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Latest vintage gear price trends - receivers the king of appreciation?

T

Taketheflame

Super Member
Well - I gave this a watch yesterday...(bonus, there's an AK mention at the beginning!)


Now provocative video titles aside, just curious if the trends others are seeing more or less mirror his observations?

I have indeed been seeing receiver prices getting out of control on the "big 3" (Pio/San/Mar), but find it interesting that while it seems big receivers and (to a lesser extent) a matching TT seem to have seen the most price appreciation, the more "serious" audio gear (separates/integrateds, tubes, and well regarded vintage TTs) seem to be more stable in pricing - at least relatively speaking.

Kind of makes me wonder if it's a good time to be selling an in-demand receiver model and use it to fund upgrades? :p. I mean, I like receivers, but...
 
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My $0.02

Big 3 pricing for mid level WPC is rapidly rising. GenZ view them as a status symbol

Other brands TOTL seem to be rising tho not as fast. Their other offerings are stagnant

Separates (Nikko, Adcom, GAS, etc) are an absolute steal
 
Meh. My 8080Db will be in my estate sale in (hopefully) another 30-40 years....I couldn't care less how much it's worth in dollars. Nor could I care how much my 1229Q (or my 1249) is worth in dollars. Or any of my AR's. Dollars mean nothing to the enjoyment they bring to me.

Well, my wife will be getting rid of it that is......probably for pennies or into the dumpster....
 
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Everyone wants a cool receiver, with pricing going through the roof on anything audio it's no wonder that the mid-level is picking up steam. We also have the benefit of internet research, 20 years ago some of this equipment was a huge mystery. I remember founding members asking what their new-found equipment was, now the information is readily found and value can estimated much easier.

I've always tried to find matching equipment, years ago it was the bargain of the century, eq's, tape decks and some turntables, most members were minimalists for sonic perfection but I love the look of a big stack, I guess there were others like me since the sector is also going crazy, who would have thought a Marantz 6300 would go for silly money on a regular basis, I don't even use mine they sit high up on a shelf.

As far as the title is concerned, maybe flippers ruined the bargain hunting but us true collectors saved a ton of equipment from destruction back in the early 2000's. Unfortunately I had to leave a ton of tape decks, there just wasn't enough room but I did save some iconic pieces that were literally sitting in or next to dumpsters.

If your into anything else collectable, most of it is also rapidly going up in price. Froggy Flipps is buying up every evil eye toy from the 90's and the pricing will floor you, along with Mad Balls, TMNT and the other toys from the era.
 
JohnnyU said:
My $0.02

Big 3 pricing for mid level WPC is rapidly rising. GenZ view them as a status symbol

Other brands TOTL seem to be rising tho not as fast. Their other offerings are stagnant

Separates (Nikko, Adcom, GAS, etc) are an absolute steal
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I’m in Gen Z and they absolutely do not care about stereos nor view them as a status symbol.

The only stereos my friends have are the systems I’ve given them for free.
 
I’ll disagree

Who‘s driving Taylor Swift to release 100’s of “Vinyls”? Yeah a lot are playing them on Crosleys, but a lot are buying receivers/TT. Browse Reddit for a sample of how coveted Pioneer gear is

Anecdotally, the vast majority of people responding to my ads are under 30.
 
Receivers are the easiest to own. Everything is packed neatly into one box. Once you master the buttons, connections and knobs you're done. 70's era high WPC receivers usually have a "pretty factor" that beats most of the competition. Separates in the form of a integrated amp and tuner comes close to receivers in ease of use. I think the PIO, MAR, SAN troika is real. For now the high WPC vintage receivers command the market buy investors are cyclic heard mentality lemmings. Eventually investors tire of their holdings because they are NOT in it for the love of the vintage gear. If owning TOTL vintage receiver is nothing more than a line item on your excel balance sheet your goal of ownership is ROI Return On Investment not enjoyment. Investors drive the prices up in any hobby but investors are timid and fickle so their interest in a hobby only lasts as long as the prices appreciate.

Right now among flippers there is a if it's vintage audio and has a silver face it's instantly worth $500 to $1,000 and more if it is a receiver or has LED indicators or VU meters. To that end I've seen real vintage era audio trash being offered up as treasure for insanely high prices. I'm an old man who grew up in the ghetto so I remember well the bottom tier vintage era audio garbage on offer back then. I die laughing when I see vintage era audio trash selling for $1,000+ on auction sites.

That said their are still vintage audio deals to be had on auction sites but you must be patient, vigilant and selective. Some people dump estate items online just wanting to get rid of them. I got a Marantz 2330B for $1,400 and a Pioneer SX-1980 for $3,500 that way.

