Having been in this hobby for over 30 years, and having owned a lot of vintage gear (when it was new), I kind of have a soft spot in my heart for nice vintage systems. And I still have a fair amount of vintage gear (that I can't bear to part with) floating around the house.
Resently, I set up a nice, simple retro system consisting of a Sony turntable with Grado cartridge, an Onkyo solid-state receiver, and a pair of Altec bookshelf speakers (the size of AR 3A's).
I just plunked it down at one end of a large room and hooked up the speakers with 14-gauge zip cord. The darn thing sounds TOO GOOD! If I compare it with my bigger, more costly modern gear, in terms of sheer bang-for-the-buck, I think the expensive gear will be blushing.
Both the FM stereo and the cheapo turntable sound way-better than they have any right to. Although I think that a lot of the excellent performance is related to the very good room acoustics of where I set it up.
Steve, I just took a look at your system and I like it. I like it a lot, and I bet those Mac tube amps do work great with the Altec horns. :)
Resently, I set up a nice, simple retro system consisting of a Sony turntable with Grado cartridge, an Onkyo solid-state receiver, and a pair of Altec bookshelf speakers (the size of AR 3A's).
I just plunked it down at one end of a large room and hooked up the speakers with 14-gauge zip cord. The darn thing sounds TOO GOOD! If I compare it with my bigger, more costly modern gear, in terms of sheer bang-for-the-buck, I think the expensive gear will be blushing.
Both the FM stereo and the cheapo turntable sound way-better than they have any right to. Although I think that a lot of the excellent performance is related to the very good room acoustics of where I set it up.
Steve, I just took a look at your system and I like it. I like it a lot, and I bet those Mac tube amps do work great with the Altec horns. :)