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What's a cool looking receiver?

JulieGirl said:
I kinda love those receivers though too. I had no idea that there were other cool ones. I thought that Sansui 8080 was like the only one with pretty lights, knobs, and witches, and needle-meters.
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There are many........be careful, you might become a receiver addict. The STA-2300 is a looker, but it has sort of a "plainer" look to it than many that were made around that time. The STA-2100 looks more "correct" with the meters, to me anyway. Pioneer's SX-XX80 series always looked good to me along with the Yamaha CR-2040/3040.
 
I'm fond of the look of all three of my vintage receivers (Onkyo TX-5400 mkII, Technics SA 700 and Marantz 4300) but of the 3 the Marantz draws my eye the most. Beautifully balanced, looks great lit and in the wood case exudes class. No, it isn't the most radical looking. Oh and it sounds wonderful and has a fine tuner, so much so that I have two! Pic isn't of mine, but they look the same.

I'm also very fond of the Harmon Kardon x30 series and especially the Citation receiver. Honorable mention goes to Tandberg as well.
 

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Personally. I love the look of the old 70's and 80's receivers the best. I really miss my old Sansui G9000 receiver I had the most though I guess This summer I will be trying to find a Minty or rebuilt one to buy again. I know they are out there because I have seen quite a few nice ones for sale over the past year or so. Though its not going to be cheap for a nice piece. Its just one of those things I really miss and im dead set on replacing again
 
For this thread, I had to go dig up this pic, posted previously by Rome, of his MSC-3275. As far as I know, this is the ultimate elaboration of the silver analog receiver design....

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DonQuixote99 said:
For this thread, I had to go dig up this pic, posted previously by Rome, of his MSC-3275. As far as I know, this is the ultimate elaboration of the silver analog receiver design....
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How many of its previous owners were crushed to death under its weight?
 
Do we have to stick to receivers? If we go to seperates we can get into power amp aesthetics, which tend to get me all glassy-eyed....

I hear tell the Denon POA-1500, here seen stacked with a pre-amp, even sounds as good as it looks, which has to make it the greatest thing in the world:

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Holy crap that is the coolest thing I've ever seen!

The aesthetic aspect of this whole stereo thing is so awesome. I, perhaps, tend to ignore the audio quality too much. I am working on it though. I don't see how yu guys can buy old records though. Aren't you concerned a bad needle has gotten to them?

Anyway, how cool are these receivers? Wait til tax check comes, wait til tax check comes. omg. I should just call an audio store in Milwaukee to see what they have. Not EVERYTHING is online is it?
 
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G'day JulieGirl, on old records, I regularly visit a couple of charity and thrift shops and mostly the records are ok and sometimes 'near mint', but generally a good wash is benefical.

Beware though of records without any inner sleeve, as they tend to be 'very' scratched! :yes: Regards, Felix aka catman.
 
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call me crazy but I love Pioneer silverface. SX1080 receiver.

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By the way, I made my wife move the stupid plant...

for me, the ultimate coolness is open reel:

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JulieGirl said:
Holy crap that is the coolest thing I've ever seen!

The aesthetic aspect of this whole stereo thing is so awesome. I, perhaps, tend to ignore the audio quality too much. I am working on it though. I don't see how yu guys can buy old records though. Aren't you concerned a bad needle has gotten to them?

Anyway, how cool are these receivers? Wait til tax check comes, wait til tax check comes. omg. I should just call an audio store in Milwaukee to see what they have. Not EVERYTHING is online is it?
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Look at Julie getting all excited.:D That MSC thing is one of the coolest things I've ever seen! It is also hands down the biggest receiver I've ever seen. In fact, in size at least I think it may beat the Sansui G33000!
I'd love to see that thing in person! If I had one I'd have to build a cabinet around it instead of the usual way of sticking it in a cabinet.

Yes, the aesthetic aspect is half of it, true. Personally I view it all as functional art. I love the stuff! Don't worry about all aspects at once Julie, your learning and yes, it takes time. Just keep reading and researching, you'll get there. I'm still learning myself because it is a huge curve, but that's part of the fun. AK is a huge help in that area as well.

As to vinyl records, you should read the threads on care and maintenance of them and general discussion of them. There is something to be said for vinyl. In fact, I prefer vinyl for stuff like most old 60s and 70s music. There is just something about it that sounds better than CD for that. Keep in mind that when it was recorded it was done so with the equipment of the day and digitizing did not exist. More importantly, it was meant to be played on the gear of the day as per design.
I'm going to get one of those record washers myself soon and get to cleaning.
Also as mentioned, if you want to venture into old vinyl look for the stuff at thrift stores, yard sales (great places) and even swap meets. Be sure to only consider ones with the inner sleeve intact, and decent cover condition or better. Also be sure to try to visually inspect the record itself. If it is not too scratched and only appears to be dusty or a bit dirty that's only surface stuff and with "careful" and proper cleaning like a good wash you will have a nice record.

As for the gear being only in the internet, yeah pretty much. You won't find it in any audio stores. You'll want to look on CL, epay (be careful), yard sales, thrift stores and when you subscribe to AK please don't forget Bartertown! Also if you have a repair shop that does audio and old stuff they may have some units for sale and those will have been serviced to boot.

Here's wishing us both the best luck in this hobby Julie!:music:
 
JulieGirl said:
Holy crap that is the coolest thing I've ever seen!

The aesthetic aspect of this whole stereo thing is so awesome. I, perhaps, tend to ignore the audio quality too much.
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That giant MCM job is (only) 75 wpc. I understand it sounds good enough, but it's a superstar in size only. I think someone said 'design the ultimate biggest-ever push-all-the-buttons-at-once amp face,' then they let it define the size of the box.

One might think of it as the audio equlivalent of:

banana-split.jpg
 
I like my Pioneer SX-1010, a rare Pioneer with blue lights. Can't say it is prettier than my Sansui 9090db though.

Charlie
 
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