Vintage Equipment

I've been meaning to chime in on this thread. Below is my Kenwood KR 3130. I need to replace the lights behind the front, I love the look of old gear lit up. Once I do, I'll post another pic.

One of the phono inputs is bad, but it's on my list to A/B the one that works with my Mani. Radio works well, although it can't pull in my favorite jazz station.

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I tread lightly in this thread, I've always loved vintage gear, but I know it's a rabbit hole I dare not step in to, lol. There's something about that Blueish-Green lighting that gets me, along with all the knobs.

One of these days I'll stumble onto a "looker" at GW or a garage/yard/estate sale and pick it up just to display :)
 
trickyseven said:
I've been meaning to chime in on this thread. Below is my Kenwood KR 3130. I need to replace the lights behind the front, I love the look of old gear lit up. Once I do, I'll post another pic.

One of the phono inputs is bad, but it's on my list to A/B the one that works with my Mani. Radio works well, although it can't pull in my favorite jazz station.

View attachment 67563
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That’s a really early one! Also, many of you may not be aware, but many common brands have one thing in common- they weren’t big in the US until Vietnam vets brought them home from overseas.

I’m thinking Sansui, Kenwood, Pioneer, Akai (originally marketed here as Roberts) right off. I’m sure there are more.

Before the big “invasion” the big brands here were Fisher, Marantz, Dynaco, Heathkit, McIntosh and Harman/Kardon. Dynaco and some H/K were also available as DIY kits (along with Heathkit, obviously).
 
HiFi Guy said:
That’s a really early one! Also, many of you may not be aware, but many common brands have one thing in common- they weren’t big in the US until Vietnam vets brought them home from overseas.

I’m thinking Sansui, Kenwood, Pioneer, Akai (originally marketed here as Roberts) right off. I’m sure there are more.

Before the big “invasion” the big brands here were Fisher, Marantz, Dynaco, Heathkit, McIntosh and Harman/Kardon. Dynaco and some H/K were also available as DIY kits (along with Heathkit, obviously).
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I didn't know that! It's funny, my father in law has two Sansuis, his and his father's.
 
trickyseven said:
I didn't know that! It's funny, my father in law has two Sansuis, his and his father's.
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You can always tell the ones that were purchased overseas (usually at the PX) because they are all multi voltage. Also, by the mid ‘70s, Sansui and Pioneer units sold overseas were black with silver knobs. Units shipped to North America by the manufacturers lacked multi voltage and were silver.
 
AnthonyI said:
I tread lightly in this thread, I've always loved vintage gear, but I know it's a rabbit hole I dare not step in to, lol. There's something about that Blueish-Green lighting that gets me, along with all the knobs.

One of these days I'll stumble onto a "looker" at GW or a garage/yard/estate sale and pick it up just to display :)
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I know a guy that went to his local Salvation Army (upstate NY) and saw they were using a McIntosh preamp on its side for a doorstop. He bought it for $10.

The next day (I shit you not) he goes back and the new doorstop was the matching McIntosh power amp. Another $10. Not kidding. They both worked.

This stuff never happens to me. The closest I ever came was 50-60 mint RCA Living Stereo albums- mint- for $2 each. I stepped out to hit the ATM (they wouldn’t take cards) and when I got back someone else was buying the lot. That sucked.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I know a guy that went to his local Salvation Army (upstate NY) and saw they were using a McIntosh preamp on its side for a doorstop. He bought it for $10.

The next day (I shit you not) he goes back and the new doorstop was the matching McIntosh power amp. Another $10. Not kidding. They both worked.

This stuff never happens to me. The closest I ever came was 50-60 mint RCA Living Stereo albums- mint- for $2 each. I stepped out to hit the ATM (they wouldn’t take cards) and when I got back someone else was buying the lot. That sucked.
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LOL, your not alone in the "This never happens to me" category. That's crazy though!
 
HiFi Guy said:
I know a guy that went to his local Salvation Army (upstate NY) and saw they were using a McIntosh preamp on its side for a doorstop. He bought it for $10.

The next day (I shit you not) he goes back and the new doorstop was the matching McIntosh power amp. Another $10. Not kidding. They both worked.

This stuff never happens to me. The closest I ever came was 50-60 mint RCA Living Stereo albums- mint- for $2 each. I stepped out to hit the ATM (they wouldn’t take cards) and when I got back someone else was buying the lot. That sucked.
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I think the location there is a big factor though. There’s probably more likely to be a stockbrokers widow cluelessly donating her dead husbands fancy amp to the equally clueless Salvation Army volunteers in say upstate NY than in a lot other parts of the country/world.

