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Classic High-End Gear

Fury161 said:
Thanks! THere's a guy on the bay selling them so it was pretty simple. Best part is they get rid of the "hotspots" you get with regular incandescents.
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I know some have had issues with the LEDs (uneven light; too bright; wrong color). You scored! Congrats!
 
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pognoot said:
View attachment 2108799 Kenwood KR-V126r.
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Yeah buddy not much can touch the piece you have underneath that Kenwood that's the Mac pioneer is it the 1280 the closest I been able to get to that one is 780 that Mac Daddy must sound awesome so yeah sticking to the Kenwood I have a chance to buy the Kenwood KR-V126R for 30 bucks but the guy said it doesn't power up he's not sure what's up with it .I can fix some issues with receivers but won't know till I open it up so just wondering if I can't repair it is the receiver worth getting repaired the display on it looks cool from your pics how does it sound?
 
I have the greatest respect for the higher-end Kenwood gear, I have had my KD990 for a few years now " see my profile picture", I was lucky to find one in near-perfect condition and I have kept it that way.
 
Uncle Paul said:
What an awesome thread!

I'll add that anything VFET is high end.

What makes a VFET special is that they have the linearity of a tube with the low noise, low distortion, and stability of solid state. Basically most of the advantages and few of the drawbacks of each type, though many do enjoy the inherent distortion of tubes, which is likely akin to me singing in the shower almost never causes glass to break or my dogs to try to bury their ears.

The main reason that there weren't a lot of them and that they haven't been made since ~1980 is cost. A set of replacement VFETs was almost the same price as an entire conventional amplifier.

They also have a three dimensional sound stage that is second to none. You have to experience it to fully understand it. Pair them with the right speaker like a JBL-XPL200A or a Yamaha NS-10000 and it's mesmerizing. IMO both of those speakers belong in this thread.

If you run across any of these do not let them get away. Do make sure you have them serviced by someone who has worked on VFETS before you power them up to prevebt damaging these no longer made and magical devices. Great info at The Vintage Knob, where I purloined these photos: http://www.thevintageknob.org/ Go to Specials, then V-Fet.

JVC JM-S7
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Sony TA-N7B
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Yamaha B-1
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Yamaha B-2
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Yamaha B-3
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I totally agree. I just had rottalpha completely overhaul my Yamaha B-2 (I'm the original owner). OMG, I didn't think it was possible for it to sound better, but it obviously does after his fine work. Lucky me, I live less than 20 miles from this premier VFET specialist in the United States, and possibly the world. My B-2 is my prize possession, along with my T-2 and C2X. I would never replace them. One of the best speakers I've ever heard, and this was in 1988, were the Magneplanar Tympani IVA's, played with an amp that cost $15,000 BACK THEN (!), and the salesman told me that my B-2 could easily handle them (unbelievable, because my amp only cost $850 new). I'd own the Maggies now if it wasn't for their space requirements. As it is, I have Larsen 8's, which kick some serious behind by themselves. But there's nothing like the electrostats. They're like walking into a wall of sound.
 
I’m kind of a newbie to this whole vintage gear thing much less “high end gear”. So, here goes..I’m using the front end of my Pioneer SX-1080 in front of a pair of Dynaco Mark III’s. My speakers are a pair of Klipsch Heresy 1’s. I rebuilt the Dynaco’s and the crossovers on the Heresy’s. I absolutely love the sound this combination produces. To get my 1080 back 100%, I’m thinking of a Pioneer SPEC 3/C 87 to use as my preamp for the Mark III’s and my ST-70 that’s on my bench that is 90% complete. Then I can put my Pioneer HPM 900’s back on that 1080. Any thoughts on the SPEC/Dynaco combo?
Thanks G
 
geedaddy45 said:
I’m kind of a newbie to this whole vintage gear thing much less “high end gear”. So, here goes..I’m using the front end of my Pioneer SX-1080 in front of a pair of Dynaco Mark III’s. My speakers are a pair of Klipsch Heresy 1’s. I rebuilt the Dynaco’s and the crossovers on the Heresy’s. I absolutely love the sound this combination produces. To get my 1080 back 100%, I’m thinking of a Pioneer SPEC 3/C 87 to use as my preamp for the Mark III’s and my ST-70 that’s on my bench that is 90% complete. Then I can put my Pioneer HPM 900’s back on that 1080. Any thoughts on the SPEC/Dynaco combo?
Thanks G
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you may want to consider one of the Marantz 7 clones for a preamp. They sound excellent matched up with dyna tube gear. And Klipsch always sounded better with all tubes in the signal path.
 
