Who made the best vintage audio?
- Thread starter blurghy
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432HzBob
Lunatic Member
Luxman... Good sounding gear even into the Alpine years. 70's Luxman seperates are still $$$
Infinity Speakers... Among the smorgasbord of mass speaker makers, their 70's and 80's speakers with EMIT's still hold up today.
HH Scott... 60's gear was good until they started going down hill some time in the 70's. Their tube gear is only now becoming more known for its sound quality.
Stax. Everything was well designed and in turn, made good sounds.
Accuphase. Another constant out of Japan.
Sony R series. Pinnacle
Pioneer eXclusive.
Sansui B & C 23xx series. Superb.
Denon S1. Amazing.
All of this was (is) extremely expensive gear, then and now. It certainly represents the best vintage gear for me.
Accuphase. Another constant out of Japan.
Sony R series. Pinnacle
Pioneer eXclusive.
Sansui B & C 23xx series. Superb.
Denon S1. Amazing.
All of this was (is) extremely expensive gear, then and now. It certainly represents the best vintage gear for me.
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Absolutely! Since many responses include the 70s, I would add:
Audio Research
Mark Levinson
Acoustat
Threshold (Pass Labs today)
Conrad-Johnson
Dahlquist
The following had a lot of impact on Audio:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....o-post-your-pics.52897/page-203#post-10835357
JustinSane
New Member
Basing my answer on 1) Sound quality 2) Ease of use 3) Reliability / Longevity
Nakamichi SR3A, SR4A. Tandberg 2nd Revox 3rd Luxman 4th All of these are pre-90 manufacture . Worst : McIntosh 4100 Any Sony
Nakamichi SR3A, SR4A. Tandberg 2nd Revox 3rd Luxman 4th All of these are pre-90 manufacture . Worst : McIntosh 4100 Any Sony
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i have had room fulls of vintage marantz,klh,pioneer kenwood,one i got was 4 bucks,but had issues..i had never seen or heard acoustic research till around 2 years ago,my ar2ax are probably best all around speakers i ever heard,but the best an purest of all things was an old klh model 20 when all was good,an fresh on it,simply like a live band an sounds like 100 watts per channel with all 4 ohm speakers etc,wonderful..when the tweeters went bad on model 20 speakers,or needed recapped,i hooked up vf 12 cerwin vegas,an to thisday i have never heard anything so breathable an lifelike with great bass an lively splashy treble,i love marantz especially b series,an the midrange on them,some of this stuff here i have never heard of for whatever reason,and im older than most an been lovin musick an equipment since my teens when it all was marantz,an pioneer an kenwood etc..there all o k.
we dealt in advent,large an small an many many klh speakers through the years, buying,an listening an selling,i had a sansui or two,never paid much attention to them,marantz an a r did allways get my attention,an my at 10 cerwin vegas were great,nothing is clear as model 20 klh,or ar 2 ax..im old now, 62 and my hearing aint what it used to be maybe..but acoustic research,an marantz,are the cleanest an clearest combinations maybe.klh sound is really lifelike an sounds good a long way,a lot of midrange,an you never have to even have them halfway up..wonderful,but all parts must be good an fresh etc........my latest thing is model 19 klh,it looks so good,am waiting on the pricy cord,maybe tomorrow an we shall see..i had a guy with very good fresh model 20 speakers say that his sounded good as mcintosch or anything else,so go figure. i have had very rare champagne gold sm9 or sc9 vintage marantz esotec. sm7,whatever pre amp,the amp had a channel out,bought for 100 an sold for 900 both together,so i never heard these rare pieces,but they reek of quality ...also the sansui au-20000,never heard it,bought it for 65.00an sold for 500 in like one day,i hear there incredible,so yes..klh,and ar speakers,marantz...thats me..had luxman,nitto nippon..?? many other weird good looking units,i tried a few minutes,an maybe sold or traded........
we dealt in advent,large an small an many many klh speakers through the years, buying,an listening an selling,i had a sansui or two,never paid much attention to them,marantz an a r did allways get my attention,an my at 10 cerwin vegas were great,nothing is clear as model 20 klh,or ar 2 ax..im old now, 62 and my hearing aint what it used to be maybe..but acoustic research,an marantz,are the cleanest an clearest combinations maybe.klh sound is really lifelike an sounds good a long way,a lot of midrange,an you never have to even have them halfway up..wonderful,but all parts must be good an fresh etc........my latest thing is model 19 klh,it looks so good,am waiting on the pricy cord,maybe tomorrow an we shall see..i had a guy with very good fresh model 20 speakers say that his sounded good as mcintosch or anything else,so go figure. i have had very rare champagne gold sm9 or sc9 vintage marantz esotec. sm7,whatever pre amp,the amp had a channel out,bought for 100 an sold for 900 both together,so i never heard these rare pieces,but they reek of quality ...also the sansui au-20000,never heard it,bought it for 65.00an sold for 500 in like one day,i hear there incredible,so yes..klh,and ar speakers,marantz...thats me..had luxman,nitto nippon..?? many other weird good looking units,i tried a few minutes,an maybe sold or traded........
