80's integrated or today's?
- Thread starter Scoobert
- Start date
Class D does not mean digital.
Prior to the FTC rules in 1974, "vintage" amplifiers were also rated "any which way".
Many modern amplifiers are rated using RMS power calculations.
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Yes, I agree that some mid-grade gear from the 80s is better than some modern AVRs.
NH-MAN
Addicted Member
You can try to find one of these that has gobs of power I got it barely used for $100
I am happy with it just dont put anything on top of it if you are rocking out like I do.
Oykyo TX-SR805 one of the big boys with nudes
I am happy with it just dont put anything on top of it if you are rocking out like I do.
Oykyo TX-SR805 one of the big boys with nudes
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The trouble is - here in the UK at least - there is a lot of absolute rubbish being sold on the likes of eBay for ridiculously inflated prices in the name of "vintage". Low-end Technics/JVC/Marantz integrated amps from big-box store stack systems, for example, invariably alongside speakers with plastic baffles, hard-wired cables, and drivers with shiny chrome-effect dust caps. These are no match for modern budget equipment. It was crap in the 80s and it is crap now. And this stuff is generally what floods the market.
If someone I know asks me to help them build a budget-priced system, vintage stuff probably wouldn't cross my mind.
There are of course some wonderful bits of kit available from the 80s and it's my favourite era
, but you have to be prepared to pay what might feel like over the odds for it. It's a heart over head purchase which is fine for folk like us.
Mind you my Sony 530ES only cost me £120 and, well, we all know how good Sony's ES stuff is. It's my pride and joy and you'll have to prise it from my dead hands.
It doesn't help that you jammy sods over in the States seem to have readily available supplies of high end vintage stuff for about $0.005 from thrift stores and the likes. All we get is the cast-off black plastic crap with spring clip speaker terminals
Mind you, our car boot sales (known as flea markets over there) are often a good place for a bargain. I picked up a mid-range Sony CD player from the late 90s for £8 just this weekend
If someone I know asks me to help them build a budget-priced system, vintage stuff probably wouldn't cross my mind.
There are of course some wonderful bits of kit available from the 80s and it's my favourite era
, but you have to be prepared to pay what might feel like over the odds for it. It's a heart over head purchase which is fine for folk like us.Mind you my Sony 530ES only cost me £120 and, well, we all know how good Sony's ES stuff is. It's my pride and joy and you'll have to prise it from my dead hands.
It doesn't help that you jammy sods over in the States seem to have readily available supplies of high end vintage stuff for about $0.005 from thrift stores and the likes. All we get is the cast-off black plastic crap with spring clip speaker terminals
Mind you, our car boot sales (known as flea markets over there) are often a good place for a bargain. I picked up a mid-range Sony CD player from the late 90s for £8 just this weekend
Can be.
So it might or it might not. People should listen to what they buy and decide for themselves. IMO much of the old mass market solid state gear popular on AK sounded only so-so when it was new, much less now.
MCM_Fan
AK Subscriber
Based on your intended usage, anything more than this and you're wasting your money:
If you want louder explosions from your video games, maybe one of these:
Although your powered sub should handle most of the explosive game effects.
Both available from parts-express.com.
Jammy sods? Well....I have been called worse...I think 
. Have no idea what that means...
Don't worry @hcanning , the days of easy thrift store scores are long past. Sure, you might see someone get lucky occasionally. But 99.9% of that low hanging fruit has been grabbed up. I know because I frequent several thrift stores (Goodwill) in my area and even BPC is rarely seen these days, other than VCRs or the occasional multi-disc CDP.
You do make a good point about junk pieces from the 80's being offered up as "vintage" on ebay.
. Have no idea what that means...Don't worry @hcanning , the days of easy thrift store scores are long past. Sure, you might see someone get lucky occasionally. But 99.9% of that low hanging fruit has been grabbed up. I know because I frequent several thrift stores (Goodwill) in my area and even BPC is rarely seen these days, other than VCRs or the occasional multi-disc CDP.
You do make a good point about junk pieces from the 80's being offered up as "vintage" on ebay.
Jammy sods? Well....I have been called worse...I think
.
Don't worry it's an affectionate British term
I don't think any of the "mass market" gear from the 80's is better than a modern, high-end integrated amp (for example, a Parasound Halo or Musical Fidelity M5si or M6si). I own a Halo and used to own an A5, and also own some very good "vintage" integrated amps from mass-market manufacturers (Sansui AU-919 and AU-7900, Yamaha A1000, Optonica SM4545 and SM4646).
A lot of the vintage gear we all have is upper end -- my little KA-80 amp wasn't a monster back in the day, pretty mid level at 48 W/channel, and it wasn't cheap. I got it from Wisconsin Discount Stereo for $189 in 1982 at about half retail or less. At least $600 now, probably more, it's not really fair to compare modern equipment to vintage un-restored equipment at the Good Will or thrift shop (or yard sales) at the same price point. It's not unusual to find Grandpa's stereo at an estate sale for a pittance.
There was plenty of low priced stuff around in those days too, I have some of it out in the garage. Doesn't compare to modern top end stuff, nor to high end vintage.
There was plenty of low priced stuff around in those days too, I have some of it out in the garage. Doesn't compare to modern top end stuff, nor to high end vintage.
Class D and Digital are two different things.
Are you going to try to tell us you can hear 0.2% THD? Really? Two-tenths of one percent? I got my doubts.
IMO, you should not expect much for ≤ $150 new gear. That doesn't buy much more than the box. Double the budget+ for new or spend a lot of time looking at garage, estate sales.
Or maybe take a risk, become an AK Subscriber ($25/year) place a Bartertown want to buy ad. If someone local to you has something that would please you.
Now I notice, it's for gaming and UTube mp3s. A chip amp might do. No experience with them, myself.
Or maybe take a risk, become an AK Subscriber ($25/year) place a Bartertown want to buy ad. If someone local to you has something that would please you.
Now I notice, it's for gaming and UTube mp3s. A chip amp might do. No experience with them, myself.
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SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
A little late to the discussion but computer amps are going to be on a lot, most of the time idling away. This calls for newer amp. I am running a 2001 Yamaha RX-777 stereo receiver which has 100 wpc. It runs cool to the touch because of the dual extruded aluminum heat sinks. Best part is it is dirt cheap.
twiiii
Lunatic Member
. 2 %. is about 54 db down. Yes its true is hard for the untrained ear to reach into the signal and and hear distortion more than 20 db down. But there are other distortions there also that the .2 % only eludes to that you can hear. Harmonic distortion is only a clue to what else is going on. IM distortions, TIM distortions etc etc etc. And lets face it unless your speakers have been top of the line in the past 30 years ago or above average recently the speakers distortions would be significantly higher. Remember distortions emphasizing odd harmonics are much more irritable than more euphonic even order distortions.
Or he could look at all the four and five star reviews instead. Many more of those ratings to read than the lower ones.