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Vintage Solid State Receivers On a Tight Budget

A

adamwyoung12

New Member
I'm a recently converted audiophile and am looking to get a good system. I'm on a really tight budget and plan to couple some Dayton B652 speakers with either an integrated amp or receiver.

I got to looking on ebay and discovered old receivers and amps can be had for under $90. I then started researching and came across this site, which gave me the impression that vintage may even sound better than modern equipment?

My question is this: How can I make sure I buy a good vintage model as far as brands, models, etc. are concerned? I plan to run a line in from my computer, as well as use the headphone jack for headphones. I don't need a million inputs.

Would it be better for me to just buy a Class-T amp instead for just as cheap?

I'm new to this forum so if I need to post a question like this somewhere else let me know! I'm a newb!
 
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welcome....if i said what to look for in the open forums id have to keeell you....:D just kidding. welcome to AK.
Try the 2000x by sansui . Usually not high priced.

Might also want to post about what speakers your using. And your music preferences.
 
have you concidered craigslist as well? i would suggest that route instead of ebay if you can.

as for vintage over modern. that's matter of opinion really i guess. vintage stereo receivers or integrated amps are suggested for music systems cause of much better built and powerful amplifiers in vintage gear i read. i own 5 vintage receivers and love'em.

good brands i know of is sansui,kenwood,hitachi,onkyo,realistic,marantz,rotel,yamaha,ect. but kenwood is really great to start with and and can be found at lower prices than marantz and sansui. also sherwood is really great vintage brand to look at. models i don't know. i only know models by what i own and not much what's out there.

i too run my main receiver(sansui 5000x) driving a pair of 200w technics floor speakers off my turtle beach sound card using rca to 3.5mm adapter and works fantasitic. now for that i would wait for for more advice cause i'm still n00b learning and only know from what i read,own and heard.hope this helps a little.
 
Vintage gear is just that. old stuff. If you're not ready to dive in and make repairs, you might want to go with new stuff.
Just a bit of advice. I have repaired 3 pieces, and I'm quite happy with them.
 
On a budget, I would look for receivers under the radar from Realistic, Technics, JVC, Onkyo, Yamaha and MCS brands. They tend to go for low prices. BOTL (bottom of the line) models from Pioneer, Kenwood and Sansui are good also. Marantz is a good brand, but IMHO, prices tend to be on the high side. Another alternative is the Superscope brand.
 
I personally favor the vintage equipment because I feel like a lot of it is made to last. Plus, the silver-face era is just plain beautiful. You might occasionally have to open the case, but that that's part of the fun of it all.

I'd recommending hitting the thrifts, CL, and yardsales hard for awhile. Classic receivers/amps are great, but they're heavy, and the shipping costs resulting from ebay bids will cut into your purchasing power quite a bit. eBay is a good alternative if you can't find anything locally.

As a side note, I've been happy with some of the lower-end brands I've run across. A lot of the MCS stuff (turntables anyway) were rebranded Technics. You can sometimes find the same turntable for cheaper this way. I also found a beat up silver-faced Realistic (RS) receiver at a thrift and it sounded pretty good!

Good luck, it's a rewarding and highly addicting hobby!
 
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If you are new to vintage, I would recommend craigslist where you can audition.
As you research and gain more experience and knowledge you may want to try eBay where your selection will be better. But you will have added risks as far as seller honesty to consider and shipping.

Cleaning is easy, but if there are other problems where things don't sound right you may need to replace parts, set bias, DC offset which will require a service manual. So it may be best to audition and get something that works well in the first place.

As far as vintage receivers, you'll want to make sure all lights, and indicators (especially the Stereo indicator) work.
Are channel outputs even?

Does the tuner get strong signal for your favorite stations. Is tuning meter centered? Do stations align properly on scale. Tuner adjustments and alignment are best left to techs which could be more cost.

Things like static or dropouts while turning the knobs could be just cleaning.
If the description do not address my concerns or questions, I have no problem asking the seller in an email. If eBay, I may ask how it will be packed. Asking questions can give you a gauge on how responsive they are or their attitude.

But know your limitations. Don't expect to cheap out and think you can easily fix up a project by getting help from forums. But you should be able to expect and get a good working receiver or integrated for $90 or even less.

Also consider options. There are new stereo receivers that will be on sale during the holidays. Some like the Sherwood RX-4109 will be under $100.
 
Where in general are you located? Choices will vary if you are in the US, Canada, UK, ??? as well as, to a lesser extent, regionally.

Are there a fair number of thrift shops in your area? Take a tour of them and see what they might have .... there seems to be a bit of a rule of thumb that the further away from the town / city center you are .... the better luck you might have in finding something good. For example, my best haunt, it seems, is about 30km away from the city center, located in a town of about 12,000 with a high percentage of seniors. That has yielded me a Sansui AU-777 ($30), a NAD receiver ($30), turntables by Micro Seiki, Garrard, Sony (max $40), various Advent and EPI speakers (max $30), 2 Rotel amps ($20 and $60), etc. Make sure you are clear on return policies. Make up a basic test kit to take with you (headphones, with 1/4" jack .... mP3 or iPod with a headphone to stereo RCA cable? .... couple short lengths of speaker wire ... make sure you let store staff know what you are taking into the store!)

