Bought some `Vintage Gear`

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And if you think it sounds good now, wait till you hear it with a 46 year old turntable! Its crazy how good we made stuff before we started believing our measurements more than our ears.

You have some great vintage gear, enjoy it. And get that R2R (and TT), you'll have a blast. 

pawlowski6132,
Nice looking system!
I have experienced putting together a system from the early 1950s and I agree it sounded excellent. I wish I still had it but unfortunately, I sold it about six years ago.
Enjoy the music ;-)

Yeah, prolly won't hold on to this long though. Just wanted the amp to audition some Magnepans in house but had to take speakers and preamp too.

If Maggie's don't work, might sell amp too.

Great gear is great gear. I have CelestionSL700 (circa 1990) in my master bedroom, Rogers LS35a (also circa 1990) in a guest bedroom and built two systems for my girlfriend using SpicaTC50 (circa 1985). All sound great today. 

Agreed! Just purchased some 35 or so year old Spica TC50s! 

I'd take those JBL's any day over Magneplanar's!

I don't think I have anything quite that old, but I have a couple of older turntables - a Realistic LAB 440 and a JVC QL-Y66F that still work and sound great.  The JVC is my main turntable (out of 5 that I own).  I have a pair of Klipsch Heresy I speakers in my office system and an Onkyo T9090 II FM tuner that I listen to every day.  The heart of my computer setup is an Audio Research Vsi55 integrated.  Up until a couple of years ago my main speakers were a pair of close to 20 year old Klipsch KLF-30.

Roberjerman...do tell... Would like to read your experiences.

Similar experience here a couple of years ago picking up a late 70s Marantz DC170 amp.  Really lovely sound for cheap.

I bought a pair of L200s brand new in 1975 and had them for the next 25 years til I got my AG Duos. I sold them to a friend who lives close by and I still listen to them every week or so. At 45 years old they have never had a repair or failure and the veneer still looks exceptional. And they ROCK. Maggies are gonna sound awful wimpy and polite in comparison (and I have my doubts about your being able to integrate Maggies into the space the JBLs are occupying). And they WILL take power. I fried the output transistors on a Bryston 7BST (500 watts) whilst engaged in a rather spirited playback of the "1812" one evening long ago and the associated speaker just shrugged it off...no fuses blew...nothing. Without a doubt the most indestructable and least fussy audio product I have owned. Currently thriving in an all Atma-sphere system.

1. I had McIntosh MC30 from 50x. It exchanged Plinius 8200 in my system. No comparison  MC30 was other level of tone, natural organic sound and musicality. 30 watt McIntosh controlled bass and had bigger sound than 175 watt Plinius.
2.  Lenco L78 turntable exchanged Nottingham Analog Spacedeck.
Lenco has much better PRAT, bass. After that I will never go back to belt drive turntables. They make rhythm and pace messy and kill music, especially classical and jazz music with a fine rhythm sense. 
3. I bought Altec 604E speakers (from 60x) in 2005 and I have been using them until now. I had Spendor 2/3 that I liked. But Altecs are different league (even with original crossovers). The sound has volume, and body, it envelops a listener. Musical instruments have a real size, dynamic, tone.
4. I also have EMT948 turntable made around 1990. It exchanged Lenco in my system 8 years ago.

When I used a modern stuff I was changing everything very often. I bought and sold my audio gear every year and lost a lot of money.
Now I can enjoy vintage components for many years.

Very cool!

I just wish vintage gear wasn't so stupidly expensive.  I blame the Millennials!

When I was in and just out of high school I worked for the old RSL.  Every dollar I made went into gear - mostly Luxman.  One of my daughters still uses some of that gear on a daily basis.

I got rid of a lot of great vintage gear before it became worth gold, but I still have a McIntosh MC225 and Luxman CL-32 preamp I use in the bedroom and a pair of Altec 14s and McIntosh ML-1C speakers that I rotate in periodically.  The mac speakers actually sound pretty good after recapping and if used with the MQ101 equalizer as God intended.

I love vintage gear, but often find I love the sound at first, then grow tired of it after a week or two...currently enjoying refurbished Tandberg TR- 2075 Mkll receiver, Yamaha D6 turntable...

I have recently acquired:

Marantz 1060 integrated with a Marantz 104 tuner. Warm and natural need new caps but still sounds lovely(not hifi-ish though)-- $350 for both

Sansui AU-217. Punchier than the marantz and more defined highs and better low grip. THE BEST $100 bucks I have ever spent. These 30 watts drive my 88db efficient towers with great authority. I am now a Sansui fan-boy.... 

Technics SL-1800 for my office. Smooth sound but not the last word in detail or dynamics, but after 35 or so years what can one expect. Does the job just fine for the office for $85..

