I had a roommate in college (1975), he had a complete Bang and Olufsen system. It was so beautiful! He flunked out, took his stereo with him. So I have lusted after B & O stuff ever since, but I never bought any of it. I also had a Marantz Quad receiver. Tried to get it fixed with multiple techs. Never worked right. I finally sold it on ebay "Not Working For Parts Only". Never looked back! Also good to warn people on the MCS stuff. I see it for sale locally all the time at cheap prices (mostly receivers). I wondered what the problem were. On turntables, I love my Pioneer PL-560, fully automatic. I have a Thorens TD125, hate that it doesn't even lift at the end of the record.
Truly enjoyed another episode. The B&O portion amused me. I ran into a guy's shop in Atlanta that worked on B&O, along with McIntosh, and he was very proud of the B&O units that he wound up with, after he told the customer what it would cost to fix. They took a pass, and of course, he "traded" them for something more affordable. Also, there is the in-fighting among automotive audio that is happening. Our 2022 Ford Edge has a B&O system in it, however the Lincoln Nautilus toutes Revel. Ford is the parent, but even they cannot focus on one brand. Makes no sense. Admittingly, B&O IS sculpture. Will wait for the next installment...Rip
I just got my Lloyds 8-track receiver back from restoration and upgrading and I bought it because of the HUGE silver faceplate and bright lights! Got a pair of vintage Technics speakers and an old automatic turntable and it sounds exactly like the stereo I had growing up, it is a lot of fun to listen to.
I can't speak for any of the MCS receivers because I've never owned or worked on one..... but for a real diamond in the rough check out the MCS 3865 Integrated amp! These were rebranded NEC AUA 8000s with 65watts/ch dual mono designs with completely independent power supplys for each channel. They will amaze you with the audiophile sound that they produce with a wide spacious open very musical presentation ! To boot they are very easy to work on! As for auto / auto lift turntables here's my list: Denon DP-62L, Sony PS-X600, Sony PS-X7, and Dual 1219!
My mom took me to j c penny and bought me a complete system. I was 14 and it's the best memory I have with my mother. We bought MCS because she had to use her credit card.
When I was a HS sophomore I craved music (1972) the louder the better. I had an opportunity to obtain through a friend an expensive entertainment cabinet for literally Pennie’s on the dollar. I presented this to my parents on a timely wedding anniversary and it looked lovely in the L.R. that was never used. Never understood that one but anyway my very patient father purchased an inexpensive stereo I don’t remember the brand and I used the LR everyday for the next 2 years. It remained a family joke for years to come. Beware a son bearing gifts.
We all kinda have a story like that. My first system was a mid 80's Fisher all-in-one unit I got for my birthday. Even as a tween I kinda thought it sounded like crap...but it was what I had so I made the best of it.
On the quad receivers that I own I mostly bought them because they were beautiful. I just run them in to channel mode. I love my Sansui QR 9001 and my Marantz 4400.
okay so I own a 1965 VW Bus and I'm a full time reseller who specializes in Audio Gear. I've been watching your videos for a few days now and have actually laughed out loud at some of your stuff because it hits home so much. I really enjoy the fact that we are on the same wavelength . Good stuff guys. Also I created a channel called VW Life, i stopped making the videos for it but I got it up to 40k subs before my departure. again, keep it up.
My first kit was a Heathkit AR 2020, i was in 7th grade and entered it as my sience fair item along with 4 speakers that i built. That was in 1978 and it's still going perfectly. For those who double stack Advents a quad amp or receiver is perfect. Anyway fum memories.
I'm old enough to remember the "Quadrophonic Revolution" in the early 70's. I had a subscription to Stereo Review at the time and they were all-in for it. I almost bought a Sansui add-on unit for a stereo receiver that provided a decoding preamp (Sansui used QS) and power for the two rear channel speakers. It connected via the pre-out/main-in loop that was so common in older receivers. My nephew has gotten into records and vintage hi-fi and the two receivers he had last time I asked were both quadrophonic. I gave him the one quad album I had (Poco - Crazy Eyes - SQ) but haven't been over to see his set-up yet. Hopefully it's serving him well. Pink Floyd traveled for a while with a Quadrophonic sound system with the instruments coming from all around.
@@skylabsaudio Ha. Yep. Quad sound was probably a mess for the people stuck in the nosebleed seats. You'd want to be near the soundman. At least it planted the seed in Pete Townsend's head to write Quadrophenia.
I was told that my Nakamichi TA-3A Stasis Receiver was a BEAR to work on and easy to overheat. Some boards were incredibly difficult to get to. I made an hi-fi tinkerer VERY happy by selling him the Nakamichi (it had "issues") and a B&O Beogram RX-2 turntable for less than $200 about a week before I downsized to smaller digs. He even gave me a little more than I was asking for them. I don't miss the Nakamichi.
I've got a Garrard SP25mkii with a Goldring cartridge. I love the sound and the look of such an old piece of equipment. Might not have all the bells and whistles of a more modern table, but auto return works great.
Favorite auto return turntable: Technics SL-D2. Sturdy, plays great, feels well made, easy to work on, and the arm will park itself and shut off the table at the end of the record.
I found that CD-4 records sounded very good (on a STEREO system with a good cartridge). The reason was, that the grooves had to contain modulation out into the ultrasonic range, which meant high audio frequencies were imprinted on the disk, very well.
This is like saying: doesn't matter what you like, what you should buy is what is easier for us to work on. On the other side of the coin, kudos to you for putting it clear: no problem if you like it, it's just that we will not repair it.
Yeah, not my intention at all. When you are in the business of selling your time, you just have to prioritize or you go out of business giving your time away. I am the last person to tell someone what they "should' like or buy. I was just trying to give a heads up to people that migh not know about these potential issues, as our repair shop is not alone with these problems. Thanks for watching.
As someone who sold stereo equipment 1978-1981 I have to agree with your comments here, despite the fact that I own two B&O turntables including the linear tracker. it is not so fun to replace the dust covers, as I'm sure you know. BTW, there is an inherent design flaw in the 4002 and similar dust covers. They can crack at the attachment point and become completely non-working. There is a place in Denmark that makes reproduction dust covers with an improved design. Not cheap, but well worth it in my view. I had the misfortune of trying to sell Marantz quadraphonic equipment when it was new. Glad that's over. And MCS? Don't even get me started.
Forgive me, i'm old school, but this modern effort to make stereo equipment small and invisible drives me nuts. I love to see components on the shelf with nice beautiful wooden speakers. Speakers were part of the furniture! and the recievers with awesome blue or green lights! and in live sound reinforcement i get bored with modern line arrays, i miss the old days PAs.
Yup, Alexia has come to.many homes with dinky ass spkrs. Hive me a 42 lb unit like an sx850 w 72.5 lb speakers from C Sl-15 a nice sg9500 Eq F21 tape deck. . . A system with a real WOW factor. .
I would also like to comment on the Sansui 9090DB receiver.... first off I don't know why people pay extra money for the DB units, considering the Dolby circuit is obsolete! Now you are correct in that the Dolby circuit could be used for tape recording and playback, but its main purpose was to decode Dolby FM broadcast . This was a new technology being promoted in the mid to late 70s but at least in my area never really took off, and the few stations that did broadcast in Dolby FM ceast doing so by the early 80's! My suggestion is get a non DB 9090 or 8080.... even better yet get a 7070.... less power but with almost same features as the bigger model's, same look including those power meters, and most importantly the same warm sound!
