Best Vintage Reciver?

nickword

Active Member
Hello i recently got really into cassette tapes since my old mercedes benz has a cassette player in it. i just got a Technics rs-m5 cassette deck and it is in fabulous condition and works great. now im looking for a great vintage receiver to match with it. i have done some research and i have found some pretty good choices but i want to be sure i get the overall best quality and sound out the choices. These are my 5 choices i am interested in and i can afford.

1. Technics SA-6700X
2. Kenwood KR-6600
3. Sony Receiver SQR-6650
4. sansui 9900 series.
5. Marantz... Anything in the 2000 series...

Marantz is the most expensive out them all and there is a lot of great receivers that are hard to choose from.

so what do you guys think.? Any info is highly appreciated. thanks. ;)
 
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This is almost impossible to answer. Depends a lot on what you want out of your receiver. Of those listed the sound varies widely. Im a big Sansui fan but I like warm and detailed. I dont think Marantz is the most expensive, can find some lower power units fairly in expensive.

Also might consider Realistic. They had some fine receivers that can be had pretty inexpensively. I got a mint 2100D for $35.

What is your preference for sound signature? Power requirements, etc?

Sooo many choices sooo little room left in the house.
 
Depends on what type of music you listen to and what speakers you run them with. I have both Marantz and Sansui and they both have their strenght and weakness. One might sound good with this speaker, but not so good with another speaker. But if I were to get a Marantz it would be 2245 or 2270. Sansui G-5000 up. Next would be the X0X0 series. Don't know about the sony or technics, but I heard kenwood and didn't like them.
 
I know this is a bit off topic but let me explain my situation.
I drive a 1994 Mercedes Benz W140 S500. it has it's all original bose 16 speaker sound system installed and it sounds amazing. it uses cassette. i want to keep it all original and don't want to add no after market equipment to my car so im making cassette mix tapes now from my computer.

i got my Technics RS-M5 cassette deck and a bunch of high grade blank tapes. and am recording some great mixtapes and playing them in my car. but i would like to have a nice high grade great sounding and matching vintage reciever to go along with my Technics cassette deck. and those are my choices i have came up with.

the type of music i am listening to is oldies from the 50's and 60's. and HipHop mostly from the 90's. so a lot of underground old school hip hop is mostly what i listen to.

hears 2 sample videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WdHdfvIa0g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8hjtFq3vE0
 
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Still a hard question to answer. Do you have speakers?

This type of $ buy is best conducted when 'you' can audition the amp. at the sellers regardless of what is recommended.
 
Looks like you have some budget. Take a look at the Kenwood KR-9400 and the KR-8010. They are not TOTL and are great value. Kenwood receivers have the best tuners, IMO.
 
Just about all the mid 70s receivers were/are good. Some were/are outstanding.

Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood, Technics, Akai, Onkyo, Realistic, Hitachi.

Fisher had gone downhill.

They are all 30-40 years old, so electrical condition is the key.
In the last few years, I've found maybe 100 units in thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets, etc... Most had to be cleaned up. About 10-20% needed to be repaired. I learned to fix them myself (I wanted to learn, that's why I kept finding them and dragging them home).

I've seen things that were "babied" their whole life have issues and things that had a very hard life work just fine. It can be a bit of a crap shoot. Even a good one can suddenly have issues.

If you stay with Marantz or Pioneer, there is a stupid amount of info around (in here) about them and how to fix them (if needed).

Subscribing to Audiokarma gets you access to Bartertown and then you can shop from people that know the stuff better than the average Joe. Hanging around here, you can learn a LOT and make good friends in the vintage audio world.
 
Don't leave out the Yamaha CR **20 series. I like the CR**40 series as well, and have a CR2040, and CR840 in play, although the CR840 and CR1040 use the hard to find driver boards. I do understand that there is now a work around for that issue though.
Regards,
Jim
 
I know this is a bit off topic but let me explain my situation.
I drive a 1994 Mercedes Benz W140 S500. it has it's all original bose 16 speaker sound system installed and it sounds amazing. it uses cassette. i want to keep it all original and don't want to add no after market equipment to my car so im making cassette mix tapes now from my computer.

I had the same issue with my 1990 300E using the Becker 1480. Brilliant sounding stock stereo which i didn't want to change, Becker USA actually services and can install a AUX IN plug for $100+ Tax etc with good results from what i heard. also keeping the original look and period look is a major plus. I ended up selling that car and buying another 1990 that someone upgraded with an aftermarket, i hated the look of it and the hack job they done on the original wiring so i had to get creative and i actually found an old Blau brand new never used on ebay so i am using that now, looks more period for sure but not like the beckers

Anyway. Receivers.... I bought a pioneer SX 680 2 days ago. I can tell you right now. This little guy has absolutely blown away anything i have had to date. Yamaha DSP 3090, Pioneer VSX 930, Marantz SR1000 etc. They seem to be very fairly priced. Incredible sound, beautiful design. You may be looking for something bigger though.
 
