2. vintage
  3. 184920-93005

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. 

 

128x128deadhead1000
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,879 posts
 

It's all over priced....

Boston CL :

Pioneer SX 1250.  $2800

Pioneer SX 1010.  $1200

Marantz 4400.       $2900

Marantz 2230.       $800

jasonbourne71's avatar
jasonbourne71
1,202 posts
 

I bought a Marantz 2235 from an eBay seller. $130 with free shipping! Another eBay bargain for me was the BEL 1001 amp for $525 from the original owner. Sold new for $3K in 1982. The Brown Electronic Lab amps are still competitive with today's five-figure amps!

knotscott
931 posts
 

I’ve had the same observations....stuff that simply wasn’t very well regarded back in the day, now has a cult following and sells for a premium. Some of it was stuff I started with. Maybe it sounds better as the caps degrade and resistor measurements shift. 😉

In fairness, I get the appeal of the simplicity and intuitive layout of the face and controls, and the wood trimmed boxes, but much of it is relatively mediocre sounding.

 

elliottbnewcombjr
5,461 posts
 

I just checked the price of the Vintage stuff I bought since 2019.

They all went up in price after I bought mine, many quite a bit, now they have dropped down to what I paid in 2019, 2020.

McIntosh mx110z Tube Preamp/Tuner

Mitsubishi Vertical TT LT-5V

Acoustic Research AR-2ax

Sony SACD/CD xa5400 ES

Cayin A88T tube amp

grislybutter
3,100 posts
 

I bought a Marantz receiver from 1974 12 years ago for $200, sold it for $900 last year. And the going rate is really $1500. Can you buy a younger, better amp for $900 today? Probably...

It did sound incredible in a mid-fi setup. And nothing beats the looks. Today’s audio gear is very hard to look at. Even the prettier ones are nowhere near the aesthetic value of the old amps.

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