I think it's important to distinguish between vintage items on eBay that have been refurbished (capacitors replaced, speakers reconed etc.) and items that have just been put up for auction by people who know little or nothing about what they're selling. The latter scenario might be good for someone who knows how to repair them but it's not so good for someone who doesn't (a bit like buying a fixer-upper property when you don't have the skills to renovate). IMO people who have the skills to repair these items and have a good reputation for it are worth their weight in gold.
I got myself a mid 70s Rotel amp and tuner a Marantz CD and Dual 721 turntable and TDL speakers and to me it sounds fantastic, cost about £700 all in, love it...
I've bought a Marantz 6000 se CDP and a Denon amp from eBay dealers and was pleased. For me it was nice to know they had been cleaned (pots etc), and the CD had a new tray and motor. I probably payed £50 over the average but at least they've had some sort of check-over. I was shocked at how good the CD sounded, compared to my older, cheaper Marantz 52. Now I'm wondering what to look out for as a possible future upgrade- all my seperates have been sub-£100.
I definitely like vintage hi fi , being born in 58,. You didn’t mention my personal favourite brand Sony. Always liked their equipment and I still use it today. Anyway great channel Ron
Another great video , think you are going to get a Sansui fan club going here , i bought a 331 Receiver recently , just replaced the blown bulbs and looks and sounds nice. On the lookout for more in the range at a reasonable price.
Many of the old speakers can be re-engineered not too expensively. One of the major problems with old speakers is the treble. One of the easiest fixes to greatly improve them at low cost are the endless clones of AUDAX AW010E1. I bought these eventually in bulk. I bought about 200 of them from Parts Express for 28 cents each and another 400 of them for 5 cents each. I use them in multiples for directed arrays. An equalizer helps too. You might have to replace old crossover caps. So if you are at all handy with a soldering iron, like to experiment and tinker many old speakers are very good values. Among my favorites I rescued for free was AR2ax. I prefer acoustic suspension woofers because IMO they are the best design. They go the lowest with the least distortion. KLH Model 17, 6, 5, and 12 are great values also. When you look at equipment, especially the newest equipment there is far less to them than you'd think. If you're not a cabinet maker or aren't too fussy you can reverse engineer most new speakers for about 5 to 10 percent of their retail cost. The current prices of audio equipment is stupid expensive for what you get. Personally I'd never by a ported speaker, a horn speaker, and electrostatic speaker, or any other panel speaker. No highs, no lows, it's Quad.
Pretty good advice though I would have touched on reliability as well, my experience is that 70's Japanese stuff will not only sound acceptable/very good but also last longer. I've put three NAD amps in the bin before I learned my lesson. I totally agree on the buy it now silliness on Ebay, buyer beware indeed.
I found an ERA Mk6 still with its SME3009 arm in a charity shop. It took a while to restore - lots of bits of the arm were missing or broken and the table needed a new belt. Now it's working, the sound is quite a surprise. It's not Quad ESL 57, type surprising, but it's amazing that people were hearing LPs with that amount of detail in 1974. So I don't doubt that some high quality UK hi-fi from that era must still be up to the job. Very difficult to hear any of it though. Makes this channel interesting.
Unfortunately the really good vintage gear fetches a high price and then you have to refurbish it (if it hasn't been done already) especially replacing the electrolytic capacitors. With loudspeakers you have to worry about the surrounds on the woofers and midrange drivers and the capacitors in the crossover.
I bought some wharfdale Lintons of eBay last month because I was curious how'd they'd sound because of their era and because they were a 3 way . Well they definitely sound vintage hehe , and I've enjoyed listening to them but now I've got the erge to change the paper cone tweeters for soft dome.
Own a top loading grundig stereo console. When you open the top there is a record player that can play 78 speed records with a flip around stylus. The am/fm tuner has well polished chrome knobs and a beautiful analog meters. The sound coming from this wooden box with legs sounds incredible. I thought I was listening to vacuum tubes but this is solid state.
You are a great wealth of knowledge In all things hi fi stuff my go too channel for all thing s HiFi I have only been into this stuff for 10 years now I learn a lot from your channel
Depends on your timeframe, and if you know what you want. Marantz PM40SE for £90 + postage? No, too much. But as no interest after 10 days, I offered £75 - accepted *and* got free postage! It's now with a friend, replaced a dead Creek amp. I wanted to refurb a Hitatchi HMA8500 power amp from 1984-ish. Looked at new PSU electrolytics - WOW! Turned out to be a refurb "buy it now" pre/power pair from Germany. I didn't haggle - what I wanted at a great price. My Revox B77 II is £2500(!); Thorens 125AB/SME plinth/SME 3009 about £2500. Linn/NAIM amp * refurnishment* for £10,000... There are bargains, auction and B-I-N - but you usually have to act quick.
Hello Kelvin..always wanted a great hi-fi system, but for some reason it was always out of reach. Would love to own a classic Sansui amp / receiver from 1970 to 75 era, as I am pretty sure I will get the wonderful bass and warmth I am looking for, in these digital clinical times. Going to get a new record deck soon (maybe Audio Technica) to play my old 70s rock albums on, as my 80s Techincs player is kaput and was never really very good...came in a package with a Technics hi-fi system. See how my ARCAM ALPHA 7R amp sounds. Then and only then, if it's not got that warm sound, the hunt is on for a great condition Sansui. If you have one for sale Kelvin..let me know!
What about Kenwood and Sherwood? I want a vintage reveiver to put some old speakers into but i really only want to spend a couple hundred or so. Suggestions?
From the U.K.Naim, Meridian and Audiolab also come to mind about the late 80's. Minimalist looks when compared to the 'fancy' stuff from Japan, but the sound was great. If you get your hands on one of these Kelvin, it might be worthwhile to do a comparisson between Japanese and UK vintage equipment. On 'visual' we already know the winner (lol!..) but on the sound aspect it will be interesting methinks.
spot on analysis if only I had a time machine and could live my life over again I would not have sold all the great hifi I once had for peanuts and bought newer stuff that wasn't as good and has since gone faulty and been thrown away now I look on ebay knowing what I once had and want again, but it's definitely ouchy pricey !
