Any Vintage High End Stereo folks here. SS or Tube?

[Dirk Williams]

As I age, I've discovered I have a vintage problem. I like old stuff. Especially well made, good looking stuff. A few years back, my health took a turn, the military, and my career field caught up with me. was almost crippled, hardly walking, so I found things that I liked to do. Things that I could enjoy, rather then sit around in chronic pain day in day out.

Vintage stereo equipment caught my attention. Got back into albums, must have 1000 or more Albums now. and CD's, on really good gear. Thru really good speakers.

I've got 27 sets of killer speakers in the stereo room, my main system has four Klipsch Cornwalls, my main stereo is a 1962 HHScott Tube amp, with a 1963 HHScott FM tuner, ' Stereo' thru a Yamaha YH800 turntable, with Denon and Nack, Cassette decks, CD players.

My backup stereo is using SpeakerLab Corner horns, speakers, their five ft tall, well close, and 125 ish pounds apiece. Sound killer. The Klipsch Cornerhorns are 100 pounds apiece, and sound wonderful.

Seriously sounds like the bands right in front of you. This stuffs not cheap.

Anybody else into high end Vintage stereo kit?

DW

[_Stormin_]

I'm actually a fan of modern equipment with the right construction. My current set up:

Pro-Ject 1Xpression Carbon turntable
Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 Preamp
Naim NAP 100 Amp
Bowers & Wilkins 606 Speakers

I hunted down some deals when putting things together, and have been supremely happy with the setup in my office. Not the biggest speakers, but they fill the space with sound easily.

[GH41]

From an investment standpoint I wish I still had my stuff from the early 70s. Had a JBL Paragon for a while. Didn't like it much and sold it. What are they worth today?

[OH58D]

At the time I bought these items, they were considered at the lower end of audiophile equipment in the early 1980's:

Denon D-45 Rosewood Turntable
Nakamichi RX-202 tape deck
Carver Vacuum Tube SD/A 490t cd player
Carver C-1 Sonic Holography Pre-Amp
Carver M1.5t Magnetic Field Power Amp
Dahlquist DQ-10 Phased Array Speakers

Still have all of this equipment.

[Dirk Williams]

In this day, all your kit would be considered a great score. The DQ-10s, are fantastic, when pushed with proper power. I've got two sets. Carver makes good gear, the quality is outstanding. I'd be running the 10s,just find the Klipsch speakers to be so efficient with my older gear, pushing maybe 15 watts per channel.

My recent purchases have been Dynaco ST-70 tube amps. And Dynaco PAS2/3 pre amps. Also got into the Stromberg Carlsen intigrated amps, a week phono section in the iron, amazing music. Many of these were console pulls.

Also Heathkit,stuff, is desirable. Got several of their Tube amps. My best gear is David Bernings ZF270 tube amp, along with Bernings TF-10 pre amp. I'm sourcing his TF-12, got 8 grand tied up in my Berning gear alone.

CD players and cassette units, anything Nack, Denon Kyocera, or my favorite is California audio labs. I purchased a nos CAL, down in Reno for 900.00, it's a tube unit, along with a low end Conrad Johnson amp. Also have a bit of Mac gear but it's SS.

Back to the DQ-10s. Oh, your speakers if in good shape are reasonably priced, 400/500.00 the quality of music these fine gentleman produce is amazing. Also have a set of DQ-20s, an impulse buy. Great speakers a step up from the 10s, mine are in poor shape.

I'm retired, getting older, and find myself reaching back to the finer things of my past. My kits not the best, yet it's high end, and represent an era, of refinement. The new gear sounds awesome, SS or Tube. I just wanted to recreate the sounds and quality of music I grew up with.

My parents were music lovers, I inherited that same gene. I'm 63 now, can't tell you how many guns I own, but you guys here taught me the value of high quality, rifles pistols. Not that I had junk. But how to incorporate good pieces and parts into them. Samo samo with this fine old stereo gear.

I've not embraced these modern times, I like being surrounded by old stuff, to tinker with. Thes older stereo units are of a quality rarely seen in this day and age.

DW

[Dirk Williams]

Stormin, the newer gear is fantastic, I'm sure it's got a killer sound. I initially was headed down the modern stereo road. And then I heard some of the early 60s, tube units with tube pre amps, and my god, I stopped dead in my tracks. The equipment out of the late 50s, and 60s, is what made my stereo adventure, do a rethink.

Difficult to explain, the old stuff, with its fine wood casings, the warmth of the tubes, and the simplicity of operation, not to mention the fantastic quality of music won.

