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quality vintage receivers?

albireo13

albireo13

Active Member
Crazy thought but ...
I am thinking of refurbing some vintage receivers, and giving one to each of my kids as the graduate high school. (long term plan)

I have a Marantz 2250B which I've refurbed and may keep (sweet!).
Beyond Marantz, what other classic vintage receivers would be considered quality, with good sonics?

I am thinking maybe Pioneer and Kenwood. What about Technics?

Any other suggestions?


Thx,
Rob
 
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Luxman is highly recommended. An almost strictly high-end manufacturer that actually made a couple of receivers. Build quality and sonics as from out of this world. :)
 
Another vote for Sansui. I have a Sansui 4000 and G-6000. The 4000 is a perfect size for a dorm room or a small apartment. The wood cabinet and controls are silky. Feel and looks speak quality. Oh, and the sound is just as impressive. The 4000 is warmer and smaller than the G-6000 and can be found at very reasonable prices.
 
?????

Heatkit,Sony,Realistics,Rotel,Sansui, and on and on..............:thmbsp:
 
Sony comes to mind, cheap´ish (at least less money than Sansui and Kenwood etc.) good build quality, amazing sound and good looks

sony_V7.jpg

Sony STR-V7

Sony_STR-7065_02.jpg

Sony STR-7065A

Pics. from web, hope owners don´t mind.
 
You really can't go wrong with a vintage receiver. There are some brands that command higher prices and some real sleepers. Marantz units are sought-after, especially the 22xx series, and are priced accordingly. Top-end offerings by the likes of Luxman, Pioneer, Kenwood, Sansui and Yamaha are also on the expensive side. Brands like JVC, Technics, Hitachi, Kyocera, Onkyo, Sony, Sherwood, Harmon-Kardon, Mitsubishi, etc. all had good solid receivers as well. Every manufacturer had a range, with a top-end signature piece (think SA-1000 by Technics, a 330wpc MONSTER receiver) and some real particle board junk at the bottom. Personally I like the look of the CR-series from Yamaha... unless you're desperate for the big power of the top-end models like the 1020 and 2040, they can be had for pretty cheap and the look is timeless.
 
vintage receivers

I really like the look of the dials and lamps of vintage gear.
Anyway, thanks for the inputs so far.
Big power is not a priority. I think < 50watts is preferable for me.
Bigger power means heavier transformers.
 
Just about any solid state receiver built in the 70s would get my vote. Yamaha made some exceptionally nice ones. I own and use a Sansui 7070 that I swear is the best-sounding receiver I've heard. And I like the other usual suspects... Sony, Realistic, Pioneer, Marantz et al...
 
Another vote for Sony here. Had an str 7015 which is a good and solid receiver... but recently got a TA 1630 amp which is a killer in both looks and sound. There's a thread on the 1630 and I have wrote a very short review :)
 
albireo13 said:
Crazy thought but ...
I am thinking of refurbing some vintage receivers, and giving one to each of my kids as the graduate high school. (long term plan)

I have a Marantz 2250B which I've refurbed and may keep (sweet!).
Beyond Marantz, what other classic vintage receivers would be considered quality, with good sonics?

I am thinking maybe Pioneer and Kenwood. What about Technics?

Any other suggestions?


Thx,
Rob
Click to expand...


I honestly don't mean to rain on your parade and I hope for your sake your kids aren't like mine. I did exactly what you are thinking of doing with some Yamaha CR-840 Receivers. Got a very cold response. Like "what am I supposed to do with this dad. It won't fit in my pocket and where do I download the MP3's and where do I plug the earbuds". I went to a lot of trouble but the receivers stand dormant along with the speaker systems. I guess it is just a different generation. I know at my kids age I lived for my Yamaha System. My friends and I sat and listened...today it seems like it is music on the go and sound quality isn't an issue.
Again, I apologize and don't mean to sound negative but just thought my experience may be of some help. Maybe your kids will appreciate the quality of a good system....That would be great!
 
lmfree said:
I honestly don't mean to rain on your parade and I hope for your sake your kids aren't like mine. I did exactly what you are thinking of doing with some Yamaha CR-840 Receivers. Got a very cold response. Like "what am I supposed to do with this dad. It won't fit in my pocket and where do I download the MP3's and where do I plug the earbuds". I went to a lot of trouble but the receivers stand dormant along with the speaker systems. I guess it is just a different generation. I know at my kids age I lived for my Yamaha System. My friends and I sat and listened...today it seems like it is music on the go and sound quality isn't an issue.
Again, I apologize and don't mean to sound negative but just thought my experience may be of some help. Maybe your kids will appreciate the quality of a good system....That would be great!
Click to expand...

There's a lot of truth in this statement. My 15-year old son occasionally plays his (killer) stereo in his room - not nearly as much as I did when I was his age. I have two brothers that are around 50 years old and I intend to give them each a vintage system for Christmas this year. I "think" they will use and appreciate the systems, but I cannot say the same for their wives. I am not going crazy with what I will give them - something that they can use in an office or shop area.

Having said that, what you may want know up front is which receivers to avoid because of obsolete parts. For instance, many of the Yamaha receivers ending in CR-xx40 have some chips that are impossible to source any more. Some of the other receivers may have similar problems.
 
lmfree said:
I honestly don't mean to rain on your parade and I hope for your sake your kids aren't like mine.
Click to expand...

I don't know when it happened, wasn't paying attention I guess but there has definitely been a major shift in music listening. None of my friends (I am 43) have stereos. They all had them in college... I saw them. My own family, all of whom play AT LEAST one musical instrument and several of whom have played in bands when they were young, don't have stereos.

I find it strange, bizarre really, that people who spent a fair chunk of change on a good stereo in their 20's are now completely either tone-deaf or ambivalent to sound quality for other reasons I can't figure out. Thinking back to the past dozen or so social occasions I've attended, there's been computer speakers, a Bose radio, more computer speakers, a cheap HT all-in-one system (which sounded okay compared to the other bunch) and the worst was my sister playing music through the built-in speakers in her iMac.

In fact, I'm the only one I know in my group of friends who has a decent system. I'm not talking $20K, I'm talking $1K spent over a number of years.

Anyways, not meaning to rant, just find it odd.
 
Bottom line: If the kids aren't into the music, it doesn't matter. If they are they'll appreciate your efforts.
 
A very popular and well regarded piece that would fit your bill is the Pioneer SX-780. There are a lot of them around and a lot of vintage audio collectors know a lot about them. AFAIK, the parts are easy to come by too. It has a nice silver-face and some meters that look good too. Refurb wouldn't be a problem; lots have been refurb'ed, so a lot of help is out there.
Mike
 
Most kids value an excellent gift from their dad. My father gave me some strange gifts through the years perhaps not to my taste, but damn they mean the world to me. My son has always enjoyed our collection of albums. His favorite receivers are Yamaha and Pioneers. He loves to have stuff he has converted for a list to knock your socks off in his ipod. Speakers need to be addressed and that come down to taste too.
 
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