@danielknepper6884 If that's the case and I'm sure you're correct, then that should make them less expensive, but the DB models seem to go for way more money than the non DB 9090s and 8080s!
I think there's a reason the American market had a minor obsession with receiver's all through the 70s yet the Europeans went for separates. It isnt a good idea to have RF reception and amplification in the same box. That's all I'm saying.
New sub here from Omaha! Rega P3 with a Neo Power Supply is the best I’ve owned. Back in 2001 I owned a Pioneer linear tracking turntable which I sold. Fast forward to 2017 I bought a Uturn Orbit with a few upgrades and got a Schitt mani. Was a great beginner turntable until I ran until this Rega at a local brick and mortar shop
It was the Taiwanese built MCS receivers that were crap, like the one shown at 3:35. The NEC built Japanese models were much better. (40+ yr technician).
Still have my Luxman L-215 Integrated Amplifier from the mid. '80's. Also have my ADS 2 way bookshelf speakers. The Luxman power button doesn't click on positively, and the orange operating light foes not work.
I used to work in a movie theatre where the sound system.was powered by a Realistic 170wt amifier. It.was replaced in the early 90s with a Yamaha DSP 1000 theatre amp.
Hi Kevin, thanks for an other interesting video. I would like to comment on the B&O stuff. I agree with you but for slightly different reasons then you mention. Again, I think it is so interesting to see the difference between European and US standards. With B&O in my experience everything looks very familiar to the time I was doing electronics as kid. To the point where I remember having bought most of the electronic components exactly like that at my local electronics shop at some time. So if you have lived it, it is not so problematic. But I do agree with you and I do avoid most B&O stuff. The reason is that the whole point of B&O, even more so than normal vintage audio, is the industrial design. How nice it looks in your living room. Unfortunately the cosmetic stuff of B&O equipment, with exception to the early stuff that I will touch, is very delicate and perishable. So now you have two problems. First you have to get it to work properly. And then you have to try to restore the cabinet, dials and so forth. And that is often to much to deal with. Turntables are a particular pain because to the proprietary cartridges that you can often not even replace the needle of, your self. Also here with the exception early models with SP10, 12 and 14 cartridges, I stay clear of the B&O turntables. I do keep an eye out for them because they are worth a lot of money and it still happens you can get lucky with an early B&O turntable that sells way below its market value. PS, I am not sure if they where ever sold in the US, but the portable radios Beolit 707 and 505 are build exceptionally well, sound phenomenal and are a joy (no, better yet, areal treat) to work on. For that reason they also cost an arm and a leg over here in Europe.
I absolutely hate B and O equipment. In my teens, my high school bought a turntable amp and speakers. After the first amplifier burn out they got it fixed. I said to my teacher that they were lemons. Here endeth the lesson!
I have a degree in audio engineering and had a few "repair courses" as part of that curriculum. Then later with the help of UA-cam and audiokarma kinda flubbed my way thru my own gear. I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as most techs that service this stuff on a daily basis, but I can do "some" repairs. Someday maybe I'll have time to learn more, but right now my focus is on the daily operations of Skylabs. Is what it is.
In previous videos you talk about if you get a Pioneer receiver to change out the black legged transitors out. What years did Pioneer put them in their receivers ?
They are not unique to pioneer, you can find transistors with tarnished legs in Yamaha, Sansui, pioneer ECT. The pioneer x2x and x3x series have quite a few.
I suppose I could be miffed about you showing my 2 main receivers (9090DB & Sansui Q4500) that I love, but I'm not. I really don't care at all. Although you brought up some valid points on both, if they are both working great they are killer good units. I had my 9090DB fully restored a few years ago. I also just had my 4500 recapped & gone through & I couldn't be happier. I will however mention one other thing about the 9090DB that should be mentioned. They "do not" like speakers other than 8 ohm for long periods of time. Also, the reason I like the 4500 on occasion, is because of it's fun to use the concert hall setting for some recordings for a fuller soundstage & more live sound. Just my 2 cents. Be well.
My fav for auto-return is Denon DP-47F. Of course, it's auto-everything and has some impossible to get off the shelf parts. I have refurbished 2 of them and working on a third right now. Just love everything about them. Not super popular though.
I no longer drink the vintage tube kool aid. Vintage tubes are expensive because they are rare, not because they are better. If you goal is romantic and gooey, there are NOS and new tubes that sound like that. Cooler and bright? NOS and new. There is no reason to pay astronomical prices for WWII and 50's military tubes because they have this mythology and hype built around them.
Late 70s systems when they started using IC chips, like the Pioneer SX 780 and Yamaha CR 640. What do you do when you can't get authentic replacements?
No choice. You buy the new replacement kits or you put it on a shelf as a display peice. We have installed several of the kits and they sound really good, IMO. Thanks
I was given a Sansui qrx9001, no sound in left channel in 2 channel mode. all lights work . Only gets source in tape 2 input, not in aux. lot's of static. Not sure I want to sink a ton of $$ in it, only to have more problems down the line, however the sound I get from the right channel is very good. Suggestions?
... dump it, get a new amp. Yamaha and the Parts-Express Dayton Audio line have great entry level amps, that are under warranty, for less that what you would have to spend for a repair, and they will sound better AND have remote control. I hear this one channel thing ("sounds GREAT, just one channel missing") too often. You need BOTH channels, one is broken, toss it! New amps after about 2005 or so rock. The reason for vintage gear for about a 20 year period was simple. Amps/receivers made between about late 80s and early 2000s sounded terrible! Too much feedback muffled them. Newer amps did away with that, maybe due to the renaissance of simple tube amps, that opened people's ears again. Instead of looking at distortion figures on papers, they started listening again, and they heard what was missing. New amps are as good as vintage 70s gear again.
@@owenlaprath4135 I took the receiver to Adams Electronics in Huntington Beach California, paid $400 to service tech. he got it back to 95% full y working and replaced two meter lights , it's all good.
Avoid any receiver or integrated amplifier that uses STK modules. Some of the best brands started using these in the early 80's to produce lower priced gear. I turn them away from my shop because the replacements are unreliable or mismatched.
Have had the same issue with a couple "NOS" replacements- they are 90% bogus counterfeits, IMO. We have installed several of the new replacement stk0050 in sx780s and have worked great. Someone from Texas sell them on eBay for $60 each. Work great. Just fyi
When I first opened SX-680 and SX-780 for service, I was really surprised to find Pioneer already went with the STK audio modules for them in the 1970s. I was really expecting discrete output transistors on the heatsink and not a 'stereo amplifier module'. But the 680 and 780 have really good audio specifications, so I guess it did the job for the price.
