Vintage owners, if you won the lotto would you buy uber high end gear?

[twiiii]

The stereo system is as I as I want it. I would update the HT speakers I would also take My left and right speakers from my HT system add two MC 3500's, a C-2200 FG, Fire up the MR 78 and use the Thorens from the stereo system replacing it with What ever is the latest version of Technics SL 1200 G is today or tomorrow. I would use another Dynavector High output 20 X 2 for the Thorens and use its XX-2 MK II with the new TT for the stereo system. I would move my Ellite plasma into the Master Bed room and Add a 85 inch OLED display for the HT system. How much would this cost. I assume The S5's wold be strong enought for left and and right if not then two M7's with an m6 for the center laying on its side with 4 A3 or 5's for rear and side speakers. What would this all cost . Close to a $600,000 for sure. What to use to voice the old system. I guess a pair of restored UREI 539 room EQ's. Might need three MC 1.2's for the HT three front channels. Then I might want a MX 170 or 180 to replace the MX 151 HT processor. If I still had my live recordings on tape it might be fun to have two Ampex professional AT102 and 104 studio mastering tape decks. If not then a Pair of MR-70's that used miniature tube Nuvistors . Some of my better live tapes used AME eq which would mean I would also need an Ag 300- and a AG 300-4. Also some recordings were mastered with DBX Decilinear processors which would mean I would need 3 157 units. Nowyou can see why I dubbed my tapes after mixing down to CD's. I never used my 4 channel decks to make a Quad recording. Usually 3 mics across the front with the 4th channel for soloists.

 

[grey]

I would likely consult an advisor and go from there on how to build the room and then work through the gear suggestions. George Augsurger comes to mind as a first contact.

 

[bluesky]

I'd just get some high end speakers.

 

[harman/kardon]

A McIntosh "MT 10" would be nice.

 

[bluesky]

I own a TOTL Sansui rig already with 3 pairs of big box speakers which blow my house out with sound... and one pair being small 'big box'! - all AlNiCos. Done Deal.
But always have wanted a pair of JBLs! But really don't need them. But a pair would be nice - always wanted a pair... for 56 years.

Maybe someday - but haven't ever even 'looked' really. Always dreamed about a pair of '4300 series' blue face speakers would be super nice!! [But maybe too much sound!!]
A pair of perfect L100s would be most excellent. But... not even looking.

 

[Daveintn]

I have built what I want and the gear outside of the speakers is fine too. What I would do though is build a nice dedicated theater and I don't mean fancy sound room either.

 

[cicada_shell]

Totally build a nicer room, buy some additional vinyl and lots of tape (and a nice tape machine). Record my own mixtapes. Buy some really nice microphones. Get some schmancy parts for my Paragon from Kenrick if he’d sell. Build a nice area for building-in amps, preamps, etc so nothing is on some rack or sitting on anything anymore (à la Sinatra’s Palm Springs house). As for changing existing electronics?.. just because I’d have more money doesn’t mean I’d buy things I already consider overpriced or culty. Not much that’s new goes with my aesthetic. A lot of the new gear that’s styled after the old looks kinda cheesy. Hmm hmm.

 

[Beobloke]

Why is there no option for both?

I'd definitely buy a load of new high-end equipment but I'd also go on a vintage spending spree for my own personal museum!

 

[justin_r_23]

I'd start a shop (used / new / keep old techs going and get new techs started) and find a way to invest the money so that the shop doesn't actually have to turn a profit to exist and provide services.

Side benefit: everyone gets to hear and play with new gear.

 

[Old Guy8]

A dear friend and audiophile passed. His family offered a good deal on his flagship Mcintosh MA8000 gear from '15. I'm too old for moving 100# amps and isolation transformers.

 

[maxhifi]

A dear friend and audiophile recently passed. His family offered a good deal on his flagship Mcintosh MA8000 gear from '15. I'm too old for moving 100# amps and isolation transformers.

Controversial opinion:

A 50lb amplifier can sound just as good as a 100lb amplifier, but won't break your back.

 

[Old Guy8]

Controversial opinion:

A 50lb amplifier can sound just as good as a 100lb amplifier, but won't break your back.

It sounded very good. If someone has low efficiency speakers and a monster room. Maybe 300 wpc could be beneficial? There's other ways to get there. Like Klipsch and other horn speakers. But, not my taste.

I have 55# tube amps that are a load to lift.

 

[peterp1]

I'd probably have more vintage than modern. That said, if a modern component beat the vintage component -- I'd kick that individual vintage component to the curb.

I just don't think modern beats vintage as much as people think -- both in performance -- and especially in design. The removal of the loudness control by 95% of modern is a crime against humanity because it exists to adjust for human hearing deficiencies (which have not changed). Tape monitor loops should still exist to allow processors to be taken in and out of the signal chain loop. Tower speakers generally suck in bass performance. I remedy the loudness (partially) and tower deficiencies with subs, but why do I need to do that? I literally have sub(s) on every system except my vintage system -- which has modest power and small speakers, but it doesn't need a sub. Riddle me that.

The designers today generally suck compared to back in the day with regard to designing equipment that works in real-world rooms. The vintage designers were crawling around real rooms -- making sure equipment sounded great, and was flexible enough to sound great, in all different kinds of environments -- and they measuring extensively also.