Are there any stores locally that sell vintage equipment ... or still sell higher end equipment (i.e. they take older stuff in trade or on consignment)? That may cost you more $, but probably have checked out the equipment and done basic maintenance 1st.

If you go for vintage look for mid to late 70's silver face (or black face, if something like a Sansui). You want metal face plate, solid, heavy construction .... not plastic faked to look like metal. Overall, my feeling is that putting the effort into getting these units up and running is 1) fun 2) educational 3) results in best sound bang for your buck.

Craigslist ... yes .... haunt it! Also consider checking out some estate or garage sales. Does your community have an online "freecycle"? I've picked up a couple things there as well.

Couple brands that come to mind that still tend to "fly under the radar" .... Realistiic, Akai, JVC and Yamaha (to a certain extent). I think there are some later Yamaha stuff (and some JVC stuff) that was made in the early / mid-80's that was still pretty good (my 1st amp, purchased new in the early 80's was a 25 wpc Yamaha that I really wish I still had).

Here's another potential avenue .... ask friends, family, etc. if they have something hidden away in the basement or the attic.

Good luck, welcome to AK, and let us know what you decide and how you do!
 
Second the test kit

I've purchased at least 6 amps or receivers from thrifts this year and the test kit mentioned above meant not one has been inop.
Use the Ipod as a source (plugged into aux or tape 1 or 2) and headphones plugged in to see if the signal path is good. Use the short length of wire to the FM ant connections just to see if the tuning meters or LED's deflect or move (you may not have a strong enough signal inside to actually get reception). Short wires are used to hook up speakers, there are usually some hanging around the same thrift. If you can't do that when you turn on the unit listen closely to it for a click (may not happen all the time) of the protection circuit.
While it's something of a crap shoot this is a way to tilt the odds in your favor. Craigslist will give you the opportunity to hear the gear which puts the upper hand in your hand and might be a much better way for you to go.
My .02
 
budgetaudio6 said:
welcome....if i said what to look for in the open forums id have to keeell you....:D just kidding. welcome to AK.
Try the 2000x by sansui . Usually not high priced.

Might also want to post about what speakers your using. And your music preferences.
Click to expand...

+1 Sansui 2000x. One of the best in my corral. :wave:
 
My standard answer for this question is HK330C.

Not expensive, sounds fantastic, is a piece of cake to recap if necessary.
Win, win, win.
 
I like my $3 garage sale Pioneer SX-450. It just need some DeoxIT contact cleaner on the pots, switches and connectors.
 
Another vote for the Sansui 2000x. It was my first and still spits out tunes in the bedroom. It was a work horse for many new things I bought home. The inline fuses for each channel saved my but a few times and make for an easy fix when needed. It has preamp outputs so testing any amplifier or EQ is an easy cable swap.

I picked mine up on ebay last year for $60 shipped I think with original manual. I had to replace the back lights but that was simple and cheap.
 
As someone who has alway had vintage, receivers like this one are really tempting. There's something to having a remote control and not needing to break out the deoxit.

terra1 said:
Also consider options. There are new stereo receivers that will be on sale during the holidays. Some like the Sherwood RX-4109 will be under $100.
Click to expand...
 
The T amp is good for what it is, but will not satisfy anywhere near as the amp section of a conventional low wattage vintage receiver. Buy local where you can check it out. Most have some kind of issue. Beware of eBay listings stating "works perfect." It doesn't.
 
Make it 4 for the 2000X. Actually mine is marked as an "A" but it has "X" boards thru out it. Maybe a line change where they had run out of "A" guts but had "A" front and rear case parts.

Anyway, it's a good, dependable, classy receiver that will surprise you with it's punch and sound quality. It's 38/42 watts per channel depending on who you talk to, but acts and sound like a 60-70 watt receiver.

Larry
 
where

+1 on where are you?
For $25 you can subscribe to AK.
This allows you to get to the Barter Town area.
A lot of AK people have a lot of stuff and offer it for sale reasonable.
From my expereince, we are honest about condition.
It also supports the site so you can hang out and learn.

Local CL. Watch for re-occuring ads or someone with a lot of ads.
They could be "flippers". Some of them are decent to deal with.
They find it, test it, clean it, maybe fix it, will demo it.
I know of two large piles of vintage that you could shop out here.
:D
 
If you can afford about $150 the Onkyo TX-8555 can be found brand new online...just check ebay and the major electronics outlets. It has a phono stage. I have found it is nice to have a unit you do not have to open up and clean out. The vintage gear will come to you quicker than you think and there are some great amps out there. But I think it is best to enjoy the music for a while.
 
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