Quad receivers all had versions of matrix.. MATRIX should have been adopted..and just for the record Dynaquad and soon hafler pseudo quad was used by many brands From polk sda and carver sonic holography
Hii Skylabs, i need information about marantz product. I'm interested to buy some vintage amplifier, and i see Marantz Standard Radio Corp SR A401AE, it's about 40w each channel, and I can't get any information of this amp, all i see in internet some people have same amp look and has same logo too, but its different series. Skylabs or anyone who know about this marantz standard radio corps I'll be glad to buy it if it's really marantz product.
i dont see how playin records reproduces a live performance. maybe for acoustic music. for electric music, maybe blastin it thru a mono PA would do that. but with acoustic music, you can reproduce the sounds made by the acoustic instruments themselves with an excellent recording and a bad ass stereo. at close range electric guitar is easy to replicate...but the sound of a live performance? eh, for electric music a decent stereo sounds way better. no comparison.
Bang Olufsen too pricey and let alone bazaar for me, more like a Tesla compared to a internal combustible engine car. Good call on MCS and they do sound bad in my opinion. DOLBY, I wish this was never invented. Quads, being a teenage from late 1970's, I love these things, but will never buy 1, rear speakers, there will always be 1 louder than the other, granted Dark Side of the Moon is interesting to hear on a good quad.
I worked for JCPenney in their design department as a design student when they were still in NYC. I did the front ends on a few 8 track tape players and recorders in the early 1970's. At that time the manufacturer of the internals would also use my drawings to make the JCPenney version of the product. That particular manufacturer was Matsushita, founder of the Panasonic and Technics brands we know today. I assume most of the electronics were bid out to Japanese companies due to their expertise in electronics and low price back then. If I wanted to rearrange the controls or change the basic functions I would get a visit from the corporate buyer and my boss who gently told me, "Hell NO". I remember trying to describe vapor honing to one of the Japanese engineers when I specified it on a drawing for the face plate and got a blank stare. That finish and a brushed finish became the classic look of the 1970's electronics business, but at JCPenney, fake woodgrain got the nod.
I like the educational information. Many people don't have the knowledge of how these equipment are built. I'm an electronic technician, and it's very important to inform potential buyers of these flaws. Especially when proprietary op-amp or ic, and for those who can't do the work themselves, what they're getting themselves into, like the receiver equiped with these infamous STK output pack, those who have the component glued with corrosive glue that eat up the legs of the transistors and others component, it's time consuming and if you can't do this yourself, it just doesn't worth it.
Videos like this are educational and very needed in the community. It seems that folks on youtube are sometimes afraid to call out products (vintage or not) and their inherent weaknesses and/or drawbacks.
B&O gear has gotten me all turned on, but I knew that I wasn't who they were built for. I knew I would be all alone and either end up with expensive unrepairables or run out of money getting them right. I think you nailed it on that score. The quadrophonic thing too. Solid advice on what to watch out for!
Think b & o and jbl are both owned by Harmon Kardin now. I know they build the upper line car audio for ford the last few years. My f-150 has an oval sub in back vented through the cab.
Agree regarding MCS. I worked as a technician in the late 70s in a shop contracted for warranty service by the local JC Penney. When it came to all but a very few specific models, it was, “If it’s working, enjoy! If it’s not, you better hope it’s under warranty.” Their best models (Matsushita-built) were OK, their worst items (GE-built TVs) were utterly horrible to work on.
MCS gear can be fun for techie-oriented hobbyists: they get to replace all the capacitors, resistors and most of the transistors. They also get to reflow all the solder joints and repair PC board cracks. Just avoid MCS gear new enough to have proprietary IC's and/or op-amps. Once you do all this, you do wind up with decent gear.
Their turntables (B&O) worked well with all my non B&O electronics gear and two of their models got me through the 1980's. But I knew that since they used their own proprietary cartridges and a volatile period was coming for LP's and turntables, I decided to move to Thorens and Linn, turntables that will accept a large range of cartridges. I think I unloaded mine at just the right time.
I've had my Technics SL D20 semi auto for... well forever... upgraded cartridge and its never let me down. Love it. Thanks for the great vid Kevin... another good one!
As far as MCS goes if it was made in Taiwan or you see the "matrix" output it's a POS. The NEC & Matsushita made stuff was okay. B&O gear is impossible to work on. It's a love hate with the brand. The brand you missed was LXI from Sears. The Sanyo built stuff was just okay but like MCS they used a few other sketchy manufacturers who built the gear for a low price point and it is utter junk. Even the Sanyo made stuff used plastic buttons and knobs.
@@skylabsaudio I've been flipping gear for years and there are just some makes and models I have learned the hard way on. I recently broke my cardinal rule about buying B&O receivers and of course it has issues and there's not a soul I know who will touch them. I once attempted to take apart a 1900 and found out the hard way that they were not designed to be taken apart.
Manual Table Kenwood KS-550.....This Granite composite monster sounds so good!! This table isolates itself so well, I never need to worry about heavy footfall interference! Plus it sounds Really Great! Best manual Table I've ever owned!! Thanks for your videos Kevin. Nice Work!!
Fascinating topic, even if I'm not in the market for any of the items you mentioned. I was fortunate to experience discrete quadrophonic sound in the form of 8-track. Pink Floyd's DSOM and Moody Blues' DOFP stick with me. While the wide-stereo panning used in quad mixes does sound gimmicky, you tend to hear things that are just buried in a regular stereo mix. Enjoyable? Yes. Realistic? Not usually.
I have had my Marantz SR-4240 “Quadrarail” for nearly 30 years. I absolutely LOVE how good it sounds! Some days I can get it up to half volume, and still sounds AWSOME!!
I have the Sansui 7070 , and NOTHING on the market today even comes close to the amazing sound of this unit . Mine is NOT for sale . Ever . And it was my dads .
*in the 1980s, Sears stereo components were a big seller in Canada - mainly due to the time payment (credit) that they extended. Not bad sounding. Not great but for the price...*
My vote for an auto return table is the Technics SLD2. I've had one since 1978 and it still works perfectly. My manual choice is the new Audio Technica AT-LP120.
I used that Linear tracking Technics table with an ADC cartridge before it was ADCOM. In high school I used it with my dad's kit built tube receiver and with a pair of mid level inexpensive but surprisingly good sounding 3 way Technics speakers it rocked out!
@@willyboyw.5771 I switched to the Ortofon Blue cart and stylus in my Audio Technica table and love it. And you're absolutely right, blue duct or painters tape matches that cats perfectly....good choice!
Drunk on silver face, ha! I think you picked the wrong car to compare to B&O repair. After the John Muir "How to Keep your Volkswagen Alive" book came out, everybody and anyone could work on a bug or a bus. Just ask any hippie! I will say that B&O 1300 receiver, what a beautiful work of art. Thanks for the video.
Many very good amplifiers and receivers used STK output packs. My Pioneer SX-650 receiver and Technics SU-G50 integrated amp have these audio output packs and both sound very good. However, if one of these should fail the replacement STK packs may be difficult or impossible to find. Amplifiers and receivers that use discrete audio output transistors would be a better choice for the long haul.
Amen … Had my Technics SA 400 rebuilt, One STK replaced, did something dumb (hooked it to a badly rebuilt speaker), burned it out. My tech replaced it but warned me he was saving his remaining stock for Pioneer.. Bought a Sansui 5000X recently as insurance. These STK packs on the market are often fakes. Techs who don’t know any better, or do and are jerks, will use the fakes. If you do own gear with these, make sure you don’t over load them or hook them up to “crap speakers someone rebuilt in his basement”. Kevin this might be a great video subject.
