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Last post 4 years ago by Palama. 81 replies replies.
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Vintage Stereo Equipment.....
JadeRose Offline
#1 Posted:
Joined: 05-15-2008
Posts: 19,525
is just so f*cking good. I've gotten into refurbishing old receivers, amps and speakers and Man...those of us old enough to remember the 70's remember how good this stuff sounded. I just rebuilt an old MCS receiver from around 1979 and sweet Jesus does it sound sweet. Some new caps, resistors and a touch up on some solder joints. Plus a REALLY good cleaning. Running it through some Realistic Nova 6's from somewhere around 1977 and my garage is now ROCKING with some Billy Thorpe "Children of the Sun" and Uriah Heep "Stealin". You youngsters raised on digital, throw that $hit in the trash and get a real stereo.

BTW...MCS is JCPenney. I know, but all the major retailers had in house brands back then made by other vendors. I'm pretty sure mine is Technics. Japanese made and built like a tank. This thing was around 300 bucks in 1979. The speakers are excellent as was most of the Realistic/Radio Shack stuff back then.

Vinyl is spun on a Yamaha Direct Drive TT circa 1978. Cleaned up and sounds like a million bucks.

Got any vintage gear? Let's hear about it.....
frankj1 Offline
#2 Posted:
Joined: 02-08-2007
Posts: 44,211
KLH Model 20
purchased in Cambridge (where else?) in 1970.
Currently needs a "tune up" but when working right...well that powerful hiss when the stylus hits the vinyl just gives me goosebumps.
jjanecka Offline
#3 Posted:
Joined: 12-08-2015
Posts: 4,334
I've got a few Japanese made guitar pedals from the 80's and early 90's. There were some really great soundsystems made back then.

I have a buddy that's heavily invested in 80's-90's stereo equipment and band gear. Some of those keyboards from that era still sound amazing.

Other than that, I just put some 5.5" Focal speakers in my truck for mid/highs. Those inverted aluminum dome tweeters freaking scream and the polyglass cones are incredible for midbase. Just wish I had a bit better of a head unit; all the major brands are made so cheaply these days. Even Alpine finally succumbed to lower quality headsets.
JadeRose Offline
#4 Posted:
Joined: 05-15-2008
Posts: 19,525
frankj1 wrote:
KLH Model 20
purchased in Cambridge (where else?) in 1970.
Currently needs a "tune up" but when working right...well that powerful hiss when the stylus hits the vinyl just gives me goosebumps.



Are you talking the speakers or the integrated system? Either one....very nice
jjanecka Offline
#5 Posted:
Joined: 12-08-2015
Posts: 4,334
Also I Have a modern record player that outputs both digital and analogue. I don't care what anyone says analogue is great when that's the original recording material.
MACS Offline
#6 Posted:
Joined: 02-26-2004
Posts: 79,724
My "Vintage" stuff is from 1989 in the Philippines. Bought Pioneer components from the exchange. They're paired with Bose 601's.

Certainly not audiophile quality, but it rocks the house.
Gene363 Offline
#7 Posted:
Joined: 01-24-2003
Posts: 30,781
Yes, I still have an old Hafler amp and preamp that drives a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls.

I bought the Cronwall unfinished then stained and finished them. The Hafler equipment was a kit but I bought it assembled.
frankj1 Offline
#8 Posted:
Joined: 02-08-2007
Posts: 44,211
JadeRose wrote:
Are you talking the speakers or the integrated system? Either one....very nice

the original three piece system
turntable with integrated fm tuner and the speakers.

also have several Technics pieces hooked up downstairs in the playroom but only run the radio and newer cd player to speakers on the patio. Has a nice turntable but I never use it. Total system is probably way better than my KLH, but I don't know what specific components I have...inherited from FIL who was a regional VP with Panasonic decades ago.
Whistlebritches Offline
#9 Posted:
Joined: 04-23-2006
Posts: 22,128
Had a Sony setup I bought in the Navy Exchange in Yokusaka in the mid 80's.I hated the speakers and picked up some Bose 601's in Pearl Harbor Exchange shortly thereafter.Anyway bout 10 years ago some dude showed up at our yard sale and got the whole shooting match for $300.I've regretted it ever since.
Mr. Jones Offline
#10 Posted:
Joined: 06-12-2005
Posts: 19,400
#1 jaderose

GREAT POST!!!

EVERTIME I SEE A GREAT OLD PIECE OF STEREO EQUIPMENT AT GOODWILL OR SAL VAL...

I BUY IT!!