Enjoy your gear, I'm sure it's outstanding.

Dirk

[OH58D]

In this day, all your kit would be considered a great score. The DQ-10s, are fantastic, when pushed with proper power. I've got two sets. Carver makes good gear, the quality is outstanding. I'd be running the 10s,just find the Klipsch speakers to be so efficient with my older gear, pushing maybe 15 watts per channel.

My recent purchases have been Dynaco ST-70 tube amps. And Dynaco PAS2/3 pre amps. Also got into the Stromberg Carlsen intigrated amps, a week phono section in the iron, amazing music. Many of these were console pulls.

Also Heathkit,stuff, is desirable. Got several of their Tube amps. My best gear is David Bernings ZF270 tube amp, along with Bernings TF-10 pre amp. I'm sourcing his TF-12, got 8 grand tied up in my Berning gear alone.

CD players and cassette units, anything Nack, Denon Kyocera, or my favorite is California audio labs. I purchased a nos CAL, down in Reno for 900.00, it's a tube unit, along with a low end Conrad Johnson amp. Also have a bit of Mac gear but it's SS.

Back to the DQ-10s. Oh, your speakers if in good shape are reasonably priced, 400/500.00 the quality of music these fine gentleman produce is amazing. Also have a set of DQ-20s, an impulse buy. Great speakers a step up from the 10s, mine are in poor shape.

I'm retired, getting older, and find myself reaching back to the finer things of my past. My kits not the best, yet it's high end, and represent an era, of refinement. The new gear sounds awesome, SS or Tube. I just wanted to recreate the sounds and quality of music I grew up with.

My parents were music lovers, I inherited that same gene. I'm 63 now, can't tell you how many guns I own, but you guys here taught me the value of high quality, rifles pistols. Not that I had junk. But how to incorporate good pieces and parts into them. Samo samo with this fine old stereo gear.

I've not embraced these modern times, I like being surrounded by old stuff, to tinker with. Thes older stereo units are of a quality rarely seen in this day and age.

DW
I'll be 60 this coming Saturday (George Washington's Birthday, or Birthington's Wash Day). Bought my audio equipment in early 1984 as an Army 1LT - just before going to Honduras. Was visiting the wife's relatives in Louisiana and went over to Beaumont, TX to an outfit called Beaumont Sound. They sold upper end stuff. Did a lot of reading before my purchases. That Nakamichi 202 is cool in the way it pops out and flips the tape around. My Carver CD player has one vacuum tube which is supposed to warm the sound. The Carver pre-amp has separate treble and bass for each channel. The push-pull Carver amp is 600 watts per channel stereo and can be bridged to 1200 watts single channel.

My Dahlquist DQ-10's are fine except one unit has a blown tweeter - it rattles. There are custom shops which repair those, but those speakers are like 60 lbs each - shipping costs would be prohibitive.

[Adrenaline_6]

Very nice. I wish I was able to pick up a pair a/d/s home equipment before they got bought out and snuffed.

Their car stereo sound was so smooth, you could listen to it forever and have zero twitter high fatigue.

[wilson1911]

I have a VTA St-70 tube amp on some JBL 590 speakers. Tungsol 6550/nos amprex holland rectifiers. Good hifi music leaves no comparison for depth compared to modern equipment. I play my music from the pc on a schitt audio dac. 65k songs to listen to.

[OH58D]

In the early 80's when I was buying this stuff, McIntosh was one of the top players in audiophile gear. A lot of the decent upper consumer level stuff was Technics gear. I haven't kept up with whats what in top end hi-fi gear in recent years, but I see McIntosh is still out there. When I was looking at tape decks, there was the Nakamichi Dragon, but that was out of the price range of an Army 1LT with a wife and child. Those used Dragons still sell for big bucks.

[Adrenaline_6]

In the early 80's when I was buying this stuff, McIntosh was one of the top players in audiophile gear. A lot of the decent upper consumer level stuff was Technics gear. I haven't kept up with whats what in top end hi-fi gear in recent years, but I see McIntosh is still out there. When I was looking at tape decks, there was the Nakamichi Dragon, but that was out of the price range of an Army 1LT with a wife and child. Those used Dragons still sell for big bucks.

Yes, the Dragon is still king. Their car version was also the pinnacle of cassette tape playing.

[OH58D]

Yes, the Dragon is still king. Their car version was also the pinnacle of cassette tape playing.
I never knew there was a car version. My Nakamichi RX-202 is still the bomb - it was cool in the 80's and still is.

[RioGrandeGreen]

I still got a pair of Bose 901's, I bought mid 80's.

