Everything you always wanted to know about VINTAGE AUDIO
Vložit
- čas přidán 8. 05. 2021
- Steve, Stereophile's Herb Reichert, and High-End Audio Auctions' Adam Wexler talk about vintage electronics, digital, turntables, and speakers. This is Part ONE, Part TWO is even better! Check it out • Vintage talk continues...
More about High-End Audio Auctions, www.highendaudioauctions.com
------------SUPPORT--------------
Thanks for watching, this channel can be supported through Patreon
/ audiophiliac
-----SUBSCRIBE--------
And ring the bell to be notified when each new episode posts!
/ @steveguttenbergaudiop...
----MERCH-------
Audiophiliac T-Shirts and Mugs! teespring.com/stores/audiophi...
Twitter: @AudiophiliacMan
Instagram and IGTV: / steve.guttenberg
#audiophile #highendaudio #vintageaudio
Looking for great sounding FREE, not compressed or processed music? Check out these videos about the two MA Recordings samplers:
• FREE Dynamically Uncom...
• FREE Hi-Resolution, Dy... - Zábava
Hi all, I'm 15 and I've recently fallen in love with hi-fi and look is a huge part of it for me. I like that it looks old and that I CANT just use my phone to connect up to it. It's all a part of the listening experience for me now. I just wanted to say love your page and I'm glad to be a part of the next generation to keep hifi alive!
Always keep your eyes open, you never know when you might come across a really great piece of ancient high end gear for a great price at a yard sale or goodwill store, or 2nd hand shop, all because the people selling it have no idea what it is really worth.
at the same age i got my first stereo, and some german guy´s burned a kenwood receiver ,that i never saw other again used because of it´s power conected to a lot of speakers ,i opened it, changed a fuse and told them "select 4 speakers or this will happen again and fast" because they saw me looking and messing with a grundig huge reel to reel deck ,they asked me if i wanted it and i couldn´t believe ,i changed a fuse and win a reel deck with good sound quality, then conected it to my pioneer receiver and pioneer turntable PL-43 if memory doesn´t fail me. After whenever a german guy that didn´t knew about hi-fi components i was called, normally jet fighter planes pilots under OTAN flag, they were german after WWII they couldn´t have a militar force in their country, that´s also how i got to be specialist in european hi-fi brands most of them from germany or netherlands ,not comparable with japanese brands ,a lot better not looking that good or minimalist, speakers were also good coming from England
Very nice. There are so many avenues in this hobby. Anything from vintage, to new to design to DIY. Don't be afraid to change direction once in a while
Used is when you find it at a garage sale and pay $20.00, and when you buy the same thing from a shop for $900.00, that’s vintage!
I will not call mine for vintage, but i did get them used for a bargain, in terms of it's asked price from new. I'm the proud owner of the French company Lavardin: C62/MAP (pre/Mono), which is a pretty expensive set from new, but i got them for a very fair price, so i guess you then can call it for vintage ;-) Mines are from the mid 00' s, so i wouldn't call them for vintage. Also i don't understand why people spend crazy amounts of money on 3+-40 year old stuff, as we all know that todays components are way better than the average you could get back in the days. If you just look at caps, you know what i mean ;-)
I have to compliment Steve on the recording. I was listening with headphones and noticed the great recording quality. It was much better than usual CZcams videos.
It warms my heart to know that vintage gear isn’t all ending in landfills.
Music to my ears. Cannot believe what I have acquired on route to electronic euthanasia. Pink display Superscope receiver in a DPW dump for example. Cleaned it up and passed it on to vintage stereophile. All functioning equipment can find a good home. I have no training, but fuses, solder and pre out-power in bridges are easily addressed.
25 years old and my pioneer sx-750 aint going anywhere
Which VINTAGE GEAR are you referring to? The VINTAGE components that WE, AVERAGE audiophiles buy DO end up in landfills or thrift shops. The gear that these experts are discussing, examples of which are on those shelves, are going for astronomical prices, working or not! This video seems to be aimed at the "high rollers", not your average audio enthusiast.
@@TheOzthewiz can anyone tell me where are those landfills?the better i could find in a landfill was a BMW steering gear for my bmw 2000 from late 60´s
Anything with an Art Dudley story attached to it is a piece of audio and HiFi history. He will never be forgotten. Art was truly one of a kind and was one of the best writers ever.
