Recommendations to round-out my receiver collection?

[Tommy_B]

So, I've decided to limit myself to 5 vintage receivers/amps (OK, maybe 6). I know, I know, it's blasphemy!.

I plan on keeping two of the Pioneer receivers that I currently have (SX-1250, SX-780, SX-9000) and the one Sony STR-4800 that I have (or get a STR-7045/7065, if I can't get the 4800 working).

For the last two or three receivers (or amps), I'd like to get something that sounds different from the Pioneers and Sony, and/or has something unique/quirky about its appearance. I can't afford high-end stuff and don't have the listening environment where it would be appreciated anyway, so my target zone is low/mid price (up to $200 max) and mid-power (say, 45W-85W). But it should have respectable specs and build quality.

Some of the receiver brands I'm curious about, but have never actually heard, are:

Marantz (would love to have one for looks alone!)
Sansui (got some quirky-ness to them)
Harman Kardon (unique styling, but unique sound?)
Yamaha (maybe a CR-820/840?)
??? others I should consider

Another thought was to include a tube receiver/amp, perhaps extracted from a vintage console. I grew up listening to a Magnovox tube console ... thought it sounded pretty good then, and it might be interesting to have one for nostalgia purposes.

For speakers, I have a pair of Ohm C2 speakers (with non-original woofers) that I plan to use, along with a pair of RT-400 Polks that I like, but which have been in the garage for some time now. I also have a pair of Design Acoustics PS-6 bookshelfs and Tannoy PBM-6.5 bookshelf/studio monitors to play around with.

Anyway, would appreciate any suggestions/recommendations on what I should look for to round out my collection.

Happy Holidays!

 

[4-2-7]

I can't afford high-end stuff and don't have the listening environment where it would be appreciated anyway,

I would not be able to afford high end if I felt the need to collected instead of listening to music. In fact at the cost of what you have you could own McIntosh at this point. A Mac 1400, 1700 would be nice.

At a $200 price point I really can't even recommended something as it would need be available to even buy. Old used equipment tends to be opportunity buying and you get what comes around that's good and you can afford. Personally I would save up another $300 so you have $500 to spend and get a real keepers that will always have value being TOTL.

You might want to look at the prices of Sansui 8080DB, 9090DB while they would most likely need work at some point they sound awesome.

 

[ooba tooba]

I have to agree^, but you may be able to get a Marantz 2238b with $200 or so. Save up a few hundred more and get a 2270

 

[Djcoolray]

Yes...

I myself find great equipment for a song and resell it on YouTube. Kids love to look at videos and I give out my business cell.

That's how I got my sennheiser headphone plus allot of new LP's !

Now if I could only find a pair of Yamaha NS-2000's !

 

[Jnevill]

You NEED a Sansui to round out that collection, in your price range look at the series that includes my 661. It's a great unit, with the Sansui sound, definitely a keeper. $200 should get you a nice one.

 

[egl333]

Try to get a Sansui Eight which is considered the Engineer"s receiver having build quality and sonic performance rarely topped by any other receiver in the 1970's.

 

[dontmindme]

Or Kenwood? KR-6600 or KR-7600.

 

[Sam Cogley]

I prefer the higher-end Sansui, Yamaha, and Kenwood receivers that I own/have owned to the Pioneers which have all left, save one that's at my parents' house.

 

[SoCal Sam]

For $200, the pickings are going to be slim. IMO, the SX-9000 and SX-780 can go. The 7065 is not a bad choice but the STR-V5 falls within your budget and if you get lucky, the STR-V6 and V7 are in the ballpark. The 4800 can go. Sansui Eight is within your budget (last time I checked). It was TOTL and has many delightful engineering details that were de-contented in later years. There will not be many Yamaha's within your budget. The unloved R-1000 and R-2000 are in play. They look the part but some say the STK modules are a weakness.

