the 9500's in your face sound. It's not harsh or fatigueing to me but the sound is aggressive and lively sounding. I have it set, basically flat with no filters. This amp has a selector to allow setting the turnover frequency for bass, mid, & treble. It also has a midrange tone control along with bass and treble. And if that didn't get you where you wanted to be there is filtering for bass and highs. So the amp's sound could be tailored to a warmer side. It has some interesting features like 1/4" jacks in the back for a microphone and 3 sets of speaker inputs.

Bluebook on this amp retail is still $150. I'd say if you can find a Sansui AU-9500 it would be a bargain at $150.

[Rycher]

Some of the best gear was built in the 70's and 80's. I still find myself using my Tandberg 3014 quite often. Although nowhere near the convenience and quality of CD, there is something about the ritual of cleaning the tape heads and the tape hiss, and the setting of knobs (bolby B or C, Metal, Chrome, or Normal tape, etc), that brings back memories of a time when WE were in control of the music, rather than some microprocessor.

[vr6ofpain]

Only thing I use from that time is my Adcom GFA-545. Sounds great.

If
80's = old,

and
70's and before = vintage,

what would components from the 90's be called?

Dusty...?

[SRO]

I have in storage:

Fisher mono tube tuner - I can't remember model #
Scott 299C Integrated
1 pair Large Advents

The Fisher and Scott pieces I got for free. A friend was cleaning out his parent's garage, and was going to toss them. He said they didn't work. All I did was replace the rectifier tube on the integrated. Both worked flawlessly for years before being stored away. I assume they still do. One day I will have room to fire them up again.

The Advents were a $20.00 purchase at Goodwill to be able to use the other 2 pieces. Just good dumb luck on my part to see them.

[Weister42]

I have in storage:

Fisher mono tube tuner - I can't remember model #
Scott 299C Integrated
1 pair Large Advents

The Fisher and Scott pieces I got for free. A friend was cleaning out his parent's garage, and was going to toss them. He said they didn't work. All I did was replace the rectifier tube on the integrated. Both worked flawlessly for years before being stored away. I assume they still do. One day I will have room to fire them up again.

The Advents were a $20.00 purchase at Goodwill to be able to use the other 2 pieces. Just good dumb luck on my part to see them.

Hum...I used to have a pair of Large Advent with 10" woofers and that special tweeter, some of the best vintage speaker I've heard.

[Mr Peabody]

Anyone remember Altec Lansing? I was never fortunate enough to own a pair but I drooled over a pair as a kid just getting started. You remember the ones that were about the size of a small deep freeze. I also remember a pair of Kenwood speakers that were about 5 feet tall, had a couple big woofers, a whole row of tweeters, at least six. Now I realize those were just a gimmic but back then they looked cool to me and I wasn't much in tune to good sound. The equation then was LOUDER = BETTER and BIGGER(must) = LOUDER. Now, I am convinced that smaller woofers are faster and more accurate but they still don't quite give you the same sensation as when you have a couple 12's pumping in the room.