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Help building a vintage system

Castaway

Castaway

New Member
Hi, I am new here and although I have read the forums this is my first post. I have wanted to put together a vintage system for years and am finally gonna do it. I purchased my speakers already. A pair of ESS AMTa’s. Now I am trying to decide on the tuner/amp. I can’t afford to buy several but can buy just one good one that will be my only one. I was originally looking at going all Pioneer, mainly for my own personal nostalgia. I have a couple options in line and need help deciding what to do as this will be a huge investment for me and whatever I choose is going to be what I am stuck with. So wanna make the right choice. So looking at a complete matched pioneer 9800 system from 79 which includes the amp, tuner, tape deck, phone and EQ. (1,100 dollars). Or a pioneer 960 completely serviced (1,100 dollars) also a pioneer 747. But I just recently got a line on a sweet Sansui G 9000db for 1,500. Oh and can also get my hands on a very cool Kenwood super 11

Please help me in deciding.

Thanks
 
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@Castaway

First of all welcome to AK.

Second, being new, you placed this post in an area that is supposed to be for discussion of new gear performance.

I am thinking it might get more traction in General Audio Discussion or a more appropriate area. I will ask one of our friendly moderators to move it for you.
 
olson_jr said:
@Castaway

First of all welcome to AK.

Second, being new, you placed this post in an area that is supposed to be for discussion of new gear performance.

I am thinking it might get more traction in General Audio Discussion or a more appropriate area. I will ask one of our friendly moderators to move it for you.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
Castaway said:
Hi, I am new here and although I have read the forums this is my first post. I have wanted to put together a vintage system for years and am finally gonna do it. I purchased my speakers already. A pair of ESS AMTa’s. Now I am trying to decide on the tuner/amp. I can’t afford to buy several but can buy just one good one that will be my only one. I was originally looking at going all Pioneer, mainly for my own personal nostalgia. I have a couple options in line and need help deciding what to do as this will be a huge investment for me and whatever I choose is going to be what I am stuck with. So wanna make the right choice. So looking at a complete matched pioneer 9800 system from 79 which includes the amp, tuner, tape deck, phone and EQ. (1,100 dollars). Or a pioneer 960 completely serviced (1,100 dollars) also a pioneer 747. But I just recently got a line on a sweet Sansui G 9000db for 1,500. Oh and can also get my hands on a very cool Kenwood super 11

Please help me in deciding.

Thanks
Click to expand...

That Sansui is a beast. They are complicated and tricky to work on but when running properly are pretty hard to beat for what it is. The Kenwood Super eleven is also a monster receiver and a solid contender. For your prices you mentioned you could always go individuals too, but that can be long adventure into the abyss.
 
If you are looking for something in the 75 wpc or more in a receiver there are lots to choose well under you budget leaving money for a turntable and CD player if you wont one.

The Super 11 is also a complicated beast. I looked at buying one but chose the Kenwood KR 8010 with 125 wpc instead. One thing about Kenwoods is that they have tuners that are simply superb. Not that other brands are bad, its just that Kenwoods are that much better.

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I also like my Yamaha CR 1040 with 80 wpc. Super clear and crisp sounding it has plenty of headroom.

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Both of these I got from eBay and each was less than $250.
 
Welcome, and I think those are all good options.

One thing to consider is that what you want now might not be what you want in the future. So put at least some consideration into whether or not you can resell the item you're looking at and get your money back. All the options seem to do well here but the big Sansui probably wins that one.
 
Apologies for muddying the waters but integrated amps have the benefit of NOT sharing the same chassis with a tuner.

Guess it depends on how much you want a receiver and for what reasons.

It's just my personal philosophy on the subject but there hasn't been anything of interest broadcast on radio for years. And I'd rather have my money go to amplification rather than split the budget with radio reception that I'd rarely if ever use.

I remember seeing instances where separate tuners were more expensive than their corresponding amplifiers.

But I live in the past and keep failing to realize that collectibility for whatever reason has become such a huge factor and trumping bang for the buck.
 
Welcome to AK. I certainly like your speaker choice, being an ESS fan for many years. If you can get all that Pioneer 9800 gear for $1100 that sounds pretty good. Your other potential choices also sound like great pieces.
Don't know where you live, but with vintage gear, it could at somepoint need repair. So do you have a good repair tech in your area that specializes in vintage gear? I am fortunate that I have one.
Do you listen to FM in your car or another source in your home? Will you be able to connect an antenna to the FM section? It is a must you know. A T wire ( AKA folded dipole ) might not cut it in your area for what you may want to listen to. So a tuner section may not be listened to that often. Plus, compared to other sources, records, CD's, other digital sources, some tape, the FM section will have the poorest frequency response and signal to noise ratio compared to these other sources.
So for my 2 cents, I would shy away from the big complex receivers and go more the integrated amp or separates route. More customizable performance for the dollar in my opinion. If an integrated amp, make sure it has separable preamp poweramp connections so if you want more power at some point, you can still use the preamp section to control an outboard larger separate power amp.
Gotta stop. this could go on and on. If you have some other questions, send me a private message and I'll try to answer the best I can. Good Luck.
 
Your buy choices seem high-priced but what do I know. I'd define what source you will be using the most, first, and then steer my choices around that. Makes no sense to pay for high-end FM reception if you'll never use it. Makes good sense to buy something with capable TT preamplification if you're going to spin vinyl. BTW, this vintage stereo stuff can be a journey rather than a destination. Start small and build from there. Your ESS speakers will sound fine with lower wattage receivers.

BTW, welcome to AK. This isn't porn hub so list your location in your profile. A nearby member may have something gathering dust that will fit your needs.
 
Pioneer built nice stuff. But you would be happier with Mcintosh. Poorer for sure, ESS wouldn't my choice, but if its the sound you like go for it. Maybe a C-29, a MC 7100, you can skip the tuner, CD's weren't available yet. Nakamichi 682 cassette deck, a Revox B-77. Empire turn table if you like belts. Maybe a Thorens TD-126 with a SME MKiii tone. arm instead. I would use one of todays better cartridges. Like a HO Dynavector or Ortofon. I would never go back to a cartridge from that period even if were a Grace. They all deteriorate with time. That said if Shure would start making V-15 V MR again I couldn't fault you for getting one. I liked Technics SL-10 II and III. SP 15 and 25's were nice to, but that model 10 in a obsidian base with a good arm was a real winner. I preferred linear arms, but finding a good one is almost impossible. If you could find a Sony Hifi Beta machine you could blow peoples minds with the quality of party tapes you could make. Oh! you will need a DCA for streaming music to make those great tapes, unless you have a vast LP library.
 
@Castaway
In the vintage amp arena there's a ton of choices. And some of the Brit amps have a really nice musical sound, especially for the price.
I recently bot an Arcam Delta 90.2 that has a fabulous sound. It's 60 wpc, and it has a greaþ phono stage.
Good luck.

Dave
 
Just wondering - are those gear prices for restored pieces? If not then the prices seem very high to me. I would caution that you will need further investment for servicing and / or restoration unless all the necessary work has been carried out.

It has been a frequest topic here on AK, the perils and pit falls of buying older gear. Sure it may work right off the bat and sound OK, but for how long?

I'm just cautioning you to buy wisely and with your head rather than your heart. All the best with your endeavour and welcome to AK :-)
 
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