Vintage electronics, now I've seen everything.

[Midpack]

Doing some decluttering and finally took apart our old stereo system, with the intent of throwing it all out. The 5-disc CD player is in the trash (worth $20-40). And the Advent speakers will go in the trash too.

But I looked on eBay and found Pioneer Stereo Receiver SX-750's like mine regularly sell for $100-180 after very active bidding! That's probably more than I paid for it around 1980! It's in excellent working and cosmetic shape, and I have the original manual, so I guess it'll go on eBay soon. It does weigh a ton compared to new electronics.

We're satisfied with our iPod and Bose dock - sadly our hearing ain't what it used to be. No idea what the appeal is with "vintage electronics," must be retro, amazing...

 

[rbmrtn]

That looks familiar ... I had an SX-6, just started flaking out last year so replaced it.

I had bought a whole pioneer setup back then, receiver, dual cassette tape deck, and PL-5 turntable. Still have it.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Midpack, you better hope you can get a couple hundred for it as it will cost about $100 to ship it.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Oh, Midpack, I miss mine so much! I posted to an old thread around here somewhere about when mine bit the dust, and the consensus was it wasn't worth fixing. But I miss it still! I did buy another, newer, cheaper, lighter-weight one a few years ago, but nothing compares to that dial spin action on the oldsters. Jealous of you--no way I'd sell that baby while it was still operational!

Mine was a Yamaha Natural Sound Receiver, but looked a lot like yours. http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/hfwr-and-other-audiophiles-33912.html

 

[Texas Proud]

My mom has mine... and has for over a decade...

It works great... the only problem is one of those orange lights burnt out years ago...

 

[Midpack]

Midpack, you better hope you can get a couple hundred for it as it will cost about $100 to ship it.

The ones on eBay all show $25-35 for shipping? And typically the buyer pays shipping on eBay anyway...

 

[Sue J]

Oh, I think we used to have one of those......

DH has sold many items like this on eBay. When you do the listing it will ask for the shipping weight and box size and the bidders can calculate the shipping cost.

Do you have a decent turntable? Those are very popular on eBay.

 

[eytonxav]

Back in the day, Advent made some pretty good speakers. I still have my Polk bookshelf speakers from the 60s, but got rid of an old Yamaha receiver at our last garage sale. Think I got $30 for it.

 

[Mulligan]

Back in the day, Advent made some pretty good speakers. I still have my Polk bookshelf speakers from the 60s, but got rid of an old Yamaha receiver at our last garage sale. Think I got $30 for it.

Though everything else is new, my Bose 301's from 1986 are still the main drivers of my theatre system. They sound and look great and will outlast me since my days of turning the volume level to max are long over.

 

[youbet]

No idea what the appeal is with "vintage electronics," must be retro, amazing...

Typically, the quality older receivers have much better specs for sensitivity and selectivity than the new ones, especially selectivity.

I use a KLH Model 71 (at least 35 yrs old) with a pre-amp and outdoor yagi antenna to listen to PBS stations from southern Wisconsin and from as far as 100 miles west and south of Chicago.

I have newer, high tier Kenwood and Onkyo tuners I listen to music with and they sound fabulous. But, their selectivity and ability to do weak signal work sucks. A mega-powered religious station, broadcasting on 90.1 MHz, whose antenna is only one mile from me covers up some of the distant PBS stations I like to tune in. With the old KLH, no problem!

 

[Tyro]

Though everything else is new, my Bose 301's from 1986 are still the main drivers of my theatre system. They sound and look great and will outlast me since my days of turning the volume level to max are long over.

Remember: If it's too old, you're too loud. (or something like that...)

We've got a pair of 301s from the '70s. Used them for years as sub-woofers for a pair of Klipsch Heresys. We'd be using them still if the fuse hadn't blown in one of them (and haven't been able to find a replacement). Speakers, unlike other stereo components, don't seem to go "out of date" as much.

I am a little surprised a Pioneer receiver would maintain value. At the time, they were reputed to have the largest advertising/promotion ratio, and hence, not as good as other brands. OTOH, their 2008 Kuro plasma HDTV is still revered as the best ever made.

I know several people who hold old (vacuum tube) McIntosh audio equipment as the pinnacle of sound. Has that changed?

 

[Nodak]

Vintage stereo equipment has a very good value. I have been offered way more for my old McIntosh equipment than what it cost new. It all still works well and is not for sale. The amp was recently re-furbished by Mc after 40 years of use.

 

[pb4uski]

The ones on eBay all show $25-35 for shipping? And typically the buyer pays shipping on eBay anyway...

A few years ago I sold a 19" CRT monitor on eBay with shipping at buyer's expense. It wasn't worth much, but I figured I would at least get something out of it.

Some guy from California won the bid and sent me an email asking me what it weighed. I weighed it and we were both surprised that it was going to cost him almost double his winning bid to ship it. I told him that was ridiculous and he didn't need to buy it if he didn't want to. He took me up on my offer.

 

[Keim]

It is not necessarily a retro thing, Midpack. In the case of your Pioneer it is a sound quality issue. As mentioned earlier, older electronics sometimes have better specs than newer. They are also made better. Point to point wiring vs circuit boards, better capacitors and MUCH better transformers (Thats why your old Pioneer is so heavy-those things were huge!).