BOSE SPEAKERS 2 FOR $7.00
NAKAMICHI MASSIVE ( 40 LBS) AMP $12.97
SANSUI AMP HEAVIER THAN NAKAMICHI $8.97
LAFEYETTE SPEAKERS AMD AMPS $$ vary usually under $10.00, PIONEER AMPS, Cambridge sound works speakers $4.99 each....old turntables (8 of them), old stylis's new in the box @ auction ( 8 of them $5.00 in a box lot)...
On and on...
7 double cassette decks, 4 DVD DUAL DECK COPIERS,
BOOM BOXES - MOSTLY ALL SONY $5.99-$9.99...
Palama Offline
#11 Posted:
Joined: 02-05-2013
Posts: 23,597
Whistlebritches wrote:
Had a Sony setup I bought in the Navy Exchange in Yokusaka in the mid 80's.I hated the speakers and picked up some Bose 601's in Pearl Harbor Exchange shortly thereafter.Anyway bout 10 years ago some dude showed up at our yard sale and got the whole shooting match for $300.I've regretted it ever since.


For the most part, Japanese speakers sucked. Lacked bass, lacked midrange, lacked highs. Thank goodness for my JBLs!

I started my hi-fi journey with a 100 watt Pioneer integrated amp, Teac 450 cassette deck and a Dual 1229Q with a Shure V15 Type III. Graduated to a Nakamichi 700 and Dual 701. When I started to work for Sony, switched out the amp to a TA-555es and the cassette to a TC-K555es. Tried the linear-tracking turntable but it was clunky (...the B&O was soooo much smoother and elegant...). CD player was a CDP-650esd - man, they don’t make CD players like that anymore! Wish I still had that amp and CD player but sadly, they died and parts weren’t available so bought lesser replacements. Now everything is in storage and won’t be coming home for 2 years or so. I sure miss cranking up “Live at Fillmore East”.... Brick wall
JadeRose Offline
#12 Posted:
Joined: 05-15-2008
Posts: 19,525
Gene363 wrote:
Yes, I still have an old Hafler amp and preamp that drives a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls.

I bought the Cronwall unfinished then stained and finished them. The Hafler equipment was a kit but I bought it assembled.




Hey Gene...I'll give you ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for them Cornwalls. Hell, I'll even come to South Carolina to get them!

Woot
JadeRose Offline
#13 Posted:
Joined: 05-15-2008
Posts: 19,525
Sounds like we got some nice stuff. Keep it going...let's hear some more.



BTW...Mr. Jones is right. Al LOT of great stuff can be had at thrift shops and such. As the Vietnam Veterans get older and, unfortunately, begin dying, a lot of that great stuff brought back from the war is becoming available. People are selling "Dad's Old Stereo" for a fraction of what it's worth or just donating. If I'm buying thrift, I will dicker it down to nothing. If I'm buying from an individual, I try to let them know the true value both before and after repair and refreshment. Almost 100% of the time, they don't care. They just want it gone. At least my conscience is clean and I didn't rip off a grieving widow, son, or daughter.
tamapatom Offline
#14 Posted:
Joined: 03-19-2015
Posts: 7,381
Still have my JBL speakers and stereo from the 70s. I even have a quad receiver and Akai reel to reel. Double cassette recorder and 8 track deck. Plus an old console unit with tunes that need to warm up.

And expert on all this once told me you need to play music on the technology of the time it was recorded. For example 78 rpm records from the 40s and 50s should be played on electric 78 player while stuff from 20s sounds better from a hand crank old style player. 60s and 70s solid state equipment rocks. Not sure if digital sounds better on digital though.
DrafterX Offline
#15 Posted:
Joined: 10-18-2005
Posts: 98,534
I've got some old Bose speakers...one of the them has a bad woofer.. top smaller speakers are mounted upright facing different directions.. not sure what model number they are but I should prolly fix them... Think
Buckwheat Offline
#16 Posted:
Joined: 04-15-2004
Posts: 12,251
I still have and use a Yamaha A-2000 (wood trim and all) into a pair of B&W DM603 S3 loudspeakers. My brother purchased the amp for me when he was stationed in Germany back in the early 80's at the exchange.

I also have a mid 70's silver face Fender Twin Reverb with factory JBL speakers. Heavy as a tank so I seldom take it out of the house. fog

Gene363 Offline
#17 Posted:
Joined: 01-24-2003
Posts: 30,781
JadeRose wrote:
Hey Gene...I'll give you ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for them Cornwalls. Hell, I'll even come to South Carolina to get them!

Woot


I'll think about it, but in the mean time you're welcome to come audition them. Although they are located in South Carolina, they were purchased in Houston Texas and you can see Georgia while listening to them.