Just like vintage cars, values should always slowly rise after the 10-15 year mark however they will also fluctuate based on fashion. Over the last 10 years I've scored some incredible stuff for very little that's now worth a fortune but I've also paid top dollar for other gear that's now really not worth much at all but all in all I'm definitely ahead so not all is lost :) I disagree with you on Realistic gear though... most of the Realistic gear I've heard has been very good indeed. Definitely not worth its over-inflated original retail price but they did have some very decent gear in their range back in the 70s & 80s. Granted, they also had a lot of very dull stuff too :)
Ha ha - the killer punch at the end - "Teleton are the worst". My very first amplifier when I was 12 years old and I thought it was the bees' knees, coupled with my BSR Connoisseur turntable, and (I think) Wharfedale speakers. Terrible sound compared to today, but probably gave the most enjoyment because I had nothing to equate it with so I couldn't be disappointed.
I totally agree with Simon (Comment below). It is important to be aware of the 'working or non working' plus overall condition of the gear you are thinking of buying. 👀 My collection has gear from 1970s on, virtually ALL of my collection has been through repair / renovation beit minor to more substantial electronic/mechanical et If you are NOT so used to and have a pretty good idea of how some gear is put together then something that needs work doing on it can be seriously problematic. 👀 Sometimes it is almost impossible to rescue some gear. Parts no longer made, not available, too much modifications et needed? BUT! Horses for courses..👀 If I thought something discarded was worth a buck or two.. ? Often it was beit for repair / renovation OR simply spares et I'm an experienced electro mechanical whizz so an advantage to start with, many of you? 😗 Even when I have repaired / renovated gear and sold it on I sometimes make it clear that there are NO guarantees that it will continue working as something replaced could be fine but then something else goes wrong? 👀
I remember "Realistic" gear. All of it sounded like the treble knob was cranked to the max and then some. You are right, "Realistic" was definitely a misnomer for that company.
Great stuff, if only I’d kept hold of some of my vintage gear, strange how once worthless stuff is now back in vogue. How many people have skipped or tipped 70’s gear that would now be worth hundreds?
My Sansui came wrecked. The left handle was broken off. It goes in protection at once. Bad news. Not the seller but the post company. Have to send it back and get repaired and give it another try.
Could you elaborate a bit more on amps according to their regions of origin? For example: Japanese, comparisons of Pioneer, Denon etc....what do you think about Denon? What do you think about vintage Sherwood brand???
I tried to buy a Behringer DEQ2496 , used from eBay .... Prices were between £190 - £275. ... For USED items , no warranty.... NEW price is £249 from various authorised dealers ....
I need your opinion brother. I have a bunch of receivers I purchased in a lot. The real expensive pieces I don’t need. Those are a Marantz 4400, Luxman L-100 and Luxman C12 preamp. The other receivers are a huge Lafayette 5555, Pioneer SX-550, SX-838, Hardon/Kardon 330B two of those actually, Sansui 661 and Sony 7035. The Hardon/Kardon’s are small and look cool but the SX models get pretty good reviews. I’m also thinking the Sansui 661? What’s your thoughts? Thanks.
@@stereoreviewx : That’s the one I’m sure will be a keeper as well. I’ve been repairing and building guitar amps for almost 30 years now but stereo’s are not my thing so I found a guy but I’m going to double check his recommendations on the Marantz 4400. He says the strobe tuner needs to be replaced along with one complete channel of transistors and 5 or 6 various capacitors. He wants $375 to $400.00?
Really really interesting! what is your take on some of the JBL speakers, particularly on the 9311b. I know they were design for studios but I know they made the L100 for home listening. Thank you for your sharing you knowledge. Greeting from Texas USA!
So Realistic is Hitachi and Hitachi hifi is kinda mid road. But high end pioneer and high end Panasonic which is technicsa. And Akai amongst other Japanese brands are real good
Great advice! Where do you stand on Kenwood? I’m talking the 1970’s models obviously. I read that one of their designers went on to set up Accuphase, and so would you recommend any particular Kenwood models?
Stephen well I’m not super upon Kenwood I have heard them and they make a nice big retro sound maybe like pioneer it’s not my personal favourite but they’re up there .K
@@stereoreviewx Cheers Kelvin. A collector where I live has some very nice condition Kenwoods but I went for a Sansui 717 in the end, based on your recommendation. I like the way it can accept 3 pairs of speakers. Looking forward to hooking it up later. Great channel! Refreshing to hear someone who is not into the snake oil and nonsense of the modern audio world, but focused on the best possible sound.
Would you recommend the Sansui 441 over the 771? What speakers would you pair with? I currently have a Marantz 2226B paired with KLH SIX, but I’m looking for a warmer sound with clarity in the highs and mids, I welcome your thoughts
I probably would say the 441 I have the 771 also the 441 is just a tad nicer sounding Might depend on the size of your room or how much power you’re after
Just read your post. I would hang on to the 2226B and get rid of the KLH's. If you want warmth with clarity try 60's/70's Wharfedale 3 way systems. On a totally different question and for K to put in his notebook, The Wharfedale Melton has a dome tweeter, the so called "purple fried egg"! I have just fully refurbished a pair and they are just a tad "mid range" shy. The bigger brother, the Dovedale 3, is a really good 3 way and is a great match for the Marantz as I recently paired them. Nice!
@@andrevanstiphout Hello, thank you for your suggestion, I would like to know more about the Wharfdale. I purchased a Sansui 661 since my last post. I love this sound more than the Marantz, any suggestions on speakers?
