Maybe, this is an appropriate question, maybe not...
Very vintage collectors, now in our "middle aged" or even "senior" status will remember home HiFi stereo stores, TV-Radio and electronic surplus parts establishments, even small and large record stores, in every city and many nearby towns across the USA...
With the new millenium came sometimes comfortable, online vendors, as well as the "wild west" online, while so-called "brick and mortar" stores became unaffordable for their owners to keep open. Mail order declined as post office rates increase every January. Mail order is still around, certainly, but having a pair of speakers or amplifiers or a turntable sent cross-country via the delivery services is both costly and risky.
So, seriously, thinking about newcomers or younger fans becoming interested in this hobby, finding NOS tubes, transistors and electronic parts or electronic gear can be quickly seen as difficult and/or expensive. Forums are very helpful, as we have many more experienced posters "willing to share the knowledge to share the wealth of enjoyment" this hobby/obsession offers. Combine this fact with the fact that many older hobbyists have collected way back when, when our pocket money bought some very cool gear at affordable prices. Furthermore, within our middle-aged mindset, many of us might actually be motivated to reduce our collections.
You can meet us online, within the forums, at antique radio clubs, flea markets, swap meets, ham radio (amateur radio) hamfests, estate sales and auctions. These days, the many "disciplines" of audio folks, including but not limited to sound engineers, studio personnel, performers, musicians, radio collectors, record collectors and hifi enthusiasts overlap as never before. While I know that the same moving-coil step-up transformers I might desire are also needed by experienced sound studio engineers for their microphone amp stages, younger enthusiasts and engineers may not be as aware. Likewise, while hamfests and antique radio shows often had all the old parts we might have needed, their actual attendance seems to be lower than in previous years. Thus, my original question is in order...Where are the younger folks sourcing the vintage goods ?
Very vintage collectors, now in our "middle aged" or even "senior" status will remember home HiFi stereo stores, TV-Radio and electronic surplus parts establishments, even small and large record stores, in every city and many nearby towns across the USA...
With the new millenium came sometimes comfortable, online vendors, as well as the "wild west" online, while so-called "brick and mortar" stores became unaffordable for their owners to keep open. Mail order declined as post office rates increase every January. Mail order is still around, certainly, but having a pair of speakers or amplifiers or a turntable sent cross-country via the delivery services is both costly and risky.
So, seriously, thinking about newcomers or younger fans becoming interested in this hobby, finding NOS tubes, transistors and electronic parts or electronic gear can be quickly seen as difficult and/or expensive. Forums are very helpful, as we have many more experienced posters "willing to share the knowledge to share the wealth of enjoyment" this hobby/obsession offers. Combine this fact with the fact that many older hobbyists have collected way back when, when our pocket money bought some very cool gear at affordable prices. Furthermore, within our middle-aged mindset, many of us might actually be motivated to reduce our collections.
You can meet us online, within the forums, at antique radio clubs, flea markets, swap meets, ham radio (amateur radio) hamfests, estate sales and auctions. These days, the many "disciplines" of audio folks, including but not limited to sound engineers, studio personnel, performers, musicians, radio collectors, record collectors and hifi enthusiasts overlap as never before. While I know that the same moving-coil step-up transformers I might desire are also needed by experienced sound studio engineers for their microphone amp stages, younger enthusiasts and engineers may not be as aware. Likewise, while hamfests and antique radio shows often had all the old parts we might have needed, their actual attendance seems to be lower than in previous years. Thus, my original question is in order...Where are the younger folks sourcing the vintage goods ?
phiff.
