2. amps-preamps
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Did the Old Receivers Sound Good?

Before the high end started, we had all these receivers and integrated amps from Pioneer, Kenwood, Sansui, Sherwood, etc., all with incredible specs.  Then somehow we decided that specs didn't matter and we started moving to the more esoteric stuff from Ampzilla, Krell and whoever, but the specs were not as good.  My question is - Did the old Japanese stuff with the great specs sound better? I don't remember.  I'm asking because many seem to be moving back to the "specs are everything" mindset and I was thinking about all that old stuff with so many zeros to the right of the decimal point. 

chayro
baylinor's avatar
baylinor
1,416 posts
 

Had a real nice marantz integrated bought new in the 70s, very nice well rounded sound as stated by some here, but nowhere the clarity of today's equipment.

fertguy's avatar
fertguy
303 posts
 

Bought a new Sansui AU 717 in 1978. Double mono design. I thought it sounded great.

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,697 posts
 

Back in the day, I had tube and SS separates and a couple of different tuners and all of them were the weakest link in my system.  Having said that, David Hafler and Bozak sounded pretty darn good back then.

roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,982 posts
 

The Fisher 500 was a beautiful sounding piece of gear. Tubey and romantic, yes, but very enjoyable.

wolfie62
352 posts
 

The old stuff sounds better. Uncluttered by the placebo effect of high prices today, the old stuff sounded great and performed great. 

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