Old school hi fi systems

[aquariuscsm]

I still have this cassette deck. Got it new around 1982-83:

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted by PimTac
Nakamichi was another brand back then.

I have their clock alarm radio. TM1. It's over 30 years old and still sounds great. It gets used daily.

Nakamichi Receiver 1 and 2 were of the few ( if any) good sounding Japanese brands in the early 90's.
The 70s pioneer stuff was good.

bad sounding 1 dollar Opamps that cam along later killed good import audio.

There are still U.S. companies that make affordable vacuum tube stuff. lIke Rogue, Manley and conrad-johnson.

Not all are priced like McIntosh. which is not really high end but high end pircing.
the BOSE for the rich and deaf.




I brought up Nakamichi but it was well beyond my budget so I stuck with the cheaper brands.

Unfortunately having a great sound system in the 70's didn't matter much, at least in my estimation, because the record companies were putting out horrible records. The vinyl was thinner and warped easily. The recordings themselves would be off key. The record companies didn't seem to care. My turntable at the time was a top line Phillips made in Holland. Touch control, strobe, it was superb. I could play perfect records that I had with pleasure on that.


I also owned some Denon equipment in the 80's. They were very underrated in my opinion.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted by Eddie
I built a HEATHKIT HIFI system. I remember it used two pair of matched Mullard output tubes to produce 20 to 20,000 hz with +/- 2% distortion? Sounded great for many years.. Ed

I got one and still use it today. Amp and matching FM tuner. My father built them in the mid 60's. Made by Daystrom.

 

[Lubener]

Anyone remember this? Rotel RV 555. I won this back in 1978 with the matching speakers and still use it today. Not a big power house (20 watt per channel) but a great sounding and a very unique piece from Rotel.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details...55-receiver-and-speakers/images/2124505/

 

[alarmguy]

Wow, just read all these posts, just amazing, I start feeling a bit older saying it over and over but "music" now is just a "throwaway" item.
Streamed or downloaded and deleted at will. Younger people never get the chance to hold it and feel it, lend it to their friends. In other words, it has no value to them - worthless.

I can't comment on the vinyl of the 70s, it seemed just fine to me, though, I have to admit, for those "special" recordings I would by an "Original Master Recording" for the fun of it.
Dark Side of the Moon was one of them!

I miss those days, same with "tape" hey, no matter what, on good equipment it sounded great and very natural. I loved the mechanical aspect of putting a system together and watching things spin *L*

I remember all the equipment names mentioned too. Heathkit, Rotel (still respected I think and wow, very cool compact system you have, great photo), Awia and Daystrom.

 

[Delta]

Cool thread! I've recently started getting into the old systems myself. I've acquired an older Hitachi 9320H that was sitting in a basement for years. It's taken some work to even get it usable, but it works ok for now through the AUX imput. The record and tape player need some serious help, but it's more of a garage radio. The nicotine/tar buildup is quite impressive, lol. Even being a low end model it sounds better than most new stuff.

(terrible picture, but you get the idea)

Most recently I was given a Yamaha CR-800 from I think 1975. It came with a YP-701 record player (and free Frank Zappa album... that was an interesting listen, LOL). Unfortunately the receiver is not functioning and blowing every fuse I put in it. Going to take some work to figure out those issues. But it is a nice unit so it's worth saving. Also having a heck of a time finding a new cartridge/needle setup for the record player. I'm surprised I got it for free; it was my uncles "baby". Was supposed to go to my cousin, but he's not really into that stuff and would have thrown it away after discovering it doesn't work. It was in one spot for the past 25 years in one spot and in a smoke free home. I remember listening to it when I was a little kid, definitely cool to have now.

 

[PimTac]

If you are old enough to remember the records in the 60's, they were generally thicker and stiffer. Names like Columbia, Capitol, Decca, RCA Victor and a few more dominated the scene. Then in the 70's like most things, record companies went cheap. There was also a influx of new brand labels, many were subsidiaries of the big names. Records didn't hold up well with excess playing like the previous generation so people like myself would record a record onto cassette tape and play that.

Cassette tape varied as well. The metal tapes were excellent. Then CDs came onto the scene and a whole new issue arose. Remember the encoding abbreviations? A DDD CD was perfect. AAD was junk.


For the record, yes I am old enough to have had a eight track player. One portable and one in the car. I used a matchbook. Thank goodness those died off quickly.

