What made you like/want vintage gear?

[swamppirate]

I guess for me, I always wanted a nice system when I was younger and never could afford it. Now that I can, the vintage gear with it's generally better build/sound is what I like and appeals to me. What say you?

 

[62caddy]

Speaking for myself, it is the only way I can afford McIntosh frankly.

Secondly, with vintage equipment, economic downside and depreciation are generally much more favorable than when buying new, much the same as with an automobile - if and when the time comes to cash out.

Thirdly, I generally prefer the aesthetic looks of well designed vintage gear which goes hand in hand with my appreciation of vintage cars - so all the more reason in my particular case.

 

[coonmanx]

Most of my stuff is "vintage" because I have owned it for the past thirty years although I have recently also purchased some vintage stuff because it was well made and I got a good price and knew what to look for.

 

[Falstaff]

Nostalgia then performance to dollar ratio.

 

[2526]

The mellow sound, vs. much of the modern equipment, is generally more to my liking.

 

[grillebilly]

Upgrading to what I perceived to be better gear that was nowhere close to as good as my lowly vintage model. I'm not saying there isn't better stuff, there surely is, but I was not educated enough nor have the money to experiment.

 

[Jayrosc]

If I won the lottery I'd probably buy new stuff...the best sounding gear I could find. In the meantime I find that high quality vintage gear is available within my budget provided I do things like repair rotted surrounds, replace caps, etc. To be clear, this does not mean the vintage stuff under performs....new stuff that sounds as good as what I use would cost several thousand bucks.....so no thanks.

 

[Balifly]

They were new and state of the art when I bought them.

They are now considered vintage!

I still like them now as then.

 

[teisco]

For me it all started when I went to this little hi fi shop near where I lived when I was a young lad. The owner Gordon P (you still out there Gordon?). took me to his basement and played his setup. I was freaked because he had these hugh speakers and racks of glowing tube equipment and it was loud,,very very loud but clean. He played a march and the band was coming through the wall towards us.

Well I was just a kid so I bought a small gold colored mono tube amp from Gordon and went home and hooked it to every junk speaker I had laying around and listened to it like it was heaven.

So now, at 71, I have some big speakers and a nice tube amp and table but still nothing like Gordon had. Over the years while Mr. G was still in town I bought a ton of stuff from him including those three section magnaplanners, audio research amps, ampzilla amps and more. Hi Fi is a great hook and a wonderful hobby still for me.

 

[JoeESP9]

I want good sounding gear. I don't care when it was made. I didn't want a lot of coveted vintage gear when it was new. To be truthful, I sometimes don't understand the infatuation with gear that underwhelmed me when it was new. My feelings haven't changed now that it's vintage. Bear in mind that I went from a Fisher integrated/Miracord/Pickering/AR speakers (1968) to Dynaco separates/AR speakers and AR TT/Shure (1971). I've been using separates ever since. The Japanese receiver invasion pretty much passed me by.

 

[petehall347]

it is what i was brought up will ..valves then transistors ...1970.s were the good years

 

[just dave]

I loved the gear then and I love it more now.I guess over time you appreciate how great it is.Who said anything about receivers?

 

[vonclod]

Affordability, could never afford the modern equivalent, some level of nostalgia, build quality..good quality stuff out today but more bang for the buck buying older well cared for gear..keeping in mind just because it's vintage doesn't mean it will be good and I may need work at some point. I'm not prejudiced against modern gear either..it's all fun and I have a mix of both.
Whatever sounds best to me gets to play

 

[swamppirate]

Great stuff guys keep it coming!

 

[Djcoolray]

Truthfully....

I'm like eleven back in '66 and my buddies older brother came home from the Army sporting German stereo equiptment. The sound that made my brain tingle and sent shivers up and down my spine. Being the enterprising little twerp that I was, I bought my first receiver shortly after that because I had it bad. I went out and bought a Marantz New Yorker Model Eight receiver and a Dual 1009 TT, my audiophile uncle built the speakers to accomidate the receiver.......two of the walls in my room were shelves that my uncle and I built so I could fill them with records. Good thing my mom was cool enough to like the music of the late sixties !

My buddies brother taught me that stereo equiptment is frequency response, total harmonic distortion and watts per channel ! So I hold to what I was taught....though I have learned that having speakers with adjustable mids and tweeters is a must ! I think that classic speakers are the weak link in classic gear !

 

[petehall347]

i find horses for courses with speakers ..i found plenty that don't like reggae but would be fine with classical

 

[Sandy G]

I'm more into Radio & TV collecting than Hi-Fi stuff. BUT, I also love vintage cars. I will NEVER have a "Car Of My Dreams"-like a Sixties Grosser Mercedes, Rolls-Royce, even a T model, but at least in the Old TV & Radio worlds, a mere MORTAL can still procure him/herself one of the "Holy Grail" type sets, if he's patient & careful.

 

[vintageboy]

It is mostly the way they sound and they way they look

 

[stoutblock]

My main system has evolved into more modern equipment with the exception of my tuner and tape players. I have several other vintage systems that I rotate through my office. Although the main system takes things to a higher level of sound quality, it does not necessarily provide more listening enjoyment than my vintage systems. Vintage can sound amazingly good but more important is the enjoyment it provides. Certainly puts a smile on my face!

Vintage is cool!

 

[rcspkramp]

I sold much of what we refer to as vintage when it was new. Just reliving the fond memories by having fun with some of my favorite old gear.