I have a Pioneer SX-1980 but love my Pioneer SX-D7000 just as much. If you are a vintage audio collector buying items YOU LOVE then what you paid versus what its worth does not matter at all. If I sold everything in my collection today I'd likely walk away with a $25K profit but, I don't NEED $25K that badly. My vintage audio collection gives me more in sheer enjoyment than any $25K spent anywhere ever could.


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JohnnyU said:
I’ll disagree

Who‘s driving Taylor Swift to release 100’s of “Vinyls”? Yeah a lot are playing them on Crosleys, but a lot are buying receivers/TT. Browse Reddit for a sample of how coveted Pioneer gear is

Anecdotally, the vast majority of people responding to my ads are under 30.
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Screenshot (169).jpg
 
THEWEREWOLF said:
Pioneer SX-1980 for $3,500
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a lovely receiver & no insult to the poster but, I would hardly call that cheap or a bargain.

I realize there is overseas demand & such but overall, its hard think vintage audio pricing has much upside to it.
Fact is more customers are dying than coming into adulthood.
 
JohnnyU said:
My $0.02

Big 3 pricing for mid level WPC is rapidly rising. GenZ view them as a status symbol

Other brands TOTL seem to be rising tho not as fast. Their other offerings are stagnant

Separates (Nikko, Adcom, GAS, etc) are an absolute steal
Click to expand...
That's probably true, at least to some degree. There's still folks like myself that aren't particularly enamored of new receivers and their "one knob" design. Most have no tone controls (unless they're on a digital submenu), can't run an EQ, no filters, no loudness contour, sometimes not even a balance control. Some of the audiosnobs will tell you "you don't need sound controls..... you need 'pure' sound, that's the way the artist intended for you to hear it". Except all rooms don't have the same acoustic properties... all ears aren't the same, all speakers aren't the same, all albums aren't mixed the same. I will burn though as many vintage receivers as it takes to keep the tunes proper in my ears. I require controls.
 
Broeheem said:
That's probably true, at least to some degree. There's still folks like myself that aren't particularly enamored of new receivers and their "one knob" design. Most have no tone controls (unless they're on a digital submenu), can't run an EQ, no filters, no loudness contour, sometimes not even a balance control. Some of the audiosnobs will tell you "you don't need sound controls..... you need 'pure' sound, that's the way the artist intended for you to hear it". Except all rooms don't have the same acoustic properties... all ears aren't the same, all speakers aren't the same, all albums aren't mixed the same. I will burn though as many vintage receivers as it takes to keep the tunes proper in my ears. I require controls.
Click to expand...

Remotes are complicated........tuners. :rolleyes:
 
electronjohn said:
With the receiver fever in full swing, the dearth of good FM is making good integrated amps more desirable and affordable. More WPC bang for the buck, too.
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I'm fortunate enough to live near a great nonprofit station, but yeah, FM otherwise...

Still, I like the value and flexibility that integrateds offer - plus you can often grab a matching TOTL tuner and still come out cheaper than a TOTL receiver.
 
Everyone continues saying FM is dead but I can't fathom why. I live in a bigger city and we have at least 10 FM stations maybe more playing all manner of music. FM is far from dead near me. Now AM is nothing. The only things on AM in my area now are truly crazy people ranting about political stuff or religious crack heads peddling snake oil remedies and "prayer cloths!" Where I live all of the good am stations switched to FM about 20 years ago and we all never looked back. Maybe its because I live in an area with lots of poor people so they still listen to terrestrial radio. Some people can't afford streaming, $300 earbuds and a $1,000 I Phone. Granted some of the FM stations cover niche subjects like Bloomberg Business and the all sports all the time channel. Here there is still life on FM channels not the best quality life. Our local college has a great classical music channel on FM that I love.
 
Your last statement says it all. You are 29. I know plenty of people who still listen to FREE FM radio. The low barrier to entry has everything to do with it, Spotify costs money to enjoy. FM is free as God's grace. You keep on spending your money for music I get for free. But then again I lived in a world where college debt was paid off in 2 years and a single family home did not cost $500,000. I'm not used to paying through the nose for my simplest life's pleasures! Besides I love the FM receivers with all their buttons, switches and knobs.
 
The single best thing I've done in the past few years was getting rid of all my stand alone tuners in favor of a streamer. I had some pretty decent tuners Sui tu9900, Mac mr78+mr80 etc. but my outdoor omni antennae came down the very day I was able to get good wifi to my rig and start streaming.
 
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