Vintage Stereo Gear

**PT800** · **02-20-08, 11:57 PM**

I've got an all '70's vintage system. A Yamaha direct drive tt connected to HK Citation 11 pre-amp and Citation 19 power amp. The speakers are JBL L212 sat/sub system, which was the first consumer available powered sub system.
But I upgraded the speakers by building new boxes that are mirror imaged, which provides a better soundstage. Plus I built new, high end cross overs. Couple-Charged XOs, the same type that JBL currently uses in their top of the line $60K Everest and $30K K2 speakers.
Building CC XOs really brings older speakers into the 21st century.

**jackfish** · **02-22-08, 10:25 AM**

PT800, have you had anything done to the Harmam Kardon components? Many of the Citation Elevens I've come across are pretty rough and need reconditioning.

**PT800** · **02-22-08, 04:31 PM**

Quote:

jackfish wrote:

PT800, have you had anything done to the Harmam Kardon components? Many of the Citation Elevens I've come across are pretty rough and need reconditioning.

I bought mine about a year ago, it had been a demo unit and had seen very little use, works and sounds great.

**xcapri79** · **06-08-08, 02:59 PM**

I have a pair of Technics SB-F3 speakers. They are vintage 1982-83. They are unique in that they have very good quality aluminum enclosures and were decent speakers in their time.

The horn tweeter has failed in one of them and I'm looking for a sutable replacement. They are mounted using 3 screws 120 degrees apart on a 3" diameter circle.

The horn tweeter has a part number EAS-7HH05SA, but I have been unable to track a replacement down. Can someone help me with this?

As long as the cost was reasonable, I would love to upgrade both speakers to be more equivalent to Polk LSi's since I think that they could make great rear surround speakers.

**lcaillo** · **06-08-08, 08:44 PM**

Quote:

xcapri79 wrote:

I have a pair of Technics SB-F3 speakers. They are vintage 1982-83. They are unique in that they have very good quality aluminum enclosures and were decent speakers in their time.

The horn tweeter has failed in one of them and I'm looking for a sutable replacement. They are mounted using 3 screws 120 degrees apart on a 3" diameter circle.

The horn tweeter has a part number EAS-7HH05SA, but I have been unable to track a replacement down. Can someone help me with this?

As long as the cost was reasonable, I would love to upgrade both speakers to be more equivalent to Polk LSi's since I think that they could make great rear surround speakers.

Look in this link for Orange County Speaker and The Speaker Exchange. These are two of the better places to look for speaker components for older speakers. If they don't have them they may know where to look.
http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...e-centers.html

**vintagerocks** · **06-22-08, 02:56 PM**

My bedroom system consists mostly of vintage Pioneer Silver era equipment. I use it for my alarm clock but it will rock out if need be.

SA-6800 Integrated Amplifier at 45w/ch
TX-6800 Tuner
CT-F900 Cassette Deck
PL-514 Turntable with Shure V15 Type IV Cartridge
HPM-40 Speakers (2nd generation)
DT-5 Audio Timer

I also acquired my fathers SX-650 receiver and HPM-40 speakers (1st generation)

My main system consists of some vintage Pioneer as well:
PD-M90X Reference CD Player
HPM-100 Speakers

The remainder of my main system consists of non vintage:
Emotiva RSP-1 preamp
Emotiva RPA-1 Power Amp
Pioneer Elite DV-47A DVD/SACD player
Carver TX-11A Tuner

So I guess you could say I still like and use vintage gear.

**premiumplus** · **12-22-08, 10:03 AM**

I've got all vintage stuff except for my CD player, a Pioneer DV-45.
Hafler DH 101 preamp (reconditioned)
Soundcraftsmen RP 22-12 EQ (reconditioned)
Phase Linear 400 Series I power amps (reconditioned)
Pioneer PL-71 turntable w/Shure M97eX (reconditioned)
2 Klipsch KG-4 (one PL 400 to drive them)
4 Realistic Optimus-7 loudspeakers(3 way floorstanding model from '74)..., driven with the other PL 400. Don't laugh until you hear them, I almost didn't hook up the Klipsches!
I have the speakers stacked with a pair of Opt-7's and a KG-4 on each side. Stands 7' tall, and sounds stunningly 3d.

