Any Vintage Audio Enthusiasts Here?

RocketFoot

RocketFoot

Joined
Apr 15, 2024
Messages
354
One of my other hobbies is Vintage Audio! I have a modest system consisting of a Sony STRV4 receiver and a Kenwood KR6400 receiver. The Kenwwod is driving a set of Cerwin Vega AT-12 speakers and the Sony a little more refined with a set of modern Sony Bookshelf speakers and a 10" active subwoofer. I have all the components too...Technics turntable, Sony cassette deck, vintage DBX 3BX expander, graphic EQ and a Rocket lava lamp! Just wondering if any of you blade fans dabble in vintage audio? If so, let's see your system!











 
Not an enthusiast anymore but still have my Marantz 2245 that I bought 50 years ago. Sold off all my old tube gear long ago.
 
Venice said:
Not an enthusiast anymore but still have my Marantz 2245 that I bought 50 years ago. Sold off all my old tube gear long ago.
Click to expand...
Marantz and Pioneer equipment are highly collectible today but the prices have skyrocketed to levels that put them out of reach for many hobbits. Good gear though!
 
I'm a step down in power from you with the V3. I'm no expert, but I picked it up on a whim, and man have we got so much enjoyment out of this thing. It needed some cleaning up, and the FedEx guy slammed it on the ground when he delivered it crushing the corner of the wood cabinet 😡, but I lucked up and there was a refurbished cabinet for $50 available on the Bay at the time (I'd like to rebuild it with walnut at some point). Also by luck the seller had shipping fully insured, so he got his money from FedEx and refunded me completely.

Besides that I've always been a Sony nut (TV's/phones/cameras/alarm clocks/even my pager in the 90's 🤣), and this thing goes oh so well with my particular interior design. And the depth of sound is just out of this world. I don't even have a turntable yet, but I'm sure it's coming when I feel like taking the plunge into vinyl. For now we're blessed to have a great old school independent local radio station (KEXP), and I also stream through an ifi Zen. Speakers are the humble Triangle Br03, but this thing sure does sound great to my ear. All hours of the day and night if you walk by my house you're sure to here tunes spilling out, from all genres. From Hank and Cash, to Outkast and Coltrane, soul, funk, blues, folk, bluegrass, and plenty of Bach.

i5cwqlA.jpg


dqiXGYx.jpg
 
Knives&Lint said:
I'm a step down in power from you with the V3. I'm no expert, but I picked it up on a whim, and man have we got so much enjoyment out of this thing. It needed some cleaning up, and the FedEx guy slammed it on the ground when he delivered it crushing the corner of the wood cabinet 😡, but I lucked up and there was a refurbished cabinet for $50 available on the Bay at the time (I'd like to rebuild it with walnut at some point). Also by luck the seller had shipping fully insured, so he got his money from FedEx and refunded me completely.

Besides that I've always been a Sony nut (TV's/phones/cameras/alarm clocks/even my pager in the 90's 🤣), and this thing goes oh so well with my particular interior design. And the depth of sound is just out of this world. I don't even have a turntable yet, but I'm sure it's coming when I feel like taking the plunge into vinyl. For now we're blessed to have a great old school independent local radio station (KEXP), and I also stream through an ifi Zen. Speakers are the humble Triangle Br03, but this thing sure does sound great to my ear. All hours of the day and night if you walk by my house you're sure to here tunes spilling out, from all genres. From Hank and Cash, to Outkast and Coltrane, soul, funk, blues, folk, bluegrass, and plenty of Bach.

i5cwqlA.jpg


dqiXGYx.jpg
Click to expand...
That is GREAT! The V series is amazing for sure! Remember, "old" output watts are different than today's watts, LOL...they just had more 'Ka-Pow" when these things were made! Tube amps, even more so! But yeah, your 35 watts and my 45 watts will turn out a set of vintage or modern speakers as long as they are very efficient at power handling! I am running a set of Cerwin Vega AT12's and they can rattle the gutters off the house if I turn it up loud enough! I have also run it on a set of modern Sony book case speakers and a powered 10" sub woofer that is also amazing with deep lows and crisp highs! The Sony V series can handle just about anything! My Kenwood is just as wicked at 45 watts! Vinyl is nostalgic and fun but don't let the fan boi's sway you...hook a digital streamer or even an Alexa to your Sony and enjoy every song ever made for the asking! Modern tech sounds great on these old receivers too!
 