Steve just told the story I'm living - I just rebought the 1978 Marantz 1530 that was my first receiver I had when I was 14. Purely nostalgic purchase.
I loved, loved, loved that conversation. I think there is a real hunger for this kind of content ( horrible word ). Enthusiasts, experts, enthusiasts who are also experts, enthusiperts if you will,, talking about the things they love.
I could watch and listen all day. Great job.
Okay, maybe don't call them enthusiperts..
So many great videos here. This two parter happens to be in my top 10 favourites from this channel. Thanks again Audiophiliac!
I love vintage. I recap many pioneer and marantz receivers from the late 70s. they are works of art.
The pricetags for new highclass Hifi make me go for vintage Top-Gear. And in most cases, the results are stunning.
So are the prices if you are referring to the 'stuff" that's on those shelves behind the commentators! Have you checked ebay lately?
@@TheOzthewiz ebay crazy in the head
You need to do a whole lot more videos like this Steve. I’m loving it
Love vintage audio. Have bought, sold, traded, kept at least some components from each of the brands on the rack over last 30 years. Kept the Leben. The vintage stuff is also very visually attractive to me. This is one of the reasons I have the Marantz Esotec components, including st-8 tuner (in my mind the most beautiful tuner ever made). Beautiful knobs and switches. Oscilloscope with round window. Champagne faceplate. A lot of thought went into the design.
Loved watching this video. It could be an hour long. Great comments, great conversation, great stories, great banter, amazing system.
I have Mullards tubes in my Reisong Boyuu A10 tube amplifier. My parents met in the early 1960s when they both worked in the Mullards factory in Blackburn.
This is so great! I'm very nostalgic about the elegance of good audio get from the early to mid 80's.
the vintage car example hits the nail on the head. A lot of folks who either had a nice muscle car back n the day , or wanted one but couldnt afford it at the time are now older and able to buy that dream car. When I was younger , I lived in the local stereo stores and lusted for a Marantz or a giant Pioneer or Sansui receiver. I always ended up settling for something more affordable. Now ,years later I can afford those vintage pieces and find myself having a ball buying ,restoring and listening to these vintage pieces. Like that old muscle car, they wont outperform the new high end equipment , but it still performs very well and the pride of ownership is something that cant be discounted! Keep up the great work Steve!
The word vintage comes from the world of wines meaning an exceptionally good year for wines of the given region. So let's not forget age in itself will not make something vintage, it needs to be a desirable product, the cream of the old stuff.
Love Herb and the young 40 something with just 20 years experience in vintage gear experience. This and part 2 are good entertainment Steve, keep it coming. Love your work.
That has to be about the coolest audiophile chat I've seen on CZcams.
Everything behind them should be appreciated to the highest level. Thanks for the video.
Knob feel = one type of ASMR. Outstanding.
I have a vintage Pioneer amp from 1976, running a pair of Dynaudio speakers from the 2010’s. Best combo I have ever had. I feed it with the analogue sounding Rega DAC. Sounds simply amazing!
The best type is Steve videos!
I buy vintage because it’s generally built to last, can be more affordable, is simple, modifiable, and ‘fine design’.
To me vintage is gear that was around when I was growing up in the 60’s and 70’s and maybe a touch of the 80’s.
Agree
Excellent video love the content could listen to you guys all day very informative thanks
A superb 2 part series....loved it!!!
Good luck to all! I started with tubed Dynakits when all this vintage equipment was new. One delights in all of it!
1. sweet memories
2. affordable luxury from past times
3. annoyance about every months new hifi superlatives
4. DIY repairable for ever
5. sustainable
6. gratification about great sound from old gear
7. analog user interface rather more time in front of a computer
I have a couple of mid/late 70s integrated amps. and I really love them. There is some nostalgia involved, they are from the time when we were kids and use to go with friends from home to home to listen a new record and make cassette tapes copies. There is some history involved, about the brand, the models, etc. But mainly its their design, their quality and also their sound.
Do my vintage amps sound better than the nowadays equivalents? I bet not. But they sound the same or better than same priced modern electronics and without any doubt they have much higher quality materials and construction, way way better looking and design and feeling interaction.
