Vintage HiFi or Current Hifi

n4d5

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Hi All I was wondering, is it worth considering buying Vintage HiFi compared to Modern HiFi kit, I mean is the current HiFi alot more better? or does the Vintage kit still do any justice? I'm not aiming this question at any particular kit, just in general. Please comment Thanks n4d5
 

eggontoast

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IMO I would say absolutely, there is some fantastic kit from the 70's. Even some of the mainstream manufacturers such as Sansui, Pioneer, Marantz some Sony's produced some really good bits of kit.

The thing is there sound signature tends to be different to what is on the market now, some love it some don't its down to personal taste. The other thing is they tend to need a bit of TLC to keep them at there best; a lot of people don't want to do that. I have a vintage Pioneer SA-7800 from 1978 and it sounds great. I get quite a few amps pass through my hands and some of the favourites have been from the 70's and I am regularly disappointed with some of the newer models I listen to from current mainstream offerings.

But after saying all that.....there is some real rubbish from the 70's also but I guess that is true of all era's.
 

n4d5

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The reason I ask I use to own a Pioneer SA-8800 which I passed onto a family friend. Now I was thinking of going for a Pioneer SA-9500 or SA 9100.

Just thinking what kind of speakers would go well with these two offerings?
 

idc

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IME 1970s vintage means less bass emphasis and less choice of connections. So if you are not looking for a digital input or output and heavy bass music such as metal or rap is not a preferred genre, vintage is great.
 
T

the record spot

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idc said:
IME 1970s vintage means less bass emphasis and less choice of connections. So if you are not looking for a digital input or output and heavy bass music such as metal or rap is not a preferred genre, vintage is great.

Sorry IDC, but that's just misleading in terms of bass range. If you do a little background reading on the topic, you'll find that some of the best amps from back then delivered on every level. Mine identified below if breathtaking in every sense - it's been compared to Leema's Mk II Pulse, Harman's HK990, Exposure's 3010s and it's the better of them all really and it'll drive anything with room to spare. Partnered well, you won't need another amp period and the bass is through the floor.

As for inputs, I can do four line level and two turntables and the phono stage is superb. Two sets of speakers too. I don't feel shortchanged here. In fact, it offers more than many current two channel affairs, so as I've said a few times of late, the modern two channel amp really is mostly a throwback when compared to the AV receivers of late in terms of connectivity.

EDIT: To the OP, do some research on what you need and buy with confidence. By the bye, my Sansui (top of the line in 1977 at £400 a pop I think) cost me £200. The three amps it compares favourably with are all £1k-plus designs. Take a little picture of that.
smiley-smile.gif
 

dannycanham

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You have improvements with computers aiding in the design of equipment. You improvements in engineering techniques. You have massive improvements in the digital side of audio. However shoving electrical components into a box to amplify an input signal hasn't changed massively. So I wouldn't rule out vintage audio. I think there was a higher percentage of trash but its all worth a demo.
 
Like any era the 70s produced some wonderful stuff and some lousey. Look at amps such as Pioneer, JVC, Marantz, Rotel, Fisher and Ferguson and they'll give you the sound quality and inputs you'll ever need.

Keyword: Research, research, research! The main caveat with vintage set-ups is the reliability issue. Like any item that has moving parts it'll wear out. If you bare that in mind and understand that parts are harder to come by then vintage could be great.
 
A

Anonymous

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Hi Mr. Eggontoast!

"I have a vintage Pioneer SA-7800 from 1978 and it sounds great".

What?

I'm surprised! It seems you're not that fussy audiophile who I thought you were ...
smiley-laughing.gif


Pioneer SA-7800 has never been an audiophile piece, even in late 70's. I agree on the basis there are amplifiers which still today can be highly regarded in terms of audio quality, but your amp isn't one of them certainly. By the way, SA-7800 was retailed at 50.000 yens in 1978, within a price range of budget equipment.