mcgjohn said:
you may want to consider one of the Marantz 7 clones for a preamp. They sound excellent matched up with dyna tube gear. And Klipsch always sounded better with all tubes in the signal path.
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I’ll check out the Marantz…thnx for the heads up! Amen on the tube/Heresy combo!!!! KT-88’s make those Heresy’s sing!
 
mcgjohn said:
here is one example. they are available on ebay and aliexpress.com


not to derail your quest, but you may also want to take a look at some single ended tube amps such as a 300B or 845.
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Right now I’m using the preamp of my Pioneer SX-1080 with my Mark III’s and I would like to rebuild that 1080. I really like the tone controls(I don’t know why but I do) on that 1080. Hard to find a newer SS pre with tone controls much less a tube pre with TC’s. I have a Dynaco PAS3 next up on the bench but I’ve heard so much news about this pre also. Thanks for the info you’ve provided!

Gilbert
 
geedaddy45 said:
Right now I’m using the preamp of my Pioneer SX-1080 with my Mark III’s and I would like to rebuild that 1080. I really like the tone controls(I don’t know why but I do) on that 1080. Hard to find a newer SS pre with tone controls much less a tube pre with TC’s. I have a Dynaco PAS3 next up on the bench but I’ve heard so much news about this pre also. Thanks for the info you’ve provided!

Gilbert
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that is fine. Just remember if you switch to the PAS preamp you'll need to keep your cables between the preamp and amp pretty short. No long runs.
 
Kef 105, 107
Audio Research SP-6, SP-8 preamps
Bryston 4B
Audio Research D78, VT-60, 100.2
Tandberg 3006, 3002
 
These 75 watt mono amps were good enough for Sandia Labs. Not the prettiest Mc components but they did the job well.

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sKiZo said:
Granted quad is an acquired taste, but ... hail to the king! The Sansui QRX-9001 was top of the line and state of the art in quadraphonic development, and certainly more that capable of satisfying most any power hungry afficianados as well ... 2X mode can tickle 200wpc.

Also a purty lil thang ...

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I figure I put a good hundred hours into the restoration over the span of several months ... and don't regret a minute of it!
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I have one these. The greatest/best quad receiver ever made. Here is my photo. It is on top of a Pioneer SX-1250.
 

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Wow. Some lovely gear here. I have had some great stuff pass through my hands, but nothing as high end.
With these though, it never seemed to matter.
Tannoy HPD 385a 15" that I have owned for nearly 50 years.
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Negotiableterms said:
This forum is for discussion of leading edge vintage gear, regardless of cost. So, I'd thought I'd start the whole thing off with a list of a few true classic pieces, to illustrate. Each of these units was widely praised as being ahead of its time, and the absolute best at that moment, and many of them were good enough that they're still highly desired and priced accordingly.

Levinson LNP-2 - the unit that started modern high-end audio
Levinson ML-2 - the first super-amp and room heater-in-one
Marantz 10B Tuner
McIntosh MC-275
Audio Research SP-11
Threshold 800A
Bozak Concert Grand
Martin Logan CLS
Infinity IRS-V
Infinity IRS Beta
Technics SP-10 Mk 3
Oracle Delphi

There are a lot more, but note that it's one piece at a time, not a whole manufacturer, as there are very few whole lines where each piece was acclaimed. Feel free to add!
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I truly believe that all TOTL receivers from the latter 70's are basically equal to each other. Some have a particular signature sound, but they are all, collectively, excellent examples of analog audio engineering, never to be replicated. I am particularly impressed with the Nikko NR-1415 and Hitachi SR-2004 and Fisher RS-1080. Yes, I do own a Pioneer SX-1250 and Marantz 2385, among others. These are, collectively, the pinnacles of analog stereo audio.
 
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