I love my vintage stuff. Almost as much as I love reconditioning it!

**Sabby** · **12-22-08, 12:39 PM**

I use JBL Century L-100's in our theater area daily. Bought new more than 30 years ago. The Dual Turntable and Sony Reel to Reel have been retired but I still have them. The Marantz 2230 receiver still works and is used in the bedroom. It only has 30 Watts per channel but looks good.

**tonyvdb** · **12-22-08, 12:46 PM**

My parents still have their 1966 solid wood console stereo system in there living room that they still use daily, They have a CD player hooked up to the tape line input and the turntable still works under the lid however it spins to fast and there records sound funny but I have not figured out how to slow it down for them (I had it all apart once to see if there was some sort of internal adjustment but found none).

**Wayne A. Pflughaupt** · **12-23-08, 06:14 PM**

I still have the second stereo component I ever bought, a late 70s Marantz Model 1060 integrated amp. Rated for only 30 watts per channel but I'm sure it puts out a lot more than that. It's much heavier than you'd expect a 60-watt anything to be. It has pre-out and main in connections which have proved to be extremely useful over the years. I often use the amp section to power my bass guitar cabinet for home practicing. Right now I'm using it in a kind of "recording studio" I set up to transfer records and cassettes to CD, along with 90s vintage Pioneer three-head cassette deck and CD recorder. The turntable is a 1979 vintage Technics SL-3200 outfitted with a Shure V15 Type V-MR cartridge. It was the first and only turntable I've ever owned.

Regards,
Wayne

**imbeaujp** · **12-23-08, 11:07 PM**

Hello, I have the Yamaha NS-1000

and the Yamaha CA-1010.

Verry nices components to keep !

JP

**lcaillo** · **12-24-08, 03:45 PM**

The CA1010 and CA2010 were classic, as were the NS1000. Great stuff, and many of them are still out there working great.

**Pinhead-227** · **12-24-08, 04:50 PM**

Hi, this is my first post!

I have a pair of Sansui SP-3000 speakers doing stereo duty in my shop. Believe me, we need the volume and these speakers fit the bill quite nicely. They lack a little on the low-end but in a loud work environment the bass would be drowned out anyway. These speakers work perfectly. Driving them is a Panasonic SA-H82 Hi-Fi Audio System.

**rgk5** · **01-15-09, 06:53 AM**

I just acquired a mint Sherwood S7200 receiver and B+W DM23 speakers for the bedroom. Lovely!

**deacongreg** · **01-20-09, 03:05 PM**

Quote:

jackfish wrote:

Ok, who is still seduced by vintage audio? There are quite a few followers of the 1970s classics. Double Large Advents anyone?

WOW, I have not listened to those in years. Very good speakers. I got one for you, the old DC series CROWN amplifiers. I used to deejay with them, they were great. Also, Bob Carvers PHASE LINEAR amplifiers. More expensive, but wonderful.

**hrballenger** · **04-12-09, 08:04 PM**

My vintage gear is in use every day. I find I enjoy the sound of the old vintage stereo equipment much more than I do the newer equipment. My set up includes a Pioneer SG-9500, SR-303, RG-2, CT-F1250, a Teac A-4010GSL ( all rack-mounted ), a Pioneer SX-1980, pair of Pioneer HPM-150's, pair of Pioneer HPM-1100's, pair of Pioneer HPM-900's, a Sansui AU-111, a Technics SL-5100 with a Shure M95HE, a Teac A-4010S. Also have a midi set-up consisting of a Yamaha YPG-625, Korg Poly 800-II, Casio CT-640, Behringer Eurorack EB1204-Pro, Roland TR-505, Roland MPU-105, E-Magic midi-USB interface and a Pioneer A-5 for a monitor amp. I've owned and used all of this gear since new in the 60's and 70's, except for the more recently acquired midi stuff.