Great video Steve!
Vintage = vinum demere. The year grape was harvested. This is relevant for those wines that age well. Vintage gear = gear worth ageing. Vintage is not about time, is about quality transcending time 🙂
YES
Also applies to architecture, industrial design, music, art....
@@christopher3963 absolutely true! Time makes so clear what stands out...
Too much fun! Thanks, Steve.
I'm glad you haven't edited this. Very funny, and engaging chat about vintage gear. As a car guy, I found the Camaro analogy especially relatable. I was born in '83, and I love 70s aesthetics the most. Be it cars, audio gear, and design in general. That's why I have a collection of 70s SS receivers. I just can't get enough of their looks, or the knob feel! I even like the smell. I like different things from the 80s too, but not audio gear. I'm talking aesthetically here. Everything from the 90s on is just 'used' to me, not vintage at all.
I have been teetering over into the obsessive range ever since my uncle traded me his Cornwalls 2 years ago. Thanks for all your videos!
Love vintage speakers. Like someone said knobs and switches on old school amps are cool. Vintage to me is the beginning of the Era of audio equipment 60s, 70s and early 80s. For example the first single CD player made by Technics with 18 bit.
I could listen to yous all day
Adam is so right on the fact that, some of us just love the story attacked to a specific product or brand. My love for Rega goes many many years back, and the story of the company and founder Roy Gandy, just keeps blowing my mind (i read the book) ;-) Also the many stories behind some of their products, like the first skeleton TT (RP8), to the newer top of the line TT' s. Those stories attached these products, i fell in love with many years ago, and therefor i'm sticking to this brand, when it comes to Turntable and carts. My amps has also a great story behind them, as they have a patent on their circuit design (memory distortion), and blew the world with their first release, the now legendary Lavardin IT intg. I own the top of the line set C62/MAP (pre/mono), and for me, these amps are my end game amps, so no need for worrying on that part :-) My next "end game" TT, has to be the Rega P10/Aphillion II combo, and then i'm almost there (LOL).
I love vintage speakers. They have such a unique "warm" sound. My OLA's, EPI'S, and Dynaco's are to me, priceless. BONUS - the real wood veneers and heaviness adds to the quality and nostalgia.
Vintage to me has always been about gear that has aged well and is highly desirable to any age group looking to listen and purchase.
Yup, I remember going to the store with my dad to check and replace vacuum tubes for the TV.
This was a real fun listen. Thanks!
Bought my stuff in 1978. Amplifier, tuner, turntable, speakers. All were just refurbished, shops offered me double what I paid new. Vintage? Just my stuff.
Just stumbled on this Steve. I guess I am antique! I was changing picture tubes in 1972 in Oakland! And installing 8 tracks at the same place. One of the things I have noticed with vintage equip is how it ages. I have had some that time mellowed. Initially bad reviews but early solid state did have a different sound. And some of the old equipment seemed to last forever. @ Examples I have an Empire 598Mk2 still going strong and a Marantz 1200b integrated , used with old Wharfedale wd90's so sweet! , keep up the great work!
Im vintage guy myself. I like my pioneer elite separates set. I like how it sounds but also how it looks, how knobs feel.
ahhh, the TACTILE KNOBS thing...you are an AUDIO NOSTALGIST. 😲😲😲
Are you familiar with the Pioneer Exclusive series as well?
@@asplmn i know about Exclusive. But its rare and exclusive were made only for Japan market so Its hard to get.
@@pioneernut7487 I purchased the Exclusive C3 & M4 and have gone through restoring the C3. I have an M22 and it's amazing. It seems the M22 may have been a "trickle down" from the M4. I think M22 came out afterwards, and they probably incorporated some enhancements from their learnings on the M4.
I just wish I had more info on the history of the exclusive series.
@@asplmn www.thevintageknob.org/pioneer-EXCLUSIVE.html. Did you look here?
Newly subscribed. We are of a similar age. I’m encouraged by how much energy and pleasant demeanor you possess. Good reminder we don’t all grow cranky😝. Oh and i do appreciate the audiophile info.
