Vintage Stereo Equipment - C/D

(I'm having a recovered nightmare about the time that me and a buddy brought a truckload of old Dynakit tube stuff to the dump, under orders from his mom. That stuff is a FORTUNE now, and we just dropped it off. I think and old man salvaged it. I hope so.)

Find a reputable stereo-repair shop and at least have them look it over. An estimate will run you around $20. It's worth that at least to find out what you have.

You can find tubes at www.amusicdirect.com.

www.audiogon.com also may be a good resource for finding out what you have and what it's worth.

(caveat: I listen to vinyl on a tube amp way more than cds)

Now is the Power Transformer separate from the receiver? A receiver is essentially an amp (power to drive the speakers) and a preamp (an input controller) all in one, with an FM tuner thrown in besides. What model is the B&O table? That may be the one weak link in your setup for 2 reasons. One is that if the motor runs slow, it may not be able to be repaired easily as parts are often difficult to come by, and second, if it needs a new cartridge/stylus, they too can be difficult to come by and thus quite expensive. If you're having trouble ID'ing the B&O, try www.beoworld.co.uk.

I think my grandpa maintained everything pretty well for most of the time he had it - towards the end of his life he had a little dementia so he may not have been maintaining it anymore.

you should set the whole thing up, listen to some of your favorite records/CDs on it, and if you like what you hear, keep it! otherwise, sell it! simple. but yes, to echo what others have said, it's very reputable equipment. and make sure you set it up correctly (get help if you are doubtful).

I am looking forward to reading convicted audiophile Steady Mike's opinion.

I have nothing to add to this thread, though it's nice that PJM thought of me. I know very little of vacuum tubes and their strange workings; all the advice so far seems sensible. Driving something other than the supplied speakers with an old tube amp might be a bit of a struggle (sensitivities aren't what they were), but if the setups sounds good as it is, I'd keep it.

http://www.high-end-studio.de/produkte/hifi/images/marantz_gold.jpg

even better:

http://www.pocketcalculatorshow.com/boombox/graphics/marantz-pms6000.jpg

http://www.pocketcalculatorshow.com/boombox/graphics/marantz-pms3500.jpg

btw: this website on 80s boomboxes rules:

http://www.pocketcalculatorshow.com/boombox/golden1.html

i've been wanting to buy a vintage receive recently, hoping to find one cheap and local, but these are the ones i've had my eye on.
luxman r-1030
http://www.soundsclassic.com/listpix/luxmanr1030.jpg
harman kardon 330B
http://g.vatgia.vn/gallery_img/2/cqu1356748447.jpg
Sansui 771
http://cdn.sulitstatic.com/images/2013/0209/194331495_19400974840f13d457b2090e218c938f1ee7abc745059da06.jpg

;_; this equipment is still in storage seven fucking years later what is my life

I've been helping buds buy and set up vintage stereo equipment for the past couple months. Doing a cartridge alignment session tonight.
They've picked up marantz and pioneer receivers, and AR and Pioneer turntables.
It's like shopping with someone else's money, and uh they keep the goods too I guess. Still dig it.

dude are you in nyc and can I be your bud?

where do you buy the stuff?
xp

I am in NYC... I can be everybody's bud.
my friends got their stuff through a combo of craigslist, earwax records in williamsburg, ebay, and a place called analogique.
earwax is great to browse, since they carry some decent receivers and turntables at reasonable prices, and I think they get them up to speed and working well before they sell them (and fit them with cartridges, etc.)
craigslist and ebay are just what you'd expect. I bought a thorens td-160 from a guy who sells on craigslist under the name of Brooklyn Audio. his facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/BrooklynVintageAudio?ref=ts&fref=ts
he's a good guy and really gets stuff fixed up before he sells it, and talked about how he'll set up a system for a given budget. a cool guy who just spends weekends buying at estate & garage sales, and selling during the week. he gave me a lift home with the turntable. I think he is not the *cheapest* but is priced within reason.
and analogique is a place around the flatiron district that does a lot of servicing for vintage and high end audio gear. my friend found that one. seems cool, and they will have a list of stuff for sale, but I think since they tend to price a bit on the high side. I'd probably try the other options first.

from a couple weeks ago now, but this is the kind of stuff the brooklyn audio guy is picking up and selling: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.578781155467668.1073741825.524397190906065&type=1

and we got that cartridge aligned really nicely last night, yeah

pioneer or marantz are the way to go. for receivers. and can be found. for less than $$$$. just gotta make sure they are working properly. they need help when they become old folks. but worth the money.

I love my pioneer integrated amp. SA-8500. got it for under $100 in a shop in Astoria, OR.

I kinda want one of these though:
http://www.sansui.us/images/AU9500_00001.JPG

they look awesome.

with a cheaply-acquired tape deck my pretty budgety mostly vintage stereo system is now COMPLETE, here's a bad photo of it:

http://oi46.tinypic.com/1z31fsi.jpg

This what I'm using as an amp, got it for nowt from freecycle and originally planned to use it in my spare bedroom but like it so much I use it as the main amp. Power switch has gone so have to use the mains to switch it on, but other than that it works fine.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/yorkshiresky/IMG290_zpse49ef2d8.jpg

Sansui, also pejoratively referred to as Sansewage by some people in the trade by the 90s.

