Hello all,
I am currently building my first vintage system out of various parts I managed to acquire locally. I am a complete newbie to all of this, since this is almost my birth year hardware although I do have nostalgia towards these from my child hood.
If anyone has any experience any of this equipment I'd be glad to hear what are your thoughts. I have no idea about the fidelity of any of these, I am tinkering with them and trying to determine which prefer but every two cents are appreciated.
Amps:
- Onkyo TX-844
- Yamaha A-420
- Pioneer SX-254R
- NAD 314
Tuners
- Sony ST-J300L
- Denon TU-215RD
- Pioneer F-656
MD:
- Sony MDS-JE520
Is anything here serviceable, which of these would make the best pairing? I am looking to add a multi-CD player (probably Pioneer or Sony, they seem the most easily available).
Currently running through Elac Debut b5.2 but I would like to add a proper vintage speakers, but that's one can of worms I don't have any knowledge of, recommendations welcome.
Quite a general topic and a lot to unpack, but all feedback very welcome, thank you
I'll toss in.
I don't know a damn thing about minidisc. Never even remembered it was a format.
As for the rest of the stuff, any system is better than no system, so, if it works, use it, and start from there. Consider a bluetooth receiver; you can play anything you can find on the internet from your phone. It's not the most high definition, but it will let you listen to everything.
Without looking up the models, I would tell you I view Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha as long time brands on par. Denon is close behind. NAD has been around less time. Sony is considered entry level compared to these others. You have to pick many directions to go on your stereo adventure. Do I like new stuff, or old? Which brand's "house sound" do I like for my preamps and amps? What sources do I want to use? Of those, what brands do I like for features and presentation and design aesthetic? Same question for the amps? How big is my listening room and how is it set up? How loud do I want to listen to my music, and what types of music do I like? Do I have a wife to please, or a young baby to not wake up or do I live in an apartment? Do I like big distorted, buzzy things like an overgained Fender amp, or do I like the cold sound of newer pop music by a glass-breaking soprano?
All these things will help you pick a direction. For now, it's whatever of those sound the best. For speakers, bigger is better. Can you move to floor speakers? You can get a great bargain on some tuned up older speakers that someone has saved and supercharged.
As an example, I'll answer the above for me. I like the Marantz house sound, though this little Pioneer someone gave me reminds me of my dad's receiver growing up. I like old stuff that is serviced, or new stuff made in the old style, like Klipsch's Heritage line. I use all sources, vinyl, CD, SACD, DVD-A, straight digital, cassette tape, 8 track, reel to reel, and quadraphonic versions of some of those. I like 70s solid state stuff, Technics record players, Nakamichi cassette decks (that's 80s), TEAC reel decks, Akai 8 track decks, and Oppo disc players (those are modern.) I like silver faced, all metal, heavy, big, featured, high WPC, late 70s receivers, amps, and preamps. I like the warm sound of old solid state, but not the tube-ish warmer sound of really old solid state. My listening room is 10x20, and the big speakers are on the short wall. I listen to music at 85dBA and I listen to rock, metal, and a little folk. No wife, no baby, house sits on an acre, so I can crank it up. I like distorted 50 year old rock and roll from gear that was there. The speakers are Klipschs, and the design was there back then, but these speakers are relatively recently made versions.
Once you figure that out, you can pick the perfect system. Until then, have fun learning what your perfect system is.