...... And the System I put together for a friend: 

Marantz 1060 integrated, Marantz 104 tuner, Thorens 166 TT clad in all silver looks and sounds amazing.. Super musical, warm/lush whatever you want to call that sound signature. Sure it isn't Hifi, but when I listen to her system I forget about hifi and enjoy that 70's sound.. something magical and extremely musical about those 70's...

Been using a tube sansui 1000a everyday. It’s almost 60yrs old. I use some Altec model 19s and people can’t believe the sound. Good for you. Those jbl’s are awesome. Get them some better power and watch those really sing. 
Congrats! 

Turntables.....I have bought a few and sold some over the years. One that I will not part with is a Pioneer PL-530 I bought new in the 70's when I first wanted to put together a decent system. Of the tables I've owned I still use the Pioneer as my main device. A few cartridge replacements down the road my ears can't hear "real" improvement in sound from the much more expensive tables. Our ears are the last word.

My rec room equipment is 35+ years old. I purchased it while stationed in Germany back in the early 80’s:
Teac X10R R2R
Technics SL-1600MKII turntable
Pioneer SPEC-4 power amp
Soundcraftsman SP-4001 EQ/pre amp
dbx 224 noise reduction unit
dbx 3bx dynamic range expander

About 20 years old
DCM TimeWindow 3 speakers (gave my 70’s vintage Bose 901’s to my god daughter and 80’s vintage JBL L100’s to my god son)

While my vintage gear sounds really good, it can’t match the clarity and detail of my recently purchased music room gear.

reciently came across a package deal of 1978 klipschorns, mid 60s McIntosh mc-240s, and mx 110z. really amazing!!! 

birdfan,

"Sansui AU-217"

No wonder you like it. AU-217 is forgotten jewel. In fact, that whole series (X17) was stellar. Climbing up the amplifier ladder will get you even more of the same goodness (417, 517, I would stop there) and would make you even more impressed about how good 217 is. However, as good as these amplifiers are, tuners are in another league. If you ever listen to AM/FM tuner, get TU-717. It is just amazing. Prices have gone up recently but it is still a bargain. Heck, buy it for the looks.

I have tons of vintage gear and get the best results from combining pieces that complement each other for a particular listening purpose like classical, jazz, rock, low volume late night tube sound, etc. What has surprised me the most is the dramatic effect of inserting a single modern piece in with a vintage system such as a preamp, modern cartridge, etc. These combos for me always surpass the all modern system. It takes hours of listening and combination changes to settle in with a system and which for me is a continuous work in process and is the real fun of the hobby.

pawlowski6132
If indeed you do decide to sell the L200's please contact me.

My current system is a mix of vintage and modern and it sounds awesome! Acoustic Research ES-1, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Ayre C-5xemp disc player, Adcom GFT 555 II, Dynaco SCA-35 (updated and modified), Dynaco ST-70 (updated and modified), Revel performa M20

Still use my B&O Beogram Turntable. Works like the day it was made, which was a long long time ago ...

I enjoyed my Harman Kardon PM 665 VIXI integrated, Sansui TU717 and AU717 tuner/integrated, and Boston Acoustics A100 for 25+ years.  Still got the Bostons, the HK and Sansui are in need of repairs that are prohibitive ...but I must say, after listening to the newer equipment (KEF R100, Focal, Dynaudio along with NAIM power) I miss the friendlier sound of the vintage stuff.  My ears aren't that refined that I want to chase the last electron of musical information so hats off to the folks that have the ability to discern such minute differences.  I still prefer the older equipment - maybe it's the build quality and heft of the controls, the visual reinforcement of heavy, solid equipment. 

I went back to some vintage stuff: 
Scott 460A, looking brand new, 40Years old!
Technics SL1210 MkII
Technics RS1500 US about 40Years old too.
I had a pair of Bose 301 II but my partner found them ugly and don't want to see them, so I got a pair of KEF Q550 which are pretty good.

I am quite satisfied overall but I'd like to try a more serious amp. I'm amazed to see that no one I mentioned my amp has heard about Scott in the UK. I thought they were pretty big in the 70's in the US though. Not sure if it compares to Marantz or Luxman. The best I ever used was a Setton Preamp+Amp PS5500 and BS5500. Extremely rare now.

You might find it hard to give up that gear 😁 I love my vintage amps and speakers. I use a knight built in '58 nearly every day in my bedroom system and a Fisher x101b from '62 paired with some jbl L80t3's when the fancy strikes me. The Fisher still retains one of the fabled telefunken 12ax7's (in the phono stage) too !!!! IMO there's nothing new with most modern amps.