Yes well I would be kind of guessing because I haven’t heard that one my instinct is to keep away from it only because the quadraphonic thing is liable to have over complicated it which is never a good idea for clean sound I notice some people won a ton of money for them I think it’s just dreamworld Cheers K
@@stereoreviewx Thanks for getting back to me. I own one. I bought on the used market from 200 bucks, from an old fella who couldn’t lift it anymore given it’s very heavy. In comparison to my marantz 2238b, it is far more dynamic and has good imaging in 2 channel stereo. But isn’t as detailed in the midrange as this marantz. That’s my take, thanks for your feedback
Okay interesting well thanks for telling me that I have the 2238BL I would say it has a bit of a mid range lift . You could always deoxit the pots yourself that normally does something noticeable plenty of UA-cam videos showing that I would watch three before I did it though K
Quick Question, I have some Dittion Carina DC6 Speakers. I cant find any information on them online. Do you know if they are any good? i hacve them hoked up to my cambridge audio amplifier they are very detailed and smooth but lack midrange.
are the sony's from the 70's worth it to you ? Their ES line was quite a thing if I recall. like ta-1130 (integrated) ta-3200 (power amp) str-7055 (receiver)
Marantz is way overpriced as of the past 5 years. I collect amp / tuner combo's now and let all my receivers go except one. JVC JR S300. Sounds and performs as well as almost every receiver Ive owned and can be had for a fraction of the cost. Very under rated. 4 gang tuner , 50wpc, great phono stage ,built in 5 band equalizer. I do agree that Sansui is the best. I owned a couple of Sansui Six's, and 7000"s. The 7000 is the cousin to the Eight and was only sold in military Px stores in the pacific in the early 70s. Costly but the best. The best receivers Ive owned. 1971-1972 production line. The best amp Ive owned is the AU 517. In a class of its own. The coolest piece is the TU 666 tuner. I had mine rebuilt and modded. As cool as it gets and sounds great.
When it comes to buying vintage components, I'm not ready to invest in a workbench, soldering iron, and testers. There's a lot of junk for sale. If I'm going to buy vintage, I want "serviced" or "maintained" with a 3-6 month guarantee. I'll pay a premium for that, because I don't want gear that is going to need new capacitors and LEDs.
Hi Scott truly I don’t know the answer to this I have the 881 which is good part of me thinks the QX range has so many switches and facilities You know signal path being simple is a winner so can’t really help you that much let me know how you get on. Cheers K
@@stereoreviewx that is helpful. I agree. Let me refine my ask now that I've done a ton more reading. It seems I can't go wrong with either the 881, Eight Deluxe or the 7070/8080/9090. Yes? :)
...I am in love with my recent 441 purchase. I spent hours de-oxiting and now playing music through it via BT. Bought an FM antenna. I'm 52. I feel like a kid again. I was an 80s teen. I'm reaching into the 70s Sansui world and it feels great to buy something my paper route couldn't afford me as a kid. I'm an audio engineer, a film/TV/advertising audio editor/mixer. My first love was a crystal radio and a small Panasonic am/fm transitor radio given to me for my 7th birthday. The love of the smell of the radio coming out of the box has never left me. So, I love your channel. Ty. :)
Hi Scott yes I would agree you won’t go wrong with any of those for sure not wrong anyway now I will say this the 441 is literally one of my favourite sounds it’s not so powerful but that doesn’t always mean much if you’re going to get one of those more powerful ones you’ll get The added weight the watch will give you but I’ll be interested to hear if it truly sounds better at low-level say that the 441 because my guess is it won’t . But don’t let me put you off I can’t get enough of Sansui amps and receivers let me know if you get it I’ll be very interested to hear what you think Cheers K
Hi Calvin! I got lucky and purchased a 7070 from ebay for $500 plus shipping. Couldn't be happier. Wonderful working condition, cleaned it up, deoxited. Just in love with the sound and it looks amazing. I bought history that still works! Its a great aesthetic. Added a bluetooth DAC and stream to it. Ahhhhhh. Keep the vids coming. Ty.
Hi Kevin well I bet that cost a pretty penny . You have sansui 221 right ,how about put some headphones on if you have and do a comparison with the pioneer . You know same song all flat controls ,tell us the difference would love to know . The pioneer of course is winner in the watts catagory .K
@@stereoreviewx The Pioneer is better. But the Sansui could use a tune-up. And its a bit of an unfair comparison. The Pioneer cost three times as much.
i HAVE OLD Sansui speakers sound is bad, cone tweeter can be good but is rear, JVC-Victor have some very good HiFi stuff, thurntable, speakers, headphones...
Hi, looking for help I have a sharpe SG 500 which I bought a few weeks ago and after setting it up I have a problem ... the Turner/ radio plays perfect regarding volume but the vinyl plays very quite, I have changed the cartridge/stylus but still the same, please help :)
Well I’ve got a say could be risky A lot of older Sansui receivers have very high price tags on nowadays but only a few of them really sound good as far as I’m aware.
@@stereoreviewx I’ve always enjoyed my 9700 but never loved the sound (I am infatuated with its appearance however). Massive power without the best fidelity. Perhaps I ask too much. The g9700 is circa 1979
You have pre Power separation on the back my guess is the power amp is the best thing of your Sansui if you can get a decent preamp you might get a result This is guesswork though K
11:12 Did I hear well: Trio (Kenwood) is no good?! 😂😂🤣🤣 Get yourself a Kenwood ka 8004 (or anything else from around that time)... then give me a shout. 😜😜
@@stereoreviewx Of course not the best... but one of the best! To be short, Kelvin you'd better put a nice "beep" on that section of the video when you say the word Trio.... Kenwood does not deserve to be put in that list of crap.... 😉😉 By the way, I miss your reviews... hope you will upload some new videos soon. Take care!
Well I had I think it’s called a 203 Teletón 203 and the gulf between that and the Sansui au 101 was truly quite big. Did you have a teleton or even presently have one .? K
@@stereoreviewx First had a SAQ206B in the early 70's, along with many students. It is surprising how good this amp sounds. I even ran it into 12" Tannoy Silvers that I inherited, people could not believe the sound from such a cheap little amp. I still have the amp. I also had a SAQ307 and a more powerful one, GA202, also quite good. I still have Radford STA25 III, Quad II's, Quad 405-2, Quad 303 and many other amps. Running 24 hours a day into Rogers LS3/6 is a Class D TPA3116 amp, pretty good, uses very little power.
