A mix of eras?

[barredowl]

I am starting to get my system dialed and I find to get the system *I* like the sound of has a mix of eras including early 90s Timeframe speakers, early 80s Technics TT, late 70s Sansui amp, and mid 50s tweeterless AR-1s for bass reinforcement. IMO affordable amp quality maxed out in the late 70s, while speakers have been steadily getting better in the high frequencies while losing some low end warmth so I like my mix of 20 year old and 50 year old speakers. I realize quality varies across brands and in models but given that do you tend to stay tightly centered on an era like the 70s or mix and match? If you are tightly centered on an era is that more out of a collector sense, like I want a late 7os Yamaha system, or strictly due to sound?

I am interested to hear what people think! Obviously I go for the mutt system that sounds good to *my* ears.

 

[JimJ[VT]]

I choose whatever sounds the best to me, no matter when it was made. Sometimes that happens to be older stuff, other times not

IMO affordable amp quality maxed out in the late 70s,

What's "affordable", though? The problem I have getting stuck in one time period, and I think happens on this forum sometimes, is that people either extrapolate what happens in one price bracket to everything or miss something because of that. Some cool things going on with T-amps, and those are pretty affordable to most people I'd think

 

[mhardy6647]

draw your own conclusions.
(EDIT: OK I changed turntables a year or so ago...)

 

[Snade]

I mix my gear all the time. Lately I like the combination of modern speakers with a 70's era Thorens turntable and a late 50's tube amp.

 

[raymeedc]

I mix also, partially by necessity. My amps are mid seventies Kenwoods (KA-9100, KA-8006, KA-6100) & a mid sixties Dynaco SCA-35..... Speakers are sixties/seventies Dynaco A-25s & Advents (actually, 2 pairs of A-25s & 1 pair of Dynaco A-25XL for my tubed Dynaco). Cd players , by necessity, are modern units, and, although I have 3 fine vintage tuners (Kenwood KT-8007, KT-6005, & Dynaco FM-3), I've recently been pleasantly surprised by the discovery of HD digital radio through the currently available Sony HD tuner.

 

[x_25]

I mine ranges from 1973 (Dual 1225) to 1999 (JBL CF-150's) and everywhere in between.

Actually ranges even newer if you include my Xbox 360. :scratch2:

 

[barredowl]

Mines ranges from 1956 for the AR-1 to 2007 for the MacBook. The speakers are older than I am by 10 years, cool.

 

[Ohighway]

draw your own conclusions.
(EDIT: OK I changed turntables a year or so ago...)

Hey is that a Sherwood S-2000 in there? What speakers are those? I swear I have those cabinets in my attic. Used to house some Altec Bi-flex speakers..??

Oh yeah, the OP. I have a mix of equipment. The speakers and monoblocks are 50's vintage. The stuff up front is 80's and 90's I think. IMO, whatever works, ... works..... no matter what the vintage.

 

[www.records]

Amps-60s
Speakers-mid 70s
Preamp- 2000
TT's- 70s
CD-1999

I found the newer preamp to be a nice upgrade over the vintage unit I was using.

 

[grillebilly]

I am with the OP about speakers being the biggest improvement in sound. The older (pre 1980) amplifiers and receivers are plenty good enough for almost anyone. I haven't heard many high dollar modern amps so my opinion is invalid, but the costs are too high for me to invest in at this time anyway.

 

[Tedrick]

Definitely mix and match here:

Main system
Speakers, amps, preamp, tuner - 80's
TT - 90's
CDP, phono preamp - 2000's

Bedroom system
Speakers, preamp, TT - 80's
Amp, tuner, CD transport/DAC, phono preamp - 90's

Home Office System
Int. amp - 70's
Speakers, tuner, CDP - 90's

Office System
Receiver -70's
CDP - 80's
Speakers - 2007

 

[Flammaster]

60's receiver

70's receiver as a pre amp

2004 speakers

70's Turntable

 

[musichal]

2002 kit amp is something of an anachronism at 8wpc and low-budget
2001 speakers
early 70's table
new cheap phono pre sounds awfully good with the above

So it's mostly new, but somewhat retro, too.