Steve, I really enjoyed this video. In my opinion, vintage is audio that is over 25 years old. I think that people buy vintage because of the quality and the look of older audio with the real wood sides and stainless steel front. I have all separate components, all Technics that I bought new in 1989 one piece at a time. It is used very day and it still works perfect, No issues at all
Really good video. Thanks for sharing
I’m a younger fella 27… I like most vintage receivers, especially sansui because they can be had at a bargain and sound better then any other affordable receiver, plus love the green lights! Also like vintage headphones from the 90s Sonys in particular!
Speaking from experience, I think nostalgia plays a big role in who might want to own vintage gear. It certainly does with me. I bought my first real audio gear in 1977, a Pioneer SX-1050. I used it for about 10-12 years when it was replaced by Quad electronics I imported from England. The Pioneer went into the closet in my spare bedroom because I couldn’t bear to part with it where it stayed for something around thirty years. Five years ago I invested in my first decent AV receiver for a second audio system supporting my big screen TV. I paid over $3000 for the AV receiver but I didn’t think its audio was all that great. I went to the closet and hauled out my old Pioneer and cabled the audio outs of all my video equipment into the Pioneer leaving the HDMI cables attached to the AV receiver and I rediscovered great audio. It didn’t hurt that my Pioneer’s beautiful vintage appearance looked fabulous. Half of my TV system’s gear qualifies as vintage (Pioneer Elite CLD-99 Laser Disc Player and a Panasonic VHS player) and the other half is modern (Oppo UDP-205 and Roku Ultra). I suppose my speakers would be considered vintage too. They are floor standing Spendors, Model FL-6 from the 90s. I think my TV system sounds fabulous.
I will add that my Pioneer was made in the late 70s during a period when the top manufacturers were in an “arms race” to outdo one another. They put their absolute best into their gear which is why it still can play today and sound so good. I’ve had my SX-1050 refurbished and it will no doubt still be playing when I am dead and gone.
Great interview Steve!
Very fruitful discussion, thanks!
I enjoy my Sansui AU717,SR636,TU717...all serviced and recapped. My Dad bought them new in 1978 and gave them to me over 20 years ago. They were vintage then, and sure are vintage today, and I love them to death. I have no doubt that I will finally pass them on to my son, like my Dad did.
Sui au 717 is my baby too. I love her so much. 🌚
I love my old Kenwood amp tuner KA7300 from the 70's still works great
Brilliant! Part two will have to wait until this afternoon, but I can't wait to see it! Thanks, Steve!
I recently purchased a Pioneer SX 780. Two reasons I bought this were it still has the original box and packing, and it just looked beautiful. The guy I bought it from got it at an estate sale and said it was tested. FedEx notified me that delivery has been delayed.
Anyways I’m hoping it’ll sound good paired with my Focal chorus v bookshelf speakers.
Great Conversation!.. As someone who just replaced 1990’, 2000 era mission speakers,Krell pre & carver amp with NAD M33 & Dynaudio Heritage speakers I can say the sound is better but still love to old stuff. I am still using 1990’s Pioneer PD-65 CD player as transport & the combo with the new components is excellent
Excellent discussion!
I hv collected many vintage hifi, amps before 1970s, and mostly tubes amp. I have kept them for more then 20 years. Last few years was serious stress time due to lock down.
Coming out of the lock down, i hv to re tune my emotion again...
Wonder how other vintage lovers feel?
Knob feel, the heft and liquid speed of a dial, is what initially turned me onto audio as a little kid.
Steve, I've heard you say, there is no "best Sound" if that true and fir the record I agree, then surely good quality vintage gear has its place on the spectrum of sound. It's simply what sounds great to you.
I do agree with the sentiment about the "young" vintage buyer looking for a great price-to-performance ratio and a quality of manufacture that you just can't get nowadays for a reasonable price.
For me it's mostly camera gear. I got into DSLR photography with an old Pentax K10D recently, and looked around for cheap but decent lenses, major advantage of Pentax is that they haven't changed their lens mount in 40 years or so.
And I just can't believe what you can get for 10-30€, all-metal built lenses, beautifully smooth zoom and clicky aperture, and they take great pictures as well! Modern lenses have their advantages, mostly autofocus and better image error corrections, but old ones have much more charme, and are perfect for someone only just starting out with photography as well due to the low price.
I found a sansui amp in the rain at the local dump. I cleaned it up and it works perfectly. From late 70s.
great videos Steve, thanks.