Over 60 years of various MAKES / manufacturers of gear.. I would like to point out that virtually ever decade had excellent unforgettable to shockingly awful gear. Made worse over those decades by gear that literally failed, electrically or mechanically et after just 10 years.. 😗Don't fall into the delusion that old 'retro' gear was built to last.. it did last BUT often had some really bad failures.. From the FACT that many manufacturers (even worse today) shifted from one model to the next in a few years... thereafter NO requirement to keep spares et even drive belts, drive wheels et👀 Of course the penultimate curse was just HOW MUCH that tech at the time cost?
Hi Kelvin. Sonab audio stuff made in Sweden. I have pair linked to a Proton AI3000 in mint condition. BTW. I"m the guy who got the AU-217 and Kef Kit 2 speakers for a bargain price. Seller a genuine guy who built the speakers himself. Does the AU-217 fall in to the golden Sansui era ? Can send pictures if you're interested.
Yes the 217 is technically I think 1978 now I have to 317 which is definitely nice I also have the719 from the same range which I don’t really like I mean you do get this within ranges some are nicer than others. If the 317 and the217 are similar I Gotta say I like that sound. Interestingly the 441 sounds better than the 661 from 1972.K
@@stereoreviewx Hi! Your show is outstanding in every way 👍!!! Klipsch Lascalas and the 319 is great from no 1 to 3 notches up from no sound. Gotta recommendation for receiver or integrated amp as good sounding and won't run you out the house? Thank you for all you do!
eBay prices gone crazy now .... Used kef ls50 ALL asking over £500 ... New price is £549....and amazingly people are paying 500 for used ones .. People asking £100 for old rubbish.... Doesn't mean people will buy , but buy it now is ridiculous now... They just put on silly prices .. nothing sells .. eBay making billions £££ from all this stupidity
Utter Rubbish. Sorry to totally disagree with your wide-sweeping comment, as an electrical engineer of 45 hands-on years, I can assure you that in properly designed old or vintage audio gear that hasn't been thrashed to cause overheating & melting inside, Electrolytic Capacitors & less often bipolar capacitors are normally all you'll ever need to change to bring everything back in speck & most often only the 2 to 4 (& very rarely more) larger power-supply electrolytic capacitors. Their inner material can dry-up or expand & leak like an old or cheaply made 10 a quid pound-shop battery Speaker crossover indicators never drift from original spec & resistors hardly ever drift from spec & their caps just dont wear out like overheated thrashed amp caps can. As in all speaker x/overs, there is only Capacitance, resistance & inductance involved in all electrical passive or active electrical equipment, even computers, binary computer componentry is purely on or off hence pure resistance. But bear in mind, 1970 capacitors I've often worked with in all Quad valve amps were made by "Hunts" & rated at: " X microfarads or picofarads at +10% to -20% accuracy" printed clearly on their casing so even a little spec drifting has little to zero effect for putting things out of spec Those quad valve amps can still play fine & read within in spec now, from 63 years after they were first made & to 45 years since they were last made if their large power supply electrolytic caps are still ok. I"d change them now tho for modern e'caps with a lower ESR (internal resistance) but changing power'supply electrolytic caps is a good thing to do in very old gear amps even if the old ones are still in spec, doing so may make a good audible difference. Resistors hardly ever drift in spec (again, unless thrashed & slightly melted) even after decades & inductors ...never go off without melted primaries (they have no secondaries like transformers which can easily last 100 years in old radios.
I think it's important to distinguish between vintage items on eBay that have been refurbished (capacitors replaced, speakers reconed etc.) and items that have just been put up for auction by people who know little or nothing about what they're selling.
The latter scenario might be good for someone who knows how to repair them but it's not so good for someone who doesn't (a bit like buying a fixer-upper property when you don't have the skills to renovate). IMO people who have the skills to repair these items and have a good reputation for it are worth their weight in gold.
I got myself a mid 70s Rotel amp and tuner a Marantz CD and Dual 721 turntable and TDL speakers and to me it sounds fantastic, cost about £700 all in, love it...
I bought (via different eBay sellers) Sony separates amp/minidisc/cd/ tuner and paired with Auna floor standing speakers (
I've bought a Marantz 6000 se CDP and a Denon amp from eBay dealers and was pleased. For me it was nice to know they had been cleaned (pots etc), and the CD had a new tray and motor. I probably payed £50 over the average but at least they've had some sort of check-over. I was shocked at how good the CD sounded, compared to my older, cheaper Marantz 52. Now I'm wondering what to look out for as a possible future upgrade- all my seperates have been sub-£100.
I definitely like vintage hi fi , being born in 58,. You didn’t mention my personal favourite brand Sony. Always liked their equipment and I still use it today.
Anyway great channel
Ron
Another great video , think you are going to get a Sansui fan club going here , i bought a 331 Receiver recently , just replaced the blown bulbs and looks and sounds nice. On the lookout for more in the range at a reasonable price.
Many of the old speakers can be re-engineered not too expensively. One of the major problems with old speakers is the treble. One of the easiest fixes to greatly improve them at low cost are the endless clones of AUDAX AW010E1. I bought these eventually in bulk. I bought about 200 of them from Parts Express for 28 cents each and another 400 of them for 5 cents each. I use them in multiples for directed arrays. An equalizer helps too. You might have to replace old crossover caps. So if you are at all handy with a soldering iron, like to experiment and tinker many old speakers are very good values. Among my favorites I rescued for free was AR2ax. I prefer acoustic suspension woofers because IMO they are the best design. They go the lowest with the least distortion. KLH Model 17, 6, 5, and 12 are great values also. When you look at equipment, especially the newest equipment there is far less to them than you'd think. If you're not a cabinet maker or aren't too fussy you can reverse engineer most new speakers for about 5 to 10 percent of their retail cost. The current prices of audio equipment is stupid expensive for what you get. Personally I'd never by a ported speaker, a horn speaker, and electrostatic speaker, or any other panel speaker. No highs, no lows, it's Quad.
Pretty good advice though I would have touched on reliability as well, my experience is that 70's Japanese stuff will not only sound acceptable/very good but also last longer. I've put three NAD amps in the bin before I learned my lesson. I totally agree on the buy it now silliness on Ebay, buyer beware indeed.
