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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
ait
480 posts
 
Oh, and by the way, I own the following vintage receivers:

Sansui 2000X, Pioneer SX-750 and SX-626, Lafayette LR5555A, Marantz 1150, Marantz 2030

and dozens of vintage speakers, tuners, radios, etc. I also have "modern" high-end gear as well, so I enjoy both sides of the argument, so to speak.
boulderskies's avatar
boulderskies
4 posts
 
I'm the original owner of a 1975 SX-1250. All of the things your friend says about the parts are pretty much true. BUT, the receiver CAN be restored by a knowledgeable repair outlet. The original caps are not available but better substitutes are.

The sound of a restored SX-1250 is a bit better than a non-restored piece and still possesses the trademark warm and almost limitless power.

I am less certain about resale value. The key would be to fine that individual looking for that specific model.

-Scott
markus1299
252 posts
 
I bought an old Sansui G9000 on here years ago and sent it to an electronics guy that completely recapped and realigned and cleaned everything and I'll have to say that it sounds absolutely fabulous and it's a beautiful piece also. Something about the pure power,clean sound that really comes through. I'm sorry to say that it's very close to my Cary Tube amps that cost thousands more.
sprink
110 posts
 
I'm glad I spotted this thread.Growing up, my prents were all about listening to music. Mostly rock i.e., Led Zep, The Who, Jethro Tull, etc.When I left for the Army in '87 they put the stereo in storage, mainly because they did'nt listen to it much anymore. It was a simple set-up, Marantz 2226 receiver, Pioneer turntable, and RTR tower speakers. My mother, knowing of my audio fetish, calls me yesterday to let me knoe these items have just been pulled from the shadows, and wanted to know if I wanted them before they got thrown in the trash. I'll be getting them this week.
timinmd1
3 posts
 
Greetings all,

I have to agree with the fact that a lot of these vintage pieces will show their age. I'm finally upgrading my system after 20 years of use because as a number of people have said - the preamp sections/especially knobs, selectors, buttons of these pieces deteriorate and get noisy and CAN'T be fixed [like the controls on my HK PM665 inegrated amp]. Having said that, they are of great value for their amplifier stage - if you can use them that way [I'm using mine to drive rear surround channels]. Some great sounding amps for not a lot of money! Just ignore the preamp. My two cents worth. For example, buy yourself a used Integra or Citation 7.0 preamp [both $400 now - $3500 new - amazing sound!] and connect to an older multichannel or a number of excellent old 2 channels! The control you get with these preamps allows for individual channel control so no problem with different sound levels. Of course this takes up more room, but you can have champaign sound on a soda budget.
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