Top vintage receivers vs. modern high-end equipment

FrankSaw,

Ive owned about 100 1970's receivers...still have 30-40 laying around collecting dust. (Mostly Pioneer). The Pioneer 9100 Integrated with a SG9800 EQ is an excellent combo. It will handily beat the SX-1980,1250,1010 TOTL Models.

For regular receivers:  SANYO JCX 2900, ONKYO 8500, SHERWOOD 9910. These will cost 1/2 the Price of Pioneer/Marantz receivers of comparable wattage...and SMOKE them in Detail. The Kenwood KR9600 is another excellent choice but more expensive than the above. (Still better than any Marantz/Pioneer)

As a whole I would say SANSUI is the best if you need to pick 1 brand...but your going to pay for them. A "Eight Deluxe" would be an excellent affordable choice. The "9000" series are awesome but very expensive.

Luxman's are awesome for detail...the best actually...but too laid back for Rock N Roll.

Stay Clear of Yamaha "Natural Sound", Sony, Tandberg

I have discovered that by an large only vintage receivers have dedicated Preamp Out. Integrateds do not. I use receivers as preamp only or on occasion as second amp driving just the bass on bi-wired speakers.

I can get modern pre amp but they are ugly and often don't have tone controls.

I am buying vintage for 50% looks and 50% performance. Never underestimate pretty lights and their placebo effect.

P.S. Modern gear is so ugly and overpriced it is untouchable imho.

Same goes for speakers. I hate modern narrow baffle design and tinny sound. Exception being ATC & Tannoy.

Vintage Sansui AU 7700 has so much flexibility and S.Q. performance buying anything else under 10,000 bucks is a huge risk in all counts...

A berning ZotL will be better at 6,000 bucks , i am pretty sure.... But no flexibility

But i could keep my Sansui anduse it like a power amplifier or like a pre-amplifier which is a great pre-amplifier if we read reviews...

Then... Sansui are the way for me.... I pay it 100 bucks 7 years ago.... Never look back and bought a second one....

No contemporary could build so high quatity now save over 10,000 generally...

I bought two Sansui :)

No vintage receiver will beat my 2 Sansui.... the only one i bought was a Kenwood a good one but i sold it....

I dont want to boast so much about these amplifiers, just that my happiness with them never decreased but has increased with time....

The only other amplifier i want is a modern ZOTL but the cost is over my head compared to my Sansui....Without doubt the Berning will be better in S. Q. because it is a new complete tube technology... Any other amplifier under 10,000 will made me afraid at the idea to buy one, no flexibility, and there is not much under 10,000 modern amp that could beat the Sansui...

Yes, I know it is an older thread. I wanted to share my experience.

I never owned any vintage audio equipment before. 

Someone gave me a Marantz 2325 receiver, it needed to be serviced for it had many issues.  

I took it to Chris Bridge of Bridge Audio, in Georgetown Ontario, who is a trained Marantz tech. He is very thorough with his work, he replaced over 70 parts that needed to be changed, brought all functions to factory specs. The service is not inexpensive. He carries genuine parts, and has many parts in stock. The ones he does not have, he knows sources where he can get original parts or better. And that makes a huge difference as far as repair and associated cost is concern. 

Once I got it back, I could not believe the sound and music that 2325 makes. I wish someone had told me about this way back, so I would not have spent money that I could have used to buy a brand new  Denali or Suburban.  

The sound was big, huge, loud, detailed, highly musical and mild at the same time. In addition it has speed and timing that I always wanted. I felt I was in fourth row from the stage front. Marantz 2325 makes MUSIC.

Nothing I owned previously could make the kind of sound I have now in my listening room. And I had some decent big name audio equipment, do not wish to write names for fear of upsetting the manufacturers and owners, both. 

Please keep in mind that my unit was professionally repaired by someone who knows these units inside out. So if you would like to have yours repaired, I suggest not taking it to any repair facility but to someone who is not only highly trained but has a good reputation as well. 

Happy listening guys and girls. 

And now back to music. 

Cheers

Yes, I know it is an older thread. I wanted to share my experience.

I never owned any vintage audio equipment before. 

Someone gave me a Marantz 2325 receiver, it needed to be serviced for it had many issues.  

I took it to Chris Bridge of Bridge Audio, in Georgetown Ontario, who is a trained Marantz tech. He is very thorough with his work, he replaced over 70 parts that needed to be changed, brought all functions to factory specs. The service is not inexpensive. He carries genuine parts, and has many parts in stock. The ones he does not have, he knows sources where he can get original parts or better. And that makes a huge difference as far as repair and associated cost is concern. 

Once I got it back, I could not believe the sound and music that 2325 makes. I wish someone had told me about this way back, so I would not have spent money that I could have used to buy a brand new  Denali or Suburban.  

The sound was big, huge, loud, detailed, highly musical and mild at the same time. In addition it has speed and timing that I always wanted. I felt I was in fourth row from the stage front. Marantz 2325 makes MUSIC.

Nothing I owned previously could make the kind of sound I have now in my listening room. And I had some decent big name audio equipment, do not wish to write names for fear of upsetting the manufacturers and owners, both. 

Please keep in mind that my unit was professionally repaired by someone who knows these units inside out. So if you would like to have yours repaired, I suggest not taking it to any repair facility but to someone who is not only highly trained but has a good reputation as well. 

Happy listening guys and girls. 

And now back to music. 

Cheers

If you want to keep the SoCal design vibe, Altec Lansing produced a very high quality receiver in 1971, the 714. They also sold the same receiver in an all-in-one chassis with a Garrard SL95B turntable on top as the 911. The 912 also had a cassette deck built in. The power output at 44W/ch was rated slightly higher than the JBL Energizer SE-400 that was designed to mount in the back of the Paragon. 

When restored with new caps and signal transistors, they sound wonderful and have a design unlike almost anything from the same timeframe.