DUALityOFman
Active Member
This is so simple: Mcintosh.
so simple,who has 3000 bucks or so for one,i know where there heavy speakers etc are,but nope,i,ll stick with a r,an k lh for my quality etc..i have had so many things from especially very early 1970,s i cant remember them all,marantz and k lh,for modest money..kenwood an pioneer and others just for whatever reason didnt cut it for me.i love marantz b receivers and klh 20,an 24 and my model 19 i wanted to fix..the colours an contrast,killer bass an treble an sound way stronger than they really are somehow........
I've had practically all of the old gear in my listening room at one time or another, after full restoration as necessary and I have my opinions. My criteria for good audio are immediacy ("realism," presence, etc), the absence of audible compression, and accurate instrumental timbres. I couldn't care less how loud the thing can go or how many nominal watts per channel. Overall, Marantz was the best--I have the 8B and the 7C, and both do a nice job. Fisher discrete amps are also up there--the 100 for example. Heathkit and Eico amps with Acrosound transformers are also good performers. Most old preamps aren't much good; too much feedback and too many bells and whistles. And most old receivers are too compromised in design, providing a tight compressed sound generally. The best tube gear I have is the 2A3 and 300b amps that I've built, used without a preamp for line sources, or with a conrad johnson preamp where necessary. Cjs are nice enough no feedback preamps, but very unreliable.
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cgutz
AK Member
Wow this thread goes way back...just like me. I went to a large midwest college ifrom 1976 - 1981 (yes, the 5 year party plan...listened to too many stereos....). I am not an expert, but here is my observation about many postings here - there really were two tiers of equipment:
1) consumer audio - brands like Pioneer, Kenwood, Marantz, Technics and later Sansui, Onkyo, Yamaha, etc. - these could be purchased at any audio store, of which most small cities had several. Quality of many depended on the actual model, etc. Some company's specialized in certain components (Technics tables/cassettes, Pioneer receivers, Kenwood tuners/turntables, etc). Selective buyers researched and "mixed" components by shopping the better quality units at the desired price point.
2) the next tier of equipment was not so commonly distributed and available: Carver, Phase Linear, McIntosh, NAD, Nakamichi, etc. Fisher seemed to be on the decline as I recall. You had to go to "boutique" audio stores in larger cities, and the prices were more than most of us young mortals could pay.
3) speakers haven't been mentioned much on this thread - often the better consumer grade speakers, for the price, were from companies that only made speakers - AR, Advent, JBL, early Jensen, Genesis, etc.
Forgive my musings, these are all just my humble recollections from many weekends visiting audio stores, or moving from apt/dorm to apt/dorm to listen to people's systems. Audio equipment was the status symbol of the day.
For me today, I enjoy buying equipment at garage sales and thrift shops I couldn't afford while younger. People give me stuff from their basements. Some works, some need only basic cleaning/adjustment, some gets discarded as it is beyond my ability to repair. I am able to do basic maintenance (check DC offset, clean controls, adjust bias, refoaming, etc), so to me the proof is that the vintage equipment I have to day are 'survivors' - still running with minimal restoration. I have Marantz, Sony (vfet), Kenwood, Jensen, etc. - and enjoy them all.
Thanks for putting up with my walk down memory lane.
1) consumer audio - brands like Pioneer, Kenwood, Marantz, Technics and later Sansui, Onkyo, Yamaha, etc. - these could be purchased at any audio store, of which most small cities had several. Quality of many depended on the actual model, etc. Some company's specialized in certain components (Technics tables/cassettes, Pioneer receivers, Kenwood tuners/turntables, etc). Selective buyers researched and "mixed" components by shopping the better quality units at the desired price point.
2) the next tier of equipment was not so commonly distributed and available: Carver, Phase Linear, McIntosh, NAD, Nakamichi, etc. Fisher seemed to be on the decline as I recall. You had to go to "boutique" audio stores in larger cities, and the prices were more than most of us young mortals could pay.
3) speakers haven't been mentioned much on this thread - often the better consumer grade speakers, for the price, were from companies that only made speakers - AR, Advent, JBL, early Jensen, Genesis, etc.