I found an ERA Mk6 still with its SME3009 arm in a charity shop. It took a while to restore - lots of bits of the arm were missing or broken and the table needed a new belt. Now it's working, the sound is quite a surprise. It's not Quad ESL 57, type surprising, but it's amazing that people were hearing LPs with that amount of detail in 1974. So I don't doubt that some high quality UK hi-fi from that era must still be up to the job. Very difficult to hear any of it though. Makes this channel interesting.
One Panasonic that's actually quite good is the SL-H350 linear-tracking turntable, which is a rebadged Technics SL-3.
For the canadians like me, Canuck Audio Mart has some good sellers on there!
Unfortunately the really good vintage gear fetches a high price and then you have to refurbish it (if it hasn't been done already) especially replacing the electrolytic capacitors. With loudspeakers you have to worry about the surrounds on the woofers and midrange drivers and the capacitors in the crossover.
I bought some wharfdale Lintons of eBay last month because I was curious how'd they'd sound because of their era and because they were a 3 way .
Well they definitely sound vintage hehe , and I've enjoyed listening to them but now I've got the erge to change the paper cone tweeters for soft dome.
I had a pair of those. I thought they were great at the time. I really wanted Celestion Dittons though.
Own a top loading grundig stereo console. When you open the top there is a record player that can play 78 speed records with a flip around stylus. The am/fm tuner has well polished chrome knobs and a beautiful analog meters. The sound coming from this wooden box with legs sounds incredible. I thought I was listening to vacuum tubes but this is solid state.
Yes the funny thing is the reverberation of those wooden boxes can sometimes be a real plus
You are a great wealth of knowledge In all things hi fi stuff my go too channel for all thing s HiFi I have only been into this stuff for 10 years now I learn a lot from your channel
You're 100% correct on the buy it now Vs auction...it's ruined everything... Very few bargains now ... Most items way overpriced
Depends on your timeframe, and if you know what you want.
Marantz PM40SE for £90 + postage? No, too much. But as no interest after 10 days, I offered £75 - accepted *and* got free postage! It's now with a friend, replaced a dead Creek amp.
I wanted to refurb a Hitatchi HMA8500 power amp from 1984-ish. Looked at new PSU electrolytics - WOW! Turned out to be a refurb "buy it now" pre/power pair from Germany. I didn't haggle - what I wanted at a great price.
My Revox B77 II is £2500(!); Thorens 125AB/SME plinth/SME 3009 about £2500. Linn/NAIM amp * refurnishment* for £10,000...
There are bargains, auction and B-I-N - but you usually have to act quick.
@@joesharkey1021 Yes, I make offers whether they want them or not.
Hello Kelvin..always wanted a great hi-fi system, but for some reason it was always out of reach.
Would love to own a classic Sansui amp / receiver from 1970 to 75 era, as I am pretty sure I will get the wonderful bass and warmth I am looking for, in these digital clinical times.
Going to get a new record deck soon (maybe Audio Technica) to play my old 70s rock albums on, as my 80s Techincs player is kaput and was never really very good...came in a package with a Technics hi-fi system.
See how my ARCAM ALPHA 7R amp sounds.
Then and only then, if it's not got that warm sound, the hunt is on for a great condition Sansui.
If you have one for sale Kelvin..let me know!
What about Kenwood and Sherwood? I want a vintage reveiver to put some old speakers into but i really only want to spend a couple hundred or so.
Suggestions?
From the U.K.Naim, Meridian and Audiolab also come to mind about the late 80's.
Minimalist looks when compared to the 'fancy' stuff from Japan, but the sound was great.
If you get your hands on one of these Kelvin, it might be worthwhile to do a comparisson between Japanese and UK vintage equipment.
On 'visual' we already know the winner (lol!..) but on the sound aspect it will be interesting methinks.
Yes I have a name amp it is class in my head it’s a given that that makes you mention are good but maybe I should speak about it thanks K
spot on analysis
if only I had a time machine and could live my life over again
I would not have sold all the great hifi I once had for peanuts
and bought newer stuff that wasn't as good and has since gone faulty and been thrown away
now I look on ebay knowing what I once had and want again, but it's definitely ouchy pricey !
I always look things up with Hifishark.
Totally agree even old rubbish stuff is expensive on ebay nowadays . Mind you my turntable has gone up 20 times .
Just like vintage cars, values should always slowly rise after the 10-15 year mark however they will also fluctuate based on fashion. Over the last 10 years I've scored some incredible stuff for very little that's now worth a fortune but I've also paid top dollar for other gear that's now really not worth much at all but all in all I'm definitely ahead so not all is lost :) I disagree with you on Realistic gear though... most of the Realistic gear I've heard has been very good indeed. Definitely not worth its over-inflated original retail price but they did have some very decent gear in their range back in the 70s & 80s. Granted, they also had a lot of very dull stuff too :)
Yeah. For cars 15 years is the lowest point. Earlier if it had a lot of buzz when it came out
Still a lot of great bargains out there in the world of vintage Quad, even with Buy It Now.
I'm really interested in your view on Kenwood :)
Ha ha - the killer punch at the end - "Teleton are the worst". My very first amplifier when I was 12 years old and I thought it was the bees' knees, coupled with my BSR Connoisseur turntable, and (I think) Wharfedale speakers. Terrible sound compared to today, but probably gave the most enjoyment because I had nothing to equate it with so I couldn't be disappointed.
Yes the Teletón gave us something to improve on that’s for sure
I totally agree with Simon (Comment below). It is important to be aware of the 'working or non working' plus overall condition of the gear you are thinking of buying. 👀 My collection has gear from 1970s on, virtually ALL of my collection has been through repair / renovation beit minor to more substantial electronic/mechanical et If you are NOT so used to and have a pretty good idea of how some gear is put together then something that needs work doing on it can be seriously problematic. 👀 Sometimes it is almost impossible to rescue some gear. Parts no longer made, not available, too much modifications et needed? BUT! Horses for courses..👀 If I thought something discarded was worth a buck or two.. ? Often it was beit for repair / renovation OR simply spares et I'm an experienced electro mechanical whizz so an advantage to start with, many of you? 😗 Even when I have repaired / renovated gear and sold it on I sometimes make it clear that there are NO guarantees that it will continue working as something replaced could be fine but then something else goes wrong? 👀
Yes for sure Sam brands definitely last longer
The ones that didn’t were probably not even talking about
Thanks Ke(I) in, absolutely to the point, no time wasting when watching you.
