Vintage Stereo Receivers- That much better than average modern?

[SouthAustinite]

Hi! Sorry if this isn't posted in the right place.

For a few years now, I've been wanting to upgrade stereos in the same way I do guitar amps. The jump from solid state to tube sound was a life changing thing, so why would stereos be too different, although these are both solid state.

I'm looking at buying a 1974 Pioneer QX949 (.3%thd) to replace a Sony STDE197 (.7% thd). My main question being- to pretty decent ears, will the change in receivers be a noticeable improvement? I have decent Polk Monitor 10's to use. I understand there are many variables as with all questions like this, and am looking for a general, experienced answer.

 

[mikestearns]

I've always used that stuff mainly just because for the longest time you could find them super cheap in junk shops and they sound great and last a long time. It looks like people have caught on because now I always see them for a lot more money. The best I've found was an old Silvertone HiFi that was all tube, and it had an aux input so I could even run Bluetooth to it as well as my Roku and DVD player. That thing sounded incredible, but that was a girlfriend and a house ago...

 

[JeffBlue]

I love my Fisher 500C and my Altec Bolero 890C speakers. I have a room behind my garage specifically for listening to audiophile quality sound and plugging my guitars into my tube guitar amps. I'd say go vintage with NOS tubes and you will be on to something beautiful.

 

[suave eddie]

Speakers are the weakest link.

 

[slauson slim]

Older SS stereo receivers have a reputation for sounding smoother and mellower, and new receivers come with many bells and whistles - blue tooth, dolby, wifi - that make them more complex to operate. To some folks newer receivers can sound harsh. Plus there's the mojo of rarity, nostalgia and cork sniffing with the old stuff.

The Pioneer is a quad channel receiver and the sony is a modern A/V receiver. Quad never caught on generally.

For now I'd stick with the sony and look around for a quality older receiver. Issue is that now '70s receivers in good condition or recapped and re-furbed, especially the high wattage units, can command high prices. Lots of info on the 'net. Haunting garage sales, estate sales, flea markets and even CL may turn up a good receiver at a low price.

At present, however, Onkyo, Yamaha, Sony, Denon and others make good stereo receivers with the ability to stream, lots of inputs including phono and are good quality.

I have a brand new low price Denon A/V receiver in the living room for television and music, running in stereo not surround, and a '70s Marantz and a decade old Onkyo in the my garage pushing mid-'70s mid-level jbl speakers.

Tube receivers and audiophile equipment is a whole different discussion.

 

[tubelectron]

Vintage Stereo Receivers- That much better than average modern?

I can't tell about average modern, because I have none. But I wouldn't part with my Vintage ones, for sure ! I bought them for cheap when they where discarded for the rising Home-Cinema trend...

Some Marantz (4240, 2215, 2250B, the 2270 is missing on pics) :

Plus a Sony (under the 2250B below) :

But it's me, OK ?

 

[archetype]

Vintage Stereo Receivers- That much better than average modern?

I can't tell about average modern, because I have none. But I wouldn't part with my Vintage ones, for sure ! I bought them for cheap when they where discarded for the rising Home-Cinema trend...

Some Marantz (4240, 2215, 2250B, the 2270 is missing on pics) :

Plus a Sony (under the 2250B below) :

But it's me, OK ?

Those Marantz receivers sound good, and that's not faint praise. Their radio sections perform well and the receivers are laid out with discrete components that are readily replaceable. Repairable forever. I miss both models I had.

 

[jhundt]

no. But I like them much more...

 

[schmee]

The old Marantz and others are superb. A newer Cl D type will not sound the same, but will weigh 30# less!. The Marantz have HUGE output transistors in them.
I sold my gear a couple years ago, but man it's superb. (Marantz and JBL speakers)

The problem is that those old receivers are very expensive to repair and most all of them have an issue or two. They are super complicated to get apart and are layer upon layer of stuff.
There are sellers on Ebay and elsewhere who repair/rebuild and sell. Not cheap but reliable that way.

If you buy an vintage one be sure to check:
-Both channels continue to work after 10 mins or so.
- Noise in the pots etc.

 

[3-Chord-Genius]

I have an old NAD integrated stereo amp that a friend of mine opened up, and he shortened all of the excessive length of wire between components, and re-soldered everything with silver alloy solder.

We thought it sounded better, because of all that work. In reality, it didn't sound any different. I still have and use that amplifier. Somebody told me that powering amplifiers off and on over and over is rough on the components, so I've had it powered up continuously since around 1994. Well, with the obvious exception of occasional power outages, and moving to different houses. It stays powered up. In fact, it's a 220 volt unit, and it's been on a Radio Shack power converter the entire time, running on 110 volts.

 

[Bangdapoontwang]

Love the old Sansuis. Such a great sound.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stefanovich]

I am going to say no, but with a proviso. A new analogue receiver sounds good, just as the old ones did. The problem is they are hard to find. Most non-specialty places (i.e. electronics superstores) sell home theatre components and digital receivers. These do not sound musical to my ears and do not compare to a decent analogue stereo receiver. A reputable name-brand stereo analogue receiver from pretty much any era should sound decent. A LOT of these were sold in the 70s and 80s so there are a lot around.

That's my two cents...

 

[Dan Skammer]

i'm still listening to my Dynaco SCA 80 Q and a FM 5 tuner (kit) i bought in a small audio shop in North Jersey, circa '73-'74, with a pair of Dynaco A25's ...knock on wood..

 

[Hey_you]

I am looking too. 1 thing that stands out with me, lack of hands on controls in the "modern" receivers. I really need a monitor to navigate through "pages" just to alter the tone. HEY MANUFACTURES! Get a clue! I have a Denon with atmos technology.Its that new. I hate this machine with a passion!! It changes setting daily. It often changes to the net radio while I am watching a dvd. The sound is VERY loud when this happens. I also have been looking at the vintage equipment.

 

[Bulldoggio]

Last year I bought a 1964 Fisher 400, had my JBL 1011 woofers reconed, and man.... it's brought back the thrill of listening to music.

 

[Richie Cunningham]

The best thing you can do is trust your ears. There are all kinds of reasons why a piece of equipment should or shouldn’t sound good, but there’s only one thing that matters: Does it? Don’t commit without listening, or at least make sure there is a reasonable return policy. If you get around enough you’ll encounter gear that, at least on paper, should sound good but is actually terrible. Sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[DaddyG]

My Carver M-400 solid state cube amp just died early this year. Bought it in 1980-81 ( 200 watts per channel ), it has been great. I looked around for something to replace it, then found that I could get it rebuilt for just about the amount that I paid for it. Easy decision!

 

[Guitarteach]

No.. its the sound of nostalgia.

No mere mortal could differentiate the sound of modern separate amps from denon, sony, NAD, etc. from older gear doing the same job with same source and through same speakers.

Not every ‘modern’ amp has a digital interface either.. you can get plenty with simple physical knobs for source, tone and volume. Plenty of choice still.

i am a Cyrus and Denon user

 

[SouthAustinite]

Today I went ahead and picked up a Pioneer SX727. Plenty of power and a warm, crisp sound. I haven't heard this type of character for a long time, since being a kid at parent's parties. Definitely better than the Sony!

 

[Brian J.]

I love the old 70's stereo equipment the most modern piece of stereo gear I currently run is an early 1980's Oknyo CD player nothing looks as good as the old stainless and wood, used to be no one wanted the stuff but as has been mentioned the prices on the mid level and the high end stuff has gone up drastically over the last 10-15 years.