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Time to purge, thoughts?

Frank Zappis

Frank Zappis

Active Member
I am gearing up to move once again...sigh...

I have accumulated quite a few vintage receivers / integrated amps. I need to get rid of a few but am having trouble deciding. All are functional and sound good, that's why it is so hard. Here is the list of my current equipment.

Sansui Eight
Pioneer SX-650
Harmon Kardon 230e
Marantz 1060
NAD 7120
Kenwood KA-7100

Thoughts?
 
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60-35-15-30-20-60
power of each listed in order
I'd keep a 60watter so you can power less sensitive speakers.
I sell the Pioneer and Marantz as they bring big money for what they are and are mid-powered in your group.
I'd think the 230e and the NAD probably both sound good. I liked having an HK 330 as a nice push one button and I'm listening to FM and it sounded very good. A smaller, lighter unit for small room use is what these are.
 
Only one I'm familiar with is the 1060. I had mine recapped, replaced power transistors etc. Whether needed I don't know. Added a repro wood cabinet.

I personally have little use for a tuner in a receiver.
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I also have modern Rogue tube amps. The 1060 has a lovely warm vintage sound, for summer. When tube Amp heat is too much. It has many setting options the modern amps have skipped. (O'ring on volume for 3 foot remote grip.)
 
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Hajidub said:
You say it's hard to let go, but honestly after I did it was like a weighted responsibility off my back. Best move I ever made, but with vintage you have to keep a spare so that's good.
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That is how I felt when I downsized my vinyl collection by a LOT. Moving records is a nightmare, equipment isn't much better. I am tempted to liquidate a lot of these and go after 1 vintage piece I really want...Not sure
 
Old Guy8 said:
Only one I'm familiar with is the 1060. I had mine recapped, replaced power transistors etc. Whether needed I don't know. Added a repro wood cabinet.

I personally have little use for a tuner in a receiver.
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I also have modern Rogue tube amps. The 1060 has a lovely warm vintage sound, for summer. When tube Amp heat is too much. It has many setting options the modern amps have skipped. (O'ring on volume for 3 foot remote grip.)
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I had collected a lot of mostly Marantz separates gear I had restored.
Tuners didn't tend to stay long. A couple years back I thinned the heard big time after getting into tube equipment. Out of all the Marantz gear, some TOTL, I kept one of the 1060's, a model 140 power amp and a 112 tuner.
I use the 1060 as a preamp for the 140. The 112 tuner I still have in my main system, but doesn't get much use. It just got to the point that I had way too much equipment that wasn't getting used. To finely off it went to be used by others. I do think you should keep some backup equipment though.
 

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I'm unaware of what old SS stuff is prized so I'd keep the Marantz just because it's an integrated, is a Marantz and has a champagne finish.
 
Hajidub said:
You say it's hard to let go, but honestly after I did it was like a weighted responsibility off my back. Best move I ever made, but with vintage you have to keep a spare so that's good.
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Right? I felt the same way. It was hard at first having to decide what to keep and why, but once I got started it was much easier to let go of the stuff. For me I think it was more a case of all the research, time, and money I spent on restoring it all.
 
Frank Zappis said:
I am tempted to liquidate a lot of these and go after 1 vintage piece I really want
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This is always a good option.

Out of the ones you list I would definitely sell:
Harmon Kardon 230e (I believe it was BOTL at the time)
Marantz 1060 (cash in on the Marantz tax! No offense to Marantz and their many loyal fans, but IMHO the cash value now far exceeds the sonic value)
NAD 7120 (I have never liked NAD stuff, they sound pretty good but the build and component quality is pretty poor IMO)

That generation of Pioneer receivers look good, sound good, and have good build quality. That being said, the SX-650 is pretty far down the totem pole, so maybe let it go as well.

The Eight vs the KA-7100 is where things get tougher. Do you listen to the radio? If so keep the Eight. If not, it's a toss-up.
 
RossW said:
This is always a good option.

Out of the ones you list I would definitely sell:
Harmon Kardon 230e (I believe it was BOTL at the time)
Marantz 1060 (cash in on the Marantz tax! No offense to Marantz and their many loyal fans, but IMHO the cash value now far exceeds the sonic value)
NAD 7120 (I have never liked NAD stuff, they sound pretty good but the build and component quality is pretty poor IMO)

That generation of Pioneer receivers look good, sound good, and have good build quality. That being said, the SX-650 is pretty far down the totem pole, so maybe let it go as well.

The Eight vs the KA-7100 is where things get tougher. Do you listen to the radio? If so keep the Eight. If not, it's a toss-up.
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I agree Marantz gear is very over priced. I'm just glad I had collected it all before the insane prices came to be. It was all crazy cheap compared to now. The 1060 is just one of those pieces that sound very nice once properly restored. I got rid of various TOTL separates and kept the second from the bottom 1060 integrated amp. On the other hand, you can get decent cash out of one that can be used to get something better in another brand that Flys a little lower under the radar. With the cash I got from all that gear I was able to build some nice tube amps, preamps, and buy speakers.
 
I would keep your favorite and sell the rest.
Then buy a single piece with the cash.

I think I’d keep the Sansui and buy a Marantz 22XX.
 
Blue Shadow said:
There you go, best option to thin out the number of units you have.

What is it you really want, mention a few if you want to.
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This may come as a surprise but more than anything, I want a marantz 2238. I love the balance slider and the black tuner. It's not a super high-powered marantz but, it has a pre-out I could use my 125WPC Yamaha power amp if I really need it. So far, that is one I have been looking for specifically. All the other equipment I have came into very cheap or gotten as part of a lot.
 
Make the move. You have enough junk to sell off and get some coin so the 2238 shouldn't cost money.
 
Frank Zappis said:
That is how I felt when I downsized my vinyl collection by a LOT. Moving records is a nightmare, equipment isn't much better. I am tempted to liquidate a lot of these and go after 1 vintage piece I really want...Not sure
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That would be my thought but I realize there can be personal feelings that can make this tough.
 
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