Thanks for watching!
Just got my first vintage speakers today, irony. Cant wait to get it cracking, some 1982 Onkyo Fusion S-61 speakers o.o
Nice!
Speakers I prefer new, but all my other gear is secondhand/vintage ( Yamaha, Dual, Oppo, Harman Kardon ) ... saved me a lot of money and I enjoy the sound.
With Vintage. I’m a watch collector and vintage in watches is anything over twenty years old but less than 100 years old. Anything 100 or over is regarded as Antique so that ML is now just into vintage going by that definition. I believe it’s similar for cars and motorbikes also.
I got into vintage audio by buying a tired HH Scott 299C
and rebuilding it. I hooked up my turntable and just fell
in love with t he sound. I now own several Scott amps
and receivers I have restored and units like
the 222C, 299C 210f, and 340 when brought back up
to original factory spec can rival the best of today's
tube audio. I also have a Jadis Defy 7 and to be frank, it
really does not sound that much better then the pair of
Scott 210F amplifiers. But, the thing is that you need to
know exactly how to properly refurbish these 60 or so year
old pieces of audio gear... Back then some of the best electrical engineers
worked in audio. Their goal was to produce equipment that
was as accurate as possible and when running a signal generator
through a properly restored Scott, the wave form looks as
good as anything made today on a scope...
Haptics = the "feel" of a switch or knob. And yes it matters!
Vintage to me means the best of a time, and that time can be now, especially if you use the term in the way that the wine business does. It all comes down to taste and how a product is appreciated after the initial marketing hype is long forgotten.
Vintage is when you can fix it, most of the Macintosh from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s you can fix. Same thing for most of other brands. Once we got into to digital age circuitry, it tough to replace a 100 pin chip that went bad.
When we were young we all had good stereos in our bedrooms. We all wanted the best but could not afford it. Now that our age group has disposable income we finally get to have the best from that era.
Disposable incme,really?
Vintage is all about perspective and the passing of time relative to each person. I feel old as I remembering reading about them mark levenson pieces when new. Back when madrgal labs was around and had a huge budget to design and build reference pieces like that. Even new levenson stuff isn't built like this. Back when baby levenson brand proceed existed. Proceed made some great gear for years that probably came a little to close to the more expensive mark levenson gear. More herb doing more vintage or used gear please! Fun to see how herb reacts to some of the gear he remembers. And herb needs to get a interview or 2 of the guy finding the vintage pioneer gear outside in the trash and restoring it. I'm sure this guy has more interesting finds to tell!
Loved this, Steve. Have you thought of doing a show on audio obsession within Asia, particularly in Japan? They seem to put everyone else to shame.
Great conversation... more like this, please. To me, something is collectible vintage not so much based on age (though it has to be old), but if it was the first of something or had an impact on the genre. The first Apple iPod for example is not that old but I would consider collectible vintage. I mean there are a million "old" turntables that are crap, but there are a few that stand out as important.
Awesome show.
Recording: binaural, very effective. Felt in the room!
One thing I didn’t hear discussed was analog and analog sound. That seems like it could be a dividing line defining what might be vintage from what is not.
Interesting, I’m listening to this video though an active Linn Kaber system from 1997, I’ve never really thought of it as vintage... but it’s a quarter of a century old!
listening to the music for 45 years
to me, comparing new and old gear is like going to the forrest
new gear = you see trees
vintage gear = you see forrest
back in 1980, i bought Acoustic Research AR17, love at first hearing, after that, heard a ton of speakers, and i always compared them to AR....conclusion, two years ago i bought AR9, top model, 40 years old, never ever heard speakers like that
Super nice!
Some lovely bits there.Realy lust after a Leben integrated,hiding behind Herbs back.Use a Croft integrated ,and swap over to a Sony es sometimes.Complete differance in sound.But both nice
Superb!
I think vintage is something that is older that is not made anymore in that form that people say still has some element of good quality. Any else is antique or just old.
Great stuff Steve. Would you please do one or several videos about modern playback of 78rpm records? There are many collectors. Clear Audio and Pro-ject are offering three speed turntables. Rega 78 is a dedicated single speed. There are numerous cartridge. What modern gear reproduces the most enjoyable quality sound. Oh, Music Hall has a phono pre with a mono setting...what's that?