Re: the 70s Quad thing, there were some FM stations positioning around it. In Philly, 94.1 WYSP (now WIP-FM) made a big deal and used the slogan "Quad 94". You needed a decoder or Quad receiver. And the radio station transmitted the encoded Quad audio. The big problem was keeping all of that aligned on the transmisison side. Most times the Stereo broadcast (99% listened that way) was trashed by a loss of phase and the need to really compress the audio to fit it all in the FM bandwidth. I get a headache just recalling it! BUT, I guess if you bought some of the limited albums available in Quad and enjoyed that, it woukd be more impressive.
Great review! On another of your videos, you mentioned that the Marantz 2270 Owner's Manual states "use 16 gauge wire"; I was just looking at my Klipsch Heritage Owner's Manual (I own the Heresy III's) - the top of page 4 "Connecting Your Loudspeaker " states "Use 16 gauge, two conductor, copper wire at a minimum and larger gauge for longer runs". Most of the Heritage line has been in production since the 1950's, so this is an excellent point you made in reference to the cables. I use American made, pure copper, 14 gauge UL rated CL3, bare wire ends connected to my Sansui 5050, with excellent results.
Glad to say I knew most of the gotchas on this list such as Quad Receivers & the DB model Sansui's... I wanted a 9090 so bad ( settled for a 7070 ) but was only pulling the trigger if I found a non DB.. I aalso heard good things about some model B&O Speakers.. Found a pair of BeoVox 2600's locally which I never heard of and they looked familiar, They used a proprietary speaker plug but it can be cut off or adapted. Turns out they use an 8" version of the Seas drivers in the famous Dynaco A25s and usually fly under the radar.. May pick these up since they only want $50 and they are real wood veneer.
It is hard to decide on the favorite, unless we tried them. Me can go buy what I have and if I like them. Start with my Dads Pioneer SX626 receiver, Dual 1215S turntable w/Grado F1 cartridge, and DWD speakers from 1971. All still working and after some service sound great. My Realistic STA2700 receiver, Dual 1216 turntable w/Grado G1 cartridge , and speakers I put together from 1980-1982. I love these items. Never stopped playing them. I have add to mine and Dads stereo 8 more Duals (including a 1229) and a second STA2700. I just love everything here. I never experience many other products except when visiting friends. I still love mine more.
I have seen MCS go for astronomical prices - just because it was vintage. A couple of years ago, I acquired a Harmon/Kardon 50 quadrophonic receiver. I repaired the speaker terminals and section.
Another great video Kevin.... You're so spot-on on every topic that you cover... Great analogy on b&o... It's like buying a Ferrari, but nobody knows how to work on them except for Ferrari Auto technicians, so it's going to be really expensive to fix... Same reason why I stay away from anything that says rare, if it's rare, that means parts are going to be hard if not impossible to find... And unfortunately quadraphonics just never took on, because it's too specialized needing compatible components & media to utilize the 4 channels.. definitely not worth the money when a two-channel will play music beautifully for our 2 ears... Also true about MCS. I bought a MCS 8-track player to hook up to my home receiver back in the late 70s because it was cheap and because I didn't see any other manufacturer make one for a home stereo at the time..... Sorry for the long comment...
Alot of vintsge gear heads let their emotions (nostalgia) get in the way of their common sense. You see that all the the time, i bought a mcintosh mac1700 and an mc2500 (?!) and c26 pre amp .. It did absolutely nothing for me , i sold it at cost learned my lesson. 😂
New amps after about 2005 or so rock. The reason for vintage gear for about a 20 year period was simple. Amps/receivers made between about late 80s and early 2000s sounded terrible! Too much feedback muffled them. Newer amps did away with that, maybe due to the renaissance of simple tube amps, that opened people's ears again. Instead of looking at distortion figures on papers, they started listening again, and they heard what was missing. New amps are as good as vintage 70s gear again.
This is the show that made me subscribe to your channel, even though I've seen and liked what you've done before. This definitely does deserve to become a recurring topic. "Why or why not to buy?" This one and "Seven reasons you should get into vintage HiFi"
I had a roommate in college (1975), he had a complete Bang and Olufsen system. It was so beautiful! He flunked out, took his stereo with him. So I have lusted after B & O stuff ever since, but I never bought any of it. I also had a Marantz Quad receiver. Tried to get it fixed with multiple techs. Never worked right. I finally sold it on ebay "Not Working For Parts Only". Never looked back! Also good to warn people on the MCS stuff. I see it for sale locally all the time at cheap prices (mostly receivers). I wondered what the problem were. On turntables, I love my Pioneer PL-560, fully automatic. I have a Thorens TD125, hate that it doesn't even lift at the end of the record.
Truly enjoyed another episode. The B&O portion amused me. I ran into a guy's shop in Atlanta that worked on B&O, along with McIntosh, and he was very proud of the B&O units that he wound up with, after he told the customer what it would cost to fix. They took a pass, and of course, he "traded" them for something more affordable. Also, there is the in-fighting among automotive audio that is happening. Our 2022 Ford Edge has a B&O system in it, however the Lincoln Nautilus toutes Revel. Ford is the parent, but even they cannot focus on one brand. Makes no sense. Admittingly, B&O IS sculpture. Will wait for the next installment...Rip
Thanks, Rip!
I just got my Lloyds 8-track receiver back from restoration and upgrading and I bought it because of the HUGE silver faceplate and bright lights! Got a pair of vintage Technics speakers and an old automatic turntable and it sounds exactly like the stereo I had growing up, it is a lot of fun to listen to.
Very nice!
I can't speak for any of the MCS receivers because I've never owned or worked on one..... but for a real diamond in the rough check out the MCS 3865 Integrated amp! These were rebranded NEC AUA 8000s with 65watts/ch dual mono designs with completely independent power supplys for each channel. They will amaze you with the audiophile sound that they produce with a wide spacious open very musical presentation ! To boot they are very easy to work on! As for auto / auto lift turntables here's my list: Denon DP-62L, Sony PS-X600, Sony PS-X7, and Dual 1219!
Thank you! I have never heard or worked on a 3865, but I believe you. Some of the really questionable MCS pieces really do sound pretty dang good.
@skylabsaudio No service manual for this MCS either, but fortunately, there's one the NEC AUA 8000, which is the exact same unit!
My mom took me to j c penny and bought me a complete system. I was 14 and it's the best memory I have with my mother. We bought MCS because she had to use her credit card.
Great memory- my first stereo was a Soundesign I got for Christmas- was a complete POS, but was my world and I loved that damn thing
Gold man 😊
When I was a HS sophomore I craved music (1972) the louder the better. I had an opportunity to obtain through a friend an expensive entertainment cabinet for literally Pennie’s on the dollar. I presented this to my parents on a timely wedding anniversary and it looked lovely in the L.R. that was never used. Never understood that one but anyway my very patient father purchased an inexpensive stereo I don’t remember the brand and I used the LR everyday for the next 2 years. It remained a family joke for years to come. Beware a son bearing gifts.