 

[Tommy_B]

I would not be able to afford high end if I felt the need to collected instead of listening to music. In fact at the cost of what you have you could own McIntosh at this point. A Mac 1400, 1700 would be nice.

At a $200 price point I really can't even recommended something as it would need be available to even buy. Old used equipment tends to be opportunity buying and you get what comes around that's good and you can afford. Personally I would save up another $300 so you have $500 to spend and get a real keepers that will always have value being TOTL.

You might want to look at the prices of Sansui 8080DB, 9090DB while they would most likely need work at some point they sound awesome.

The idea of selling what I have and getting something really good had crossed my mind, but, like I said, my listening environment would not do it justice. Kinda like buying a Porsche to drive around town (at the speed limit). And so far, I've only spent $170 to acquire what I have so far, although they all need work, except for the pioneer sx-780.

Anyway, I'm not really collecting to show off my collection, I just thought it would be fun to have several different types of receivers with different sound characteristics to chose from each day.

Thanks to everyone with the suggestions so far. Would like to hear more.

 

[rgk5]

Sherwood S8900 or S7900 from 1971-74. Nothing from that era sounded better. Second place to a Sansui Eight.

 

[OMGCat!]

You could get an Onkyo Mk1 or 2 TX-4500, 6500 or possibly even 8500 (if you catch a deal) for the money you're looking to spend. They are some of the nicer sounding receivers IMO.
If you have a totally terrible listening room I sort of understand wanting to play around rather than get serious gear but bad rooms can be worked around. My listening room is far from ideal but I've got it set up to where it's not all that bad anymore and in my main setup I have an amp and speakers that sound great at lower volumes so my apartment dwelling lifestyle isn't jeopardized. I dumped all of my receivers a while ago and went with separates but that's just my preference.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Instead of collecting, get a properly overhauled McIntosh MAC 1700 and you'll never want any other receiver. If not viable, Sansui 4000 or Sony STR 6120 will be your lifetime best ever in that class.

 

[bd1886]

Interest in vintage has had me listening open mindedly to most everything. Keepers are a personal thing and for me it has more to do with simply liking very general sound family characteristics and then a units capabilities within that.
$200.00 at average pricing isn't much but my keepers (fortunate finds) and have found "best" for that:
Onkyo TX-6500 MKII
Onkyo TX-8500 MKI
Luxman R-1050

In no uncertain terms these rule right along with my nice Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer etc... (In ways I appreciate them more because of this sense if discovery after comparison....glaring standouts here.)

 

[motorstereo]

How about a different route? Instead of adding yet another receiver to the collection why not try some quality separates? If you do travel that route there just may be a receiver sell off for you in the near future.

 

[Robisme]

Sansui 7070.


Rob

 

[rcs16]

A pair of decent tweeters will set you back $200 or more $. Speakers are where your $ should invested as they give the biggest bang for the buck.
You have a sx-1250, so I do not think that you need more power.
I guess it is nice to have one from each of the mfgs. But to be honest IMHO, they all pretty well all sound the same.
I have
Pioneer sx-950, from new, still mostly original except the o/p bjts
Sansui G-7500, blew its transformer, so I modded it with a SX-1050 power supply (ebay) and a new PA using a LME49830/lateral Mosfets. More than enough power unless i want to run a PA company. I di have a couple of SX-1250 transformers that i will eventually use for some sort of amp.
Kenwood KR-5030, its okay
Realistic STA-2250, has its problems
Class "D" using TI TPA3100D2 and TPA3118, okay for portable or battery powered applications
I designed a new electronic tuner, the old fly wheel analog stuff is a PITA if you want to quickly change from one station to another searching around to avoid commercials. Even the old electronic tuners usually had a max of 10 favourites. In my local I have around 20-30 favourite stations.
I built a pre-amp once as a kid in collage, it used NE5534A opamps, had a parametric eq. I liked the sound it made, yes a $0.50 opamp from the late 70's sounded great. They are still in production, I wonder why Many will snicker about a NE5534A, do not know until you try for yourself.