[Dirk Williams]

Yes the Dragon is spendy. Paid 1200.00, aroumd this time last year. Also picked up the NAC 1000, cassette player, two,ft tall " approx" stunning to look at, and sounds amazing. I still prefer the Denons 3520 and the 3560s, three head units, amazing capabilities.

A/D/S, is available used reasonably priced. I picked up their imtigrated amp, and a tuner, was running it thru a set of Warfdale W 90s, stacked with a second set of Warfdale W70s. It's SS, I basically used it for FM radio, and RUSH, in the mornings.

Can be had in the 500.00 range in great shape.

Dirk

[ramairthree]

In the cliched room over the garage den/man cave/I love me room I have a 1980s Pioneer rack system.

It was not and is not high end home audio equipment.

But a lot of younger friends and kids, etc. are blown away at how some of their favorite songs sound when heard as intended, and not through some little night stand speaker clock, IPhone, and ear buds.

I also run the TV sound out them.

The CS 911 Floor speakers are plenty loud and clear.

[WillBrink]

Anybody else into high end Vintage stereo kit?

DW

High end, yes, Vintage no. While vintage cars, guns, audio, etc obviously and understandably have a nostalgia aspect, they don't out perform the modern stuff. I was big into audio for many years, but always enjoyed the sonic improvements new gear added myself. I used to listen to a lot of music, but in the last few years have scaled the system way back and don't listen to as much music. When I do, It's amazing the quality of sound you get from a DAC from a modern cell phone to head phone amp and really good headphones such as B&W 7s. Sadly, high end audio is all but dead. Blasphemy I know, but true.

[Dirk Williams]

Morning Will, understand you position. I'm not seeking quick and easy, OR enhanced music. Not a shot, what your doing is quick easy, and outstanding.

After a solid year2010 of modern music reviewVS vintage I discovered, that modern music via a DAC is awesome. It's just not what I seek. I'd like to explain. I'm chasing my music from my teens, to adulthood. For example, I just had a album of Elvin Bishop, greatest hits on the TT, I grew up at his concerts on the west coast. This album, I've owned since I was like 16, it's nicked, old, and has a sound all its own.

I want to hear the scratch, or Elvin providing instruction to the drummer for one more time thru, the drum stick hitting the floor. I'm satisfied knowing that their is not another album in the entire world, like this one. It's special the dents and dings make it so.

I'm just not into artificial music., that's how I view today's equipment. Your DAC, is an a magnificent tool, just not for me. Music on my phone, is a problem I have a cell phone, it's a flip phone, and I don't carry it. Think I know where it's at.

I'm older, retired, so I enjoy getting up, selecting an album, queuing it up,and turning it up.

Example, my copies of "Monterey Pop, 1967", " will never sound as it should on modern gear.

I equate my style to this. It's like shooting one of my bM59s, or 62's in a modern carbine class, one of my M1 gurands, or m-14es, in a carbine class. It's out of the box, brother I HATE the box, or anybody trying to tie me to it. im just not embracing the worlds tech. Prefer the older times, the simpler ways. Believe our tech is a major contributing factor, to the poop sandwich the worlds in.

I live on top of a mountain, I still fish with a bamboo fly rod, backpack with an old Boy Scout pack. Drive older cleaner vehicles, save money the old fashion way. And by the grace of God, have been blessed in my retirement years.

Don't know if you grasped what I'm trying to explain. Brother were different, I follow your views,here, on M4, recognize your a bright young man. Perhaps it's an age thing, or just cultural differences.

What you seek, I've achieved in life. " honorable retirement" I'm just coasting watching the blue sky, white clouds, planning my next great adventure, checking the lake to see if the ice has broken up, so I can spend these awesome days out on Klamath Lake looking for the monster trout who thrive here, In the lake boat.

Have a good one. And most exportant, enjoy your gear.

Dirk

[WillBrink]

Morning Will, understand you position. I'm not seeking quick and easy, OR enhanced music. Not a shot, what your doing is quick easy, and outstanding.

After a solid year2010 of modern music reviewVS vintage I discovered, that modern music via a DAC is awesome. It's just not what I seek. I'd like to explain. I'm chasing my music from my teens, to adulthood. For example, I just had a album of Elvin Bishop, greatest hits on the TT, I grew up at his concerts on the west coast. This album, I've owned since I was like 16, it's nicked, old, and has a sound all its own.

I want to hear the scratch, or Elvin providing instruction to the drummer for one more time thru, the drum stick hitting the floor. I'm satisfied knowing that their is not another album in the entire world, like this one. It's special the dents and dings make it so.

