Topic: Anyone got Vintage Audio to match your Vintage Ride.?

[Gordon]

I don't have too much in the way of vintage audio (unless you count tapes as vintage ), but I do have a Marantz 6100 turntable and around 100 LP's.  Mostly 60's era rock and some real country that I pilfered from my Dad's collection several years ago, and then a lot of jazz records I picked up at vinyl swap meets back in Austin.  Certain types of music were just made for vinyl and still sound best that way. 

I'd love to have a reel-to-reel tape player, but I'm too broke now to start in on a new hobby/collection. 

[75modrat]

I am only 25 so my collection of vinyl is a little thin. Though I love the "older" technology. I have about 150-200 records. I have a few Beatle albums (an unopened limited edition reprint of Abby Road), some James Gang, The Guess Who and other 70's rock. I do have a little 80's pop and rock though. I picked up some Prince for the wife. I also have just started to get into lazer discs (even though its kind of a waste). When I play music I also tend to prefer older stuff (amps and guitars, though I have new stuff too).

[754]

Just in case someone want a great souding turntable.. and has money to burn..

check ELP turntables.

linear with laser pickup.. does not touch the record.. but ooooohh so pricey..

[burmashave]

Cool bump. Nealy all of the manufacturers in this thread have been a blast from the past. On a side note, I finally gave my bose Bose 501's to a buddy a couple of years ago. They were great. The cabinets were so solid that they not only served as end tables, but they also worked as chairs or step stools (for my 190 lb. frame). The funny thing is that my buddy **could not** convince his 8 year-old son that big speakers were once considered better than small ones.

Today the stuff is very inherently tinny and effects and subwoofers are used to make up the difference. People are Bass crazy today. Try playing some good Jazz on one of these Mall Rat monsters and you lose the nuances that makes for a great performance.

I'm certainly not a serious audiophile, but I have wondered what ever happened to serious audiophiles. Back in the 70's, audio fidelity was a common interest, and it was easy to strike up a conversation about sound amongst friends. It seems that the art of fidelity went out the window with the arrival of CD's. I don't have any of my old equipment, but I miss the sound of analog. Digital audio always sounds to me as if it were recorded in the bathroom and all devoid of life. Oh, and it seems that interest in audio fidelity has been replaced by interest in how many watts can be driven by an automobile set.

I miss tubes, not only because they sound better to my ear, but also because they are elegant. Like relays, you can actually see how they work. I did not completely understand transistors until I understood tubes.

[Gordon]

On a side note, I finally gave my bose Bose 501's to a buddy a couple of years ago. They were great. The cabinets were so solid that they not only served as end tables, but they also worked as chairs or step stools (for my 190 lb. frame). The funny thing is that my buddy **could not** convince his 8 year-old son that big speakers were once considered better than small ones.

I used to have a really nice large pair of Cerwin Vega speakers, but had to sell them before a big move to make enough room for "important" items that needed to fit on the moving truck.  I really miss them, too.  You just can't get that kind of sound out of the typical 5.1 surround system.

[754]

I cant wait to get a good set of speakers to try with my Sansui 3000 amps..  Right now I only got 90 watt speakers from a garage sale, Sansui  and they sound pretty good but a bit  hurting at the odd time.. need to fix up the Altecs.

I have it set up up in my 25 x 50 shop. last night after everyone was gone I cranked up Highway Star, itwas hitting  between 80 -95 watts... sounded pretty damn fine to me..

 But I still want to get big speakers and run it up a lot higher outside..

[paxtonpony]

I would have never predicted this.  But, I am STILL using my 1972 Sansui 7000 Receiver I got from the Navy PX in the Philippines.. 

Too funny because I still have the stereo I bought at the USAF BX when I first came into the military.  Never predicted that either.  Bunch of old Pioneer stuff and some Bose 501's that "take up too much space" according to my wife.  Sturdy and great sounding.  My record player bit the dust when I was serving in Panama and I never got around to replacing it.  No worries though, I upgraded my record and tape collection to CDs about that time.  Now all my Iron Maiden albums collect dust in the garage.

[754]

I got a Nikko reciever I bought in 77 I think..still use it today..



My amps go up to 12...    

[seaweb11]

I have an Akai receiver I bought in early 80s.   Whent down the line a the shop and bought the $500.00 one. "had some cash"

The balance potentiometer needs cleaning I think.      Scratchy sounds on one side.  Need to find an old timer to dig into it.

Still using it  .................  upstairs.

[754]

1080 is the fixer..

[azuredesign]

I have a Dyna 70 and Mac preamp as well as a couple of Hafler solid state power amps. I also still have between 1 and 2000 albums that I sample every once in a blue moon. These days, I mostly listen to music from Rhapsody through a lap top connected to a little Behringer mixer that goes to a couple of sets of powered small KRK speakers. I can still appreciate the difference sonically, even though I'm deaf as a post, but the convenience factor is compelling.

[BobbyR]

I have an Akai receiver I bought in early 80s.   Whent down the line a the shop and bought the $500.00 one. "had some cash"

The balance potentiometer needs cleaning I think.      Scratchy sounds on one side.  Need to find an old timer to dig into it.

Still using it  .................  upstairs.

Just open the case and spray some contact cleaner into the pot and turn it left and right while you do it. Some use WD-40 for the same purpose. They usually work fine after that.   

[fixahonda]

I've got an Onkyo tuner circa 1977 I got from my father playing through a pair of Acoustic Research AR-10S. Very nice sound for rock music. I also have a set of KLH monitors hooked to the B channel I use for listening to classical though. Nice flat sound.
I wish I still had his old Mac power amp though. That was a great sounding piece of equipment.

To add: If you have a scratchy sounding knob, (with the power off) try twisting it back and forth all the way up to all the way down a whole bunch of times instead of taking it all apart. Most of these potentiometers seem to self clean with the little bit of spring pressure on the wiper. I've used this method on more electronics than I can think of and it's never failed me.

[GoatBaSS]

I have an Akai receiver I bought in early 80s.   Whent down the line a the shop and bought the $500.00 one. "had some cash"

The balance potentiometer needs cleaning I think.      Scratchy sounds on one side.  Need to find an old timer to dig into it.

Still using it  .................  upstairs.

Just open the case and spray some contact cleaner into the pot and turn it left and right while you do it. Some use WD-40 for the same purpose. They usually work fine after that.   

PLEASE!!!!!! NO WD-40!!!!! Electro wash or some al kee hol based cleaner while it is UN_PLUGGED!!!! Save yourself good man!!!

[malcolmgb]

errm does my ear trumpet count?

[seaweb11]

Thanks for the input guys. I may just get to that soon.

[BobbyR]

Try the wiggle back a forth thing before you open the case. I have used it on the stuff I was selling and it works more times than not. You can get contact cleaner in Radio Shack or wherever.