You might want to look for a receiver with a Record Out Selector. This allows you to record from one source while listening to another, i.e. taping from a CD while listening to the radio. Many of the mid to high level receivers have this feature. Brands include yamaha, denon, etc.

Of the choices you listed the Kenwood is likely the best bet because it's been serviced and isn't too pricey, although you'll have to determine what that actually means. Does he have a receipt and was it more than just applying Deoxit to the controls?
 
Awesome thank you all so very much for the great info and reply's.
i was also told to be on a look out for a NAD 3150. or any Phase Linear, Audio Research or Mcintosh vintage amps and receivers..

Ughh. i got so much on my mind right now. i don't mean to change subject again but i was recently told my Technics Rs-m5 tape deck is a low quality unit. which is kinda a bummer, but i learned some great info tho, I just read the Nakamichi makes the best Hi Quality cassette decks and that with out a doubt they are the company to choose to get the best sounding quality cassette decks.

So my personal choice after looking and reading about some of these brands up would probably be
Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer, Kenwood, or NAD for the vintage Amplifier or Receiver.

And definitely a Nakamichi cassette deck.

Still trying to learn as much info as i can, Haha sure is some fun stuff... See i was kinda happy about this Technics RS-M5 cassette deck i currently got because i was planning on buying a good vintage Technics Turntable for my records cause they have such a great reputation with turn tables so i figured it would be cool to have a matching set.

I need some time to think...

Any who check out these pics of all my records and tapes and cassette deck i got going right now. ;)
 

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Tape wise, I ended up with the Nakamichi RX-505 which I sent down to Willy Hermann Services in California to bring it up to snuff for me.
He doesn't ship to Canada,so to ship it, I had to take it to the States and ship it from a buddy's place and then head back down a few weeks later to pick it up.
I didn't want to trust anyone else other than Willy or a couple fellows from AK (who incidentally live on the east side of the US) with it...and I got it back for Christmas! perryinva was a big help with great suggestions for me.
It sounds incredible,so I agree Nak could be the way to go. Others may chime in with suggestions re: tape units.

It's all about what you think sounds best to you.
I've got other cassette units that sound fairly nice,but,there's nothing like the Nak sound. There's the "Dragon"...it gets big thumbs up from a lotta peeps.

Basically,it all ends up relating to what your budget is and what you want to keep for the next decade or so.
Receiver wise,I have a nice little (heavy) Sansui 771 in service on my rack till the Sansui 9090 is back from the shop. Also ,when the Realistic QTA 770 was in the rack,it sounded pretty nice but maybe not as nice as the STA-2100.
 
This would be my first receiver choice - the McIntosh MAC 4100.

It's one of the finest receivers of all time, IMHO.


 
@burneyreid. That is some really interesting info thank you so very much for sharing your opinion on nakamichi. i was looking at the Nakamichi 580M deck and they say it's one of the best cassette decks ever made. of course i read all about the dragon as well. it's legendary and highly expensive i don't think i can afford that. LOL But im really interested in this 580M deck.

@62caddy. You see now that is the exact style im aiming for. nice wood panels for the side to match my record shelf. Great sounding and cool looking Tuner with extreme quality. There are so many to choose out there it's kind of mind boggling really. LOL

All tho i really like the Blue LED Lights the Marantz receivers have. they seem to look the best to my eye.
 
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@burneyreid. That is some really interesting info thank you so very much for sharing your opinion on nakamichi. i was looking at the Nakamichi 580M deck and they say it's one of the best cassette decks ever made. of course i read all about the dragon as well. it's legendary and highly expensive i don't think i can afford that. LOL But im really interested in this 580M deck.

@62caddy. You see now that is the exact style im aiming for. nice wood panels for the side to match my record shelf. Great sounding and cool looking Tuner with extreme quality. There are so many to choose out there it's kind of mind boggling really. LOL

All tho i really like the Blue LED Lights the Marantz receivers have. they seem to look the best to my eye.

I have seen the MAC 4100 with blue gels installed behind the dial & tuning meter illumination and the effect is absolutely breathtaking.

Additionally, a variety of solid wood cabinets are available from Audio Classics for the MAC. The blue gel change in conjunction with one of the wood cabinets will transform the 4100 into a work of art, IMHO. :)
 
The Sony Str 6200. One of the finest receivers ever built.

Five ganged tuner completely shielded.
Excellent phono and amp.
 
Look on my profile page I've got a pic of my Kenwood and Hitachi receivers with blue lights.Click on my gear.
 
I forgot to mention the MAC is one of a handful of receivers designed to operate into 2 ohm load.

It can run 3 speaker pairs simultaneously.
 
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