I also have no such luck 😂
 
HiFi Guy said:
I know a guy that went to his local Salvation Army (upstate NY) and saw they were using a McIntosh preamp on its side for a doorstop. He bought it for $10.

The next day (I shit you not) he goes back and the new doorstop was the matching McIntosh power amp. Another $10. Not kidding. They both worked.

This stuff never happens to me. The closest I ever came was 50-60 mint RCA Living Stereo albums- mint- for $2 each. I stepped out to hit the ATM (they wouldn’t take cards) and when I got back someone else was buying the lot. That sucked.
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My dad's got a couple of old Fisher monoblocks that we'd talked about refurbing, but it's...a lot of work.
 
trickyseven said:
I've been meaning to chime in on this thread. Below is my Kenwood KR 3130. I need to replace the lights behind the front, I love the look of old gear lit up. Once I do, I'll post another pic.

One of the phono inputs is bad, but it's on my list to A/B the one that works with my Mani. Radio works well, although it can't pull in my favorite jazz station.

View attachment 67563
Click to expand...
I had this exact unit as my very first stereo. Thank you for the memories!
 
There are a couple of local resellers on my FB market place that I've been watching for about a month and a half now, One has a Pioneer SX-737 for $450 and the price hasn't budged, Then another seller has a Reference 450R(Quadraflex) that started out at $225 but is currently $175. Same seller has a Yamaha CR-640 that was $385 but is currently $275. The Yamaha looks really sharp and it is tempting but I told myself that I wasn't going to spend anymore money on gear and focus on my end goal.
 
Ginormousthumbs said:
There are a couple of local resellers on my FB market place that I've been watching for about a month and a half now, One has a Pioneer SX-737 for $450 and the price hasn't budged, Then another seller has a Reference 450R(Quadraflex) that started out at $225 but is currently $175. Same seller has a Yamaha CR-640 that was $385 but is currently $275. The Yamaha looks really sharp and it is tempting but I told myself that I wasn't going to spend anymore money on gear and focus on my end goal.
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The Pioneer is a hard pass due to parts NLA.

Quadraflex was the house brand for Pacific Stereo. No idea who made it but there’s lots of love out there for them.

The Yamaha is a nice piece too and the one I’d buy.
 
HiFi Guy said:
The Pioneer is a hard pass due to parts NLA.

Quadraflex was the house brand for Pacific Stereo. No idea who made it but there’s lots of love out there for them.

The Yamaha is a nice piece too and the one I’d buy.
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If I were to buy, it would be the Yamaha. If it happens to drop to $200, I might pull the trigger.
 
Ginormousthumbs said:
If I were to buy, it would be the Yamaha. If it happens to drop to $200, I might pull the trigger.
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Do you have a local repair shop? This would be my number one factor in how and what to buy. As @HiFi Guy said the parts for these things are becoming scarce. My local repair guy echos every bit of advice that hifi guy has told me.
 
Satchmo2go said:
Do you have a local repair shop? This would be my number one factor in how and what to buy. As @HiFi Guy said the parts for these things are becoming scarce. My local repair guy echos every bit of advice that hifi guy has told me.
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I have 2 repair shops at my disposal If needed. One that I’ve been using for the past 5 years now. I haven’t had to sink too much money into the equipment that I do have, less than a handful of minor fixes over that time

I’m sure that both of my receivers could use a modern revitalization and for that I would take them to the second repair shop who i feel specializes in, but I’m not sure if I really want to spend that money right now.

At this point I’m not really looking to buy more vintage gear. Only and if the price is nice and it would be an upgrade to what I have. Although my wife would probably give me some grief if I did. 😊
 
Whats the overall consensus on vintage Sansui speakers? Specifically talking about the SP-7500x speakers.

It seems like most of the love Sansui gets as a brand is mostly specific to the receivers they made. Were their speakers outright bad, or just nothing to write home about?
 
Santi1392 said:
Whats the overall consensus on vintage Sansui speakers? Specifically talking about the SP-7500x speakers.

It seems like most of the love Sansui gets as a brand is mostly specific to the receivers they made. Were their speakers outright bad, or just nothing to write home about?
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With the exception of a few Yamaha and Pioneer models, most Japanese mass market speakers weren’t that good.
 
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