Old Classic Receivers: A Mistake to Buy?

I like the old Heathkit receivers. Heathkit produced some of the finest of the time. Most are very easy to restore(since they were built from a kit most of the time) and they are all built like tanks. Power wise, they were under rated. You could always depend on more than the spec indicated. I remember using a AR15 receiver to drive a pair of old Acoustic Research AR3A's. It would make those VERY power hungry speakers jump off the floor and fill the room with great sound even into their <4 ohm load. They always had superb tuner sections. Unbelievably low cost for what you got if you were willing to invest a little time in construction. Later, they offered a few assembled models. It was a lot of fun building those things. I still have the AR15 and a few others around. Hard to part with history and your roots!

For a Stereo system they can not be beat!
Luxman 1120 is awesome! $ 250.00
great tuner , meters very powerful!
Tandberg 2075II or 2080 Awesome 200-250
Revox B285 Seperates killer $ 575-850.00
Marantz 2325 I think top of the line Gyrotouch Blue dial
500-600
Marantz 2500 with scope $ 900-1500

All above also include Headphone outputs and Good phono sections too!

My two favorites are the Revox and tandbergs there is a great matching Revox cd player the b225/226

The Yamaha CR220 Natural Sound receiver from 1979 has been my stereo system's main power source since 1980 when it was purchased new with a pair of Bang and Olufsen Beovox S35 loudspeakers. Early in 2000 on a whim, I purchased a new NAD C520 CD player for $269.00 after reading a UK stereo magazine praising its very musical sound, and plugged that plain grey fronted box into the Yamaha CR220's auxillary inputs. I was astonished by the clarity of CD based music through an ancient analog receiver that I'd just played LP records and cassettes on (CD's were introduced in 1982). Soon afterwards, I replaced the Monster Cable 100 interconnect and the Monster XPHP speaker wire with an Audioquest Viper RCA interconnect and Audioquest CV-4/Type 4+ speaker cables. Although only 18 watts per channel at 4 ohms, the CR220 even at 22 years old, with nearly every day playing, is one of the most clear and powerful sounding receivers I have ever heard. I recently auditioned my CR220 along with an NAD C340 amplifier and the CR220 was the clear sound winner when driving my Beovox speakers or even a pair of new Dynaudio Audience 40 monitors. Again, everyone's ears are different but mine appreciate the still great sound from this classic receiver, the vintage Yamaha CR220. I can even recall passing on a Bang and Olufsen Beomaster 1900 receiver at 30 watts/channel as the Yamaha CR220 just plain sounded fuller, louder, and yes, better. I've tried several times to "upgrade" the past year or so by getting other newer receivers or amplifiers. However, I've always gone back to my CR220 time and time again because it is so "musical" even for such an old piece of equipment. I liken a stereo receiver's unique sound quality to that of your favorite sounding guitar. I may like the sound of a Fender Telecaster teamed with a Fender Harvard Reverb, while you may prefer a Rickenbacker 330 with a Vox AC30. They may both sound equally great, but your ears may just prefer one sound over the other (or neither). Finally, in appreciating also the tasteful design of my Yamaha CR220, its silver faceplates are actually very nice to look at, while the newer black-faced, mostly plastic stereo components (Sony) are just butt-ugly and full of annoying lights and useless functions and rely upon a remote control to be of any use at all. I'm glad that I made the"mistake" of purchasing my receiver when I did, saving me from the agony of choosing new components for two decades while I enjoyed playing my music--instead of shelling out big dollars for "better" equipment. Costing about $12.00 a year over 22 years, the Yamaha CR220 at $240.00 new, was certainly no mistake to buy (or to keep).

Late 70s early 80s integrateds, recievers and analog tuners from Luxman, Sansui and Yamaha rule. They have real iron in their power supplies, discrete componentry throughout and are quite musical.

Found a Luxman 1120A reciever @ 120wpc in beautiful condition, internally soldered the pre-out/main-in and hardwired an LAT powercord. This piece will take on many higher end separates. I also run VTL, ONIX and Luxman electronics to compare. Good luck. And oh, the tuner section.

Kevziek ...
When you look at the responses to your post, the classic audio fans have been/are drawn to the classic stuff partly for the reason that you were ... (from your original post)... I was contemplating purchasing a 70's receiver, as I used to love the construction and appearance of the Sansui, Kenwood, Pioneer, Marantz. I don't think too many of us have been overly bothered by ..."what about the aging, drying capacitor issue?" I doubt that many of these items were designed to "last forever" (your 2nd post), but then again ... how many components really are ... even/especially today? There is a beauty to the older stuff that today's stuff doesn't come close to matching. Usually, there is also one aspect to the classic performance that will mean something to you (like FM performance). Is this stuff too expensive ... probably ...but if you look at the ebay auctions, it balances out. It is a hobby and if you are inclined to modify classic stuff, you are probably inclined to modify the new stuff, as well.