I'm just not into artificial music., that's how I view today's equipment. Your DAC, is an a magnificent tool, just not for me. Music on my phone, is a problem I have a cell phone, it's a flip phone, and I don't carry it. Think I know where it's at.

I'm older, retired, so I enjoy getting up, selecting an album, queuing it up,and turning it up.

Example, my copies of "Monterey Pop, 1967", " will never sound as it should on modern gear.

I equate my style to this. It's like shooting one of my bM59s, or 62's in a modern carbine class, one of my M1 gurands, or m-14es, in a carbine class. It's out of the box, brother I HATE the box, or anybody trying to tie me to it. im just not embracing the worlds tech. Prefer the older times, the simpler ways. Believe our tech is a major contributing factor, to the poop sandwich the worlds in.

I live on top of a mountain, I still fish with a bamboo fly rod, backpack with an old Boy Scout pack. Drive older cleaner vehicles, save money the old fashion way. And by the grace of God, have been blessed in my retirement years.

Don't know if you grasped what I'm trying to explain. Brother were different, I follow your views,here, on M4, recognize your a bright young man. Perhaps it's an age thing, or just cultural differences.

What you seek, I've achieved in life. " honorable retirement" I'm just coasting watching the blue sky, white clouds, planning my next great adventure, checking the lake to see if the ice has broken up, so I can spend these awesome days out on Klamath Lake looking for the monster trout who thrive here, In the lake boat.

Have a good one. And most exportant, enjoy your gear.

Dirk

You may have missed some of the interim info I mentioned. Ar the peak of my audio, I had a pair of B&W 803Ds, being run by a massive Anthem amp, though a Tag-MClarin pre amp and Veloydyne digital amp and a Marantz SACD player, capable of high end audio reproduction about as good as it gets and have been an audio fan my entire life. My current home set up is also quite good, but I don't get to really relax and just sit with my CDs and listen for hours on end as I once did. So, I wanted to make sure at least I had access to very high quality audio in small easy to use package, and modern tech allows that where it was once a trade off.

I also get that for some, there's another experience with old LPs and such, but for myself, I was always looking for the improvements in audio sonic experience vs nostalgia or experiential aspects of it per se. By any objective measure, new stuff sounds better, yet I still recall rushing home to listen to the first LP I purchased with my own $, which was Cheap Thrills,’ Big Brother & the Holding Company.

I can honestly say I never enjoyed the snap crackle pop, hiss, etc of LPs well before there was an alternative and when CDs, with their far superior dynamic range, blacker then black background noise etc, I was a happy guy. I used to drive myself crazy cleaning LPs and making sure they didn't get scratched, or warp, etc.

[Dirk Williams]

Hi Will, awesome adventure. I love others travels on how they got to one or the other places, or equipment. I did read your gear, misunderstood, I guess. Do you still have your vintage gear? I've never listened to B& W's, m told I'm missing out, sound wise, your amp/ preamp are classic awesome equipment.

Honestly can't explain how or why I've stayed loyal to black plastic, I do have a couple thousand CD's aswell. I also find most of my stuff on Craigslist, and eBay. Albums usually someone local, generally an old rocker is selling, moving on.

I'm working with an older gent regarding his 1000 album collection. He's in hospice care, just wants his stuff to go to someone who will care for them as he has. He offered them free, I just could not do that. The man has nothing, so I offered him 400.00. Will give him 600.00, it's the right thing to do.

I've collected so much cool stuff. A guy in Portland, an older Scholars collection. Amazing stuff, all red label, in like new condition, 40s, big band, fiftys swing, the crooners, etc etc.

I'm not crazy about cleaning the albums, I borrow a friends vacuum machine. Actually I take what I want cleaned to him.

I love music, Old Black Jazz, classical, contemporary, I've really gotten into international music. Especially middle eastern stuff. I find it soothing. No idea what's being said. I need to source more of the ME stuff, just not sure where to find such music.

My big thrill is selecting an album, not looking at the cover, to determine who, or what, and letting the music surprise me.
Enjoy your equipment.

Wondering what you listen to, do you have a favorite style, or era?

Got a Spencer Davis Band, CD playing good stuff.

Dirk

[SteyrAUG]

I got two turntables and a microphone.

https://i.imgur.com/arkC15e.jpg

DJ'd through most of the 80s and into the 90s, still have most of my gear. The only thing I really got rid of was the outdoor / event amps and speakers (Carver and Crown) as I just didn't need it anymore. I have everything I need to rock the house and slowly getting a digital studio setup so I can record mixes on something other than analog tape.