RocketFoot said:
One of my other hobbies is Vintage Audio! I have a modest system consisting of a Sony STRV4 receiver and a Kenwood KR6400 receiver. The Kenwwod is driving a set of Cerwin Vega AT-12 speakers and the Sony a little more refined with a set of modern Sony Bookshelf speakers and a 10" active subwoofer. I have all the components too...Technics turntable, Sony cassette deck, vintage DBX 3BX expander, graphic EQ and a Rocket lava lamp! Just wondering if any of you blade fans dabble in vintage audio? If so, let's see your system!
Click to expand...
Back around 1978 my best friend got himself a Sansui 9090db and a pair of Cerwin Vega "big uglys".
One day I hope to get the same setup for myself. I've never heard a better stereo. Watching the walls crack behind the speakers was interesting to say the least.
 
Mack said:
Back around 1978 my best friend got himself a Sansui 9090db and a pair of Cerwin Vega "big uglys".
One day I hope to get the same setup for myself. I've never heard a better stereo. Watching the walls crack behind the speakers was interesting to say the least.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah...125 old school watts will bring the house down for sure! CV won't disappoint either...sounds like a great system!
 
Don't know what model it is, but my uncle has an old Sansui receiver, and probably about 25 years ago it stopped working. I did some troubleshooting (it came with full schematics) and best guess was a transistor. Found a local shop that had one (and only one) in stock. I carefully desoldered and removed the old one, and soldered in the new one. Worked like a charm and as far as I know he's still got it.

ETA: He no longer has it:(
 
Last edited:
Brings back memories. I remember when you could buy vacuum tubes at Safeway grocery stores. We had local specialty stores that would sell you transistors too.

FYI if you ever run into one of those old 70's Heathkit 60 watt receivers, grab it and run. Those things were amazing. The poor man's Marantz 19.
 
shunsui said:
Brings back memories. I remember when you could buy vacuum tubes at Safeway grocery stores. We had local specialty stores that would sell you transistors too.

FYI if you ever run into one of those old 70's Heathkit 60 watt receivers, grab it and run. Those things were amazing. The poor man's Marantz 19.
Click to expand...
Yes indeed! I have heard Heathkits are like gold these days!
 
Not vintage but sort of close---running a 130 watt Rotel---amp/preamp setup--with 96db sensitive Klipsch towers---sort of looking to get back into vinyl---its drawing so much current that the lights flicker when I turn it on.

Keep looking at the Rotel 300 watt monster amp----just don't have the 4 grand they want for it.

Have an old Yamaha 80 watt integrated amp but haven't revived it because the speaker outputs won't accept bananas---just bare wire---I bought it new like in 81.
 
Last edited:
I never had any big home stereos but I had HUUUUGE car stereos. I’m talking 166spl boom booms. Lanzar amps, Orion DVC 15”s in big vent bandpass boxes, 10 disc changer - that’s just the tip of that iceberg. Ahhhhh man those were the days.

My brother and me were both fully into it for years. Buying up woofers, amps, equalizers, building custom boxes, wiring it all up and hiding the wires, etc. Miss my big setups like crazy.🥹😞
 
RocketFoot said:
Remember, "old" output watts are different than today's watts,
Click to expand...
Not really about the watts, it was about the compliance rating of the speakers.

I have some older stuff, nothing too interesting but still cool, I find old pieces still working in secondhand stores sometimes, picked up an old analog 30 band EQ not long ago for like 2 bucks, lol, slowly putting together an as purely analog as possible system.

I still have a nice stash of Boston Acoustics car components I bought up when they announced they'd no longer be doing car audio. Have a component set in the garage running off my shop stereo right now, built kick panels for 'em for a vehicle I no longer own, pulled 'em out after 5 years and they still sound great, so I just hung them up kick-panels and all on the rafters, lol.
 
MoreKnivesForMe said:
Not vintage but sort of close---running a 130 watt Rotel---amp/preamp setup--with 96db sensitive Klipsch towers---sort of looking to get back into vinyl---its drawing so much current that the lights flicker when I turn it on.

Keep looking at the Rotel 300 watt monster amp----just don't have the 4 grand they want for it.

Have an old Yamaha 80 watt integrated amp but haven't revived it because the speaker outputs won't accept bananas---just bare wire---I bought it new like in 81.
Click to expand...
Love Rotel gear..
 
My other main hobby, tube stereo gear and antique tube testers
zentoriimkv2.jpg
Amp is new but the tubes are vintage
Also have several amps from 50's, 60's Dynaco, EICO, etc.

_TheSupremes_.jpg
Some of my oldest testers
And the tester I use for checking quality and matching tubes
Hickok_539c.jpg
 
Last edited:
I was digging through some old boxes from the college days (mid 80s) and found my old stereo. This thing would rock!

IMG_3373.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top