I went to a flea market (black receivers)

[DonP1]

And was overwhelmed with the number of black receivers in the $50 to $75 range. Sony's, Onkyo's, Pioneer's, Denons, etc.

How do you pick a diamond in the rough? I just need RCA inputs and a solid power amp. Tuner is nice. An optical input would be nice, but I have a DAC to convert to RCA.

Do you look up the specs on each receiver? Do you go by visual inputs, like size, weight, gold plated inputs, fancier speaker terminals?

Or is it best to pass on these old ones and just get a new receiver ($150).

Thanks.

 

[Oerets]

When looking see it the remote is there. Some unit require one to operate fully.

I look to see if there is a phono input.

Another very good sign is a preamp out even better if also with amp in.

 

[pauldrewry]

Check the forums, this subject has been discussed and should help you with a decision. You don't need to buy new

 

[audiojones]

Onkyo and Denon are usually a safe bet. Onkyo in particular stuck with good quality discrete output circuit design in their two channel receivers and amps, good clean used ones can often be found for chump change. If you’re talking multi-channel home theater stuff then I dunno.

 

[rickb119]

For me, weight and better speakers terminals would be a good starting point. However, those alone don't guarantee good sound. I'd also want a remote (but you may not need one). Pre out/Main in jacks would be a bonus, but not many have them.

I had a Yamaha R-V1105 that served me well for 20 years (used primarily for 2 channel). Gave it to my sister (along with some speakers) to replace the crappy sound bar she was using for TV audio. It's still going strong. I replace it with a Rotel , that I don't like near as well. Yamaha's tend to be a little on the bright side, but with good detail. The Rotel is on the warmer side, with far less detail. The Yamaha also has a much better tuner.

Write down the model #'s of the ones you're looking at and research them.

Good luck.

 

[E2]

Many of these units are like chicklets in thrifts. You will find something lower mid end all the time for $30 or less.
Half the crap at fleamarkets is stuff from thrifts!

 

[KiM3Ce]

New receivers are not a bargain; obsolete Home Theater receivers are everywhere for chicken feed. I bought a new HK Home Theater receiver nine years ago; it failed this year and the necessary repair part was no longer available; rather annoying.

 

[Lazarus Long]

One of the best sounding multi channel receivers I’ve owned was a B&K 507. Find one of those for under $100 and you’re all set.

 

[eiraved]

And was overwhelmed with the number of black receivers in the $50 to $75 range. Sony's, Onkyo's, Pioneer's, Denons, etc.

How do you pick a diamond in the rough? I just need RCA inputs and a solid power amp. Tuner is nice. An optical input would be nice, but I have a DAC to convert to RCA.

Do you look up the specs on each receiver? Do you go by visual inputs, like size, weight, gold plated inputs, fancier speaker terminals?

Or is it best to pass on these old ones and just get a new receiver ($150).

Thanks.

If the thrift doesn't have a good return policy, you will need to operationally check them out before you purchase. That being said, @rickb119 gave some good suggestions. I believe a receiver having 5 way speaker binding posts would be an excellent indicator of a quality receiver. Phono inputs, pre out/main in jacks, HDMI ports would be another good indicator. Weight would also be a good indicator if you are looking for a powerful receiver. The addition of a remote would be great, and absolutely necessary if the receiver has limited front panel controls. Most receiver remotes can be purchased second hand on that popular auction site, so it might help to have a phone ready for some on-the-fly research.

 

[E2]

The local GW's will give you 48 hours. I have seen some posters mention a week which is what i think it should be.
Once you give your money to a seller at a flea Market that's it.

I still don't get the fascination with these units. They can be heavy, with good speaker connectors. That does not mean they are any good. It's a decent starting point.

Looking for a quality new unit for a few $$$ makes a lot more sense.

Hint, it's yard sale season, get out, stop, look, and ASK.

 

[milo63]

The local GW's will give you 48 hours. I have seen some posters mention a week which is what i think it should be.
Once you give your money to a seller at a flea Market that's it.

I still don't get the fascination with these units. They can be heavy, with good speaker connectors. That does not mean they are any good. It's a decent starting point.

Looking for a quality new unit for a few $$$ makes a lot more sense.

Hint, it's yard sale season, get out, stop, look, and ASK.

This! Ask around.
Pre HDMI AV receivers are dead property and as a rule, not repairable. Find one locally that you know still works and has a remote. Without a remote it might be stuck in a mode with no way to toggle out.

 

[E2]

I have a Rotel RSX 1056 that has gobs of power for audio, but not for regular tv. It also has that click issue that occasionally fires off through the speakers unless I use it in two channel. It was only $30 with the Rotel DVD player, model # escapes me at the moment.

