Audio Karma - Vintage Audio Discussion

You guys got me wondering if I could find a pic of my first stereo. Got it in 1975 (I'm pretty sure it was partly my money and partly a 10th b-day present. $109.95...I do remember that much). Not the greatest, but it lasted me 10 years. thanks for the memories. I wonder what happened to the Grand Funk Railroad and other 8-track tapes?

brucered said:

Marantz, Sansui, Technics, Denon, Old Sony, Onkyo are some well know to look out for.

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Those are pretty much considered mid-fi.

I can't believe how many hi end companies exist- Wadia, Conrad-Johnson, Sutherland, Jeff Rowland, Goldmund, Wilson, Convergent Audio Technology, Linn, Matin Logan, REL, Balanced Audio Technology, etc. Mingboggling.

Toothpick said:

What are some good brands?

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Not a complete listing and not even sure if a lot of the companies are still in business as they never made the switch over from high end audio to making Ipods and ear buds

Electronics

Audio Research
MacIntosh
Mark Levenson
Conrad-Johnson
Futterman
Luxman
B&O (Bang & Olufsen)


Speakers

Martian Logan
MagnePlanar/Pan
Quad
B&W (Bowers & Wilkins)
Vandersteen
KEF
Klipsch
Rodgers (LS 3/5a)


Then the more pedestrian brands like Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo, Rotel, and on and on

ouch said:

Those are pretty much considered mid-fi.

I can't believe how many hi end companies exist- Wadia, Conrad-Johnson, Sutherland, Jeff Rowland, Goldmund, Wilson, Convergent Audio Technology, Linn, Matin Logan, REL, Balanced Audio Technology, etc. Mingboggling.

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Agreed. But they are probably easier to spot at used stores.

So many brands as you mentioned, most would just walk on buy and pick the Black Sony with flashing red lights.

brucered said:

I also have an 8LP Cake RSD (record store day) box set waiting for me

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Nice! I wanted to pick that up on RSD, but was too slow. Not willing to pay eBay prices.

brucered said:

This calls for an album cover post.

One of the more famous ones, easily found at Salvation Army type stores. I think I have about 4 copies in my collection

The story goes they used canned Shaving Cream for the shoot so it's even shave related:
View attachment 448219

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An old roommate and I had a wall of WC&ODs that we picked up at thrift stores. Our rule was we couldn't pass it up unless it was priced over $2. We even had Soul Asylum's Clam Dip and Pat Cooper's Spaghetti Sauce and Other Delights.

Reckoner said:

Nice! I wanted to pick that up on RSD, but was too slow. Not willing to pay eBay prices.
.

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I missed out on RSD offering as my store didn't have any...but Cake made a handful available to fans on their site for $99+35shipping, so I snagged one before they were gone 60 seconds later.

They may be producing more, so keep an eye out on their FB page or online store.

As for the Hi-End or Mid-Fi...It's like everthing else.

You enjoy what you have and make the best of it. It'd put my $20 dual $100 Sony STR-V5 receiver and Athena speakers up against any set up for home use. Total cost under $300 with using a two speaker set up for vinyl.

Sure I'd live to have a $20k set up but it likely wouldn't sound much different then mine. Obviously there are many who do buy and enjoy them, but many probably don't even have them set up or balanced properly.

A lot of the $10k amps and turntables are showcase, status symbol units that sound great but probably don't even get used by the people buying them.

Let's make sure this doesn't become a HI-Fi only discussion and people are afraid to post Mid-Fi and Low-Fi setups and questions....because Low to Mid is all I got.

First stereo was pictured in post #41. In 1979 it was replaced with my junior high grad present. Also got my first cassette tape; The Cars

Hey, mid fi is probably the most fun to play around with. Less money involved, more tweaking, and fewer sleepless nights.

Now I just need a replacement power amp and a new digital source and I'll be back in business. My Maggies and REL Stadium are currently being driven by a 30 year old Carver receiver, which was pretty decent back in the day.

ouch said:

Hey, mid fi is probably the most fun to play around with. Less money involved, more tweaking, and fewer sleepless nights.

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True. And for the DIYer, less risk of financial loss if something goes wrong tweaking and messing around with it.

And the biggest advantage....more money for Vinyl.

Timelord said:

First stereo was pictured in post #41. In 1979 it was replaced with my junior high grad present. Also got my first cassette tape; The Cars

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Those boom boxes or Ghetto Blasters were awesome. Do they even sell portable systems like that any more outside "retro look" ones?

I wish I had keep my first Ghetto Blaster or my brothers.

I'd love to have it for my shop or to display. They were so huge, flashing lights, giant speakers and so unpractical....but everyone wanted them.

If I can find one locally for a decent price, it will be mine.

This thread provides a terrific public service. It keeps brucered and ouch off the streets.

All I know of high end audio is what I remember from watching MTV Cribs a long time ago when Fabio's home was featured. He had a giant speaker the size of a refrigerator and said it costs $100,000. He had another one in the other corner.

August West said:

This thread provides a terrific public service. It keeps brucered and ouch off the streets.

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I don't even come close to Ouch's depth of knowledge when it comes to audio components.

I'm learning on the fly and from posts so this should be a fun thread and hopefully something we all benefit from.

At the very least, I can now post my Vinyl here instead of forcing the guys in the Song/Band thread to read them

brucered said:

I don't even come close to Ouch's depth of knowledge when it comes to audio components.

I'm learning on the fly and from posts so this should be a fun thread.

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Amen.

Some eye candy.









View attachment 448462

brucered said:

Those boom boxes or Ghetto Blasters were awesome. Do they even sell portable systems like that any more outside "retro look" ones?

I wish I had keep my first Ghetto Blaster or my brothers.

I'd love to have it for my shop or to display. They were so huge, flashing lights, giant speakers and so unpractical....but everyone wanted them.

If I can find one locally for a decent price, it will be mine.

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A friend of mine got a much bigger Panasonic box around the same time. It weighed a few pounds more and had twice as many buttons and knobs. I was envious until we pitted them against each other. That little Sony sounded sweet for what it was.

Times are tough for a lot of people,both young and old.If you want good value for your money,and well documented reliability,the NAD line is a great way to enter the bottom of the good mid priced quality stereo world. http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-amplifiers/C-316BEE-Stereo-Integrated-Amplifier This an excellent base unit to add your other components to.You can get a nice used tuner very reasonably priced,and add your speakers,turntable and cd player at any time.Don't be fooled by the 40 watt rating,watts don't mean everything,with the properly matched speakers you can blast a full size room out. A good place to look for quality used equipment is here:http://app.audiogon.com/ and here: http://www.oaktreevintage.com/ also check the back pages of "Stereophile" and "Hi-Fi"..."What Hi-Fi" from the UK offers good info,you can read it at Barnes and Noble.....

Current rig.