Do you have any recommendations for standalone amp from the classic 70’s?
Well for classic 70s retro I’m always saying the same word Sansui
Another big factor that's driven up prices on eBay is their international shipping scheme!
I remember "Realistic" gear. All of it sounded like the treble knob was cranked to the max and then some. You are right, "Realistic" was definitely a misnomer for that company.
Yes strangely some people still say realistic was good I never heard anything good
Great stuff, if only I’d kept hold of some of my vintage gear, strange how once worthless stuff is now back in vogue. How many people have skipped or tipped 70’s gear that would now be worth hundreds?
I found a Thorens is 150 in a skip once
My Sansui came wrecked. The left handle was broken off. It goes in protection at once. Bad news. Not the seller but the post company. Have to send it back and get repaired and give it another try.
Could you elaborate a bit more on amps according to their regions of origin? For example: Japanese, comparisons of Pioneer, Denon etc....what do you think about Denon?
What do you think about vintage Sherwood brand???
Hi, Another great video. You should put a top ten list up for us punters who are on ebay
Japanese Akai amps from circa 1980 are the epitome of "real" sounding amplifiers. Whatever goes in, comes out, High damping, low distortion
Thanks interesting K
The brilliant sounding era of sansui is surprisingly short.
Thoughts on the Sansui 9090? 990 to you in UK I think? Do you have one to review? It’s right on your 1975 cutoff timeline...:)
My guess is it sounds just fine he has a good reputation .
My 1975 cut-off should may be a bit more blurry.K
I tried to buy a Behringer DEQ2496 , used from eBay .... Prices were between £190 - £275. ... For USED items , no warranty.... NEW price is £249 from various authorised dealers ....
I need your opinion brother. I have a bunch of receivers I purchased in a lot. The real expensive pieces I don’t need. Those are a Marantz 4400, Luxman L-100 and Luxman C12 preamp. The other receivers are a huge Lafayette 5555, Pioneer SX-550, SX-838, Hardon/Kardon 330B two of those actually, Sansui 661 and Sony 7035. The Hardon/Kardon’s are small and look cool but the SX models get pretty good reviews. I’m also thinking the Sansui 661? What’s your thoughts? Thanks.
Well that’s a lot of gear the standout one for me would be the Sansui which I would prefer to the pioneers I’m sure
@@stereoreviewx : That’s the one I’m sure will be a keeper as well. I’ve been repairing and building guitar amps for almost 30 years now but stereo’s are not my thing so I found a guy but I’m going to double check his recommendations on the Marantz 4400. He says the strobe tuner needs to be replaced along with one complete channel of transistors and 5 or 6 various capacitors. He wants $375 to $400.00?
Really really interesting! what is your take on some of the JBL speakers, particularly on the 9311b. I know they were design for studios but I know they made the L100 for home listening. Thank you for your sharing you knowledge. Greeting from Texas USA!
Hi Mario well I never had any big Jb l I’m afraid hopefully I’ll get my hands on some
Cheers from London
So Realistic is Hitachi and Hitachi hifi is kinda mid road. But high end pioneer and high end Panasonic which is technicsa. And Akai amongst other Japanese brands are real good
Great advice! Where do you stand on Kenwood? I’m talking the 1970’s models obviously. I read that one of their designers went on to set up Accuphase, and so would you recommend any particular Kenwood models?
Stephen well I’m not super upon Kenwood I have heard them and they make a nice big retro sound maybe like pioneer it’s not my personal favourite but they’re up there .K
@@stereoreviewx Cheers Kelvin. A collector where I live has some very nice condition Kenwoods but I went for a Sansui 717 in the end, based on your recommendation. I like the way it can accept 3 pairs of speakers. Looking forward to hooking it up later. Great channel! Refreshing to hear someone who is not into the snake oil and nonsense of the modern audio world, but focused on the best possible sound.
Pioneer HPM-100 mint they looked like they were just pulled out of the boxes ebay 300.00.
You just have to be patient.
Could you review the Quad ESL 57 speakers?
Would you recommend the Sansui 441 over the 771? What speakers would you pair with?
I currently have a Marantz 2226B paired with KLH SIX, but I’m looking for a warmer sound with clarity in the highs and mids, I welcome your thoughts
I probably would say the 441 I have the 771 also the 441 is just a tad nicer sounding
Might depend on the size of your room or how much power you’re after
@@stereoreviewx Thank you, I have a very small room, enough for 2 recliners and my hifi, any opinion on the KLH six?
Don’t rightly know them K
Just read your post. I would hang on to the 2226B and get rid of the KLH's. If you want warmth with clarity try 60's/70's Wharfedale 3 way systems.
On a totally different question and for K to put in his notebook, The Wharfedale Melton has a dome tweeter, the so called "purple fried egg"! I have just fully refurbished a pair and they are just a tad "mid range" shy. The bigger brother, the Dovedale 3, is a really good 3 way and is a great match for the Marantz as I recently paired them. Nice!
@@andrevanstiphout Hello, thank you for your suggestion, I would like to know more about the Wharfdale. I purchased a Sansui 661 since my last post. I love this sound more than the Marantz, any suggestions on speakers?
Love your channel! Have you heard the sansui quad 3500? If so, would you recommend a restoration on one.. what is your opinion on that model? Thanks
Yes well I would be kind of guessing because I haven’t heard that one my instinct is to keep away from it only because the quadraphonic thing is liable to have over complicated it which is never a good idea for clean sound
I notice some people won a ton of money for them I think it’s just dreamworld
Cheers K
@@stereoreviewx
Thanks for getting back to me. I own one. I bought on the used market from 200 bucks, from an old fella who couldn’t lift it anymore given it’s very heavy. In comparison to my marantz 2238b, it is far more dynamic and has good imaging in 2 channel stereo. But isn’t as detailed in the midrange as this marantz.
