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Old Classic Receivers: A Mistake to Buy?

I was contemplating purchasing a 70's receiver, as I used to love the construction and appearance of the Sansui, Kenwood, Pioneer, Marantz. However, when I ran this by an audio friend, he said, "Forget it."

He says: They sound terrible. The caps & resistors used before the early 90s' were dreadful. The electrolytics are drying up and will start crackling and substantially degrade the sonics. The switches and controls used were almost never sealed, so they deteriorate and make noise and can't be fixed even by taking them apart and cleaning them.

Tuners: He says that nearly all non-digital tuners used varactors, which go out of alignment and cause problems, so no old tuners, with the exception of the Mac MR-78 and possibly a few others, are worth dealing with.

I am tempted to believe all that he is saying is true, but I see a market for these items, and also know that people claim they are still using these pieces for 25 years.

What's the truth here? Can some of the techies enlighten me?
kevziek
cds9000
22 posts
 
There's yet another reason to buy an old receiver that no one's mentioned...or maybe I missed it. Beyond getting near-modern performance on the cheap, and beyond the nostalgia factor, there's the notion of lineage.

Everything we have today in terms of audio gear has decended from the stuff made in the 70's. In a lot of ways, the old(er) stuff represents the "forefathers" of high end audio. All our modern gear is produced by guys who designed, or grew up on, gear from the 70's.

So, why not go out and get one, just as a history lesson? As someone pointed out, we've all probably spent $100 on something far more frivolous. My dad gave me his old Fisher (no idea what model) when I was about 16-17 years old, and I loved it. The volume and balance knobs started cutting out really badly though, and I gave it to Goodwill. Still kicking myself for that one...
cdc
1,785 posts
 
Has anyone tried Scott 340 receiver? www.mapleshaderecords.com is selling modded Scott for $1,325. Quoted as "Better than $11,000 worth of solid state electronics I'd heard earlier".
mcgarick
277 posts
 
Don't listen to your friend...

Old yamaha 00 series,old NAD, old Accuphase. Great stuff cheap.
cwlondon
1,210 posts
 
Is your "audio friend" a DEALER by any chance?

I am with Mcgarick and others.

These things are a mistake to not buy.
normansizemore
601 posts
 
The build quality, and component quality of Pioneer, Sansui, marantz, Harman Kardon, & McIntosh was outstanding. My kids all are into vintage hi-fi as am I. Pioneer SX-1250 has about the most impressive receiver amp I have ever heard. It is extremely listenable. My Daughters Sansui 9090 is not only beautiful to look at, it sounds wonderful. The Pioneer seems to have a little more balls, but just a little. My youngest uses a Realistic STA-2000 which was built by Foster/Fostex for Radio Shack. The amp in this thing looks like it could safely drive a 2ohm load. The fit and finish is of higher quality than either the Sansui or the Pioneer.
The point being, that these were all bought used, and after years of service by my famiily have never require so much as a light bulb change. And they seem to run 24/7.

I am also very impressed with the Pioneers and the Realistics phono sections. They are dead nuts quiet. Your audio buddy needs to get a life. You may prefer something that to you sounds better, but there is nothing wrong the gear from the 70s. I personally run a Citation 17 preamp and Citation 16a amplifier. In thirty plus years I have never had replace or repair anything, nor have I ever felt that the sound of the equipment has deteriorated. My close audio buddies are always impressed with a listening session at my home.


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