I’m using a Quad 450-2 at the moment:

http://www.hifidatabase.com/static/gallery/8/5928-Quad_405-2_Clean.jpg

how old does something have to be before regarded as vintage ?

i have an old JVC amp hidden in the attic ..

http://www.nrpavs.co.nz/archive_2_11/Sold_2_11_htm/JVCA-10X.htm

and have contemplated getting it out and using it as opposed to my shiny new(ish), all in one mini teac system to power some floor standers ..

sorry

http://www.nrpavs.co.nz/archive_2_11/Sold_2_11_htm/Images/JVC_A-10X_frnt_700x347_pixels.gif

i seem to recall it not having much finesse in sound as its a beast for volume, i used to have to keep the dial right down for my bookshelf missions, but with some proper floor standers this could be a lot more interesting sounding ...

or am i barking up the wrong tree here ?

(novice post ... )

Oh man, I used to have a black front Sansui amp (not as cool as the one above) and Bose 301s. Loved that rig. My house got broken into and they got stolen.

so, no advise re my jvc ..
guess i should just bin the beast then ..
was hoping some ile nerd was going to jump in and shout out that i need to match the amp with some XXXXX speakers to get some audio excellence ..
hey ho.

So believe it or not I never did anything with the McIntosh gear mentioned in the OP, and I am finally ready to move. I have a guy who is going to take a look at it this weekend. But what I am wondering is -- since most of my music listening is digital now, is it silly to refurbish this equipment and then mostly run digital music into it through a DAC? Would it make more sense to sell and just buy something nice that's set up to deal with digital music?

I'd say you're probably better off with the old stuff. I ran an iPod dock through a mid-70s Marantz integrated (R.I.P.), and it sounded amazing.

What kind of dock?

This one: http://www.pure.com/product/i-20-vl-61429/

Decent midpoint between plugging the iPod into the aux channel with RCA cables, and some insane DAC audiophile dealie.

yeah a good amp is a good amp, digital or analog source. amps are kind of agnostic.

yeah I kind of figured as much, since I've known audio engineers to record digitally and then run the recording through high-end tube amps

but yeah basically get that refurbished and hold on to that mcintosh for your whole life IMO

I think my Pioneer SA 9500 is showing its age. One channel is a little quieter than the other, there are noisy pots (which can be cleaned, I know), etc.

Do I try to find a place to bring it up to spec, recap it, clean it, etc. for probably a good chunk of money, or do I buy a new (or used) receiver to replace it? I'd still want something that looks attractive. Are there even new receivers that look halfway decent that are reasonably priced?

there are marantz, yamaha, and onkyo integrateds that look halfway decent (but they're not silver). They start around $500, though, and for that much I feel like you can find better vintage things.

i think it's probably worth paying $100 or so to get a piece you like fixed.

http://soundsclassic.com has some reasonably priced vintage gear that they have cleaned and fixed up. they are really nice, helpful people too. shipping costs the main downside; they're in illinois.

I guess I need to figure out how much a restoration will cost. some of those new integrateds don't look half bad, though I still prefer 70's era silver stuff. are current NAD receivers supposed to be good? I don't mind the look of something like this: http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-amplifiers/C-316BEE-Stereo-Integrated-Amplifier

xpost thanks for the tip, checking out now!

Yamaha and Pioneer still make some pretty attractive 2 channel integrated amps (and slightly less attractive receivers) for under $400, but nothing new is going to look as nice as that SA 9500. Depending on where you are it probably wouldn't be more than a couple hundred to have yours brought back to spec.

For a new example with that almost '70s look check out e.g. Yamaha A-S301BL (also available in silver but more expensive).

I'm in nyc w limited repair options it seems (mostly a few disreputable stores) but I'll try calling around before I make up my mind. That Yamaha really doesn't look bad!

the only place for repairs i've used in nyc (mtz in greenpoint) has closed.
mikey's hook up in williamsburg sells vintage amps for $300-500, and they use a shop called Cosmophonic Sound for repairs.

I still never refurbed the stuff I mentioned in the OP. Maybe I'll try Cosmophonic, when I eventually decide to plunk down the money it will presumably take.

I guess I'm a lazy researcher. thanks everyone.

I've had these EV Sentry 100s for over 10 years. Electro-Voice still has the foam pieces, which I bought to fix them up ~6 years ago. They are very heavy, but I can't bring myself to replace them.
http://i17.servimg.com/u/f17/14/81/45/19/2012-111.jpg

I could've bought a Sansui AU-111 with them, but I didn't because I was dumb. ;_;

wait I have a pioneer sa-8500, not 9500.

http://www.altairnouveau.com/R0000140.jpg

I got a new SA-9100 now.

