Poll: Do you like when vintage receivers have LED lamps swapped in?

Do you like LED lights or the original style lights on vintage receivers?

  • Yes

    Votes: 100 41.7%
  • No

    Votes: 98 40.8%
  • Doesn't matter

    Votes: 30 12.5%
  • I don't know

    Votes: 6 2.5%
  • Howard Dean

    Votes: 6 2.5%

  • Total voters
    240

thurber

Active Member
It's sort of a pet peeve of mine but not that big a deal. Just wondering where others fell on this. Do you like when LEDs are swapped in to replace the original-style lamps on vintage receivers or not?
 
I voted yes, but with the obvious caveats--must be done tastefully (as in comparable to stock in brightness and color) and must be done competently (no half-assed hack job). LEDs offer the advantages of lower heat production, lower power consumption, and longer life, but must be implemented properly to "work" for me.
 
I've used the LED fuse lamps on a number of sansui and marantz units, and can see absolutely no reason why anyone would object....they look no different than the originals, and eliminate the problems caused by the excessive heat of incandescent bulbs. The owners have all been quite happy with the outcomes.

I do not like it when LEDs result in color changes or significant changes in tone or brightness. But the technology has improved to the point where that is easily avoidable.
 
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Mostly agree with it being fine as long as the appearance is unchanged. I'm not a fan of cool white lights that put an obvious blue tint to things or other non-standard coloring.
 
I voted yes, but with the obvious caveats--must be done tastefully (as in comparable to stock in brightness and color) and must be done competently (no half-assed hack job). LEDs offer the advantages of lower heat production, lower power consumption, and longer life, but must be implemented properly to "work" for me.
Yep although stock brightness sometimes is very dim,like on my SX-1280.The LEDs were much brighter but still had that warm white glow,which is what I wanted.
 
Doesn't matter IMO. If the stock bulbs are working then great. If they have been replaced by LEDs also great. What isn't great is when the lights aren't all working.

That said, if I had a receiver with one bulb out, and it's an easy fix to replace that bulb, it's getting a new bulb.

If I'm shipping it off to be restored, I will most likely go with an LED conversion.

LEDs look better in MOST applications. I am sure there is a vintage receiver somewhere that looks better with the less striking brightness of incandescent bulbs but for the most part LEDs look better once they are in.
 
That said, if I had a receiver with one bulb out, and it's an easy fix to replace that bulb, it's getting a new bulb.

Great theory, and I have tried it both successfully and unsuccessfully--sometimes the replacement bulbs are not the correct brightness and/or color, since the remaining old bulbs are about to wear out too.
 
I much prefer the warmer colors of the lamps used in my Older Mcintosh units. I much prefer the Green of the 2105, 2505 meters to the new Blue of the current units. Even my MC 206 which is a more modern unit has the more pleasant green. Green is much easier on the eye in the dark than blue. The shorter wavelength of the blue make it hard for the eye to focus. That why subs use to to condition the eye before sailors and marines went on deck or look out positions on the surface at night. I notice some of the Korean car manufactures are using a lot of red indicators in cars for use at night.
 
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Mostly agree with it being fine as long as the appearance is unchanged. I'm not a fan of cool white lights that put an obvious blue tint to things or other non-standard coloring.
and i have been asked to change colors on purpose...taste, being what it is.

we live in a new golden age of possibility.
 
As mentioned previously, only if it preserves the look. I swapped the neon in my TTS-4000 for an LED from keystrobe and the color is spot on but the sharpness of the strobe is night and day.

Swapping to bright blue in something that had amber from the factory would annoy me.
 
It's interesting to see comments about LED bulbs ruining the look. In my implementations, I've not seen any difference. In fact, I compared a Sansui 9090 with LED fuse bulbs and one with incandescents side by side and really couldn't tell the difference.
 
Personally I don't have any issue with using LEDs. Warm color options are nice when they're available if you're looking for a close to original look. Plus they generate far less heat which is a big plus and in most cases won't require replacement again. Plus in a number of cases where the dial was back lit with diffuser paper you can't tell that much difference other than maybe a slight increase in brightness.
 
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