We all kinda have a story like that. My first system was a mid 80's Fisher all-in-one unit I got for my birthday. Even as a tween I kinda thought it sounded like crap...but it was what I had so I made the best of it.
fly now. What year was that?
Favorite semi-auto turntable: Pioneer PL-55D. Used that one while in college.
Still worked fine when I moved back home. That says a lot.
Today I have Wilson Audio with pass amps. Lin table and about 1000 records. rock on.
On the quad receivers that I own I mostly bought them because they were beautiful. I just run them in to channel mode. I love my Sansui QR 9001 and my Marantz 4400.
okay so I own a 1965 VW Bus and I'm a full time reseller who specializes in Audio Gear. I've been watching your videos for a few days now and have actually laughed out loud at some of your stuff because it hits home so much. I really enjoy the fact that we are on the same wavelength . Good stuff guys. Also I created a channel called VW Life, i stopped making the videos for it but I got it up to 40k subs before my departure. again, keep it up.
I have a Kenwood KD 5033A that was completely serviced when I got it and I love it. Works every time sounds great.
I like your honesty I'd rather that . Than someone pushing what they like. Some people today can't handle criticism.
My first kit was a Heathkit AR 2020, i was in 7th grade and entered it as my sience fair item along with 4 speakers that i built. That was in 1978 and it's still going perfectly.
For those who double stack Advents a quad amp or receiver is perfect. Anyway fum memories.
Exactly right about B&O. I have one of those "sliderules" seen at 16:18. One of the few tuners to change frequency by with the dial pointer itself.
I'm old enough to remember the "Quadrophonic Revolution" in the early 70's. I had a subscription to Stereo Review at the time and they were all-in for it. I almost bought a Sansui add-on unit for a stereo receiver that provided a decoding preamp (Sansui used QS) and power for the two rear channel speakers. It connected via the pre-out/main-in loop that was so common in older receivers.
My nephew has gotten into records and vintage hi-fi and the two receivers he had last time I asked were both quadrophonic. I gave him the one quad album I had (Poco - Crazy Eyes - SQ) but haven't been over to see his set-up yet. Hopefully it's serving him well.
Pink Floyd traveled for a while with a Quadrophonic sound system with the instruments coming from all around.
Pink Floyd is a band quad could make sense for. The Ramones? Not so much
@@skylabsaudio Ha. Yep. Quad sound was probably a mess for the people stuck in the nosebleed seats. You'd want to be near the soundman.
At least it planted the seed in Pete Townsend's head to write Quadrophenia.
@@skylabsaudio The Ramones probably would have just preferred if each member of the band could have his own corner of the room. Dysfunctional quad.
I was told that my Nakamichi TA-3A Stasis Receiver was a BEAR to work on and easy to overheat. Some boards were incredibly difficult to get to. I made an hi-fi tinkerer VERY happy by selling him the Nakamichi (it had "issues") and a B&O Beogram RX-2 turntable for less than $200 about a week before I downsized to smaller digs. He even gave me a little more than I was asking for them. I don't miss the Nakamichi.
I've got a Garrard SP25mkii with a Goldring cartridge. I love the sound and the look of such an old piece of equipment. Might not have all the bells and whistles of a more modern table, but auto return works great.
Favorite auto return turntable: Technics SL-D2. Sturdy, plays great, feels well made, easy to work on, and the arm will park itself and shut off the table at the end of the record.
I found that CD-4 records sounded very good (on a STEREO system with a good cartridge). The reason was, that the grooves had to contain modulation out into the ultrasonic range, which meant high audio frequencies were imprinted on the disk, very well.
I have a B&O RX-2 Turn table that I really enjoyed; unfortunately it is time to scrap it because I cannot get it serviced. No more B&o for me.
I picked up a Montgomery ward 450 it was made by Sanyo it rocks and the quality is the same as a pioneer
This is like saying: doesn't matter what you like, what you should buy is what is easier for us to work on.
On the other side of the coin, kudos to you for putting it clear: no problem if you like it, it's just that we will not repair it.
Yeah, not my intention at all. When you are in the business of selling your time, you just have to prioritize or you go out of business giving your time away. I am the last person to tell someone what they "should' like or buy. I was just trying to give a heads up to people that migh not know about these potential issues, as our repair shop is not alone with these problems. Thanks for watching.
@@skylabsaudio fair enough for me. Thank you for your answer!
As someone who sold stereo equipment 1978-1981 I have to agree with your comments here, despite the fact that I own two B&O turntables including the linear tracker. it is not so fun to replace the dust covers, as I'm sure you know. BTW, there is an inherent design flaw in the 4002 and similar dust covers. They can crack at the attachment point and become completely non-working. There is a place in Denmark that makes reproduction dust covers with an improved design. Not cheap, but well worth it in my view.
I had the misfortune of trying to sell Marantz quadraphonic equipment when it was new. Glad that's over. And MCS? Don't even get me started.
Forgive me, i'm old school, but this modern effort to make stereo equipment small and invisible drives me nuts. I love to see components on the shelf with nice beautiful wooden speakers. Speakers were part of the furniture! and the recievers with awesome blue or green lights! and in live sound reinforcement i get bored with modern line arrays, i miss the old days PAs.
Yup, Alexia has come to.many homes with dinky ass spkrs.
Hive me a 42 lb unit like an sx850 w 72.5 lb speakers from C Sl-15 a nice sg9500 Eq F21 tape deck. . . A system with a real WOW factor.
.
Yup got a pair of magnavox gotta weigh in like 60 or more
lb. W a Kenwood 6600 rcvr or SX850...ur 2 thumbs up.
A great pair of OHM H's an SG9500 Eq an SX850 is a great core system.
I would also like to comment on the Sansui 9090DB receiver.... first off I don't know why people pay extra money for the DB units, considering the Dolby circuit is obsolete! Now you are correct in that the Dolby circuit could be used for tape recording and playback, but its main purpose was to decode Dolby FM broadcast . This was a new technology being promoted in the mid to late 70s but at least in my area never really took off, and the few stations that did broadcast in Dolby FM ceast doing so by the early 80's! My suggestion is get a non DB 9090 or 8080.... even better yet get a 7070.... less power but with almost same features as the bigger model's, same look including those power meters, and most importantly the same warm sound!
Agree. would take a 9090 or 8080 over the DB version any day of the week. Could care less about the extra 15 WPC the DB versions have
I don't think it's the Dolby function that attracts people to the 90 90db it's just that 9090db were built way more than the 9090 was
@danielknepper6884 If that's the case and I'm sure you're correct, then that should make them less expensive, but the DB models seem to go for way more money than the non DB 9090s and 8080s!
Great presentation
Thank you!
I think there's a reason the American market had a minor obsession with receiver's all through the 70s yet the Europeans went for separates. It isnt a good idea to have RF reception and amplification in the same box. That's all I'm saying.
New sub here from Omaha!
Rega P3 with a Neo Power Supply is the best I’ve owned. Back in 2001 I owned a Pioneer linear tracking turntable which I sold. Fast forward to 2017 I bought a Uturn Orbit with a few upgrades and got a Schitt mani. Was a great beginner turntable until I ran until this Rega at a local brick and mortar shop
It was the Taiwanese built MCS receivers that were crap, like the one shown at 3:35. The NEC built Japanese models were much better. (40+ yr technician).
