Who made the best vintage audio?

My faves:

1) Pioneer- first 'nice" receiver was a SX-450 in 1983, it was a few years old, but I was in heaven.
2) Marantz- still use an Esotec SM-6 amp, and up until a few years ago an SC7-Pre-Amp.
 
I've been comparing gear for probably way too long and largely it boils down to condition and at what levels you listen to it at. There are very real differences between the lower costing stuff and top but that doesn't mean "nice" can't be had in the "lower end". I do tend to listen to my higher end stuff more because of the speaks and sources hooked up but? There is absolutely no reason to be listening poorly on any budget. (Max what you got and git your ears around it.)

Case in point: My Sansui G-9000 is down right now and My Onkyo TX-4500 MKII is filling in nicely. Why? It is restored and was the easiest to grab at the time......and you can't tell me it isn't another wonderful sound. Not enjoying something because it's not "famous and revered" is a huge misstep and proof is in simple A/Bing blind at normal listening levels. All kinds of justifiable reasons to like stuff.....
 
EchoWars said:
Exactly what are you smokin'? These arguments ended in 1979.

As an engineering tech, and playtime amp repair/mod DIY'er, I've had my nose in more than a few amps, and there is little wrong with any of the vintage designs. If you want me to say that...Marantz, for instance, built a better amp because their 80WPC design used 12,000uf caps instead of, say, Sherwood, who might have used 8,000uf caps, i'ts not gonna happen. All the major players built amazingly similar designs that sound amazingly similar under average listening conditions. The differences (and they are not earthshaking) happen at the extremes of power output (few listen there for extended periods) and extremes of frequency response (not an issue unless one of your inputs is connected to a sine-wave generator-rather boring to listen to, BTW).

And as far as your comment about Kenwood (which shows you basically are clueless, deaf, or both), I happen to collect them for: (Listed in order of importance)

1. The sound. Even the lowly KA-3500 sounds as good as (and to my own ears, a little better) than the Marantz 1060 (eBay seems to be fueled my buying-and-selling beat up and abused 1060's). Yes, this is my opinion. Deal.

2. Design. Kenwood rarely incorporated any novel design techniques in their amp building, but rather used tried-and-true circuits which have proven themselves by offering excellent sound and reliable function. You won't find an amp with 63V rails and 63V caps (Marantz and Adcom), and you won't find the larger amps injecting hummmmmmm into the phono section (Pioneer). From time to time Kenwood introduced a few items designed to push the edge, such as the Supreme Series (Model 500 and 600 integrateds and the 700M, one of which is on eBay right now), and occasionally tried something technically bizzare, like the discrete op-amp that drives the output of the KA-9100, designed as such to achieve exemplary thermal coupling to the massive aluminum heatsink. But these are the exceptions, not the rule.

3. Price. The fact that you and others seem to believe that the old Kenwoods are means that I can pick up a kick-ass amplifier that I never could afford back in the day. I do not want to dissuade you of this belief.

4. Ease of service. The vast majority of the Kenwood gear is amazingly easy to work on (notable exception: the KA-9100, my favorite amp, is a SOB to deal with if it needs work...thankfully it is a rare occasion). Even then, the common stuff such as switch cleaning, is made simple by the open design of the components used. No sealed switches that are nigh-on-impossible to clean once noisy (several of your 'pet' manufacturers use these type of components). Lastly, the 'tried-and-true' design philosophy mentioned in point #1 means that, if you get stupid and blow something up, it is a simple matter to track down the problem.

Don't read me wrong. The only manufacturer of 70's gear that I am not impressed with is Sony, but even they made some good stuff if you travel up the line far enough.

Lastly, I have a little 60WPC 'Kenny' here that will stand up to pretty much anything you care to audition it with. Admittedly, it is somewhat modified, but essentially it is still a Kenwood design.

And as far as your JBL's, I too liked them at one time. Then my acne went away, I got a little older, and discovered Hi-Fi. :butt1:
Click to expand...
 
I did have a sneaky Kenwood KA-3500 that seemed to make everything sound punchy and excellent. Should have kept that...
 
My APT Holman is amazing. Had to have caps and a relay replaced about two years ago, but holy cats what great sound. No listening fatigue, nothing harsh, nothing muddy, just great sound.
 
EchoWars said:
Don't let anything anyone else says dissuade you from what you like (as long as you don't come in here singing the praises of Emerson :twak: ). After all, opinions are like...

(you finish...)
Click to expand...
Please...please...for the love of God....tell me why you have a photo of a revolver sitting on a plate with some vegetables....please !!!
 
Well....Just gotta say I got my Kenwood KR-9600 rocking the casbah yesterday, and it was "whomping" some bass tone that had the real oak floors rattlin and the windows dancing...I love to "feel" that bass but should have had on some earplugs.............
 
Man oh man...now I really do feel like a mow-ronn....a savant....but that's dang clever, I have to say. But that would be one dead pea blown into eternity with a .357 ! Dude...I just saw that you're apparently in Queensland, Australia...I didn't know ya'll had pea's over there ? Yoe, dude, you ever been out to, what is it, Ayer's rock ?
 
just dave said:
All of the big names sound good to me and all are beautiful all lit up with the lights out.
Click to expand...

Any body ever tole ya you're a lucky sob.......sex & food..hard combo to beat. My ex-wife told me once...you men are just fine and dandy if you have sex and food, I literally stared at her for 18 mins in an exasperated kinna way....like duhhhhhh ???????? and your point is ????
 
StephenHill said:
Any body ever tole ya you're a lucky sob.......sex & food..hard combo to beat. My ex-wife told me once...you men are just fine and dandy if you have sex and food, I literally stared at her for 18 mins in an exasperated kinna way....like duhhhhhh ???????? and your point is ????
Click to expand...
She tells me that all the time.:)
 
Last edited:
It was said some pages back but here's the rerun:

My favorite is whatever I just finished working on!
 
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