But yeah, even the high end units are boat anchors no matter how many people oooh, and ahh about them on here, or link up to completed Ebay listings extolling the value of certain units.

Sure, if you need a unit cheap until you can afford to move up. I did that with a $12 Yamaha I still have. But it was $12.

The problem is there is much nonsense you have to go through now to find anything it can be a challenge.

Still, yard sale, thrift. Forget Flea Markets!

 

[A/D/Slover]

I pick my diamonds by .......weight .....5 way binding posts ....made in Japan ......4 or 6 ohm stable ........pre outs,gold inputs, flip down front panels, can indicate higher model.................then cross my fingers it works......wouldn’t pay over 40$ unless came with a remote and assured it worked properly.......Sony Es ,pioneer elite And Onkyo Integras are prime........I’ve hoarded a dozen of these ....for no good reason

 

[BilboBaggins]

New receivers are not a bargain; obsolete Home Theater receivers are everywhere for chicken feed. I bought a new HK Home Theater receiver nine years ago; it failed this year and the necessary repair part was no longer available; rather annoying.

This is one of the biggest reasons I'm into vintage two channel audio. Parts are still around for the most part, unlike modern gear with the planned obsolescence model being used lately. I have a couple of used post HDMI home theatre systems. One is a nice yamaha system with 80 wpc over 7 channels. No real high current though. The other is a Denon CI series with 100 WPC and a bit more oomph. When I first got the Denon, I was disappointed as I found it sounded more harsh than the yamaha. But I found that you need to re-run the EQ program, and if the moon, the sun, and the stars are in alignment, it will sound good.

My kids used to bring their friends over to see demo scenes from I, Robot. The car chase scene is exceptional! Now, after building my two channel for 10 years, the denon sounds muddy. But they are both replaceable for a fraction of new cost used. I paid more for mine, but I was younger and foolish. Now, I would just keep looking in thrifts until I found a good one.

Weight is a good sign. You need a hefty transformer to run 7 channels at once through small bookshelf speakers. BTW, ether of these HTRs could take separate power amps, and I have run the Yamaha like that. That adds to flexibility, because you should never expect an HTR amp can drive big power hungry speakers. If you want your Kef 104/2s to be used in your system, do yourself a favour and make sure you can pre-out to power amps at least for the front speakers. Save the HTR power for the surround speakers. They don't need as much. Monitor the temp of the amp during normal use. Temperature kills electronics, and there's lots of it inside an HTR! If the HTR runs hot, put a quiet computer fan in a spot it can help move air through the HTR unit.

 

[ic-racer]

I use two approaches:

A) "Anything with phono inputs and $50 or less is worthy of trying
B) Download all the PDF files of a SINGLE BRAND and learn that brand. For me it is Yamaha. I know all the stuff, or at least where to look it up in my PDF files.

 

[Johnny_Law]

I always go for the Yamaha gear. I've found anything by Yamaha is usually fantastic. Far from BP"C". Shh.

 

[BlackHoleBam]

Read read and read. You don’t have to know a lot about a lot; just a little about a lot. In case if anyone missed it, but if you see a midrange tone knob then inquire. Usually higher in the lines had mids. And If you pick it up and say oh sh*t then pay attention.

 

[danrclem]

I have a Rotel RSX-1067 with remote that I picked up for free July 4th of last year. It weighs about 45 lbs. and sounds nice but not great. Maybe I'm not setting it up right. It retailed for over $2,000. One would be worth picking up but I wouldn't pay a great deal of money for one.

Not actual pictures of mine.

 

[E2]

Looking at some of these gives me a headache.

I missed the new receivers are not a bargain comment. What, and vintage ones are?

Especially considering some of the absolutely crazy money being thrown at higher end vintage units.

What the hell is on terrestrial radio anymore?

I love the post above, "You can have this 4k receiver for $35"

If I could get them for five bux a piece I would post a stack as well. $30 piece boat anchors.......

 

[blhagstrom]

I get pallet loads from recycle.

The HDMI can be flaky. Onkyo HDMI are usually bad. I scrap them on sight.

Most Yamaha work fine. The natural sound is excellent for phono.

I get tons of Denon. Most work fine but those can need a remote to tune the tuner.

Sony ES are great but about half I get are toast.

Pioneer Elite are nice but the digital signal processing can be near factory defective.

Marantz are about 50/50. The monsters tend to have flaky power supply issues.

I consider them commodity. Buy a pretty one that works, enjoy, when/if it dies, buy another.

If you stick with one brand, the remotes can work across units at least for basic on/off, volume, input.

There are some TOTL old ones that are really sweet for a home theater setup. The ones at 60-70-80-90-100 pounds are quite nice.

Yes, I had the TOTL Denon beast.
It was 98 pounds!
MSRP $7500