My sister had that same MCS 3253 receiver 2:33 back in the early 80's. Not bad, but not great either.
Still have my Luxman L-215 Integrated Amplifier from the mid. '80's.
Also have my ADS 2 way bookshelf speakers.
The Luxman power button doesn't click on positively, and the orange operating light foes not work.
I used to work in a movie theatre where the sound system.was powered by a Realistic 170wt amifier.
It.was replaced in the early 90s with a Yamaha DSP 1000 theatre amp.
Hi Kevin, thanks for an other interesting video. I would like to comment on the B&O stuff. I agree with you but for slightly different reasons then you mention. Again, I think it is so interesting to see the difference between European and US standards. With B&O in my experience everything looks very familiar to the time I was doing electronics as kid. To the point where I remember having bought most of the electronic components exactly like that at my local electronics shop at some time. So if you have lived it, it is not so problematic. But I do agree with you and I do avoid most B&O stuff. The reason is that the whole point of B&O, even more so than normal vintage audio, is the industrial design. How nice it looks in your living room. Unfortunately the cosmetic stuff of B&O equipment, with exception to the early stuff that I will touch, is very delicate and perishable. So now you have two problems. First you have to get it to work properly. And then you have to try to restore the cabinet, dials and so forth. And that is often to much to deal with. Turntables are a particular pain because to the proprietary cartridges that you can often not even replace the needle of, your self. Also here with the exception early models with SP10, 12 and 14 cartridges, I stay clear of the B&O turntables. I do keep an eye out for them because they are worth a lot of money and it still happens you can get lucky with an early B&O turntable that sells way below its market value.
PS, I am not sure if they where ever sold in the US, but the portable radios Beolit 707 and 505 are build exceptionally well, sound phenomenal and are a joy (no, better yet, areal treat) to work on. For that reason they also cost an arm and a leg over here in Europe.
Thanks, Hugo. Agree with your points as well.
My direct drive Realistic LAB-440 has auto return and shutoff, and even has a repeat feature.
I absolutely hate B and O equipment. In my teens, my high school bought a turntable amp and speakers. After the first amplifier burn out they got it fixed. I said to my teacher that they were lemons. Here endeth the lesson!
How did you get into fixing audio gear? And learn etc. Could you do a video on that sometime ?
I have a degree in audio engineering and had a few "repair courses" as part of that curriculum. Then later with the help of UA-cam and audiokarma kinda flubbed my way thru my own gear. I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as most techs that service this stuff on a daily basis, but I can do "some" repairs. Someday maybe I'll have time to learn more, but right now my focus is on the daily operations of Skylabs. Is what it is.
In previous videos you talk about if you get a Pioneer receiver to change out the black legged transitors out.
What years did Pioneer put them in their receivers ?
They are not unique to pioneer, you can find transistors with tarnished legs in Yamaha, Sansui, pioneer ECT. The pioneer x2x and x3x series have quite a few.
I suppose I could be miffed about you showing my 2 main receivers (9090DB & Sansui Q4500) that I love, but I'm not. I really don't care at all. Although you brought up some valid points on both, if they are both working great they are killer good units. I had my 9090DB fully restored a few years ago. I also just had my 4500 recapped & gone through & I couldn't be happier. I will however mention one other thing about the 9090DB that should be mentioned. They "do not" like speakers other than 8 ohm for long periods of time. Also, the reason I like the 4500 on occasion, is because of it's fun to use the concert hall setting for some recordings for a fuller soundstage & more live sound. Just my 2 cents. Be well.
Glad you see it for what it is. I hope someone designs a replacement Dolby board sooner than later. 9090dbs are too nice, not to be used.
Auto returns? Vintage is my Technics SL-35BD. Modern, Denon DP300F. Great video as always.
My fav for auto-return is Denon DP-47F. Of course, it's auto-everything and has some impossible to get off the shelf parts. I have refurbished 2 of them and working on a third right now. Just love everything about them. Not super popular though.
I have one in mint and second for spares! Great table
What do you think of Micro Seiki turn tables? I have a DD-20. Thanks.
An acquaintance has a B&O system, sounds great but way to modern looking for me.
Thanks!
Thank you! Very much appreciated!
My favorite lift/stop turntable is my old Dual CS5000, but I also have a new TEAC TN-5BB with that function.
Oh yeah, nice t-shirt.
I've got a dual cs5000
Just sitting collecting dust
@@danielknepper6884
Well I'm not using mine right now but it's just because I don't have room for two turntables.
I no longer drink the vintage tube kool aid. Vintage tubes are expensive because they are rare, not because they are better. If you goal is romantic and gooey, there are NOS and new tubes that sound like that. Cooler and bright? NOS and new. There is no reason to pay astronomical prices for WWII and 50's military tubes because they have this mythology and hype built around them.
Late 70s systems when they started using IC chips, like the Pioneer SX 780 and Yamaha CR 640. What do you do when you can't get authentic replacements?
No choice. You buy the new replacement kits or you put it on a shelf as a display peice. We have installed several of the kits and they sound really good, IMO. Thanks
I've been curious about the replacement kits. Glad to hear they work well. Thank you!
I'm curious too. What are these "replacement kits" you mentioned?
www.ebay.com/itm/STK0050-Pioneer-SX-780-or-marantz-SR4000-replaces-STK0050-STK0030-STK0040-/125870279466?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p4429486.m46890.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
Thank you
honorable mention: pioneer pl-115D
Toshiba Direct Dr SR- A200 Tt with Stanton 681EEE cartridge stylus
It seems like QUAD is 4 times the. trouble . Like hardly any records made in QUAD and how many radio stations transmitt MUSIC in QUAD?
Hi,
I am planning to buy a luxman R1120 receiver do you know any thing about it? Is it good quality Luke the separate luxman?thanks.
I would very much like a quick tutorial on quadrophonic turntables.
Unfortunalty, I wouldnt be the person with the know-how for this. Sorry. I bet audiokarma.org has a guide?
What do you think about the SANSUI AU 888 ?
I was given a Sansui qrx9001, no sound in left channel in 2 channel mode. all lights work . Only gets source in tape 2 input, not in aux. lot's of static. Not sure I want to sink a ton of $$ in it, only to have more problems down the line, however the sound I get from the right channel is very good. Suggestions?
... dump it, get a new amp. Yamaha and the Parts-Express Dayton Audio line have great entry level amps, that are under warranty, for less that what you would have to spend for a repair, and they will sound better AND have remote control. I hear this one channel thing ("sounds GREAT, just one channel missing") too often. You need BOTH channels, one is broken, toss it!
New amps after about 2005 or so rock. The reason for vintage gear for about a 20 year period was simple. Amps/receivers made between about late 80s and early 2000s sounded terrible! Too much feedback muffled them. Newer amps did away with that, maybe due to the renaissance of simple tube amps, that opened people's ears again. Instead of looking at distortion figures on papers, they started listening again, and they heard what was missing. New amps are as good as vintage 70s gear again.
@@owenlaprath4135 I took the receiver to Adams Electronics in Huntington Beach California, paid $400 to service tech. he got it back to 95% full y working and replaced two meter lights , it's all good.