 

[mhardy6647]

Hey is that a Sherwood S-2000 in there? What speakers are those? I swear I have those cabinets in my attic. Used to house some Altec Bi-flex speakers..??

Oh yeah, the OP. I have a mix of equipment. The speakers and monoblocks are 50's vintage. The stuff up front is 80's and 90's I think. IMO, whatever works, ... works..... no matter what the vintage.

Yes it's an S-2000 (I have an S-3000 as well); great sounding tuners.
The speakers are 846A Valencias (16 ohm drivers).

(OT aside... I grew up in Anne Arundel Co; on the other side of the airport)

 

[Arkay]

Mutts, mongrels and mish-mash here in the main system, although I have a couple of smaller systems that are more cohesive (70s-era Marantz and Sansui stack(s)).

I think in general, and recognizing that there are some exceptions, tube sound was great in the 50s and 60s, solid state receivers and amps peaked in (mostly in the second half of) the seventies; turntables peaked with the Japanese-market direct drives of the eighties (rarely seen elsewhere), and speakers peaked in the eighties with the IRS Vs, but also have outstanding examples from virtually all decades, including the present.

A good system comes partly from good gear; each component must give strength, as each link in a chain must. But it also comes with synergy between components; certain units play well together, and others don't. There are many ways to combine gear to get very good sound, and many variations of sound that can be deemed good. The fun is in the experimenting and the comparing; the search for something that really, really pleases.

It can also be fun to create a system of entirely contemporaneous gear from a single manufacturer, if one is a fan of that brand. Perhaps that will not bring the "ultimate" sound, but it is a way to experience what one maker intended us to hear; what one company's resources and "ears" said was the best they could offer at that price and time.

It is one of the nice things about this hobby, that we can all follow different paths and still experience great satisfaction from the pursuit.

 

[Snade]

Mutts, mongrels and mish-mash here in the main system, although I have a couple of smaller systems that are more cohesive (70s-era Marantz and Sansui stack(s)).

I think in general, and recognizing that there are some exceptions, tube sound was great in the 50s and 60s, solid state receivers and amps peaked in (mostly in the second half of) the seventies; turntables peaked with the Japanese-market direct drives of the eighties (rarely seen elsewhere), and speakers peaked in the eighties with the IRS Vs, but also have outstanding examples from virtually all decades, including the present.

A good system comes partly from good gear; each component must give strength, as each link in a chain must. But it also comes with synergy between components; certain units play well together, and others don't. There are many ways to combine gear to get very good sound, and many variations of sound that can be deemed good. The fun is in the experimenting and the comparing; the search for something that really, really pleases.

It can also be fun to create a system of entirely contemporaneous gear from a single manufacturer, if one is a fan of that brand. Perhaps that will not bring the "ultimate" sound, but it is a way to experience what one maker intended us to hear; what one company's resources and "ears" said was the best they could offer at that price and time.

It is one of the nice things about this hobby, that we can all follow different paths and still experience great satisfaction from the pursuit.

Very well said, Arkay. :thmbsp::thmbsp:

Cheers, Snade

 

[Fast_Eddie]

One of the things I love about my system is the many decades it represents.

 

[wilkes85]

My main system is a mix of eras; early '80s Aurex cassette deck, Sanyo turntable, and BSR EQ, mid '70s Pioneer 8 track player, early '90s Kenwood reciever, and mid 2000's Philips CD player and Jensen speakers.

What would make my system better is if I stuck my Realistic MC-1000s on it, because those speakers, matched with this system really sounds incredible IMO.
But for now, the Realistics will have to stay on my secondary system until I can get another pair of MC-1000s or something similar.

 

[Edriz]

Oh my, all vintage here. Changes are/have been/being made but still, all vintage

 

[JohnVF]

I mix eras. My main system is '60s tube amps/preamp/tuner, '70s TT, current CD player, and late '90s speakers. But I don't have that for a reason, it's just what I've found sound best of all my gear. I sometimes run an '80s solid state Yamaha preamp, and sometimes a '60s solid state Sony preamp, or a current tube preamp with a power amp from 1980, solid state. I guess I like it all, as long as it sounds good, looks good, and is made well.

In general, I prefer older amps, newer speakers, and a TT from the late '70s/early '80s.
Also, I prefer current CD players to older ones.