The new designers are doing lookup tables and algorithms to design their equipment/speakers and testing in labs. Their designs are cookie cutter and assume a perfect room -- which would have been a ludicrous assumption back in the heyday, when everyone had high quality audio -- and is a million times more ludicrous when audio is a tiny subniche. There is some great modern equipment of course -- I own much more modern equipment than vintage (mostly because of pragmatics) -- but modern equipment should be better than it is, because of deficiencies in design, despite the technology advances.

Probably the only area that is definitively better in modern is subwoofers (technology wins there, and design is probably also better for subwoofers today). Then again, the sub design deficit back in the day is largely because subs were largely not needed back then, the systems easily delivered full sound without them.

To be fair, audio designers and audio companies today are very, very hampered by the lack of appetite/market for high-quality audio systems today. Back in the day it was an all out "arms race" across the manufacturers -- most homes had high quality audio -- plenty of $$$ and competition to go around. Now it's nothing like that. It's a much more difficult environment for audio manufacturers -- but new designers should still be MUCH better than they are. In my opinion .

 

[cicada_shell]

The designers today generally suck compared to back in the day with regard to designing equipment that works in real-world rooms. The vintage designers were crawling around real rooms -- making sure equipment sounded great, and was flexible enough to sound great, in all different kinds of environments -- and they measuring extensively also.

[ . . . ]

To be fair, audio designers and audio companies today are very, very hampered by the lack of appetite/market for high-quality audio systems today. Back in the day it was an all out "arms race" across the manufacturers -- most homes had high quality audio -- plenty of $$$ and competition to go around. Now it's nothing like that. It's a much more difficult environment for audio manufacturers -- but new designers should still be MUCH better than they are. In my opinion .

Fully agreed, a lot of hifi gear looks more like IT equipment. There's nothing about it to love, it's alien in the room, and it'll be e-waste before too long. There is a general lack in industrial design. Like I said above, even some of the stuff that is designed to hearken back to earlier design trends has something cheap and cheesy about it. One could compare it to the retro trend in automobile design starting in the late 80s and concluding in the early-00s. Much of it was utterly terrible (Chevy HHR, Jaguar S-type, some of the landau tops and bustlebacks of the 70s looking to the 30s designs, relaunch companies like Stutz and Tiffany and Excalibur), some mediocre (nu-Thunderbird, nu-Beetle, most fall in this category), some pretty decent (Mustang, Nissan Pao, first-gen Miata), and some where they just knocked it of the park (Nissan Figaro). Many such cases. It's hard to get past pastiche (like Mitsuoka). To tie it back to hifi, Accuphase does a good job with the retro-look - well, really, it's just a timeless design language, though with me personally a lot of them look like VCRs. Modern Mac often looks like a parody, however. Some is good. But then there's companies like Leben and Shindo, and while on the surface their designs look very nice, if you look closer it starts to really fall apart, especially for the price.

In some sense, I feel this regression to nondescript anonymous gear takes the matter of taste and aesthetics out of it, much like general appliance design. No one can get caught out by changing consumer tastes if everyone just makes the same sad sheet of aluminum a la Apple.

I'd sorta blame the lack of consumer interest on other entertainment alternatives now as well as a general lack of nice sound systems in the public sphere.

 

[Maramao]

I'd start a shop (used / new / keep old techs going and get new techs started) and find a way to invest the money so that the shop doesn't actually have to turn a profit to exist and provide services.

Side benefit: everyone gets to hear and play with new gear.

This answér tops the "àwesome answer" list, with a bucket of awesome sauce.

 

[kwayde]

I've had older gear most of my life. I'm old.

Back in the '90's I was in an audio store and was placed in front of a new $60K system that changed my world. When the music started I got one of the biggest rushes I've ever experienced and couldn't stop thinking about it. Since then I've spent many thousands on new gear and arrived where I wanted to be with the system at the bottom of my post. Didn't win the lottery, just happened to listen to a system that moved me so much I had to have something similar. Ended up with a better one.

Doesn't mean I like my vintage gear any less. I have a small collection of vintage gear I acquire and repair, then sell it to people I do repairs for when they ask if I know anybody with this or that because I'm building a system for my daughter, etc. I get the gear cheap because it doesn't work, then I repair it, replace parts that are known to fail, then it sits on a shelf. I'll offer it for just a little more than I paid for it. Most of the work is done in the garage where that gear is vintage. Love listening to it as I work.

I repair vintage gear and stay away from newer stuff because I believe '70's gear was a magical period in audio. I get stir crazy when I have nothing to work on. Currently working on 3 different receivers at the same time. I don't do it for the money, I probably ask for a quarter to a third of what others ask. I also do some of the easier stuff for nothing.
I do it because I thoroughly enjoy doing it.

 

[RVT1K]

The only vintage items in my system are two Adcom GFA555 II's.

I absolutely would try out something new if I fell into a pile of money.

 

[nintendoeats]

Little bit complicated for me.

I would blow all of the money on modern speakers and room treatment. I'd also have a custom build digital media appliance, which would really just be a Linux PC inside but with a front panel and UI to my specifications. Probably I am going to wind up building such a thing one day anyway.

Everything else would be vintage, and based more on what I like the look of than anything else. It would almost certainly be on the higher end, but I can't say it would be absolute top-end. I kind of like my somewhat eclectic system. I'd try to keep everything looking like it was from the same period, which realistically means it would all be brushed silver. Good chance I would do custom wood casings that all matched.