Avoid any receiver or integrated amplifier that uses STK modules. Some of the best brands started using these in the early 80's to produce lower priced gear. I turn them away from my shop because the replacements are unreliable or mismatched.
Have had the same issue with a couple "NOS" replacements- they are 90% bogus counterfeits, IMO.
We have installed several of the new replacement stk0050 in sx780s and have worked great. Someone from Texas sell them on eBay for $60 each. Work great. Just fyi
@@skylabsaudio That's very helpful. Thanks!
When I first opened SX-680 and SX-780 for service, I was really surprised to find Pioneer already went with the STK audio modules for them in the 1970s. I was really expecting discrete output transistors on the heatsink and not a 'stereo amplifier module'.
But the 680 and 780 have really good audio specifications, so I guess it did the job for the price.
Quad receivers all had versions of matrix.. MATRIX should have been adopted..and just for the record
Dynaquad and soon hafler pseudo quad was used by many brands
From polk sda and carver sonic holography
Dual 606
Cheers from BC Canada
Pioneer PL-518
Ur much better off w an SX750 or similar pushing 50 a channel than the monster mcs rcvr. Much better quality.
Hii Skylabs, i need information about marantz product.
I'm interested to buy some vintage amplifier, and i see Marantz Standard Radio Corp SR A401AE, it's about 40w each channel, and I can't get any information of this amp, all i see in internet some people have same amp look and has same logo too, but its different series. Skylabs or anyone who know about this marantz standard radio corps I'll be glad to buy it if it's really marantz product.
"Why is the Carpet all Wet, Todd?"
I don't know, Margo!
Marantz 6300…..
i dont see how playin records reproduces a live performance. maybe for acoustic music. for electric music, maybe blastin it thru a mono PA would do that. but with acoustic music, you can reproduce the sounds made by the acoustic instruments themselves with an excellent recording and a bad ass stereo. at close range electric guitar is easy to replicate...but the sound of a live performance? eh, for electric music a decent stereo sounds way better. no comparison.
Technics SL D2
Bang Olufsen too pricey and let alone bazaar for me, more like a Tesla compared to a internal combustible engine car. Good call on MCS and they do sound bad in my opinion. DOLBY, I wish this was never invented. Quads, being a teenage from late 1970's, I love these things, but will never buy 1, rear speakers, there will always be 1 louder than the other, granted Dark Side of the Moon is interesting to hear on a good quad.
I worked for JCPenney in their design department as a design student when they were still in NYC. I did the front ends on a few 8 track tape players and recorders in the early 1970's. At that time the manufacturer of the internals would also use my drawings to make the JCPenney version of the product. That particular manufacturer was Matsushita, founder of the Panasonic and Technics brands we know today. I assume most of the electronics were bid out to Japanese companies due to their expertise in electronics and low price back then. If I wanted to rearrange the controls or change the basic functions I would get a visit from the corporate buyer and my boss who gently told me, "Hell NO". I remember trying to describe vapor honing to one of the Japanese engineers when I specified it on a drawing for the face plate and got a blank stare. That finish and a brushed finish became the classic look of the 1970's electronics business, but at JCPenney, fake woodgrain got the nod.
I like the educational information. Many people don't have the knowledge of how these equipment are built. I'm an electronic technician, and it's very important to inform potential buyers of these flaws. Especially when proprietary op-amp or ic, and for those who can't do the work themselves, what they're getting themselves into, like the receiver equiped with these infamous STK output pack, those who have the component glued with corrosive glue that eat up the legs of the transistors and others component, it's time consuming and if you can't do this yourself, it just doesn't worth it.
Videos like this are educational and very needed in the community. It seems that folks on youtube are sometimes afraid to call out products (vintage or not) and their inherent weaknesses and/or drawbacks.
agreed, so many myths busted. i still love my technics SA-500 though. lol
speaking honestly, truthfully, always theory to go. Whomever has issues with hearing the truth, the issue is THEMSELVES.
B&O gear has gotten me all turned on, but I knew that I wasn't who they were built for. I knew I would be all alone and either end up with expensive unrepairables or run out of money getting them right. I think you nailed it on that score. The quadrophonic thing too. Solid advice on what to watch out for!
Thanks, Michael!
Think b & o and jbl are both owned by Harmon Kardin now. I know they build the upper line car audio for ford the last few years. My f-150 has an oval sub in back vented through the cab.
Agree regarding MCS. I worked as a technician in the late 70s in a shop contracted for warranty service by the local JC Penney. When it came to all but a very few specific models, it was, “If it’s working, enjoy! If it’s not, you better hope it’s under warranty.” Their best models (Matsushita-built) were OK, their worst items (GE-built TVs) were utterly horrible to work on.
NEC built most of JCPenney branded electronics as far as solid state. Wells-gardner built JCPenney's tube gear for the most part
B&O is the 70s version of Apple to me😉
MCS gear can be fun for techie-oriented hobbyists: they get to replace all the capacitors, resistors and most of the transistors. They also get to reflow all the solder joints and repair PC board cracks. Just avoid MCS gear new enough to have proprietary IC's and/or op-amps. Once you do all this, you do wind up with decent gear.
like a mechanic that owns an old dodge. lol
Pacific Stereo Concept 11.0 is first, any of the series "80s" Pioneer...SX-1080 etc. are second.
Love the 80s.
Their turntables (B&O) worked well with all my non B&O electronics gear and two of their models got me through the 1980's. But I knew that since they used their own proprietary cartridges and a volatile period was coming for LP's and turntables, I decided to move to Thorens and Linn, turntables that will accept a large range of cartridges. I think I unloaded mine at just the right time.
I've had my Technics SL D20 semi auto for... well forever... upgraded cartridge and its never let me down. Love it. Thanks for the great vid Kevin... another good one!
As far as MCS goes if it was made in Taiwan or you see the "matrix" output it's a POS. The NEC & Matsushita made stuff was okay. B&O gear is impossible to work on. It's a love hate with the brand. The brand you missed was LXI from Sears. The Sanyo built stuff was just okay but like MCS they used a few other sketchy manufacturers who built the gear for a low price point and it is utter junk. Even the Sanyo made stuff used plastic buttons and knobs.
We'll get there, if people enjoy this topic. Plenty of models and makes to talk about. Thanks!
@@skylabsaudio I've been flipping gear for years and there are just some makes and models I have learned the hard way on. I recently broke my cardinal rule about buying B&O receivers and of course it has issues and there's not a soul I know who will touch them. I once attempted to take apart a 1900 and found out the hard way that they were not designed to be taken apart.
The 9090 db surprised me. I have been blessed to never pursue one.
Manual Table Kenwood KS-550.....This Granite composite monster sounds so good!! This table isolates itself so well, I never need to worry about heavy footfall interference! Plus it sounds Really Great! Best manual Table I've ever owned!!
Thanks for your videos Kevin. Nice Work!!
I like my Marantz 2325
I have a MCS turn table. Its a low end but the thing just keeps spinning. I have replaced the belt but it works. And super quiet.
Fascinating topic, even if I'm not in the market for any of the items you mentioned. I was fortunate to experience discrete quadrophonic sound in the form of 8-track. Pink Floyd's DSOM and Moody Blues' DOFP stick with me. While the wide-stereo panning used in quad mixes does sound gimmicky, you tend to hear things that are just buried in a regular stereo mix. Enjoyable? Yes. Realistic? Not usually.