That’s my take, thanks for your feedback
Okay interesting well thanks for telling me that I have the 2238BL I would say it has a bit of a mid range lift .
You could always deoxit the pots yourself that normally does something noticeable plenty of UA-cam videos showing that I would watch three before I did it though
K
Quick Question, I have some Dittion Carina DC6 Speakers. I cant find any information on them online. Do you know if they are any good? i hacve them hoked up to my cambridge audio amplifier they are very detailed and smooth but lack midrange.
Hi got a chance of one of your receivers marantz one in vid £400 is that to much? Cheers
Could you review a Pioneer SX 780?
hi really enjoy to watch your channel.one question where can i buy sansui qr x-9001 really love it
you have to go hunting
Some people want crazy prices on eBay always private message a seller my give you a cheaper offer ☑️👌
are the sony's from the 70's worth it to you ? Their ES line was quite a thing if I recall. like ta-1130 (integrated) ta-3200 (power amp) str-7055 (receiver)
Put simply I would say yes
@@stereoreviewx thanks for reply
Hey bud, i have a marantz sr5600 from yr 2006 ...what opinions do you have and don't worry about hurting my feelings if its not good..
Well I don’t know it personally my guess is it’s okay but it ain’t great and I’m totally guessing
K
Marantz is way overpriced as of the past 5 years. I collect amp / tuner combo's now and let all my receivers go except one. JVC JR S300. Sounds and performs as well as almost every receiver Ive owned and can be had for a fraction of the cost. Very under rated. 4 gang tuner , 50wpc, great phono stage ,built in 5 band equalizer. I do agree that Sansui is the best. I owned a couple of Sansui Six's, and 7000"s. The 7000 is the cousin to the Eight and was only sold in military Px stores in the pacific in the early 70s. Costly but the best. The best receivers Ive owned. 1971-1972 production line. The best amp Ive owned is the AU 517. In a class of its own. The coolest piece is the TU 666 tuner. I had mine rebuilt and modded. As cool as it gets and sounds great.
Good info thank you I agree about Marantz mine cost £125 I mean part of it is they just look pretty incredible
K
When it comes to buying vintage components, I'm not ready to invest in a workbench, soldering iron, and testers. There's a lot of junk for sale. If I'm going to buy vintage, I want "serviced" or "maintained" with a 3-6 month guarantee. I'll pay a premium for that, because I don't want gear that is going to need new capacitors and LEDs.
Fair enough my friend
Hoping you respond. :) Sansui 881, QR4500, or QRX3500? I have the 441 now. Ty.
Hi Scott truly I don’t know the answer to this I have the 881 which is good part of me thinks the QX range has so many switches and facilities
You know signal path being simple is a winner so can’t really help you that much let me know how you get on.
Cheers K
@@stereoreviewx that is helpful. I agree. Let me refine my ask now that I've done a ton more reading. It seems I can't go wrong with either the 881, Eight Deluxe or the 7070/8080/9090. Yes? :)
...I am in love with my recent 441 purchase. I spent hours de-oxiting and now playing music through it via BT. Bought an FM antenna. I'm 52. I feel like a kid again. I was an 80s teen. I'm reaching into the 70s Sansui world and it feels great to buy something my paper route couldn't afford me as a kid. I'm an audio engineer, a film/TV/advertising audio editor/mixer. My first love was a crystal radio and a small Panasonic am/fm transitor radio given to me for my 7th birthday. The love of the smell of the radio coming out of the box has never left me. So, I love your channel. Ty. :)
Hi Scott yes I would agree you won’t go wrong with any of those for sure not wrong anyway now I will say this the 441 is literally one of my favourite sounds it’s not so powerful but that doesn’t always mean much if you’re going to get one of those more powerful ones you’ll get The added weight the watch will give you but I’ll be interested to hear if it truly sounds better at low-level say that the 441 because my guess is it won’t .
But don’t let me put you off I can’t get enough of Sansui amps and receivers let me know if you get it I’ll be very interested to hear what you think
Cheers K
Hi Calvin! I got lucky and purchased a 7070 from ebay for $500 plus shipping. Couldn't be happier. Wonderful working condition, cleaned it up, deoxited. Just in love with the sound and it looks amazing. I bought history that still works! Its a great aesthetic. Added a bluetooth DAC and stream to it. Ahhhhhh. Keep the vids coming. Ty.
Newest ebay scam is a cheap set of good sounding speakers and asking 300 ukp for having them sent to your home......
bought a Pioneer SX-1000TW amp yesterday mainly for its looks from my local dealer. I'm SORRY! It just looks so good!!
Hi Kevin well I bet that cost a pretty penny .
You have sansui 221 right ,how about put some headphones on if you have and do a comparison with the pioneer .
You know same song all flat controls ,tell us the difference would love to know .
The pioneer of course is winner in the watts catagory .K
@@stereoreviewx The Pioneer is better. But the Sansui could use a tune-up. And its a bit of an unfair comparison. The Pioneer cost three times as much.
@@stereoreviewx Ebay wants like $350 for it by my local guy sold it to me for $160.
How do you consider American speakers like early Klh , Advent and Ar brands?
Yes my experience really only goes to acoustic research which I certainly would rate not so much KLH and advents over here
i HAVE OLD Sansui speakers sound is bad, cone tweeter can be good but is rear, JVC-Victor have some very good HiFi stuff, thurntable, speakers, headphones...
Hi, looking for help I have a sharpe SG 500 which I bought a few weeks ago and after setting it up I have a problem ... the Turner/ radio plays perfect regarding volume but the vinyl plays very quite, I have changed the cartridge/stylus but still the same, please help :)
Are you definitely plugging into phono
handy video. thumbs up.
I’ve wondered if I should cash out on my sansui g9700 and buy a older sansui with less watts and for less money
Well I’ve got a say could be risky
A lot of older Sansui receivers have very high price tags on nowadays but only a few of them really sound good as far as I’m aware.