**deacongreg** · **04-13-09, 04:06 PM**

Quote:

hrballenger wrote:

My vintage gear is in use every day. I find I enjoy the sound of the old vintage stereo equipment much more than I do the newer equipment. My set up includes a Pioneer SG-9500, SR-303, RG-2, CT-F1250, a Teac A-4010GSL ( all rack-mounted ), a Pioneer SX-1980, pair of Pioneer HPM-150's, pair of Pioneer HPM-1100's, pair of Pioneer HPM-900's, a Sansui AU-111, a Technics SL-5100 with a Shure M95HE, a Teac A-4010S. Also have a midi set-up consisting of a Yamaha YPG-625, Korg Poly 800-II, Casio CT-640, Behringer Eurorack EB1204-Pro, Roland TR-505, Roland MPU-105, E-Magic midi-USB interface and a Pioneer A-5 for a monitor amp. I've owned and used all of this gear since new in the 60's and 70's, except for the more recently acquired midi stuff.

Real nice, real nice! Pioneer SX-1980, that one is really taking me back!!!!!!!!

**Xboxmastr14** · **07-14-09, 01:34 PM**

I have a pair of Sansui SP-X9000's that can still put on a great vintage performance. I mean c'mon! they are almost 3x as old as I am!

Nate

**xmas111** · **07-22-09, 07:52 PM**

Over the last year I've started building my two channel system back up.

I've had a set of Acoustic Research AR9 speaker since the early eighties when they first came out. I just finished re-foaming them and replacing all the caps in the crossover. I can't believe how good they sound again! Another thing I found that also made a huge improvement in the sound was putting them on a "Isolation Base". I got the idea on another forum where they were talking about isolation for speakers. They crank some serious bass!
Here's a link that shows the isolation bases. Isolation Bases

I replaced my Carver TFM 25 amp with two Carver TFM 45 amps. (Got the amps of the bay) I've sent one so far to Rita at Rita's Carver repair center for a tune up. Rita used to be the head technician at Bob Carver's Sunfire Company. Bob himself stops by the shop periodically and signs equipment that's in for repair. He signed mine! I'll be sending the other one back soon for a tune up too. Hopefully Bob will sign that one too. Each speaker is vertical bi-amped with a TFM 45. Plenty of power with these babies.

I also replaced my Carver C-4000 preamp with a Carver C-19 preamp. What a beautiful sounding piece of equipment. This preamp has TUBES in it.

I purchased a ReVox B77 tape recorder off the bay too. Had it refurbished by Jack at JM Technical Arts. He used to the head tech for the ReVox US division. I forgot how good tape sounds! (I used to have a A77 but like a dummy I gave it away years ago!)

I have a couple hundred LP's and bought a new turntable a few months ago. Technics SL-1210M5G. it's a beautiful looking turntable and sounds great. But to be honest it didn't have the sound I remember getting from my old AR XA turntable. So again I bought a AR XA turntable from the bay and just finished rebuilding it. ahhhhhh..... that's the sound I remember! This turntable is about as plain Jane as it gets! It's using a AT 440 MLa cartridge.

Sorry so being so long winded but I very excited about getting back into two channel sound! And just wanted to let you all know....

Attached a pic of my setup and the AR XA turntable.

**PT800** · **07-22-09, 08:10 PM**

Quote:

xmas111 wrote:

Over the last year I've started building my two channel system back up.

I've had a set of Acoustic Research AR9 speaker since the early eighties when they first came out. I just finished re-foaming them and replacing all the caps in the crossover. I can't believe how good they sound again! Another thing I found that also made a huge improvement in the sound was putting them on a "Isolation Base". I got the idea on another forum where they were talking about isolation for speakers. They crank some serious bass!

Yes replacing old caps makes a difference, but its even better to re-build all new Biased crossovers, which changes the crossover from class AB to Class A.

I can see where using those foam bases would help on a hard wood floor, much like using spikes on carpet, as I've done.

**deacongreg** · **07-23-09, 04:52 PM**

Quote:

xmas111 wrote:

Over the last year I've started building my two channel system back up.