Just get an magnepan
I have had my Marantz SR-4240 “Quadrarail” for nearly 30 years. I absolutely LOVE how good it sounds! Some days I can get it up to half volume, and still sounds AWSOME!!
Great to hear!
I have the Sansui 7070 , and NOTHING on the market today even comes close to the amazing sound of this unit . Mine is NOT for sale . Ever . And it was my dads .
*in the 1980s, Sears stereo components were a big seller in Canada - mainly due to the time payment (credit) that they extended. Not bad sounding. Not great but for the price...*
Why is the carpet wet Todd?!!! I don’t know Margo! Well something broke the window, Something broke the stereo!
I refoamed and replaced some crossover capacitors on some $30 B&O S80 speakers and sold them for $400.
My vote for an auto return table is the Technics SLD2. I've had one since 1978 and it still works perfectly. My manual choice is the new Audio Technica AT-LP120.
I've got a audio technica AT LP 1240 to sell if you're interested?
I used that Linear tracking Technics table with an ADC cartridge before it was ADCOM. In high school I used it with my dad's kit built tube receiver and with a pair of mid level inexpensive but surprisingly good sounding 3 way Technics speakers it rocked out!
Sony PS-T2 from '78 and A new Ortonfon Blue stylus--It matches the DucTape holding my dustcover together (3/2024).
@@willyboyw.5771 I switched to the Ortofon Blue cart and stylus in my Audio Technica table and love it. And you're absolutely right, blue duct or painters tape matches that cats perfectly....good choice!
Drunk on silver face, ha! I think you picked the wrong car to compare to B&O repair. After the John Muir "How to Keep your Volkswagen Alive" book came out, everybody and anyone could work on a bug or a bus. Just ask any hippie! I will say that B&O 1300 receiver, what a beautiful work of art. Thanks for the video.
Many very good amplifiers and receivers used STK output packs. My Pioneer SX-650 receiver and Technics SU-G50 integrated amp have these audio output packs and both sound very good. However, if one of these should fail the replacement STK packs may be difficult or impossible to find. Amplifiers and receivers that use discrete audio output transistors would be a better choice for the long haul.
Amen … Had my Technics SA 400 rebuilt, One STK replaced, did something dumb (hooked it to a badly rebuilt speaker), burned it out. My tech replaced it but warned me he was saving his remaining stock for Pioneer.. Bought a Sansui 5000X recently as insurance. These STK packs on the market are often fakes. Techs who don’t know any better, or do and are jerks, will use the fakes. If you do own gear with these, make sure you don’t over load them or hook them up to “crap speakers someone rebuilt in his basement”. Kevin this might be a great video subject.
Re: the 70s Quad thing, there were some FM stations positioning around it. In Philly, 94.1 WYSP (now WIP-FM) made a big deal and used the slogan "Quad 94". You needed a decoder or Quad receiver. And the radio station transmitted the encoded Quad audio. The big problem was keeping all of that aligned on the transmisison side. Most times the Stereo broadcast (99% listened that way) was trashed by a loss of phase and the need to really compress the audio to fit it all in the FM bandwidth. I get a headache just recalling it! BUT, I guess if you bought some of the limited albums available in Quad and enjoyed that, it woukd be more impressive.
Great review! On another of your videos, you mentioned that the Marantz 2270 Owner's Manual states "use 16 gauge wire"; I was just looking at my Klipsch Heritage Owner's Manual (I own the Heresy III's) - the top of page 4 "Connecting Your Loudspeaker " states "Use 16 gauge, two conductor, copper wire at a minimum and larger gauge for longer runs". Most of the Heritage line has been in production since the 1950's, so this is an excellent point you made in reference to the cables. I use American made, pure copper, 14 gauge UL rated CL3, bare wire ends connected to my Sansui 5050, with excellent results.
Nothing wrong with stepping up a guage, just to make sure! Thanks for the comment!
This was great! I value your opinions, especially because they come from experience! I have also always said Techneeks !
Thanks, Miles!
Glad to say I knew most of the gotchas on this list such as Quad Receivers & the DB model Sansui's... I wanted a 9090 so bad ( settled for a 7070 ) but was only pulling the trigger if I found a non DB.. I aalso heard good things about some model B&O Speakers.. Found a pair of BeoVox 2600's locally which I never heard of and they looked familiar, They used a proprietary speaker plug but it can be cut off or adapted. Turns out they use an 8" version of the Seas drivers in the famous Dynaco A25s and usually fly under the radar.. May pick these up since they only want $50 and they are real wood veneer.
It is hard to decide on the favorite, unless we tried them. Me can go buy what I have and if I like them. Start with my Dads Pioneer SX626 receiver, Dual 1215S turntable w/Grado F1 cartridge, and DWD speakers from 1971. All still working and after some service sound great. My Realistic STA2700 receiver, Dual 1216 turntable w/Grado G1 cartridge , and speakers I put together from 1980-1982. I love these items. Never stopped playing them. I have add to mine and Dads stereo 8 more Duals (including a 1229) and a second STA2700. I just love everything here. I never experience many other products except when visiting friends. I still love mine more.
Its an incredible hobby! Glad you found yours!
I have seen MCS go for astronomical prices - just because it was vintage.
A couple of years ago, I acquired a Harmon/Kardon 50 quadrophonic receiver. I repaired the speaker terminals and section.
HK Quads were made very well.
Another great video Kevin.... You're so spot-on on every topic that you cover...
Great analogy on b&o... It's like buying a Ferrari, but nobody knows how to work on them except for Ferrari Auto technicians, so it's going to be really expensive to fix...
Same reason why I stay away from anything that says rare, if it's rare, that means parts are going to be hard if not impossible to find...
And unfortunately quadraphonics just never took on, because it's too specialized needing compatible components & media to utilize the 4 channels.. definitely not worth the money when a two-channel will play music beautifully for our 2 ears...
Also true about MCS. I bought a MCS 8-track player to hook up to my home receiver back in the late 70s because it was cheap and because I didn't see any other manufacturer make one for a home stereo at the time..... Sorry for the long comment...
Thank you, Karen! I agree 100% on the "rare" stuff too! Super rare is a bad thing with electronics. You're spot on!
Alot of vintsge gear heads let their emotions (nostalgia) get in the way of their common sense.
You see that all the the time, i bought a mcintosh mac1700 and an mc2500 (?!) and c26 pre amp ..
It did absolutely nothing for me , i sold it at cost learned my lesson. 😂
New amps after about 2005 or so rock. The reason for vintage gear for about a 20 year period was simple. Amps/receivers made between about late 80s and early 2000s sounded terrible! Too much feedback muffled them. Newer amps did away with that, maybe due to the renaissance of simple tube amps, that opened people's ears again. Instead of looking at distortion figures on papers, they started listening again, and they heard what was missing. New amps are as good as vintage 70s gear again.
Apple took notes from B&O 📝
This is the show that made me subscribe to your channel, even though I've seen and liked what you've done before. This definitely does deserve to become a recurring topic. "Why or why not to buy?"
This one and "Seven reasons you should get into vintage HiFi"