2. amps-preamps
  3. 1026268359

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
br3098
997 posts
 
When I was in high school in the '70s I worked one summer for a local stereo store, mostly in the back. All the money I made (and more) went into Luxman gear. I still have all of it except the turntable, which I foolishly traded when I got married in 1980.

Long story short - my daughters still use my old Lux gear to spin vinyl. One uses my old R-404 receiver, which still sounds surprisingly good. My younger daughter uses the old L-405 amp and a pair of Klipsch KG-4s. I have done minimal maintenance on the gear over the years, mostly CLAs. I am pleasantly surprised how well this gear has held up, and also the fact that it is still providing great sound.
mcintech
128 posts
 
I'd put my McIntosh MAC1900 receiver up against just about any amp-pre separates in the 55W-75WPC range. Tuner/preamp/power amp sections extremely well designed and I feel it's the smoothest and most musical sounding of the SS McIntosh receivers as it's 100% discrete in the preamp/power amp stages. The MAC4100 etc. used OPAMP's in the Preamp stages [that can be upgraded for better sonics over the NE5534]. The MAC1900 is basically an MA6100 with an AM/FM tuner.
Disclaimer: I'm service manager for Nagra USA and dCS America and an Authorized McIntosh Service Center.
sit
315 posts
 
Yamaha. I have the MX1000U, CX1000U, CR1020, others. I've had Yamaha MX10000U, CX10000U, CR2020.

I've been very satisfied with the quality. Really a good deal on today's market if you find any of these in decent condition. These preowned components seem to outperform new equipment costing 2 to 3 times more. Recap them and change out the power cord and they really come to life.

Yamaha was ahead of its time with these. Go online and read the specs and you'll see I'm not blowing smoke. Built with mostly premium parts, power cords excluded but befitting the times.
capzark
1 posts
 
I owned a Pioneer SX-650 when I was a teenager 30 years ago. I used it to spin records while I played along on a drum kit. I used it as an amp in a band, and listened to FM radio all night long, sometimes alone and sometimes with a friend. I used to polish the wood and chrome and really thought I had something and everyone else did to. It finally gave up the ghost about 10 years later and I threw it away. I never forgot about that old receiver and when a nice once came up on E-bay for $100 bucks I bought it without hesitation. Now it sits in an entertainment center in my living room and sometimes I just go in there and look at it. I don't even turn it on and it still brings me great pleasure. So what it is worth? You tell me. I can tell you that I have zero interest in selling it. Sometimes it's not about the sound and more about the memories. I guess some people just don't get that.
paul_graham
197 posts
 
Capzark....I get it loud and clear.
More to discover