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quality vintage receivers?

Ruxman said:
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. :)
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+1 for Luxman. Mind you, I haven't really done comparisons myself, but I picked up an R-1050 on the recommendation of someone here and I couldn't be happier...this thing sounds AMAZING. :music:
 
Pioneer

I just scored a SX-1250 and it is outstanding. HUGE toroid tranny and massive filter caps to start with. Nice style and classic sound. Worth a test drive should you find one. I've owned big Sansui's (AU-9900 integrated and a 9090 receiver), Kenwood KR-9600, Yamaha CR-2020 and 1020 and Marantz 2285, amongst quite a few others. They had a war going on to please the consumer and the quality and sound show. If I had a pick based on sonic prowess, it would be the Pioneer SX-1250 I now own. It's hard to go wrong with any of the suggestions I read so far though.
 
I have a sansui G4500 and two Pioneer SX650 and the SX980 I prefer both the Pioneer and the SX650 is surprisingly very very good and cheap
 
+1 on Luxman

And Tandberg ... haven't heard one since the 70s, but back then they sounded less stereotypically solid state than the various Kenwood and Pioneers that me and my buddies could actually afford.
 
I am about to do the same thing for my 22 yr. old daughter. She is in grad school and living in a very nice one bed room. I am trying to build a bridge between the generations by taking into account the paradigm shift that we are all responding to. As much as my daughter loves music there is only one way I think this will work. First and foremost, when I deliver and set this up it will include a charging dock/interface for her iTouch, maybe even a complete AirPort Express hook-up. I know for her to use it it has to fit with what she already uses. I would never do this for myself but . . . Que Sera Sera. I do have to select a Receiver with enough inputs to let her get DVD audio for movie watching and a decent but unobtrusive antenna for her favorite Contemporary Christian and Country stations, plus the iTouch gizmo. The next thing is something which fits into her living space. One of the smaller receivers such as the 25 to 40 watt Realistics, Kenwoods, or maybe the later Ultra-linear HKs. It has to look Retro Cool so that rules out the black stuff. No Marantz or Luxman and not TOTL . . . those are too valuable and should belong to people who will treasure and maintain them. Likewise the speakers, I have a pair of PhaseTech Pc-60s with nice stands that will fit in her room without moving or re-arranging her decorating, plus they are amazing sounding and imaging.

All that said, I could just go and buy one of those $100.00 Sherwoods that has full remote control. But I'm hoping the "made by dadee" factor and the Retro styling will make it worthwhile.

I plan on getting this done before the end of the Summer. If she doesn't use it I'll just disown her and take it all back. :D
 
At least one of my daughters (3) is into retro gear. I set her up with my old Technics TT and a black box stereo which I picked up cheap. I think they would all get a kick out of a retro, 70-ish receiver.
I currently have a nice Marantz 2250b in wood case which I re-lamped, re-capped, cleaned up, and put in new display vellum. It sounds sweet, although the tuner is just ok IMO.
I also have an SX-650 which is in-progress. I also have a Kenwood KA-3500 int-amp which I cleaned up. I was thinking of getting a matching tuner (KT-5500?) and package that up as well.
I still think a nice receiver, with decent tuner, would be best.
 
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Harmon Kardon 330C and the 430, I have both and the sound quality is nothing short of great!
 
I own a sansui 2000x, a pioneer sx750 and a luxman r1500. I think the sansui has the most detailed sound, the luxman has the richest when it comes to bass and the pioneer has the lightest sound by my experience, I'd say that anything over 20lbs is worth salvaging - or atleast to be given a chance.
 
albireo13 said:
What about Technics?
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It's hard to go wrong with anything from Pioneer, Sansui and friends...and while I'm biased (New Class A, no less :D ), Technics offered some very nice receivers. I'm particularly fond of my SA-5170...a very solid low power performer. The later 1980s Computer Drive stuff is also quite nice, be it an integrated amplifier or a receiver...if you're looking for any of that, look for something that uses an SVI-XXXX (2004, 3001, etc.) series power module, as it's much more robust than the Sanyo STK power pack they used in earlier New Class A/Computer Drive sets.

Also not to be overlooked are some of the things from RadioShack and JC Penney (MCS brand). Both lines had some real sleepers (and some models that were best avoided).
 
70s era stuff.

First water.
McIntosh, Marantz, Fisher, Pioneer, H/K, Sansui.

Second water.
Kenwood, Technics, Onkyo, Hitachi, Toshiba, Akai.

More or less in that order.
Order is somewhat based on parts and info availability.


Just my opinion after having and working on a sampling of the above (except the McIntosh, haven't laid hands on one yet).
 
I'd look for several inputs in whatever you decide. Many of the mid level vintage units have an Aux/phono and one tape input. Not enough for most setups these days. Might need to rig up a front panel input for the mp3 players too.
 
blhagstrom said:
70s era stuff.

First water.
McIntosh, Marantz, Fisher, Pioneer, H/K, Sansui.

Second water.
Kenwood, Technics, Onkyo, Hitachi, Toshiba, Akai.

More or less in that order.
Order is somewhat based on parts and info availability.


Just my opinion after having and working on a sampling of the above (except the McIntosh, haven't laid hands on one yet).
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I wondered if someone was going to mention Fisher. Of course, only the Avery Fisher stuff was really good. One he sold Fisher, only the name remained. There were other great brands of that era such as Scott and Sherwood that had the names revived without the vintage quality.
 
HTHMAN said:
I wondered if someone was going to mention Fisher. Of course, only the Avery Fisher stuff was really good. One he sold Fisher, only the name remained. There were other great brands of that era such as Scott and Sherwood that had the names revived without the vintage quality.
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Ah, yes, need to be "early" Fisher. I recommend the 550-t but mine works and it looks a little daunting in there to actually work on.

Scott? no expereince, maybe too rare for the OP's purpose (but a good suggestion based on some eary speaker I do have). Sherwood, early Sherwood, how could I forget...I suppose, again, hard to come by, but also a good call.

I have no experience on the early Sony. I have high respect for the company technologically. Market wise, they are a strange bunch. Again, perhaps a little hard to come by.

I keep hoping good info (service manuals, repair info) will show up online as time goes. But I am seeing a lot of talk about "unobtainium" parts and so the longetivity of some gear may be limited. I suppose eventually, a lot of things may no longer be available. For instance, I have a perfectly working Sansui 5050 with a broken volume control. It is a 250K center tap unit. I see some old stock showed up on the auction site but the price is out of line for the value of the 5050. Building a stepped attenuator is an option but getting the parts and doing the work is also more act-of-love and hobby than frugal time use.
 
From personal experience, I have to give another nod to mid 70s Nikko stuff, and also the Sherwood solid state stuff that was made in Japan was top notch. Typically lower power but built well. There were so many decent receivers available back in the day that it is probably easier to name the dogs!
 
blhagstrom said:
Ah, yes, need to be "early" Fisher. I recommend the 550-t but mine works and it looks a little daunting in there to actually work on..
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Yep, I have the Fisher 700T and there are more parts in there than will fit in a small SUV. I bought mine new and it still works perfectly. Very similar to your 550T
P1000776.jpg


Another overlooked vintage brand is MCS that was sold by JC Penney. Some were made by Technics and my 3253 was made by NEC. I picked it up for $50. Great values.
MCS32537.jpg
 
Recognizing that this is an expression of my opinion based on my experience with these units, I would unhesitatingly endorse the '70s era solid state Sansui, Kenwood and Pioneer lines of receivers.

This is hardly a knock on the brands mentioned by others. I simply do not have a great deal of experience with them.
 
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