Honestly, listening to music pisses off my tinnitus so I really cannot enjoy them anymore. They are efficient, with 20 clear watts of input they can cause sterility. OhMyGod I would need to consult my two sons before selling them and I might want a couple more dollars.
jjanecka Offline
#18 Posted:
Joined: 12-08-2015
Posts: 4,334
****, y'all boys really hit a soft spot in my heart. I love home/car audio. Just thinking over all the crap I've went through in my car/trucks.

Back around 2000 I was rocking a Ford Taurus with a sweet Pioneer head unit and two 90's era Rockford Fosgate 15's on a RF 500rms amp. That thing bumped. My cousin told me years later, "yeah I loved being in the front seat but I hated sitting in the back." Still wish I had those things.

I then inherited my sisters pickup when she got married and moved overseas with my brother in law. I bought a banged up rockford 12" from my cousin for $40 and he jimmy-rigged an enclosure that barely fit behind the bench seat. My brother in law already had setup a 250watt kenwood and a kenwood receiver in there.

Around 2004 I hit a lucky break and got a Boston Acoustic generator on clearance at Tweeter. They kept saying it was priced incorrectly and I kept saying "I don't care, it's priced as marked, the store gave its word that it would back it's prices not use deceptive tactics." After haggling with them long enough I got the price I wanted, $80 marked down from $350. Custom enclosure and everything. I had an Alpine double din headunit that came from the previous owner and a cheap BOSS 500rms amp. Went on down the road for about two years and the head went out just around that time I went to a chinese buffet and someone ripped out the head. With the money I got from insurance and some of my own, I got a nice single din Alpine for $350, the unit with the glidetouch system. It had a 7 band equalizer and really awesome distance tweeking settings. Was at a Berryhill in 2006 celebrating my birthday when some **** in a white car came and jacked it along with my 15" and the amp. I left $20 on the center console and the thief was too stupid to steal that. Really and truthfully, that was kind of a turning point. I didn't mess with car audio until this past month.

It was seven long years of crappy factory installed headunits.
Cathcam13 Offline
#19 Posted:
Joined: 01-11-2018
Posts: 1,264
I used to have a 1970’s turn table and system, my dad gave me, until the ex wife stole it in the divorce. It was a strange off brand I had never heard of, but sounded awesome.
Mr. Jones Offline
#20 Posted:
Joined: 06-12-2005
Posts: 19,400
# 19 ^^^^ was it a "DUAL" UNIT ??

#18 JJANECKA...
you gotta start locking your car...dude...

I Can remember being all contorted back through the entire seventies installing and removing new cassette decks in about 5 different cars....
For as hard as they are to install....it takes balls to steal one in a parking lot...they just don't come out easily...too many harnesses and wires with redundant clips that you need to reinstall in another car...if I saw some guy "installing" a cassette deck in a parking lot then I'd know he's really stealing it...a parking lot is the last place on earth to do that...you always needed a garage full of tools to do it and a few uhaul moving pad blankets and boat flotation seats as padding as not to twist your back outta wack...
DrafterX Offline
#21 Posted:
Joined: 10-18-2005
Posts: 98,534
I think you were doing it wrong.. Mellow
Mr. Jones Offline
#22 Posted:
Joined: 06-12-2005
Posts: 19,400
Nope...nothing is easy..
Cathcam13 Offline
#23 Posted:
Joined: 01-11-2018
Posts: 1,264
Have you ever put a CD player into a Volvo 240 DL? Took my uncle and I 8 hours to make sure all the wiring was correct. We also added 2 20” speakers and a subwoofer in the trunk. Boy did that thing put out the tunes!
Cathcam13 Offline
#24 Posted:
Joined: 01-11-2018
Posts: 1,264
Oh, and yes, Mr Jones, it was a duel unit.
teedubbya Offline
#25 Posted:
Joined: 08-14-2003
Posts: 95,637
I used to have an old marantz paired with some bose. Then ditched the bose and went with Panaflex (?)

Then ditched the marantz and went with denon and added energy speakers to the panaflex. Omg good.

Lightning took out the denon and I replaced it with another. Not nearly as good.

The newer denon and the energy’s are in boxes now.

Apple et al are killing real music.
Cathcam13 Offline
#26 Posted:
Joined: 01-11-2018
Posts: 1,264
Dual, danged auto corrupt.......
Thunder.Gerbil Offline
#27 Posted:
Joined: 11-02-2006
Posts: 121,359
Cathcam13 wrote:
Have you ever put a CD player into a Volvo 240 DL? Took my uncle and I 8 hours to make sure all the wiring was correct. We also added 2 20” speakers and a subwoofer in the trunk. Boy did that thing put out the tunes!