Forgive my musings, these are all just my humble recollections from many weekends visiting audio stores, or moving from apt/dorm to apt/dorm to listen to people's systems. Audio equipment was the status symbol of the day.
For me today, I enjoy buying equipment at garage sales and thrift shops I couldn't afford while younger. People give me stuff from their basements. Some works, some need only basic cleaning/adjustment, some gets discarded as it is beyond my ability to repair. I am able to do basic maintenance (check DC offset, clean controls, adjust bias, refoaming, etc), so to me the proof is that the vintage equipment I have to day are 'survivors' - still running with minimal restoration. I have Marantz, Sony (vfet), Kenwood, Jensen, etc. - and enjoy them all.
Thanks for putting up with my walk down memory lane.
SmileyFaceEQ
Super Member
You know Sanyo Integrated Amps get no love at all....period. JCX2600K and 2900 are massive beasts that came late to the market loaded to take on the big three and then the 80's happened. My 2600 is like a tank, weighs a ton, packs 85W RMS and works perfectly. All the original lights work, sounds great.
If you don't know about them check them out. Nice looking units with a yellow / greenish hue to the lights. Shiny with tons of buttons and knobs. Bonus is you can get them for a decent price because of the so-called "off-Brand" name brand. I buy another one in a second.
If you don't know about them check them out. Nice looking units with a yellow / greenish hue to the lights. Shiny with tons of buttons and knobs. Bonus is you can get them for a decent price because of the so-called "off-Brand" name brand. I buy another one in a second.
The big Sanyos have been praised here at AK since forever.
SmileyFaceEQ
Super Member
Ok. Well thanks for pointing out my ignorance. I will close my cake-hole now. LOL
You are confirming the other testimony about these receivers.
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/vintage-receivers-100-wpc-70s-81.1082/
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/studio-standard-fisher-1060.27823/
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Welcome to AK, @SmileyFaceEQ
Those Sanyo receivers are nice units. Back then it was hard to bring to market a bad unit. HiFiEngine has lots of info on all kinds of gear, manuals specs and such. Looks like the 2900 is a higher power unit than the 2600. Good gear for sure.
Those Sanyo receivers are nice units. Back then it was hard to bring to market a bad unit. HiFiEngine has lots of info on all kinds of gear, manuals specs and such. Looks like the 2900 is a higher power unit than the 2600. Good gear for sure.
Harvestor
Addicted Member
13 years since your last post in 2005!
I was wondering if you felt the same way about the Technics SA500 through SA1000 series of receivers from 1978?
I love how they sound and power any speakers put on them.....
Hope you're still with us 13 years is a long time to not post here.....
And who can believe 2005 was 13 years ago?.....wow!
I was wondering if you felt the same way about the Technics SA500 through SA1000 series of receivers from 1978?
I love how they sound and power any speakers put on them.....
Hope you're still with us 13 years is a long time to not post here.....
And who can believe 2005 was 13 years ago?.....wow!
Fanboy debates really are kind of silly.
At times over the last few years I have been enamoured with a Sansui 771 receiver, a Sansui AU-G77Xii amp, several Pioneer receivers (SX-1000TW, 950, 636, etc), a Sherwood S7100-A, a Realistic STA-430 and STA-90, a Technics SA-5170, among others I won't list.
I am currently enjoying a little Pioneer SA-6500ii amp in the living room system.
I have liked them all.
I miss the Sansui AU-G77Xii, which I sold for a nice profit. Same for the Technics receiver.
The little STA-430 was fantastic for a near-BOTL receiver.
Of what I have currently, for general listening with tone controls set to flat, nothing sounds better than the little Sherwood.
Almost everything I have sounds almost as good.
A tweak of the tone control knobs can make everything I have sound the way that I want it to.
At times over the last few years I have been enamoured with a Sansui 771 receiver, a Sansui AU-G77Xii amp, several Pioneer receivers (SX-1000TW, 950, 636, etc), a Sherwood S7100-A, a Realistic STA-430 and STA-90, a Technics SA-5170, among others I won't list.
I am currently enjoying a little Pioneer SA-6500ii amp in the living room system.
I have liked them all.
I miss the Sansui AU-G77Xii, which I sold for a nice profit. Same for the Technics receiver.
The little STA-430 was fantastic for a near-BOTL receiver.
Of what I have currently, for general listening with tone controls set to flat, nothing sounds better than the little Sherwood.
Almost everything I have sounds almost as good.
A tweak of the tone control knobs can make everything I have sound the way that I want it to.