Could still do a block party if I wanted, but mostly it's just for me these days. One day I need to go through my vinyl and pull all of my "will never play this" stuff and can probably thin out my collection by 30%, there was a time I was a reporting member of three record pools so I was almost getting free new releases. At one time my collection was like 5,000 LPs and 12" singles, when I stopped doing clubs and radio I jettisoned about 1,000 of them because I never wanted to hear them again.

Hope to get to the point where I start building again, I want to grab a lot of classic rock on vinyl, most stuff I had as a kid but when I moved to go to school it got "lost" when my room was redecorated.

[WillBrink]

Hi Will, awesome adventure. I love others travels on how they got to one or the other places, or equipment. I did read your gear, misunderstood, I guess. Do you still have your vintage gear? I've never listened to B& W's, m told I'm missing out, sound wise, your amp/ preamp are classic awesome equipment.

Honestly can't explain how or why I've stayed loyal to black plastic, I do have a couple thousand CD's aswell. I also find most of my stuff on Craigslist, and eBay. Albums usually someone local, generally an old rocker is selling, moving on.

I'm working with an older gent regarding his 1000 album collection. He's in hospice care, just wants his stuff to go to someone who will care for them as he has. He offered them free, I just could not do that. The man has nothing, so I offered him 400.00. Will give him 600.00, it's the right thing to do.

I've collected so much cool stuff. A guy in Portland, an older Scholars collection. Amazing stuff, all red label, in like new condition, 40s, big band, fiftys swing, the crooners, etc etc.

I'm not crazy about cleaning the albums, I borrow a friends vacuum machine. Actually I take what I want cleaned to him.

I love music, Old Black Jazz, classical, contemporary, I've really gotten into international music. Especially middle eastern stuff. I find it soothing. No idea what's being said. I need to source more of the ME stuff, just not sure where to find such music.

My big thrill is selecting an album, not looking at the cover, to determine who, or what, and letting the music surprise me.
Enjoy your equipment.

Wondering what you listen to, do you have a favorite style, or era?

Got a Spencer Davis Band, CD playing good stuff.

Dirk

I'm all over the place. While I'm musical, I'm not a musician. However, I come from a long line of classical musicians and my father founded the Boston Classical Orchestra as well as others, and was quite well known in his day. Here's a something of his recordings I put online before he passed away: Mozart Sonata in E Minor, K. 304 Movement I


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAd1fTDWHwE&list=PLBE1BF015EA8BA1E8&index=3&t=1s

Movement II is even better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57II2Q0PtsA&list=PLBE1BF015EA8BA1E8&index=1

[Dirk Williams]

Will won't open for me, intend to listen, I'll ask my wife to open her computer when she gets back, she's at bible study. My machines like 12 years old and dying slowly.

Thank you very much for sharing.

DW

[WillBrink]

Will won't open for me, intend to listen, I'll ask my wife to open her computer when she gets back, she's at bible study. My machines like 12 years old and dying slowly.

Thank you very much for sharing.

DW

I'm not real tech savvy there. Probably need to update your video software.

[Adrenaline_6]

I never knew there was a car version. My Nakamichi RX-202 is still the bomb - it was cool in the 80's and still is.

Yes, the TD-1200 was king in the car cassette world. The limited version goes for more than the Dragon, if you can find one.

[Adrenaline_6]

Yes the Dragon is spendy. Paid 1200.00, aroumd this time last year. Also picked up the NAC 1000, cassette player, two,ft tall " approx" stunning to look at, and sounds amazing. I still prefer the Denons 3520 and the 3560s, three head units, amazing capabilities.

A/D/S, is available used reasonably priced. I picked up their imtigrated amp, and a tuner, was running it thru a set of Warfdale W 90s, stacked with a second set of Warfdale W70s. It's SS, I basically used it for FM radio, and RUSH, in the mornings.

Can be had in the 500.00 range in great shape.

Dirk

I wish their 335i separates for car audio were still available. They were warm and clean. You could listen to them loud forever. They didn't win car audio contests because the bright highs won those, but you try and listen to those harsh highs for an hour and your ears will be begging for mercy.

Edit: All this talk had me browse eBay and low and behold, a set of a/d/s 345is separates are on sale barely used. If I had a car to put them in (I have a business car) I would definitely bid on them...they were that good. Their mids were unmatched and highs smooth as silk.

[Dirk Williams]

Now I gotta go research this, thank you.

Will, my wife's modern computer picked up, thank you. Good stuff.

Dirk