Let me guess, you had one of the 240's that had the head unit and the multi-band EQ as two completely separate units? Their idea of an "upgraded" stock stereo? Meanwhile, there was no sound insulation at all in engine compartment....

LOL. Definitely some strange engineering in those early bricks.
teedubbya Offline
#28 Posted:
Joined: 08-14-2003
Posts: 95,637
Almost forgot I also had a pioneer tuner paired with a NAD (I think that’s right) and a stand alone equalizer that absolutely cranked some speakers my buddy built me.

That was high school. My folks convinced me it wasn’t a good fit in our house lol.
Cathcam13 Offline
#29 Posted:
Joined: 01-11-2018
Posts: 1,264
Thunder Gerbil, you hit That one right on the head.
Thunder.Gerbil Offline
#30 Posted:
Joined: 11-02-2006
Posts: 121,359
TW, I think they were talking about you not being a good fit. You could have left the stereo behind.
teedubbya Offline
#31 Posted:
Joined: 08-14-2003
Posts: 95,637
Prolly true.
dstieger Offline
#32 Posted:
Joined: 06-22-2007
Posts: 10,889
IIRC, my second purchase with paper route money (first was a bike) at about age 14 was:
Marantz Receiver, Sankyo Cassette, Pioneer Turntable, Sansui Equalizer, Klipsch Speakers...and a pair of Koss headphones that weighed about 10 pounds...:)
Cathcam13 Offline
#33 Posted:
Joined: 01-11-2018
Posts: 1,264
lol
teedubbya Offline
#34 Posted:
Joined: 08-14-2003
Posts: 95,637
Was there a carver brand back in the late 70s or 80s. I seem to remember my dad playing some johnny Mathis, Kingston Trio and Statler Brithers through something like that lol.
Thunder.Gerbil Offline
#35 Posted:
Joined: 11-02-2006
Posts: 121,359
Cathcam13 wrote:
Thunder Gerbil, you hit That one right on the head.


LOL - yeah, I figured as much. Owned a few bricks over the years. Some real quirky stuff in them.

Ever take a close look at the driver's ashtray on the 240? It had a cigar rest. At least the earlier models did.
dstieger Offline
#36 Posted:
Joined: 06-22-2007
Posts: 10,889
Helped a friend put a stereo in a Ford Festiva -- I think the radio weighed almost as much as half the car....when we we're finished, the headlights went off when you turned the radio on -- for weeks he couldn't listen to it at night...'til we got it sorta figured out....there were a couple dash indicators that were never right again
RMAN4443 Offline
#37 Posted:
Joined: 09-29-2016
Posts: 7,683
back in the mid to late 70's in my area, everyone had either Pioneer Supertuners, Craig Powerplays, or Alpine receivers paired with Cricket 6x9 coaxial speakers in their vehicles........Green Grass and High Tides cranked up to 11........life has never been better fog
robo60 Offline
#38 Posted:
Joined: 07-28-2016
Posts: 112
I still have my Carver amp and preamp, Polk audio towers, German made DUAL belt drive turntable and tons of vinyl.
robo60 Offline
#39 Posted:
Joined: 07-28-2016
Posts: 112
Also an 80's Denon 1500 CD player the size of a large suitcase.
dstieger Offline
#40 Posted:
Joined: 06-22-2007
Posts: 10,889
robo60 wrote:
I still have my Carver amp and preamp, Polk audio towers, German made DUAL belt drive turntable and tons of vinyl.



Seems that my friends and I spent HOURS debating belt-drive vs direct-drive.....did industry (or consumer demand) ever make a decision?
Buckwheat Offline
#41 Posted:
Joined: 04-15-2004
Posts: 12,251
After thinking about it I also had a stand alone component 8-track player that I hooked up to a Peavey Standard 260H into a 4x12 Cab. Didn't care too much about how it sounded just how loud it was... and it was loud as a jackhammer. Those were the days. We'd throw parties and have that mofo cranked until the cops showed up. Beer
robo60 Offline
#42 Posted:
Joined: 07-28-2016
Posts: 112
dstieger wrote:
Seems that my friends and I spent HOURS debating belt-drive vs direct-drive.....did industry (or consumer demand) ever make a decision?

We were always belt drive snobs. I don't remember why cuz it's been so long.
robo60 Offline
#43 Posted:
Joined: 07-28-2016
Posts: 112
jjanecka wrote:
I've got a few Japanese made guitar pedals from the 80's and early 90's. There were some really great soundsystems made back then.

I have a buddy that's heavily invested in 80's-90's stereo equipment and band gear. Some of those keyboards from that era still sound amazing.