And I decided there's probably nothing wrong with the SA-8500. Just needs a little cleaning, and I had a misaligned cartridge earlier.

that looks p cool!

yeah, very nice

So I've picked up some cool-looking vintage equipment for my living room stereo setup. But I'm not really an audio guy so I was wondering if I could get advice in this thread on how to make everything sound better. Here's what I got:

Kenwood KR-2090 receiver
Fisher XP-6 speakers
Technics SL-B200

CDs sound great through this system. But records are inconsistent. Some of them sound very flat. Also a lot of the bass tones, especially the loud ones, and some of the drums sound bad. They seem somehow clipped or fuzzy, especially on newer indie-rock records. Some times the records sound beautiful and clear, though. I've notice I have to fidget with the controls almost every time I put on a new record to get it to sound the way I want.

And since it's an older receiver, there isn't much to use: just a bass knob and a treble knob. There's also a loudness button. I use it sometimes but I notice it makes records sound worse. But some records sound flat without it, but they all sound clearer without it. Should I use be using that button at all?

I'm also utterly confounded by the Tape input for this receiver system. I don't have a tape player hooked up; can I use that input for something else, as kind of an extra Aux option? I tried running my computer/iPhone through that input and it didn't sound nearly as good as when I ran them through the real Aux input that I mostly use for my CD player.

What input do you have the record player plugged into?

The phono input. (It's quite a bit quieter than the Aux input)

loudness buttons typically just add bass and are designed for low level listening
the tape input should be the same as the aux, might just need to clean the ports?
does your turntable have a new/clean cartridge and stylus? also there are lots of complaints about the quality of pressings of recent records. maybe that's what you are hearing?

Is there a mag/car switch anywhere by the phono input?

Mag/Cer switch

It might just be a fluke of these speakers that I need to crank the bass and treble up for most records.

The tape input is a little different from what I'm used to. If you look on this picture, you can see you queue the tape by pressing a button ("Tape") rather than turning the input dial. So by pressing the button, I guess, the tape input overrides whatever other input you have the the dial set to:

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/111650351863-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

Was that standard on older receivers? Just not used to it.

I've cleaned the ports with compressed air, but I think I'll try DeOxit (which I've never done before). Not sure about the condition of the cartridge and stylus. Both look fine and the table is in good condition, but it's older and wasn't used for a while. I bought a $20 replacement cartridge on Amazon that's supposed to be very good; I can see if that makes a difference.

Not sure about the Mag/Cer switch; I don't think so (I'm not sure what that is) but I can check when I get home. Does it make a difference?

yes that is standard for tape inputs.

mag/cer is to switch between magnetic and ceramic cartridges; pretty sure your receiver doesn't have that switch.

Cool. Do you think I can get away with using the tap input as an extra Aux input then?

One thing I noticed at first about the setup was the speakers seemed to cut in and out a little bit, with the right speaker sounding a little wimpier than the left one sometimes. I think I've mostly fixed that. But when I turn some of the knobs, especially the volume knob, there's a crackle that only comes out of the right speaker.

probably just needs some cleaning. a little de-oxit I guess? (which I've never used myself)

sometimes just flipping switches and vigorously turning knobs helps knock things loose a bit. also I think it's not that unusual for phono preamps in older equipment to be a little on the quieter side compared to plugging in, say, in ipod to the aux input.

I think the idea with the tape input is that you will select your source on the dial and then while recording to tape you can hit the button to monitor it, check levels etc.

Yeah, I tried the "turn the knob a billion times to kick off the dust" trick. Helped a little maybe, but the persistence of the crackle suggests I should try DeOxit. I'll report how that goes; I'll error on the side of under-using it (the idea of spraying electronic devices just seems weird to me, but whatever works).

it is difficult to tell that your stylus needs to be replaced from visual inspection without magnification. I'd install a new stylus before doing anything else.

But if it's not the stylus, you've wasted the money. Maybe you could take the turntable in to a hi-fi store (or find someone with a working amp) and see if the problem remains. If it does, buy the stylus.

mag/cer is to switch between magnetic and ceramic cartridges; pretty sure your receiver doesn't have that switch.

My old amp used to have a switch to go between MM (moving magnet) and MC (moving coil) styluses. Yeah, yours doesn't seem to have one. Think MM is the most common, but maybe your stylus is not MM?

TBH, my hunch is that the receiver is the weak link in this chain and you'd be better off with a different one.

could be that the phono pre-amp is shot

I bought a $20 replacement cartridge on Amazon that's supposed to be very good; I can see if that makes a difference.

― Evan R, Monday, May 2, 2016 9:18 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

already has a new stylus, I assume. and you don't have to throw away the old one if it doesn't fix anything.

and definitely clean the pots on that old receiver, yes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q225qr0BctA

Thanks! And omg that video is boring! It's enough to make me just go back to my shitty rummage sale turntable.

Ah, sorry – missed that Evan already had a new cartridge.

xp I just like to hear the guy say "if you have a dead spawt in yo pawt" and I just wanted to make sure you knew that the deoxit needs to be squirted inside of the potentiometer's case (not on the leads or outside of the case). That shit is expensive. You may want to be sure that your noisy potentiometers have openings in their cases before you buy that stuff. Otherwise you need to buy a replacement part and soldering iron.