I used to have a SA7800 when living in Japan. For my liking, it sounds veiled on mids and bass lines are a bit boomy. It's easily outperformed by modern entry level models of brands like NAD, Rotel or Cambridge Audio.

Nothing personal!

Regards,
 

eggontoast

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Audio Maniac said:
Hi Mr. Eggontoast!

"I have a vintage Pioneer SA-7800 from 1978 and it sounds great".

What?

I'm surprised! It seems you're not that fussy audiophile who I thought you were ...
smiley-laughing.gif


Pioneer SA-7800 has never been an audiophile piece, even in late 70's. I agree on the basis there are amplifiers which still today can be highly regarded in terms of audio quality, but your amp isn't one of them certainly. By the way, SA-7800 was retailed at 50.000 yens in 1978, within a price range of budget equipment.

I used to have a SA7800 when living in Japan. For my liking, it sounds veiled on mids and bass lines are a bit boomy. It's easily outperformed by modern entry level models of brands like NAD, Rotel or Cambridge Audio.

Nothing personal!

Regards,
In your opinion which of course means............nothing lol
 
A

Anonymous

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As a very happy user of a 20 year old Audiolab 8000 I would have said yes but the sound you like is very subjective and personal and you really need to listen and decide what sort of sound you prefer. Another reason for nor saying yes is that I have bought a brand new pair of speakers which have blown me away and to my ears, totally superior to what I had before. Also I bought a very modern little digital amp, a Bantam Gold to link up to my TV, but firstly tried it in place of my Audiolab, and the differences were nowhere near as great as I thought they would be, again I was amazed. So IMHO you need to listen and see what your listening preferences are.
 
A

Anonymous

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As a very happy user of a 20 year old Audiolab 8000 I would have said yes but the sound you like is very subjective and personal and you really need to listen and decide what sort of sound you prefer. Another reason for nor saying yes is that I have bought a brand new pair of speakers which have blown me away and to my ears, totally superior to what I had before. Also I bought a very modern little digital amp, a Bantam Gold to link up to my TV, but firstly tried it in place of my Audiolab, and the differences were nowhere near as great as I thought they would be, again I was amazed. So IMHO you need to listen and see what your listening preferences are.
 

lindsayt

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In some ways modern kit has got worse than vintage kit.

Back in the 1960's to early 1980's you had much more volume in sales of hi-fi than these days.

You had large companies competing for market share and the kudos of having the best sounding equipment. These days it's more of a cottage industry to mid-sized companies making hi-fi.

Looking at turntables: in the old days there were a lot of idler and direct drives. These days it's almost all belt drive. Is that because belt drives sound better? Or is it because belt drives are cheaper to design and manufacture? I find that idler and direct drives have a crispness to the sound, especially in the bass that many belt drives struggle to get.

And then there's speakers. Well over 90% of modern speaker designs are slimline ported boxes. Is this because they sound better? Or is it because small speakers are cheaper to make and transport and easier to sell in the showroom due to greater WAF? I hate the sound of typical modern slimline speakers. Compressed, lean bass or one-note bass or softened indistinct bass. Give me a proper sized sealed box or horn speaker any day - which tends to mean vintage.
 

MajorFubar

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Great vintage HiFi is out there, you just have to do your research.

I'm not sure if there would be compatability issues. For example it took a while for some manufacturers to standardise their inputs to 'line level' RCAs we take for granted today. DIN was common and used much lower voltage levels than line-level. I remember when CD players came out and the compatability warnings in the HiFi press. Though I reckon most equipment fitted with RCAs should be electrically compatible. Half the time I think the warnings were made to try to stop boneheads from plugging their new CD players into the turntable inputs. (I heard a few tales of that happening.) Presumably these were the same people who left their TVs on when timeshifting with their VCR.
 

dannycanham

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More actually now I think about it. I have some Marantz & Tannoy kit on loan at student digs. Need to get it down to 4 though. Kitchen, Bedroom, Front Room & Computer/Listening Room. Too much time listening to the stuff and not enough time setting the surplus up for sale.
 

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