Vintage

[peter98]

Let's take a trip down memory lane! What's the oldest piece of hi-fi equipment you proudly own? Share your vintage treasure.​

 

[DCarmi]

Rega Planar 3 which I bought in 1986. I did have to get the tonearm rewired a couple of years ago but apart from that, all is good.

 

[Messiah]

The first ever 'proper' hifi I bought was a Kenwood 5050R amp and 3060 CD player. This was around 1993 so over 30 years ago.

Currently being rested. 😊

My HiFi - 30 years (ish) and counting…

Linking to my other thread (HERE) my Home Cinema gear has been moved to the Living Room which means my loft now solely houses my HiFi. Whilst I have owned various gear over the years (mainly Cyrus, Mission, Pioneer, Monitor Audio & AVI ADM 9.1s) this is the HiFi that I value the most. Why? (you...

forums.whathifi.com

 

[daytona600]

1950s Garrard 301/ SME 3012/ Ortofon SPU
1970s Oracle Delphi / MDC800 / Koetsu Red

 

[Rui]

the first ment to be mine hi-fi gear was a receiver from late 60´s(T-1000, not sure) also a turntable PL-43 or similar from Pioneer and a pair of still excelent sounding philips speakers later with a reel to reel deck X-165D from Akai´s 1970 catalog and all works today perfect and sound very good , before i had other systems but i would get them components here and there or using what belonged to my father, that always had top of the line equipment

 

[abacus]

Dual CS-505 MKIII purchased in the late 80s

Bill

 

[12th Monkey]

Don't have anything old. It was all replaced with something better, and the old stuff eBayed/sold/given away.

 

[speedthing]

Rega Mira Amp clamshell type mid 1980's

 

[Jasonovich]

The oldest piece of hi-fi equipment I proudly own?

My EARs

 

[A-Line]

1976 McIntosh MR78 FM stereo tuner

 

[Rodolfo]

Original Cyrus One -drove my primary system for >30 years
Original Mission 700s -currently back to a primary-system starring role

​

Both purchased in 1985 and still working in original form
Still have the Cyrus One original substantial box
Only temporary mod was a Bluetooth adapter

---
Qualification: the Vintage sales and service shop in my town does not consider my 1985 stuff "vintage"

 

[Rodolfo]

The oldest piece of hi-fi equipment I proudly own?

My EARs

So real and true.
Sine qua non: what I most value and am most thankful for! 🙏

 

[DougK1]

The oldest piece of hi-fi equipment I proudly own?

My EARs

Excellent, Jason!

 

[peter98]

the first ment to be mine hi-fi gear was a receiver from late 60´s also a turntable PL-43 or similar from Pioneer and a pair of still excelent sounding philips speakers later with a reel to reel deck X-165D from Akai´s 1970 catalog and all works today perfect and sound very good , before i had other systems but i would get them components here and there or using what belonged to my father, that always had top of the line equipment

 

[twinkletoes]

I proudly own and use a NAD c540 player and have the matching 320bee amp in the attic which I’m thinking reinstating in an office/snug system

 

[peter98]

Rega Planar 3 which I bought in 1986. I did have to get the tonearm rewired a couple of years ago but apart from that, all is good.

A Rega Planar 3 from 1986? That's impressive! Those turntables have a great reputation for their sound quality and durability. It's fantastic that you've enjoyed it for so many years with just a minor repair. What kind of cartridge are you using with it?

 

[peter98]

That's an impressive setup, Rui! It's awesome that you've managed to keep all those components working perfectly. You have a real passion for vintage audio. Do you have any favorite records or tapes that you enjoy listening to on this setup?

 

[peter98]

1950s Garrard 301/ SME 3012/ Ortofon SPU
1970s Oracle Delphi / MDC800 / Koetsu Red

That's a classic combination that's highly sought after. You have a deep appreciation for high-end audio. I'd love to hear how those setups compare.

 

[Cricketbat70]

Let's take a trip down memory lane! What's the oldest piece of hi-fi equipment you proudly own? Share your vintage treasure.​

Rega Planner 3 late 80's I'm guessing, it was given to me early 2000's, It sat at work for a number of years waiting to be repaired but I don't think our service engineer was confident in tackling it, so a couple of years ago I took it to a local hifi dealer and had it fettled.
Now wondering whether I should just have had my Dual CS-505 repaired, bought in 1992. The rega doesn't cope very well with being on a hifi rack in a Victorian terraced house with bouncy wooden floors. Maybe the fact that the Dual has - for want of a better word - suspension, it might cope better.
I want to put wall mounted shelves up for the hifi, like we did in our first house but Rach isn't keen.

 

[DCarmi]

What kind of cartridge are you using with it?

An Elys 2. I am thinking of replacing it with either an AT VM95ML or V540ML.

 

[Stuart83]

Sansui au505 and but my proudest is the still used and much loved pioneer a400.
From heavy to now sporadic use it's still rocking now newer QA 3050i speakers very well indeed.

After a check through things including cap drift and DC offset it only needed a new power light.
It's sentimental attachment means it will stay, I remember it from my childhood when my father first bought it using the what HIFI mags of the day to select it for demo and always salivating over it's sound.

The full kit came to me not long ago, a clean sweep of the budget award winners 1991-93.
Mission 763i
Marantz cd52 mk2
System deck iix
(Aiwa 3 head tape deck and Yamaha slave deck
Aiwa radio) which I do not use.

The Marantz cd52 mk2 is back with the Pioneer it came with after repair and has me questioning my main hifi on occasion.
The system deck received a goldring e3 cartridge and went into my main hifi where it still works flawless.

Tbh I don't hear an advancement with new gear in the price range of the older above hifi infact I've gone backwards in that same modern equivalent budget once or twice trying to improve upon it.
I've never heard the improvement going from tape to CD in the early 90s provided since.

I had to substantially increase the budget to get noticeably better or at least I tell myself its better 🙂

 

[DCarmi]

I want to put wall mounted shelves up for the hifi, like we did in our first house but Rach isn't keen.

I have similar issues at home. I want to change the layout to suit the hifi. Other-arf not keen. However, next year we plan to gut the downstairs, so that would be an opportunity to redesign things a bit. MInd you we said "next year" last year.

 

[Steve983]

I still have my Rega Planar 2 turntable and Linn Index speakers from 1986 which have never let me down.
This year though I have collected 3 classic NAD amps from the 80's..

-The Mk2 version of the 3020 from approx 1981-83
-3020A from approx 1984 and
-3240PE from 1987-89
They have all been fully serviced, restored and recapped and are in mint condition.
I guess its partly nostalgia but they sound great and have really got me back into listening to music again.

 

[Steve983]

I also still have my Arcam Alpha Plus from 1986 which can still sound great for vinyl not not so much for CD

 

[Rui]

Don't have anything old. It was all replaced with something better, and the old stuff eBayed/sold/given away.

where did you find it ?it´s hard to get anything near old quality if not around 50.000€ for module