For similar reasons, you will also see some audiophiles using tube gear. I use tube gear that looks alot like this:

Doing some decluttering and finally took apart our old stereo system, with the intent of throwing it all out. The 5-disc CD player is in the trash (worth $20-40). And the Advent speakers will go in the trash too.

But I looked on eBay and found Pioneer Stereo Receiver SX-750's like mine regularly sell for $100-180 after very active bidding! That's probably more than I paid for it around 1980! It's in excellent working and cosmetic shape, and I have the original manual, so I guess it'll go on eBay soon. It does weigh a ton compared to new electronics.

We're satisfied with our iPod and Bose dock - sadly our hearing ain't what it used to be. No idea what the appeal is with "vintage electronics," must be retro, amazing...

 

[HFWR]

Typically, the quality older receivers have much better specs for sensitivity and selectivity than the new ones, especially selectivity.

I use a KLH Model 71 (at least 35 yrs old) with a pre-amp and outdoor yagi antenna to listen to PBS stations from southern Wisconsin and from as far as 100 miles west and south of Chicago.

I have newer, high tier Kenwood and Onkyo tuners I listen to music with and they sound fabulous. But, their selectivity and ability to do weak signal work sucks. A mega-powered religious station, broadcasting on 90.1 MHz, whose antenna is only one mile from me covers up some of the distant PBS stations I like to tune in. With the old KLH, no problem!

Maybe the Almighty is trying to tell you something...

 

[ls99]

I have a Pioneer SX720. Driving a pair of Infinity speakers. Total cost from Craigslist some years ago $150.-. Love it.

Unfortunately Jazz in Pittsburgh has died, thus the tuner is useless. Do listen to jazz stations via interweb driving the system via aux input.

 

[smileydog]

I'm still hanging on to my old Marantz 1152dc with a pair of of Acoustic Research AR9's back from the early 70's. Several years ago I re-coned the speakers and they still sound great! With a little TLC these old units can perform well!

 

[bondi688]

Anyone heard of these speakers?
I bought them from a specialty stereo store a few years ago and they are in perfect shape, but they are just huge and so heavy that I am not looking forward to any move.
SDA SRS - Floorstanding | Polk Audio®

 

[Gumby]

I have a Pioneer SX720. Driving a pair of Infinity speakers. Total cost from Craigslist some years ago $150.-. Love it.

Unfortunately Jazz in Pittsburgh has died, thus the tuner is useless. Do listen to jazz stations via interweb driving the system via aux input.

In my garage, I have a Pioneer SX-626 receiver driving a pair of KLH Model 31 speakers. Got everything from the Goodwill for about $25 total. I just had to take the receiver apart, clean it up and replace one indicator lamp and two dial illumination lamps (the ones that look like fuses) and use contact leaner on the selector switch, and it was like new again. I think the system sounds great.

 

[ls99]

Had to do pretty similar on the SX720 + a little deoxit on the various pots and switches.

Jealous, you got it cheaper.

 

[imoldernu]

Probably off topic, but a stirred remembrance
My brother worked for Bose on Rte 128 outside Boston from the mid 1970'3 until the early 1980's. He was one of the creative group that devised the bookshelf speaker, and later on became head of the group that developed the earphone systems for the airlines and educational cubes (mobile training centers used around the world for many years).
In the late 70's he took me on a tour of the audio testing module that was much like a very large globe water tower, a hollow orb, filled with sound deadening materials hanging at all angles to stop any and all sound, keeping it from bouncing. In the very center of the 50 foot? globe was a single walkway to allow for speaker equipment to be tested in the center, with sensors at a hundred points on the interior globe wall.
Perhaps the eeriest feeling ever, to walk out on this skeleton ramp, talking to the other person, and not hearing your own voice.
We shared the evolving speakers and then the amplifiers for many years... sans the final cabinets. My old Cadillac SLS has a Bose system, and some days I'll sit in the car and listen to my Sarah Brightman collection. Wonderful sound.
Just gave away some of the large speakers this past year... (with cabinets).
We still have one of the very first transistor-only amps.
Memories... yeah... at my grandmothers house in the early 40's... she still had a cat's whisker radio.

 

[Gumby]

Had to do pretty similar on the SX720 + a little deoxit on the various pots and switches.

Jealous, you got it cheaper.

Those old walnut-cased, brushed aluminum face Pioneer receivers are built like battleships, aren't they? When I compare them it to the black plastic crap available today, I wonder what happened.

 

[Htown Harry]

Memories... yeah... at my grandmothers house in the early 40's... she still had a cat's whisker radio.

I'm youngernu, so I had to look that one up.Cat's-whisker detector - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Was your grandmother's radio a portable?

 

[Tyro]

.... a hollow orb, filled with sound deadening materials hanging at all angles to stop any and all sound, keeping it from bouncing. In the very center of the 50 foot? globe was a single walkway to allow for speaker equipment to be tested in the center, with sensors at a hundred points on the interior globe wall.

Visions of Cerebro/Cerebra...?

 

[Midpack]

Jeez, now youse guys are making me wonder if I should sell the SX-750 at all? But we use it about 2-3 times/year (hooked into the TV, but we only turn it on for some concerts or movies), so not sure what I'd do with it other than let it appreciate more in value.

Guess I shoulda kept the Dynaco (SCA-80?) I built from a kit in college before I upgraded to the Pioneer...