@@stereoreviewx I’ve always enjoyed my 9700 but never loved the sound (I am infatuated with its appearance however). Massive power without the best fidelity. Perhaps I ask too much. The g9700 is circa 1979
You have pre Power separation on the back my guess is the power amp is the best thing of your Sansui if you can get a decent preamp you might get a result
This is guesswork though
K
@@stereoreviewx thank you, never even thought of that
Go with 9090 / 8080/ 7070 db series. They do sound different. The newer 9900Z sounds like the G9700 / 8700.
Thank you Daniel Craig
11:12 Did I hear well: Trio (Kenwood) is no good?! 😂😂🤣🤣 Get yourself a Kenwood ka 8004 (or anything else from around that time)... then give me a shout. 😜😜
I mean I would put trio is similar to pioneer not bad but not the best truly I haven’t heard high end Kenwood or powerful Kenwood
@@stereoreviewx Of course not the best... but one of the best! To be short, Kelvin you'd better put a nice "beep" on that section of the video when you say the word Trio.... Kenwood does not deserve to be put in that list of crap.... 😉😉 By the way, I miss your reviews... hope you will upload some new videos soon. Take care!
Teleton amplifiers were made by Mitsubishi, and although inexpensive, were rather good.
Well I had I think it’s called a 203 Teletón 203 and the gulf between that and the Sansui au 101 was truly quite big.
Did you have a teleton or even presently have one .?
K
@@stereoreviewx First had a SAQ206B in the early 70's, along with many students. It is surprising how good this amp sounds. I even ran it into 12" Tannoy Silvers that I inherited, people could not believe the sound from such a cheap little amp. I still have the amp. I also had a SAQ307 and a more powerful one, GA202, also quite good. I still have Radford STA25 III, Quad II's, Quad 405-2, Quad 303 and many other amps. Running 24 hours a day into Rogers LS3/6 is a Class D TPA3116 amp, pretty good, uses very little power.
Over 60 years of various MAKES / manufacturers of gear.. I would like to point out that virtually ever decade had excellent unforgettable to shockingly awful gear. Made worse over those decades by gear that literally failed, electrically or mechanically et after just 10 years.. 😗Don't fall into the delusion that old 'retro' gear was built to last.. it did last BUT often had some really bad failures.. From the FACT that many manufacturers (even worse today) shifted from one model to the next in a few years... thereafter NO requirement to keep spares et even drive belts, drive wheels et👀 Of course the penultimate curse was just HOW MUCH that tech at the time cost?
You forgot Celestion
Sonab and Carlson are from Sweden
TELETON ......................my mother in law had one.
Hi Kelvin. Sonab audio stuff made in Sweden. I have pair linked to a Proton AI3000 in mint condition. BTW. I"m the guy who got the AU-217 and Kef Kit 2 speakers for a bargain price. Seller a genuine guy who built the speakers himself. Does the AU-217 fall in to the golden Sansui era ? Can send pictures if you're interested.
Yes the 217 is technically I think 1978 now I have to 317 which is definitely nice I also have the719 from the same range which I don’t really like I mean you do get this within ranges some are nicer than others.
If the 317 and the217 are similar I Gotta say I like that sound.
Interestingly the 441 sounds better than the 661 from 1972.K
@@stereoreviewx Hi! Your show is outstanding in every way 👍!!!
Klipsch Lascalas and the 319 is great from no 1 to 3 notches up from no sound.
Gotta recommendation for receiver or integrated amp as good sounding and won't run you out the house?
Thank you for all you do!
What? You don't use Mach ones lol
You have anything for sale
Not really thanks for asking
I got one name for you... AMSTRAD hahaha How horrible were those rhings????
lol you remind me of Alan Sugar
Top drawer as usual.
Hi turns-out you were completely wrong about the Sony 1010 well no one is perfect. no l don't own one .
Blame hipsters
😂🎉
And nostalgic boomers.
Regarding the increasing prices of vintage amps, I'm pretty sure your channel has'nt helped Kelvin 😉
It’s actually a 10 year plan I have for world domination
Funded by spiralling vintage hi-fi prices
eBay prices gone crazy now .... Used kef ls50 ALL asking over £500 ... New price is £549....and amazingly people are paying 500 for used ones .. People asking £100 for old rubbish.... Doesn't mean people will buy , but buy it now is ridiculous now... They just put on silly prices .. nothing sells .. eBay making billions £££ from all this stupidity
Yes I am hoping people will calm down when the word gets out that you’re just not going to sell them
Whats with all the commercials on this channel nowadays. Irritating as hell.
Older, vintage hifi is mostly so-so due to off spec parts and sounds either dark/muffled or bright. Buy newer!
Utter Rubbish. Sorry to totally disagree with your wide-sweeping comment, as an electrical engineer of 45 hands-on years, I can assure you that in properly designed old or vintage audio gear that hasn't been thrashed to cause overheating & melting inside, Electrolytic Capacitors & less often bipolar capacitors are normally all you'll ever need to change to bring everything back in speck & most often only the 2 to 4 (& very rarely more) larger power-supply electrolytic capacitors. Their inner material can dry-up or expand & leak like an old or cheaply made 10 a quid pound-shop battery
Speaker crossover indicators never drift from original spec & resistors hardly ever drift from spec & their caps just dont wear out like overheated thrashed amp caps can. As in all speaker x/overs, there is only Capacitance, resistance & inductance involved in all electrical passive or active electrical equipment, even computers, binary computer componentry is purely on or off hence pure resistance.
But bear in mind, 1970 capacitors I've often worked with in all Quad valve amps were made by "Hunts" & rated at: " X microfarads or picofarads at +10% to -20% accuracy" printed clearly on their casing so even a little spec drifting has little to zero effect for putting things out of spec
Those quad valve amps can still play fine & read within in spec now, from 63 years after they were first made & to 45 years since they were last made if their large power supply electrolytic caps are still ok. I"d change them now tho for modern e'caps with a lower ESR (internal resistance)
but changing power'supply electrolytic caps is a good thing to do in very old gear amps even if the old ones are still in spec, doing so may make a good audible difference. Resistors hardly ever drift in spec (again, unless thrashed & slightly melted) even after decades & inductors ...never go off without melted primaries (they have no secondaries like transformers which can easily last 100 years in old radios.