Nostalgia is right! Steve, product reviews are essential, but when you sit down with people like Herb, Adam, and Nelson Pass, etc., and when Herb talks about the old Firehouse days, and the "triode club" days past, well, I feel like I'm sitting there with you all, and there's a doobie being passed around somewhere. Now that's enjoyable youtube. Also, I'd love to know if you and Herb knew Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg and any stories you both could relate. I believe it's coming on 20 years since his untimely passing.
Thanks so much, sure, we knew Harvey! Lots of good stories there, Herb and I will tackle them at some point
Darn you Steve. Instead of a great rainy Sunday morning vinyl jam session I watched yinz. Lol no regrets. Herb is awesome 😎. Greg
Thanks Greg, nice to hear your thoughts. Steve
My system only has one knob on it. The volume knob on my Kenwood KC-206 feels very smooth and reliable.
Another great interview! I find the notion of buying something like the 30.6 DAC used so interesting. Here you can have the finest expression of digital at a more affordable price. And it looks great. Also having the exact amp that the builder remembers building and supplying to Art is priceless. How can the latest nugget from China compete with that?
Side note... the audio on this interview was great. Herb is always saying he likes to know where the microphone was at a recording event. I'm watching this on an old Dell laptop and the voices of Herb and Adam come from their image, and Steve's voice is behind my right shoulder. Really added to the illusion of being there hanging out with my favorite Audiophiles.
Great video 👌
Accuphase is a highly underrated brand. Their amps, preamps, and digital front end from the late 1980's was always smooth and dynamic; bordering on tube-like performance...
Maybe in USA is underrated. But here in Europe we know that accuphase is bloody good. In USA people seems to love receivers over separates and accuphase didnt produce many receivers if any.
Certainly not underrated here in Japan. I've heard the retail price of Accuphase products are ridiculous and sometimes double the prices in Japan. This could be the reason behind.
always interesting videos , keep on making them, i would sugest if you know someone with a 70´s pioneer system, they were expensive and my father bought one(76) but after he bought a Revox system and gave the pioneer to me
I like the way vintage products look but I like the way new products operate.
I think the age thing is a very good point, since the perception of time depends heavily on the age of the person itself.
Lots of things to cover. But a major correction to multiple comments. While I was both a gear head, having actually rebuilt a car engine, and a Audio sales back in the '70's.
"Tuning" current car models is as much about tweaking using a PC. I can change timing, fuel mixture, acceleration curves, .... far more accurately and faster than ever. But yes there are still lots of physical modifications. With various programming and physical "stages of tune" I can take my A5 w/ a 2.0L @220HP and boost it to over 800HP! Raise/ lower ... change exhaust, ...
I bought a pair of speaker cables from highend auctions and love them!
Kingwa Audio-GD make the three separate PS for both analog chanels and a digital it´s regenerative also!
When CD players first came out they sounded very digital and harmonic distortion was a big problem. Somewhere in the 1990's, they started screwing up the rest of the system trying to fix the harmonic distortion problem. That's mostly fixed with better equipment that also costs more. Digital still has problems getting the music. The equipment that came out before digital screwed up hifi, is the vintage equipment.
Since 1970 i always had an Lafayette La224b amplifier..10 tubes... Not using it every day, but it sounds nicer...as the transistor types that came later...
Marantz. There: all done!
With very few audio salons in the area that I live at present how am I supposed to know for example if my Wadia model 830 sounds reasonably good in comparison to a transport currently in the $3000 to $5000 range. Or my Audio Research VT-100 Mk III Amp? My system is a combination of older (mostly 20 YO) and newer equipment and I think it sounds spectacular. My history is approximately 55 years of listening to high-quality audio equipment but without being able to hear the latest equipment how can I tell?
The recent sudden inflation in wood and lumber products to over 200% might likely begin to affect a rise in prices of contemporary speakers and maybe there might be a reaction of some consumers to (re)consider older or vintage speakers as a result. Some fine consumer speakers are already being made with cabinet designs that are minimal on build quality and might this inflation in prices will cause a reaction to build the boxes with even less emphasis on build quality? Might be interesting to watch how all this might even trickle down into speaker manufacturers.