Thoughts on 80's equipment

scottyawd

scottyawd

Member
What are your opinions on hifi equipment from the 80s and 90s?

It seems that everybody has an opinion or a memory on pieces from the 70s. From the beautiful silver faced Pioneers and Kenwoods to the amazing wood cased Luxman and Marantz plus all the sweet Yamahas and Sansuis between. Not to mention that classic green and blue glow from McIntosh solid state gear.

Then there are the folks who die for the bleeding edge. Pass, Krell, Rotel and Parasound, and all the Class-D, G and H digital insanity. (Insane in a good way) Speaking of insanity, what about all this new (great) tube equipment from China?

I often find my self enamored with the sexy 80s and 90s slim-line brushed gunmetal aluminum from the likes of Carver, Adcom, A/D/S/(Braun), Bryston, Naim and Tandberg (with whom I'm currently in lust). And that era's speakers from KEF, A/D/S/, Polk and Infinity are fascinating. Am I alone? Am I just a product of the 80s?

What do you think?
 
Last edited:
Eighties and Nineties still produced excellent gear from most, if not all, of the big names. There was a lot of crap generated too, but very nice pieces were still produced. The Nineties saw some monster HT receivers too which had superb two channel performance. We also saw the peak of cassette tape technology with Dolby S etc and we saw CD become the new kid on the block and we got DAT too.

I had, until recently, a pair of Infinity RS6001 speakers of 1989 vintage. The sounded awesome.
 
I have a 1987 Denon CDP (older than my daughter) and with a bit of maintenance, it works and sounds great. It is built robust too - heavy.
 
@bigx5murf

Glad to know there's one other person out there that appreciates gear from that era. :thumbsup:

@Splatter Pak

I was shocked at the weight of my Braun A2 ('88) when I received it.
When I was growing up my dad had a Fisher Studio Standard all in one stack that was absolute junk.

I'm so glad that's not the era's status quo.
 
With totl 70's era receivers fetching top dollar unrestored or worse yet restored by newbie hackers, there are lots of more boutique brands out there that are way better sounding and better built.
Tom
 
I don't buy equipment for nostalgia or the decade, at least for my main system that I want sound quality. My main system is picked for it's performance sound quality and what I feel I want to invest.

If I itemize each component in my main system 99% of it will be from the mid 80s till today
 
I just made an acquaintance with a guy who runs a retro shop close to where I live and does refurbishing and repairs on vintage equipment. I was surprised to have him tell me that 80’s equipment was actually equal to if not better than the 70’s gear
Esthetics not withstanding, that’s a personal appeal......he had some 80’s pioneer equipment that was silver faced that I didn’t know existed....
My system is late 70’s pioneer....
 
Most of my components are from the 80's. It is a decade of transition. More horsepower offered in a smaller package. The switch from lamps to more flashy LED's. From bulky wood cabinets to slim line brushed aluminum designs. From analog source material to digital stream. I love the 80's. But I am partial to every decade in one way or another.
 
Definitely love the 80’s and 90’s. Most of my gear is from either of these decades.
 
There was a lot of great gear from that era. I love my Citation 22 (late 80s), and my Altec Lansing 315s (early 90s).
 
The monster receiver may have faded some by then, but TTL 80-90s Sansui integrateds mosfets and some other pieces, are some of the best equipment ever built regardless of any era, some companies peaked in the 80s-90s like Sansui, discrete designs, with complete chassis made from copper, taken to the top, just before inexpensive, underwhelming, mass production specs took over for a last attempt to survive.
 
A good portion of my gear is from the 80's and that's definitely by choice. Despite lots of people going on about BPC but there was loads of great gear made and for now ignored by most of the nostalgia crowd (I'll admit I grew up in the 80's and part of why I like the gear is nostalgia).
 
The equipment I bought in the almost the 80's and early 80's allowed me almost 30 years of listening with out having to up grade or change one piece. I could have but I was doing other things, like discovering digital photography traveling and retiring.in 2004. I admit retiring at 58 is little early, but I had the chance so why not. All my equipment was well renowned and except for Crown amps needing rebuilds every 10 years or so and hasseling Ampex Grand master tape with a case of the stickies I was very happy. The Mcintosh pieces performed flawlessly as did the Nakamichi, Revox, Thorens, and Sony Video gear. DBX, Pioneer Laser, and a few other pieces had to be replaced. in the late 90's I discovered M&K and NAD for the Motor homes.the first one had had Nakamichi components and ADS speakers. Then in 2008 after having the basic Digital camera gear I wanted from Nikon and the last RV paid for. I returned to the Hifi and stared up dating, but thats another story. I still have some of the original ,UREI and Crown, but the problem prone amps are gone. I have much more Mcintosh these days and I'm looking forward to another 10 years of peaceful trouble free enjoyment.

The equipment of the early 80's if kept well maintained should last another generation, it will out live me for sure providing excellent sound. Its all most people will ever need. Maybe thats why today sales of Hifi stuff isn't in as much demand. There are a lot of very happy people out there. I will say the equipment of the late 2000's and thru today, has a feyness to the style, operation, and sound quality the 80's equipment just didn't quite have mastered. Its not necessary to have these qualities, but they are very seductive. With the many times the increases in prices are the results worth it. For digital sources they answer is a definite yes. For the old LP's, the cartridges are better, tone arms for sure and the TT's too, but I don't think the results are worth the dollars. A 981 or a V-15 V MR with a Grace F9E set the bar very high when knew to the market when used with a SP 10. The new SP-10R with a great cartridge from Lyra, Clear audio or Dynavector and a great pre-pre-amp the answer? Are they really going to give us anymore than what we had in the early 80's?

Then there is the big issue of loud speakers. Who of us can afford a pair of Magico S7? Not many. Is a Cornwall of today worth the 3 to 4 times the cost of the 80's models? Does a 802D what ever series of today out perform a well taken care of 801 at many times the price? Then there are the standards from the Brits, Quad and Tannoy. How much better are they today? Are they worth the price increases? I still don't think Mcintosh speakers of today really surpasses Rogers designs from the 90's. A XR 290 still is a great speaker. JBL has finally gotten its act together in the last 10 years and yes their speakers of today really do surpass what ever EV, Altec, and JBL produced in the early 80's. Dunlavy is gone, thats a shame, Magnaplanar and Martin Logan have advanced their designs, but are they truly better than there early 90's designs? AR, KLH, RTR, EPI, are gone. SNELL, is gone, Boston is a shadow of itself. Did the designs reach a plateau, or did manufacturing costs bring their down fall?

The 80's and 90's were a great time where Hifi equipment was perfected and the over all quality became almost what was needed for sonic perfection. By the end of the 90's digital was approaching being the standard for all of us to enjoy. Some pieces built will easily last 50 years as some of mine built in the very early 70's have almost reached today. Is a New MA 252 really that much better than my MC 2505 at 10 watt listening levels? In 40 years you'll have the answer.
 
Last edited:
I have a fair amount of gear from the early 80's. 1980-1983.
Some of it I am currently using, most of which I plan to keep for a good long while.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom