Vintage audio getting more expensive.

[Lecta414]

Probably posted earlier, but with the original investment in "vintage" then adding the costs for restoration, it may make more cents to buy new. I'm seriously considering the move.

vintage is the way to go for both cost and performance. BUT Its a long hard 39 mile jagged road up the side of a mountain, down the canyon, through the ravine and out into the pasture road to DIY yourself a vintage setup. Let me tell y

 

[Souleles]

Probably posted earlier, but with the original investment in "vintage" then adding the costs for restoration, it may make more cents to buy new. I'm seriously considering the move.

A lot of people feel that way , myself I don’t think about what it’s going to cost because I’m driven to do it and believe me it’s not without sacrifices, like I said earlier it’s not what it cost , that pain will go away, it’s what you end up with , I have always been driven when restoring something I do it to meet my expectations, if you were to see my receivers or cars , rifle stocks, Schwinn beach cruisers, what ever my passion should be at that time of my life you would understand where I’m coming from, if you knew of my back ground you would understand, I take a great deal of pride in my work , that is wort more to me then going out and buying something new
That’s all , not meant in a bragging fashion it’s me and what my expectations are

 

[Souleles]

Why? Because IMO I think it's a BS myth from experience. Still wondering what your experience is with quality new gear is.

I have no interest in new stuff don’t you get it, I couldn’t buy new for what it cost me to restore one of my receiver cause it wouldn’t give the satisfaction I get from doing what I do for any project I’m on nothing to do with comparing new and old that’s all but you took it all wrong it’s not easy communicating in this fashion something is always lost or taken wrong

 

[GChief]

I have no interest in new stuff don’t you get it, I couldn’t buy new for what it cost me to restore one of my receiver cause it wouldn’t give the satisfaction I get from doing what I do for any project I’m on nothing to do with comparing new and old that’s all but you took it all wrong it’s not easy communicating in this fashion something is always lost or taken wrong

I 100% got what your trying covey. You are not getting my original point because you went straight to offended defense mode. My original point was when you said.

the cost was 1,400.00 that’s a lot of money but the pain of that goes away, my receiver is as good as new and much better than anything I could purchase for that amount of money

The bolded part is just your preference and not a fact at all.

That is my only point, I also restore old crap and enjoy it, I just know from experience there is plenty of new stuff out there equal too or better then that Kenwood for the same or even less money.

We all do what we want the way we want.

The myth is that there is not new stuff that can compete for the same money. Your talking emotion, and I got that from the get go, I am not, and you are not getting that.

 

[Young46]

Suffering succotash!

 

[ConfusedOne]

LOL. To each his own, agree to disagree, or whatever the phrase is at this point in time. What comes to my mind is one mans trash is another mans treasure. This holds true in just about all situations. It is your personal values, likes and opinions. When you're old enough you realize to each his own. I used to dream about fixing the world and now I just worry about my immediate area, lol. One can't really criticize others views if you haven't lived their life. Everyone views life differently and learns from their experiences. I used to like things organized and clean (still do) But somewhere along the line I figured out that life is **** any way you look at it. It took 4 large dogs, with a large play area and a doggy door before I figured it out for myself. So we just hope to get the best **** for ourself and loved ones. In a hundred years (probably less) nobody will give a **** anyways.
Hope what I'm saying made sense. Some things don't seem worth wasting the time, but it might be - that's for each to judge Done with this rant!! Please take it with a grain of...

 

[GChief]

When you're old enough

If your profile is correct, your the same age as most of us

 

[ConfusedOne]

Probably

 

[John Ess]

There is really no "high value" pathway to quality audio reproduction anymore. The best days of buying vintage gear are long gone...thank you eBay for screwing that up. Feeling lucky to have had some Dynaco tube gear back 25 years ago. No matter how you cut it, vintage, DIY, new...it's all gonna take a chunk out of your wallet. Finding a decent deal is just **** luck and being in the right place at the right time. The times they are a changin'.

 

[BilboBaggins]

I got into it when buying vintage was quite cheap. And then, over the course of time, I lucked into some very nice gear for very little. You would cry if you knew how little I paid for my McIntosh gear. And I kept less than half of it!

I actively searched for my vintage Kef 107s last year. And when I found a pair for a price I thought reasonable, and they weren't too far away (5-6 hours away), I watched them closely until I was ready to pull the trigger, and then I closed the deal. I don't believe I could buy better speakers for the money I paid for these.

All this being said, if I was looking for another power amp, I would likely buy new. Emotiva or Bryston, or something like that. I doubt preamps are at the point I would buy new, but I haven't had a preamp restored recently, so I could be fooling myself. I'll find out if I ever get there. Hopefully not. Almost all my keeper gear has been fully or partially restored.

 

[Blue Shadow]

One has to wonder the demographic that is purchasing. I can't imagine someone who purchased one of these units back in 1975 for $399 jumping at a chance too add a thousand dollars to that price. Hipsters? Again, what actual percentage do they make up, it takes a fair amount of disposable income to participate.

Harry aker having bought a SX-lowmodel or Marantz 22smalldigits when new now has his kids out of college and has money to buy what he lusted for back in the day. He knows to buy the best example and finds a nice recapped unit for four-figures and he can buy it no problem. He does. Here is a quote from ak about this.

The Stereo Store Lust®

remember the great stereo stores of the 1970's?
man..i would walk down the pioneer aisle and physically drool.
the sx-1050 and sx-1250 owned my heart, yet my paycheck could barely afford an sx-550
those massive stacks of silver mesmerized me, and the speaker rooms? my god!!
several years ago i got my dream of ct-f8181 and ct-f9292 answered..they are truly wonderful decks!
now..after all these years im bringing sx-1050 home! im giddy, i really am, this is a dream come true.
i dont think im late to the party at all..this is truly fine equipment...im very happy!

teri patterson, Sep 22, 2016

As to the hipsters, I have two neighbors fresh out of college making 6 figures, they can buy what they want. They read ak and the nothing gets the words compared to the Pio/Mar/Sui/Mc group of products. They then search out those brands.

Then you have the typical buyer, again a look at ak and they are flooded with those four brands. They buy these brands because they are the ones going up on value. Others might hold steady, be much better sonic choices but won't return the money if sold before the prices collapse.

Then there is just some guy on the street and he drops into ak and reads and goes to get one of those 4 brands because they cannot say the name Nikko or Onkyo in mixed company without a grimace from someone in the group but he will become the stereo guru of the group if he mentions Pio/Mar/Sui and folks will seek out his recommendations.

So people pay more for it.

 

[Pioneer.user]

keep eyeballing that AU-717. That was my first step away from receivers as an 18yr old punk in 1983. I just do not have the room to justify it for sentimental reason.

you want the huge silver face of (for example) an SX-1980, I don’t see the price/performance ratio ever tipping in your favor as its value is as a collectible TOTL receiver for that marque for that era. OTOH my son prefers some of the higher-performance Pioneer Elite series for far less money, ...

Pioneer Elite (Real Elite c90 /m90, m90a, m91) is much better than overrated and overpriced receivers. People from this forum says that pioneer Elite m90 sounds better than pioneer sx 1050,sx 950 or even sx 1980.

More over pioneer c90a/m90a was more expensive when New than any Pioneers receiver includes sx 1980! And of course receivers Line is Below Elite separates range, not to mention Elite build quality is better than any Pioneer receiver.



But people from this forum loves these overpriced radios. Well...

 

[GChief]

Pioneer Elite (Real Elite c90 /m90, m90a, m91) is much better than overrated and overpriced receivers. People from this forum says that pioneer Elite m90 sounds better than pioneer sx 1050,sx 950 or even sx 1980.

More over pioneer c90a/m90a was more expensive when New than any Pioneers receiver includes sx 1980! And of course receivers Line is Below Elite separates range, not to mention Elite build quality is better than any Pioneer receiver.



But people from this forum loves these overpriced radios. Well...

Not sure why your quoting me, the Sansui I mentioned is not a receiver.

And we get your Pioneer fan boy. Better is subjective

 

[Blue Shadow]

vintage is the way to go for both cost and performance. BUT Its a long hard 39 mile jagged road up the side of a mountain, down the canyon, through the ravine and out into the pasture road to DIY yourself a vintage setup. Let me tell y

Don't know if vintage is better in both cost and performance BUT that long hard drive sounds like a lot of fun in a proper sports car. Or if you are talking about the knowledge base to enable proper purchases, then being in the hobby for half a century sure makes a difference.

 

[mythless]

There are plenty of excellent new gear that can be purchased second hand for an excellent price. Other than some few things that I can repair myself, that's what I aim in buying these days.

 

[Lecta414]

that's true, as long as one doesnt yearn for that magical midrange of yesteryear, because if so, new gear will be the longest road to hoe and for me, ended at a dead end because the stereo didnt get listened to......imexperience.... but not all want or even know what the sound of history is/was and what was lost. But as soon as they hear it, whether its on a cheap old tube radio or the best old gear, the yearning begins in everone who is not gone totally digital. 99% live in a digital world of sense perceptions and wavelengths

a little 8w tube amp of yesteryear, into a set of decent pre 1989 (digital) vintage, will have a very nice setup . a set of ADS two ways for example


my current and last rig is a diy cheaper - ALtec 414's with mix of jbl and altec horn drivers - with horns removed. pushed with some comrpession of a kit tube amp
all systems need some compression, and since i low vol listen nowadays, the compression cant come as much from the drivers. so its best to get it from the amp, and that is what helps even out the altec dryness

strengths of both is depth

altec dry and deep. tube kits are are deep and wet. perfect marriage



diy build of the system was tuned for low volume and that is where it excels
room is imperfect and so is everything else. as long as the imperfections are near meaningless or at worst, tolerable, then the inherent strengths of both altecs and tube kits shine and excel. yes other systems have more of this and that, but never IT

low volume goes with near distance and that is also the best experience but room wandering and danicing is encouraged by the setup, and why stereo image is never considered, to wit, one altec uses jbl driver and the other an altec

and the stereo tube amps arent even close to the same in any case..an exmple of the above tradeoff equation

what this gives is the most accurate tuneful bass if musicality and timbre/tone is king. everyone has their preferences and deals with the tradeoffs and many systems can be valid