What's up with the price of Vintage equipment?
The reason I am asking is, I sold stereo equipment in the 1970's and 1980's and some of the stuff I see selling for big bucks today were not well thought of during the 70's and 80's and lots of it sounded pretty mediocre (think Class D amps with amazingly low specs like .00007% distortion or other such nonsense). I won't get into brand names, but just by the era you should be able to tell.
As a quick aside, it annoys the hell out of me that I'm at an age that 1970's and 1980's equipment is considered Vintage. Was it really that long ago? Rats.
Anyway, again there were some really good sounding stuff back then, and the price today may be high, but it's still good sounding stuff and worth it. But I see prices today for 40-60 year old equipment that I sold back then because it was heavily advertised, popular/known name and design (and sometimes gave me a good commission), but not because it sounded good.
So I am assuming some of this high price vintage stuff is due only to nostalgia (both in looks and sound) and collecting fun, not for listening compared to today's stuff.
I'm open to hearing other opinions, especially from someone who does like vintage (mostly 1970-80's) stuff, listens to it, and what brands they have.
1994 not vintage? Tell that to my 12 year old neice! She has a hard time comprehending why people would type directly onto paper and telephones with cords? How about CRT TV's with 19 inch screens, oh and with cords too! I remember showing her a dial telephone in an antique store, she could not figure out how to use it and when I showed her she looked at me like I had three eyes. 30 years is a long time. See you in 2054....
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It is often very difficult to judge vintage equipment because they often need work due to the age of the parts. I bought a pair of Altec Valencia 846As just to listen to and then sell. Any judgment regarding the sound of this speaker is unfair until the crossover gets rebuilt. Overall, vintage stuff isnt even close in my experience. You may prefer the sound of vintage, often enjoying what you dont hear on that poorly recorded Boston album. |
I bought the best I could afford to buy in 1984 at the base post exchange stereo club. I still use this equipment daily. the Carver receiver finally bit the bullet after three repairs, I didn’t want to go there again every couple years it overheats and fries again. Hey, what do you expect it is 40 years old and then around the world on my duty assignments than I care to remember! I now have a different integrated amp temporarily. I have restored, repaired and upgraded parts on my TT, redid the surrounds for my speakers . It’s not top of the line now, but it’s much higher end than I could afford to buy now with today's dollars. My Budget system |
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