Originally Posted by
ScottsBad
Its funny, the demand for the right, quality, old gear has gone up a lot in some cases. I always got rid of my old gear for next to nothing, now there is a market for old stuff. A lot of people are going back to vinyl, which I don't understand because if you have really good equipment and the CD was well produced, a CD sounds far better. And way way better than the MP3 quality recordings (Itunes, etc.), because of the sampling rate and compression algorithms. I digress.
May I suggest AVForums for questions, the forum has sections for everything from stereo systems to full blown high end home theater and everything in between.
If you can pull the covers off your speakers, you can inspect them to see what kind of surrounds they have and if the integrity of the speaker is good. Some of the Cerwin Vega speakers were good sounding, some not as good, but at least you'll know if they will play.
Amps and other electronics can mate to newer equipment, but it depends on what you want to achieve. The main problem with old audio equipment is if the capacitors were good quality and remain good. Also, how hot they ran matters.
There are people who specialize in fixing stereo equipment, take your Sony amp and have them take a look to see if its operating properly.
Old tape drives usually have problems because of the rubber or synthetic rollers, or the motors develop problems.
I've got two buddies who have always maintained their old gear. They have repairs and parts replacements done (like having the capacitors replaced), and fixing tape units. They also buy old gear for their collections.
I think high quality newer equipment sounds better than the old stuff, but that's me. The one thing I don't like is the sound of many of the new speakers. Its sort of a cultural generational difference. I prefer neutral speakers (old school), while the newer speakers artificially color the sound a little too much for me.
Most people these days don't know what good sound is because they listen to crap music from crap sound systems. I guess I've quit worrying about it myself, except when I crank my good stuff up.
Good luck.
You can test the newer receiver/preamp or separates with the old speakers and amp to see how they sound, and if it doesn't sound good swap out piece by piece until it sounds good. Speakers make the most difference in sound if the system is decent. But if the signal is crap, that's what the speakers will play.
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