Can we beat modern Hi-Fi with vintage for SQ without dumpster diving?

I was a poor kid in the mid '70's... I actually thought the Yorx stuff looked cool.

But then I turned 6...


You guys are the only people I know who can argue about Yorx, Durabrand, and Soundesign for 3 straight pages...
 
I was a poor kid in the mid '70's... I actually thought the Yorx stuff looked cool.

But then I turned 6...


You guys are the only people I know who can argue about Yorx, Durabrand, and Soundesign for 3 straight pages...

The few, the proud...








the deranged.
 
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RamblinE .....Get the KEF Blades for $30k. They sound absolutely amazing.

If I had that kind of money to spend on a system I wouldn't hesitate and it would have nothing to do with my ego.

Well said.........:yes:

In my case, I would go for the classic Infinity/Yamaha Combo......Unless I hear something else that can beat that Sound.......:D
 
No such thing as a nickel bag anymore

Here in inner city of Phila there still is such a thing.

RamblinE .....Get the KEF Blades for $30k. They sound absolutely amazing.

If I had that kind of money to spend on a system I wouldn't hesitate and it would have nothing to do with my ego.

Well said.........:yes:

In my case, I would go for the classic Infinity/Yamaha Combo......Unless I hear something else that can beat that Sound.......:D

Depending on the Infinities you're thinking off there are probably plenty of speakers that can beat your combo. The blades are definitely in that category.

You really should get out and do some auditioning of current high and higher end speakers. The KEF LS50 while quite small is another winner.
 
But its smaller than a gram bag so you must really be a light weight if you're buying the nickel bag.

Sent from the driver's seat or the desk at work via my Google Nexus 4
 
But its smaller than a gram bag so you must really be a light weight if you're buying the nickel bag.

Sent from the driver's seat or the desk at work via my Google Nexus 4

Availability and purchasing are two different things. I was only stating what's commonly available on the street in my neighborhood. Plus, it's generally cheaper in the inner city because of the competition.

I'm a weight oriented person. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy have assured that.
 
But its smaller than a gram bag so you must really be a light weight if you're buying the nickel bag.

Sent from the driver's seat or the desk at work via my Google Nexus 4

I must be getting old. A nickle bag to me was a quarter ounce and it cost $5. (for Mexican that is, the good stuff was a bit more)
 
I must be getting old. A nickle bag to me was a quarter ounce and it cost $5. (for Mexican that is, the good stuff was a bit more)

You guys got amazing deals. A nickle bag of Mexican, late 90's was enough for a joint...about 1/2 gram. A dime bag was a full gram. The better stuff was roughly double the price. Damn price gougers.
 
But, compared to the 'stuff' from the 70's the newer stuff is much stronger, MUCH STRONGER.

The discrepancy in strength is there, but has been blown out of proportion by the "reefer madness" crowd. Some of those thai sticks were pretty rude.
Colombian gold.....Wowie-Maui.... Jamaican Red....

Good thing is, and the control freaks don't want to acknowledge this, I can use LESS and get MORE.

Ha ha!! win win win!!:smoke::smoke:

Oh...I guess I should thread-relate.....my vintage system sounds great on the cheap. I'm not thinking it can touch my doctor's B & W/Ampzilla stuff, but as that sig in one of our member's posts go...

"a world of riches I couldn't dream of swinging in the day" or something like that.
 
Can we beat modern Hi-Fi with vintage for SQ without dumpster diving?
I think you can and offer up my garage system as an example. While the resale value might exceed your 30% number, I believe one can still drop the modern system's list price in half.

As you might gather from my moniker, I am a fan of electrostatic speakers and have been since I first heard Dayton-Wrights in '76. Bought a pair of Acoustat X in '77 and have used various full range stats exclusively in the main music system. As for details and my points of reference, I'll plead laziness and link to a full description (including pics in the gallery) of my systems from AA.

As for the Martin-Logan's my issue with them has to do with my passion for coherency - which is why I prefer full range electrostats. I always find audible and annoying discontinuities when narrow directivity dipolar electrostatic panels are mated with wide directivity monopole woofers. With many instruments and voice that span both drivers, it's like an auditory version of Dr. Evil along with Mini-Me. . Some of the sound has one character while the rest of the sound has another. Which is why I favor vintage Acoustats. While there are two panels in each speaker, they are identical and operate electrically as one. Moving your ears around any part of the speaker - front or rear - sounds exactly the same. The panels are virtually bullet-proof, they operate as a true line source and have pretty high output capability if you've got the power. The Stasis feeds them a good 200 watts each. They do beam, but do so uniformly from top to bottom. I use a single powered Eosone (Arnie Nudell designed using Polk driver) sub operating below 50 hz.

Continuing to move backwards from the speaker, I use a Threshold Stasis 3 purchased new in '81. Other than proactively replacing the big Mallory power supply caps, the amp has been utterly reliable over the decades while driving the complex reactive load of the Acoustats ( I originally used the larger 2+2 before replacing them with Sound Lab U-1s in the main system). As a point of reference, I paid a similar amount of money to the H-K ($1950) at time of purchase.

The preamp I use is not exactly vintage, but was a very cost effective solution. I paid $250 for the NAD C-160 and find that while it is a touch opaque as compared to better units, its sins are of omission and it does have a decent moving coil phono input.

The Aristion table / SME 3009 arm is pure vintage also purchased new in '76. I use a Soundsmith retipped 80s vintage Shinon Red MC cartridge with it. Beats the crap out of a Shure M97 I most recently used until getting the Shinon retipped.

For digital, I use a Logitech Touch player networked to my Dell i7-860 server via a wireless Cisco "N" bridge through the ethernet input. I may be an old boomer, but I really enjoy having immediate access to my digital library via my iPhone or iPad.
 
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Thanks for joining in E-Stat. :wave:

I am curious what is today's real market value for a pair of Threshold Stasis 3 unrestored but in working condition?
 
But, compared to the 'stuff' from the 70's the newer stuff is much stronger, MUCH STRONGER.

Were you around when Vietnam vets were coming home bringing in hash, Thai sticks and finding the best from central America, too? I was, and I haven't seen anything as strong as some of the reds and golds we were getting at the time, which was only a bit pricier than average Mexican, which was often pretty strong, too.

Homegrown I paid $100 for 3 pounds, good Mexican $100/pound, and El Supremo of whatever ilk about double or less than Mex. Statute of Limitations long past and I haven't even seen a whole pound in several decades. I see a few high-dollar grams that users think is the shit, good but it don't compare...I know there is better out there, sure is pricey, though. Every generation thinks they got the best stuff...but if we went back three millennia for a visit to Thailand or Vietnam, we'd probably then encounter some bleedin'-eye Strong that would make us easy tiger meat. :D
 
Thanks for joining in E-Stat. :wave:

I am curious what is today's real market value for a pair of Threshold Stasis 3 unrestored but in working condition?
While it has a righteous 105 joule power supply and sixteen 150 watt devices per channel (thus obviating the need for any intrusive protection circuitry), it is a single chassis stereo amp.

Using figures I've seen on ebay and agon, I would estimate $700-$800.

stasis.jpg
 
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