Nice! Love the vintage stuff. I’m working on my own collection of old junk. 😀

I bought a new 3300 Preamp and 120 Tuner from Marantz back in the 70's. Besides sounding great you had the secondary benefit of a beautiful look. Enjoy!!

I have the Marantz 3300, pair of JBL 4430's driven by a Music Reference RM 9 Tube amp. Nothing beats vintage audio equipment IMO. The 3300 is a great Preamp. I have a Teac A-3440 Reel to Reel which I rarely use. I also have a Pioneer CT-950 High end cassette deck also rarely used. I recommend finding a Sony CDR W33 if you can find one. You can burn your own CD's with that. It's also a very good sounding unit.

@pawlowski6132 : Right now at this moment I am listening to All Night Jazz (89.7 FM, WUSF Tampa) through a Mitsubishi (aka Diatone) DA-F10 tuner. Preamp is an RGR 4 and amp is a GAS Son of Ampzilla. Speakers are late-production DCM Time Windows (52779, 52780). I had the exact same system back in 1978! Then, I bought it all new! Now, of course, it is all secondhand. Cost ($120 + $200 + $400 + $219) = $939 + shipping. Wonderful sound! This is in addition to the 3 rooms full of vintage gear in storage! 

The rarest tube amps I have are the pair of Futterman H3AA's, along with the Harvard Music Futterman H3 stereo OTL.

The oldest tube receiver I have is a 1920's Fadel "coffin" AM. This is awaiting restoration!

The rarest speakers are (besides two pair of Quad 57's and Rogers LS3/5A's) the KLH Nines. Presently lacking space to set them up properly. They would be a good match with the mono Futterman's!

I like vintage gear - especially tubes, turntables and LPs! Present day stuff doesn't interest me much. Most of it is way overpriced! Best bang-for-buck is used gear! 

Wait. Are my eyes deceiving me? In this land of $10000 cables, $15000 cartridges, $16000 line conditioners and $500 mats people are talking about 70s hardware and praising their virtues?  

After I finish my move to Vegas I will be setting up my Pioneer SX-1050, JBL L65, Pioneer PL-330 turntable. I am now sorry I sold a NIB Shure V15-iv cartridge on eBay.

Speaking of the Shure V-15 IV, I bought one recently with a broken cantilever for around $100 and put in a JICO SAS stylus. I’ve been listening to it the last couple of nights on my 2nd turntable and it sounds great. Now I have a really nice setup for my new and like new vinyl (my main table) and will use this for some of the less than pristine used records I pick up. It seems to play a lot quieter on worn records than the Van Den Hul MC Two I had on that table with almost as much detail and at a much lower cost to replace the stylus when needed.

I've seen this a few times on this thread; describing sound as "Warm" or "Tubey" or "Vintage". Is that just a euphemism for rolled of highs and bloated bass?

;^)

@fasteddie99, i'll contact you separately.

FWIW, I hooked up my KEF LS50 and REL sub to to direct comparison using the Marantz 500 AMP and Marantz 3300 Preamp combo. I liked the bass from that system better and it actually sounded pretty damn close in terms of which I liked better. However, I thought the JBL speakers actually presented voices in what seemed like a more natural or "In-the-room" experience. It was noticeable to even a layman. Mids were similar. Overall nod though goes to the LBLs. 

@kosst_amojan 
The Marantz 500 had all four power capacitors replaced and the fan repaired. The VU meters aren't working (and glass/plastic is cracked) but, no impact to function.

The Marantz 3300 preamp could use a good cleaning. Pots, knobs and sliders are noisy.

JBL Speakers are good except one needs new foam/suspension replaced around the bass driver. I can buy a kit and do it myself. 

My question is, should I do this if I tend to keep the speakers ( I think yes) or, if I plan to sell, would a normal buyer want them as-is so they can decide what to do??

Damn, I love this talk of vintage gear. I still have and use a Technics SL1900b TT I bought new in '76 and a Shure V15 typeIIIG cart and several (Jelco) needles for the cart. My office rig isn't '70s gear but '80s vintage Carver. The 'old' stuff still rocks.

ray   

My office system is a Fisher 400 paired with a Harman Kardon T60-C TT and a new pair of Klipsch Heresey IIIs. Love it! It’s a bit bass heavy for my taste, but, that’s what those knobs are for right?!

kosst is giving very good advice. I too am not a fan of vintage speakers and especially dislike the JBL "sound", but this is just my take. Significant improvements can be made with the vintage electronics, TTs not so much, with some time and a small investment. 

Most of mine is refurbished vintage. Turntable is from 1966, cartridge 1987, power amps 1959, speakers 1960.