If your were to assemble a vintage system ?

Hi,
I don’t want to take you away from building a Vintage system because there is a lot of stuff you can do with this gear, that produce great systems, but it has a some challenges.

All componentes degrade on the power amp and line stage , so stuff like DC on the outputs, squash of the frequency response and dinâmics should be reviewed. Consider the possibility of placing new caps, new fuses, new power transistors, new diode with no ripple effect etc... etc...
mall this has a cost that need to be factored on top of the purchase price unit.

In my experience, every componente that you by should be serviced and improved. So the idea is to by at a low price to then be able to service it properly.

You will also need to find a good technician that is familiar with the models/brand you are buying, has he will help/avise you in improving the unit without major increases in cost.

Has vintage system I would go for a pre-power combo. Has a pre amplifier I would probably use a Marantz from series 21xx. For power I would get one or a pair of Rega Maia.

Speakers might be a challenge has you wont be able to audition them, so probably would go for a Monitor Audio R-352.

Hope this helps

Filipe

@filipedine You're right, extensive service is needed before equipment of this age will perform as intended.  But not quite this extensive. Certainly all electrolytic capacitors in the amp and power supply stages.  Some small signal transistors such as the differentials in Pioneer and Marantz degrade from heat more than age.  In certain makes and model, we have seen resistors degrade.  Non polar capacitors typically need not be replaced.  Some exceptions are the early Sprague "bumble bees" in tube gear.  Operating tube gear with failing capacitors can lead to very bad things.  

It has not been our experience that power transistors need to be replaced, unless there was a catastrophic failure.  A "blown" channel.  Same for power resistors.  Although some diodes are replaced, many can be retained.  Failure of power rectifiers for example is pretty rare, and these do not normally need replacement. As for fuses, they do not normally need replacement.  A blown or damaged fuse is however a potential sign of serious trouble.  Fuses do NOT normally fail.  Replacing and powering up in some cases can cause irreparable damage.  

If you are buying vintage gear, it's a safer bet to get a piece of equipment that has already been through a restoration process by an experienced technician, than to buy an unserviced piece.  Otherwise, buy with the idea that hundreds of dollars of work could be in your very near future.  

I’m actually doing that right now. I’ve been a Hafler fan for years. I’ve got a mint XL-280 fresh from tuneup from ‘85. I finally found a Hafler 945 preamp that’s in transit to my home ( mom still has my SE100 preamp). I’m just completing my restore of a beautiful pair of KEF Reference 104/2 in Cherry today. I’ve replaced the internal wiring with Kimber, rebuilt the T33 tweeters, new center surrounds. I’ll put my old Denon DVD900 back in service. Speakers wired up with 10 gauge wire, PBJ interconnects. At 4 ohm, the Hafler puts out 200 watts…more than enough for playtime. 
The KEF $350 plus $75 for parts
The Hafler 945.    $250
Denon DVD-900 owned
Hafler xl-280 owned
Cables owned

Should be a lovely two channel listen. 

@bluemoodriver
There is nothing rude or annoying about calling out terrible sounding gear. If anyone is annoying it's you with the "all amps sound the same" mantra while beating your bare chest.

Give THAT a rest, please........

When I started college (1971) my parents offered to buy me a new (to me) car. Had a '64 VW that was good enough for me so, I inquired about a 'new' stereo system. Reluctantly agreed....
McIntosh MAC1700 (who needs AM?)    $600
JBL L-100s    $550
Pioneer PL-A25 w/ Shure M91E?  Pretty sure both were less than $350 together. Of course these were 1971 prices but came in under $1500. For nostalgic purposes, I still have this system today. Put way more into them since. Lived in an old house (by Phoenix standards) built in the 20's or 30's. Wooden floor, 12" thick adobe walls and a 12' ceiling. It would really rock that place.