Vintage Receivers vs. Modern MidFi

I have tried out some vintage Scott equipment. I have been using a 1961 Scott 333 integrated that kills the Audio Refinement complete I previously had ($1000) this Scott can be had for $150. It would be perfect for your small speakers. But always listen before you buy.

Carter, there is a Discussion Forum for vintage audio at www.audioreview.com. There are others that also are drawn to the look of those old receivers. If you go to that Web site, look up a user called BeatleFred, he knows a lot about the old receivers. I believe that you can get some good deals on some old receivers, but I also believe that there is equipment today that outperforms it, and rightly so. Although, for the most part, only low-end receivers have been produced for years, so in that arena a older high-end receiver may out perform many receivers of today. Magnum Dynalab's new receiver is the only high-end receiver that I know of and IMO it would easily outperform the vintage receivers, but then again it would cost you much more. BTW, your FT-11 is destined to be a classic!

Carter, I agree with Brian and would keep the FT-11. I do hear where you coming from -- I have always wanted a old reciever/system and have looked around the net. However, I go back to the purpose of the system and for me it's the music. I am currently using the NAD 317 which I feel is one of the best Integrateds on the market for the money ($600). I had the C340 which was great, but wanted more power. I like the NAD because of it's heritage and design philosophy. I have also owned a Mac Integrated ( 5200?), and it was decent but could not hold a candle to today's Integrateds IMHO. Good luck.

Hi Carter: A few of the older receivers that I remember sounding very good are the Marantz 2270 and the Luxman 1050. They are warm and smooth souding but do not have the detail of the modern couterparts, they do however sound very musical and are also very nice looking. Another option might be to go with a vintage tube reveiver like a Fisher 400C, you would have to research as Scott also made some good tube receivers. There is someone on the web that sells them (Fisher) reconditioned and with a warrenty within your price range. I do not know the sight offhand it is just something I ran accross while surfing. If you do vinyl in your system I would reccomend using an Advent 300 receiver (just the preamp and tuner section (the amplifier is just 15 watts per channel) and running a newer power amp of your choice from it. You could hide the power amp, and the Advent is very plain/modern but striking at the same time with a good tuner section and a killer preamp section. The advent/power amp combo should be well within your budget. I have used the Advent for vinyl with a pair of Dynaco Stereo 70's, Mac 30's, a Phase Linear 400, a Quad 306 and a Hafler 500 with excellent results. These amps are over your budget but are just to let you know that it works well with both tubes and solid state gear. Let us know what you get and how it sounds.