I've had a set of Acoustic Research AR9 speaker since the early eighties when they first came out. I just finished re-foaming them and replacing all the caps in the crossover. I can't believe how good they sound again! Another thing I found that also made a huge improvement in the sound was putting them on a "Isolation Base". I got the idea on another forum where they were talking about isolation for speakers. They crank some serious bass!
Here's a link that shows the isolation bases. Isolation Bases

I replaced my Carver TFM 25 amp with two Carver TFM 45 amps. (Got the amps of the bay) I've sent one so far to Rita at Rita's Carver repair center for a tune up. Rita used to be the head technician at Bob Carver's Sunfire Company. Bob himself stops by the shop periodically and signs equipment that's in for repair. He signed mine! I'll be sending the other one back soon for a tune up too. Hopefully Bob will sign that one too. Each speaker is vertical bi-amped with a TFM 45. Plenty of power with these babies.

I also replaced my Carver C-4000 preamp with a Carver C-19 preamp. What a beautiful sounding piece of equipment. This preamp has TUBES in it.

I purchased a ReVox B77 tape recorder off the bay too. Had it refurbished by Jack at JM Technical Arts. He used to the head tech for the ReVox US division. I forgot how good tape sounds! (I used to have a A77 but like a dummy I gave it away years ago!)

I have a couple hundred LP's and bought a new turntable a few months ago. Technics SL-1210M5G. it's a beautiful looking turntable and sounds great. But to be honest it didn't have the sound I remember getting from my old AR XA turntable. So again I bought a AR XA turntable from the bay and just finished rebuilding it. ahhhhhh..... that's the sound I remember! This turntable is about as plain Jane as it gets! It's using a AT 440 MLa cartridge.

Sorry so being so long winded but I very excited about getting back into two channel sound! And just wanted to let you all know....

Attached a pic of my setup and the AR XA turntable.

What a great vintage system. AR9s I loved also. hugely inefficient, power hungry speakers, but when fed properly, very good dynamics

**xmas111** · **07-23-09, 06:04 PM**

Quote:

PT800 wrote:

Yes replacing old caps makes a difference, but its even better to re-build all new Biased crossovers, which changes the crossover from class AB to Class A.

I can see where using those foam bases would help on a hard wood floor, much like using spikes on carpet, as I've done.

I wasn't aware of biased crossovers and unfortunately I'm not going to be ripping them apart again anytime soon. Thanks for the idea PT800.....someday I might certainly try it.

Actually the isolation bases aren't foam. There two pieces of wood with roller bearings in between. I swear they have greatly improved the dynamics of the speakers.

Quote:

deacongreg wrote:

What a great vintage system. AR9s I loved also. hugely inefficient, power hungry speakers, but when fed properly, very good dynamics

deacongreg, you are right......AR9's can't get enough power! Using a TFM 45 vertically bi-amped for each speaker gives a total possible 1000 watts! 500 watts for the woofers and 500 watts for the uppers.

**deacongreg** · **07-27-09, 01:29 PM**

Quote:

xmas111 wrote:

I wasn't aware of biased crossovers and unfortunately I'm not going to be ripping them apart again anytime soon. Thanks for the idea PT800.....someday I might certainly try it.

Actually the isolation bases aren't foam. There two pieces of wood with roller bearings in between. I swear they have greatly improved the dynamics of the speakers.

deacongreg, you are right......AR9's can't get enough power! Using a TFM 45 vertically bi-amped for each speaker gives a total possible 1000 watts! 500 watts for the woofers and 500 watts for the uppers.

Thats what I`m talkng about, turn it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**rgk5** · **07-27-09, 09:23 PM**

In my bedroom I run a Sherwood S-7200 receiver driving a pair of B+W DM23 three way speakers. The source is a Onkyo R%1 Integra CD player.

**Seaxe** · **07-28-09, 08:58 AM**

G`day all. I have had,and still own many vintage (or near enough ) vintage hi fi components to warrant an post. Such things as two Ariston RDII turntables (in pieces,awaiting a rebuild ), a Denon DA-401 lightwieght tonearm,a Denon AU-401 moving coil transformer, and most (some ?), of a pair of John Bowers Active One speakers rebuilt as passives with Scanspeak drivers (sound sublime ). Also an Conrad Johnson PV-7 valve pre-amp ,an highly desirable Marantz DA-12 digital/anologue converter as well as JBL and Celestion speakers,the last of which reside in the homes of close relatives. Love the pleasure and passion these pieces of " old kit " have given over so many years.

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