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Name your favorite vintage "Sleeper"

I might try to find one or more. I like these tips!
birchoak said:
Couple more:
JVC 5010. Sings it's heart out, graphic equalizer on it is NOT a gimmick--works amazingly well and absolutely no noise from the sliders--super easy to work on, cap-coupled.
Harman Kardon 330A. Been covered on AK many times, so maybe not a true sleeper.
Fisher 202 Futura. Cap-coupled, made by Hitachi, solid aluminum knobs, a joy to behold inside and out. Same powerful sound as Sherwood S-7100A but a notch up for internal build quality.
Scott R74S. Rare as hens' teeth. All-aluminum chassis for superior heat sinking. Excellent FM sound; hell, excellent sound all over. Almost all the boards slide out on tension posts so very easy to work on. Came with a ten year warranty when originally sold. Mine needed absolutely nothing but cleaning until it finally blew a bridge rectifier this year (I fixed it).
JVC VR-5521. Superb sound, very similar to 5010 but not cap-coupled.
Sansui TR-707A. Incredible sound, germanium transistors, very strong FM section, industrial build.
NAD power envelope series: not well-made inside but oh my, the sound! Able to produce more bass than you will ever need, proprietary soft-clipping circuitry, lots of dynamic headroom.
Sansui AU-217. Although from late 70's, this integrated amp still uses TO-3 output devices and discrete components. Big Sansui sound without breaking the bank; awesome giant volume knob. Very easy to work on.
Yamaha CR-200, -400, -600, -800 series. Better built than the later 20XX series and much less money. Exquisite feel to the controls, front and rear plates unfold on special pivots to access inner boards, build reminds me of a Swiss chronometer.
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The Nikko receivers I've heard would qualify as sleepers. They're well built, sound great, and are available at reasonable prices because the brand isn't as widely recognized as Pioneer, Kenwood, Technics or the other Japanese majors.

Heathkit also tends to fly below the radar. The AR-1500 and AR-19 that I worked on both sounded terrific when I was done.
 
What is the point of threads like these?

No matter what is cited, some will advocate and some will dismiss. Over time there were likely thousands of makes/models produced. Pretty much all of them capeable of performing at least adequately. I put forward that few were absolutely dismal. It would more intersting to see a thread about that topic.

Same thing really. In reverse but at least a change.
 
Rotel RX-303. A small receiver, not as glamorous as Pioneer SX-450 or 550 or an according Marantz. Simply but solidly and carefully built. Very nice layout of the PCB´s. I salvaged my sister´s from the refuse disposal. It worked ok after about 20 years of non-usage, sounded dull and uninspiring, I recapped it as an interlude (mainly because I did not dare somehow to dismantle the mains switch of my newly acquired SX-550) and switched some small eletrolytics (0.47 and 1 µ)F into Wima MKP´s. And since then listen to that thing. Nice crisp but not fatiguing treble, black bass full of contour. Not loud. And pure fun with headphones (especially it brings my old trusted Sennheiser HD-250 Linear to life). Very nice phono - stage, especially since input and output have MKP´s. (Two very important caps in original are equipped with 25 V types although 40 V DC - difference has to be bridged by them)
Blaupunkt LAB-155. This small speaker can be a "for Germany only" speciality, but I do not know this for sure. From the 60es, a small two-way speaker system with 6 dB/Oct network and cone speakers and an absurd sturdy real-wood-veneer cabinet. About 12 W / 4 Ohms continuous, coupled to SX-550 or the above mentioned Rotel a nice very small system that is a joy listening to. Especially acoustic guitar and human voices. Were in my house as bookends only for about 25 years. And let´s me ask what the sound engineers from the makers have done for the last 60 years. The speaker beats the snot out of the nose of a brand-new (post 2018 - model) JBL Control 1 pro.
 
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Jazzbow said:
Sherwood S-7100A. Low powered but a wonderfully smooth tone without being "wooly" like some early 70s receivers. Also the Kyocera R851. MOSFET output stage unlike most other Kyocera receivers that have MOSFET preamps. Only sleepers because Kyocera was late to the party and pretty pricey gear.
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I'm also a big Kyocera aficionado. Have a R461, baby brother to the R851. It also has MOSFETs in the output stage, giving it considerable headroom over its 50 watt RMS rating. Too bad Kyocera dropped the whole line in the late 1980's in favor of making cell phones and copiers.
 
62vauxhall said:
What is the point of threads like these?

No matter what is cited, some will advocate and some will dismiss. Over time there were likely thousands of makes/models produced. Pretty much all of them capeable of performing at least adequately. I put forward that few were absolutely dismal. It would more intersting to see a thread about that topic.

Same thing really. In reverse but at least a change.
Click to expand...
 
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I think members of Audiokarma to be among the most knowledgeable. I use their "sleeper" selections when at a flea market, CL or FB Marketplace. The point was not the hundreds of different models. But those that really give you great sound and the prices are still good. Some monster receivers are on eBay for 10 or 15 thousand dollars; which I feel is insane. You may find the discussion useless. I find it valuable.
 
wasclywabbit said:
I'm also a big Kyocera aficionado. Have a R461, baby brother to the R851. It also has MOSFETs in the output stage, giving it considerable headroom over its 50 watt RMS rating. Too bad Kyocera dropped the whole line in the late 1980's in favor of making cell phones and copiers.
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I didn't know the 461 had MOSFET output stage. My 851 was among the gear lost in the fire last December. I Will get another.
 
Jazzbow said:
I didn't know the 461 had MOSFET output stage. My 851 was among the gear lost in the fire last December. I Will get another.
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From the instruction manual: "The amplifier section, for example, uses high-speed MOS-FETs, enabling the R-461 to efficiently handle even the most demanding digital program material." It's small but mighty.
Hope you find another 851. That was the TOTL.
 
wasclywabbit said:
I'm also a big Kyocera aficionado. Have a R461, baby brother to the R851. It also has MOSFETs in the output stage, giving it considerable headroom over its 50 watt RMS rating. Too bad Kyocera dropped the whole line in the late 1980's in favor of making cell phones and copiers.
Click to expand...
Wow! Never knew they made receivers! The stuff you learn! Thanks for the info.!
 
How about the Reference by Quadraflex series of receivers from Pacific Stereo? Particularly the 450R and the 650R? Although the cosmetics were a little plasticy, these receivers could hold their own with any of the Pioneers, Sansuis and Maranzii of similar power. The 650R was one of the first receivers to utilize MOSFETs in the output stage IIRC...
 
Akai CR-80D. Turned me on to what Akai could do in terms of build quality, and in terms of over-engineering, and what 8 track cartridges could perform and sound like. No toy, and built like a brick outhouse. Makes me grin when I slide in an 8 track cartridge and blows my mind with that sound. Keep on Trackin' with Akai.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
Akai CR-80D. Turned me on to what Akai could do in terms of build quality, and in terms of over-engineering, and what 8 track cartridges could perform and sound like. No toy, and built like a brick outhouse. Makes me grin when I slide in an 8 track cartridge and blows my mind with that sound. Keep on Trackin' with Akai.
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Akai's reel-to-reel gear was also over-engineered and built to last. I have two Akai reel decks from the 1970s, a 250D and a GX-230D, both of which still work well and sound great.
 
Back in the early `70s, I got hooked (for a few minutes) on the (then-new) Quad craze. Bought a Lafayette LR-4000 receiver, not big on power (35 wpc IIRC), very clean sound, with a good tuner and surprisingly sophisticated decoder (may have been a Sony product). Sounded very respectable through 4 Advent Large speakers and a Zero 100 TT w/ Stanton 681EEE cart....
 
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