Out of what you owned, you have not stated a preference.

Maybe you should focus on getting the str-4800 going, practice, since all these vintage receivers are ticking time bombs unless you re-firb them with at least new ecaps.
Good luck there are tons of them out there to chose from

 

[Eywadude]

Sansui 7070.


Rob

You took the words right out of my mouth! IMO, the Sanui has a more balanced sound with good clarity, definition, and a good soundstage. It weighs 36.5 pounds and is built like a tank. For a $200 budget I would definitely consider one. I am sure people here will suggest other gear from the "big three", but as for other different sounding gear (different from Pioneer) in that wattage range, here are a few random pieces worth considering:

Receivers:

JVC JR-S401
Nikko NR-815
Realistic STA-2080
Sherwood S-7910 or S-8910
Toshiba SA-775

Integrated amps:

Hitachi HA-7700
Hitachi IA-1000
JVC JA-S71
Onkyo A-7 or A-10

 

[stereofanboy]

I can see the attraction of collecting and also the cost advantage of totl units from less popular brands or midline units from various brands. I've owned many midline receivers that would have made an impressive collection if they'd been in perfect condition and I'd had them all at once. I'll tell you what I can remember about them and maybe that will help.

A JVC JR S300 mkII which is 50wpc with very acceptable sound and quirky good looks (blue lights and dancing power meters). It also has preamp ins/outs which could be helpful if you need to use it in conjunction with one of your problem units.

A Pioneer, I think SX-838, although it may have been 828. 50wpc, with lots of inputs and in/out jumpers. Vinyl veneer. Large and heavy, as tall and as wide as an SX-1010, but not as deep. Good sound and good tuner which seems to be common with Pioneer units.

A Yamaha CR-820 at (I think) 50wpc which sounded great and had the shiny Yamaha look which is a little different from most of the receivers of the era. It didn't have in/out jumpers which precludes using it with a more powerful amp, otherwise I might still have it for preamp use. Just vinyl veneer, but it looked nice.

A Kenwood KR-6600 which was also a medium power sort of deal. It had good looks that were of the common sort and not quirky or unusual at all, but did sound great and have inputs for two turntables and two tape decks as well as preamp in/outs for use flexibility, and three pairs of speaker outputs. It had the solid build quality that was typical of Kenwood.

I also had another Kenwood whose model escapes me at the moment, but it was a little older, was at least as large and heavy while only being 30 or 35wpc. It also had inputs for two turntables, two tape decks and in/out jumpers, and three pairs of speaker outputs. Also real wood veneer. The control knobs and switches on this thing had a very solid and high quality feel to them. It was a joy to use, sounded great with my Leak speakers and I wish I still had it or at least could remember the model number.

A Sherwood S-7200. Around 40 watts per channel and really attractive looking. The sound was just so-so, but it probably needed a rebuild.

A Realistic STA-960. At 50wpc, this unit replaced the 45wpc STA-95. These are beautiful units with real wood veneer and champagne finish. Maybe the best looking receiver I've ever had.

A 40wpc Marantz model 22. I wasn't impressed, but like the Sherwood, it was old enough that it was probably really in need of recapping.

 

[onemug]

The idea of selling what I have and getting something really good had crossed my mind, but, like I said, my listening environment would not do it justice. Kinda like buying a Porsche to drive around town (at the speed limit). And so far, I've only spent $170 to acquire what I have so far, although they all need work, except for the pioneer sx-780.

Anyway, I'm not really collecting to show off my collection, I just thought it would be fun to have several different types of receivers with different sound characteristics to chose from each day.

Thanks to everyone with the suggestions so far. Would like to hear more.

I guess some people didn't read you OP or the followup. Although it's worthwhile what they suggested (sell all/buy one), it's not what you are asking for. Ergo...I'd suggest buying a Sansui or smaller Marantz like 2238b to round out your enjoyment. Good luck.