New from Texas

MustardTiger

MustardTiger

Noob
Recently I have been playing with a guitarist (I'm a drummer) who has a great sound system which we listen to during breaks at rehearsal. He rebuilds old Marantz receivers and has one (don't remember model, 2270 I believe) hooked up to some JBLs and a turntable that sound fantastic!

It got me considering the fact that I've been a musician for 25+ years and yet I listen to music on crappy mp3 players hooked up to my Yamaha surround sound system.

So I started looking around a bit and want to build a better system

I have a Magnavox CDB 492 single tray CD player which was given to me for Christmas back in the 80s. Still works great and still have the remote which also works.

I found a Technics RS-TR210 dual cassette deck several months ago which I bought at a Salvation Army store for $4 and hooked up to my computer through a mixer in order to digitize old recordings so I can preserve them.

Yesterday I was looking on Craigslist for Norman Laboratories speakers. My dad still has a pair from the 70s that still sound amazing (don't know the model) and I found a pair at a garage sale listing near my home. For $75 I got:


Denon DRR-780 tray loading casette deck May 1991

Yamaha RX-530 receiver

Panasonic SL-PS352 single tray CD player March 1989

Norman Laboratories Model 82 speakers

I am a noob to vintage audio, but I am looking to build a good (not necessarily TOTL system) off of what I have.

The receiver isn't that great sounding, and the speakers need to be refoamed.

Questions -

What should I keep and what should I get rid of?

Anyone know anything more about the speakers? My research on Norman Labs is what brought me to these forums. I've read several threads already about the company history and whatnot.

Any suggestions on receivers? I wish I could pry my dad's 70s Pioneer from him. He doesn't use it and it needs new caps, cleaned pots etc. but that ain't going to happen.

Thanks for any and all comments!
 
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The best advice I can offer is to avoid the urge to buy every inexpensive thing you see. You'll just end up with a bunch of stuff that's difficult to get rid of later.

As for receivers, I'm partial to Sansui and Pioneer. Sansui 771 or 881, G-6000 or above. Pioneer 828, 838, 939 or 1010 - they're usually cheaper than the x50 and x80 series.

Welcome aboard!
 
Welcome to AK! Just keep your eyes open and you'll find all sorts of things show up. There was a lot of good vintage gear made from a lot of different companies. Just remember that because it's old doesn't always mean it's good. It's tempting especially when it's cheap but as mfhale warned you end up with a lot of stuff that's not very good and it's harder to get rid of later.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I have made a habit, when I find possibly decent gear, of doing a quick google search on my phone to see if its worth a darn. I guess what I really need to look for now is a decent receiver.

Thanks again!
 
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