Other than that, I just put some 5.5" Focal speakers in my truck for mid/highs. Those inverted aluminum dome tweeters freaking scream and the polyglass cones are incredible for midbase. Just wish I had a bit better of a head unit; all the major brands are made so cheaply these days. Even Alpine finally succumbed to lower quality headsets.

I still have 2 Boss Japan ce-2 chorus pedals from 1980 and I use them almost everyday.(think Andy Summers Police chorus). Got my old KORG poly-6 synth as well and it's still a monster.
KingoftheCove Offline
#44 Posted:
Joined: 10-08-2011
Posts: 7,630
1956 Telefunken Opus 6

tamapatom Offline
#45 Posted:
Joined: 03-19-2015
Posts: 7,381
DrafterX wrote:
I've got some old Bose speakers...one of the them has a bad woofer.. top smaller speakers are mounted upright facing different directions.. not sure what model number they are but I should prolly fix them... Think

i had my JBL speakers reconed when the rubber on the cones dry rotted and cracked.......the guy who did it for me charged me near what i paid for the speakers 20 years earlier. He said if it was most any other speaker that old he would have told me to buy new speakers. i dont know about Bose but if it gives you a sound you cant get with new speakers then you may want to do it.

P.S. My JBL's are now going into year 41. They still rock!

P.S.S. If anyone is feeling nostalgic for a turntable, i have a few extras taking up space I would trade for cigars!
robo60 Offline
#46 Posted:
Joined: 07-28-2016
Posts: 112
Buckwheat wrote:
I still have and use a Yamaha A-2000 (wood trim and all) into a pair of B&W DM603 S3 loudspeakers. My brother purchased the amp for me when he was stationed in Germany back in the early 80's at the exchange.

I also have a mid 70's silver face Fender Twin Reverb with factory JBL speakers. Heavy as a tank so I seldom take it out of the house. fog


I had that same amp for YEARS. My first tube amp. Sold it a decade ago to help pay for newer Marshall /Mesa Boogie stuff.
jjanecka Offline
#47 Posted:
Joined: 12-08-2015
Posts: 4,334
Mr. Jones wrote:
# 19 ^^^^ was it a "DUAL" UNIT ??

#18 JJANECKA...
you gotta start locking your car...dude...

I Can remember being all contorted back through the entire seventies installing and removing new cassette decks in about 5 different cars....
For as hard as they are to install....it takes balls to steal one in a parking lot...they just don't come out easily...too many harnesses and wires with redundant clips that you need to reinstall in another car...if I saw some guy "installing" a cassette deck in a parking lot then I'd know he's really stealing it...a parking lot is the last place on earth to do that...you always needed a garage full of tools to do it and a few uhaul moving pad blankets and boat flotation seats as padding as not to twist your back outta wack...



It was a 95 Chevy Silverado, all they had to do was run a screwdriver down the side of the door handle and pop it open. I saw the whole thing on video but couldn't get any plates. The job literally took him 3 and a half minutes to have everything out and in his vehicle. I don't think even having an alarm on the truck would have helped; the guy was a pro.
Mr. Jones Offline
#48 Posted:
Joined: 06-12-2005
Posts: 19,400
#48 JJ...

WHOOOAAAA!

3.5 MINUTES!!!

YEA... that's a pro...wow... That makes me feel so inadequate...every time I pulled the old out and put in a new one...it was like going to a food merchandising isle reset...
A feeling of complete lowness for 8+ hours ....then relief beyond belief...when completed....

Of course , he only pulled the one out...that takes only half of 6 hours... 3 hours never equaled 3.5 minutes in my history...

BWUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Gotta admire true talent, Albiet a $600+ loss to you...
Oh well, sh*t happens...
JadeRose Offline
#49 Posted:
Joined: 05-15-2008
Posts: 19,525
Gene363 wrote:
I'll think about it, but in the mean time you're welcome to come audition them. Although they are located in South Carolina, they were purchased in Houston Texas and you can see Georgia while listening to them.

Honestly, listening to music pisses off my tinnitus so I really cannot enjoy them anymore. They are efficient, with 20 clear watts of input they can cause sterility. OhMyGod I would need to consult my two sons before selling them and I might want a couple more dollars.



Yeah..maybe a few more...lol
itsawaldo Offline
#50 Posted:
Joined: 09-10-2006
Posts: 4,221
Mid 70's Pioneer SX727 driving a set of baby Advents upstairs and some 12" Advents in the basement. Technics belt drive with Audio Technia cartridge.
Baby Advents are newer the rest from when I worked at Team Electronics college summers; where I met my future bride of now 40 years.
Alls good after all these years.
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