Vintage gear that makes you say "Wow"...

completed2.jpg


Spent years hunting for the "right" one ... score!
Thats the 1 there i love the old sansui gear
 
This thread is full of so much beautiful gear :).

Pretty much anything vintage makes me go "wow" - particularly 1970's stuff - I love anything and everything with silverface panels, wood/faux wood cabinets, and analog VU meters/tuners.

My interest in the old school stereo stuff probably comes from being a musician (whereas vintage tube amps and guitars are highly revered and sought after by most), or playing w/my parents cassette tapes when I was little, as I wasn't around when the 70's (and most of the 80's) stuff was brand new. Of course, the awesome build quality of old school gear is probably also a part of it as well.

I'll share the classic stuff I own, followed by some of the classic stuff I'd like to end up having when space (or in the case of any R2R gear, the funds) permits it/I can actually find a good example of such.

20180930_133523.jpg

My Akai AA-R30. Nothing fancy, but a solid little SS reciever that sounds good to my ears - well made too!

20180930_133635.jpg

Akai GXC-740D (currently hooked up to my PC for digital rips). I'm wanting a GXC-760D to pair with it, but am waiting for the right example/price.

20180922_145644.jpg

Advent 5012Ws. Just picked these up last weekend. They sound fantastic.

Now for some of the pieces on my wish list...

1812373-optonica-sa5601.jpg

Optonica SA-5601. Had a chance at buying one of these once, but had to pass - and am kicking myself as I search for one now :p. The size and power of these things (along w/the SA-5901) would make for a good conversation starter for guests :D.

Teac_3340S_2.jpg

TEAC 3340S. Something like this wouldn't only be used for playback - I'd love to have a R2R for tracking purposes with my own music.

P1000330-4.jpg

Last but not least, a Linn LP12 - that's if I ever find myself in a position to burn some serious $ on a vintage TT.

There are several other classics I'd love to get my hands on (various speakers, Marantz and Sansui gear, Nakamichi tape gear), but this post will turn into a photo album if I don't stop here, lol.
 
When I bought these off of Ebay I sent the seller a personalized 'thank you' email for really going above and beyond in fulfilling the purchase with great communication, following my packing specifications, and even including a few replacement parts which came in handy when I partially refurbished these. He replied by stating that after hours of listening he's hard-pressed to find any area where the technology has improved since the 1970s.

The item in question is the (late 70's or early 80's) AKG K240 Sextett LP (late production). The Sextett is apply named for the six passive radiators that surround each headphone driver. To my understanding the radiators are membranes that allow certain frequencies to pass through them and not others, resulting in a fuller frequency response.

View attachment 850529

I refurbished mine with new rubber loops for the suspension headband and new velour cushions. I power mine with either a dedicated headphone amp, the Headroom Micro Amp, or the output from my Yamaha R-S201 receiver. With 600 ohm impedance, these need a lot of voltage swing so they're hardly suited for portable use.

View attachment 850530

Compared to the newer crop of AKG headphones, the older 600-ohm models have a completely different tone and timbre. They're much more natural sounding, at the expense of having a little more color, albeit, in different parts of the frequency range. The Sextett especially has a warmer and lusher sound compared to something newer like the K/Q701, which has a slightly artificial sounding upper midrange, and in my experience, has come off somewhat screechy, compared to older models. The newer headphones have also had additional tuning in the upper midrange and treble to try and hide any distortion or recording imperfections. You can take Norah Jones' first album, or Soul Sessions by Joss Stone, two female vocal albums with a significant amount of distortion. The newer 701's tend to mask it more while the older Sextett does the poor recording no such favors and really lays the faults bare for all to hear. Some have also compared the Sextett favorably to the Sennheiser HD600, one of the best-selling headphones of all time, while other's have described the Sextett as offering great micro-detail and transient response. All from a driver, the DKK32, that AKG developed in the early to mid-1970s. Critics have complained that compared to newer headphones the Sextett has a slightly grainy treble, while others have complained that they're too bassy compared to other AKG's. For me, the natural tone is worth a little bit of colored bass. And while colored, it still comes across as pretty natural. Especially with smaller arrangements, bossa nova, soul, and funk. I do not personally hear graininess in the treble at all.

View attachment 850535

I only just recently began acquiring vintage K240s. I am beginning to find that I appreciate their current tone and timbre more than the newer headphones, which appear to have more detail, and have a much wider soundstage, yet they seem to be designed to mask imperfections and seem to be more concerned with making the material played sound good. When you discover a pair of headphones are playing tricks, even if it sounds good, you begin to wonder, what other tricks are these headphones playing on me? Are they taking me closer to the recording or further away from it? Your mileage may vary, and everybody hears differently and has different preferences for listening. For a while now I have wanted to get closer to the recording, and further away from tricks and color. The AKG K240 Sextett aren't perfect, however they've been a fun step along the way and I feel like I'm probably going to want to keep these much longer than my 701s.
I have the akg k240 and another model that has gold ends and says professional. I always loved the sound of these. Bought from a store in the 70's called Crazy Eddie for $50. Still have both sets when I want to listen in private. They have a nice neutral sound.
 
Cant post a picture as ive never seen it, but many times i have stopped to admire the sweet tones wafting from a building....not caring what it came from.... the eyes and price tag give a lot of people the illusion that their gear is the best because it has to be right coz it cost 6 figures or has 10 dials and nice lights...my ears and ears alone choose my wow system, and as everyones sense of hearing is slightly different we will all hear a slightly different tone coming from the same unit... my system is a no name bitza only the case is original..it sounds perfect to me as ive made it that way...over the close to 40 years ive owned it.....so my "WOW" system is a dennis57 its as original as i am...:)
 
I have the akg k240 and another model that has gold ends and says professional. I always loved the sound of these. Bought from a store in the 70's called Crazy Eddie for $50. Still have both sets when I want to listen in private. They have a nice neutral sound.

I’ve got the AKG K240DF. Rather ruthlessly neutral, but slightly lean in the bass. No smoothing out or compensating for weak gear or bad recordings/production upstream. This is more than made up for by their grain free clarity and accuracy In the midrange and treble, and by their legendary soundstage. One can hear why they were so beloved by producers and engineers as studio monitors.

But I have to say, they are a bitch to drive, even compared to other 600 ohm cans. Only when I got a Schiit Magni 3 could they reach respectable reference levels, and even the Magni can’t drive them louder than that. Not phones for headbanging or getting dunked up, but wonderful for acoustic music like jazz, folk, and classical (especially when played by smaller ensembles).
 
Right now, I've got a Pioneer PL530 table through a recapped Yamaha C2a / M4 into a freshly redone pair of KEF 104/2. It's not extravagant, but for me it's serious business. No longer hunting for new things to compare - this is just sit back and "wow, that's really nice".
 
Back
Top Bottom