 

[PimTac]

Yamaha made some great equipment and they still do. When I was shopping for a sound bar for the television I found theirs on Amazon. Great sounds and not a bad price either.

You don't see much Hitachi equipment now. I would hold onto both of those.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted by PimTac

Unfortunately having a great sound system in the 70's didn't matter much, at least in my estimation, because the record companies were putting out horrible records. The vinyl was thinner and warped easily. The recordings themselves would be off key. The record companies didn't seem to care. My turntable at the time was a top line Phillips made in Holland. Touch control, strobe, it was superb. I could play perfect records that I had with pleasure on that.
I also owned some Denon equipment in the 80's. They were very underrated in my opinion.


Yes good recordings and mastering were few and far between - like today.

I recall The Ricky Lee Jones was good, Chuck Mangione, Pink Floyd, Later Beatles on Apple, Steely Dan, .

I did by many Sheffield Labs Direct to Disc which I still Own, Like a Harry James when he was still kicking and blowin'.

But Mid seventies through early eighties I was all classical orchestral.

a Better phono preamp and TT setup made everything better.

Hitachi had good stuff that walked all over Yamaha which was mostly show with little go.

Despite my Yamaha bashing, I did use an A1 Integrated yamahaha that kept me listening for half a decade before wanting more.

 

[Quattro Pete]

While we're reminiscing the good old times, growing up, parents had a JVC 3-in-1 combo unit like the one pictured below. I think I was the primary user of it, typically recording mix tapes off FM radio stations late at night. Brings back memories. The included JVC speakers were surprisingly good sounding.

 

[alarmguy]

Wow, great photos in here, I remember 8 tracks, my almost first car I installed a Realistic 8 track. It electronically changed tracks with a touch of a button.
It was installed in my "new to me" 7+ year old 1967 GTO with a OEM Phase3 HO engine. (or something like that)
But cassette's were already around if I remember correctly and next vehicle had cassette.

Hitachi, yes, my friends knew I was always into sound, so I normally went with them whether we were doing sound in a parents home, or our cars or boats.
Still remember driving to Crazy Eddies in NY with my friend, in less then great shape ... ha ha .. buying a Hitachi stereo.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by alarmguy
Wow, great photos in here, I remember 8 tracks, my almost first car I installed a Realistic 8 track. It electronically changed tracks with a touch of a button.
It was installed in my "new to me" 7+ year old 1967 GTO with a OEM Phase3 HO engine. (or something like that)
But cassette's were already around if I remember correctly and next vehicle had cassette.

Hitachi, yes, my friends knew I was always into sound, so I normally went with them whether we were doing sound in a parents home, or our cars or boats.
Still remember driving to Crazy Eddies in NY with my friend, in less then great shape ... ha ha .. buying a Hitachi stereo.


I think you might be early? My grandmother's 1972 Eldorado still had 8-track

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by alarmguy
Wow, just read all these posts, just amazing, I start feeling a bit older saying it over and over but "music" now is just a "throwaway" item.
Streamed or downloaded and deleted at will. Younger people never get the chance to hold it and feel it, lend it to their friends. In other words, it has no value to them - worthless.


Depends on how they grow up I suppose. My kids (11, 13, 15) all have digital everything, bluetooth speakers....etc, but they thoroughly enjoy firing up the "main" stereo with the record player attached, the big Bryston getting warmed up and the PS Audio pre-amp/phono stage bringing to life the records. They sound "different", and there's an experience to that form of analog that streaming from their iPhone lacks. Subsequently, there's an appreciation there for the physical medium and the effort to bring it to life along with all the components, vs the convenience of their digital stuff.

I'd expect kids with audiophile or audio enthusiast parents to appreciate quite well the stuff from days gone by, on the other hand, the kids of folks that really weren't/aren't into it, well, isn't that really the same? Growing up with tapes and CD's didn't necessarily make those people appreciative of the physical medium any more than kinds just slung vinyl because that's what was available.

It's nostalgic for folks that love the entire experience of music, but rest assured, those folks will pass that on to their kids if they have them. It was never of value to those that weren't.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Graham Slee markets a decent phono stage but the ProJect tube box is killer for under 500.

I know some the older PS audio were decent

Best I've heard (my friend Walter owned a high end store in Lexington, MA )
was a Spectral dmc 10 if I am recalling correctly.

Bryston and PS should make a nice sound!

Kids are getting in to audio through headphones.

then amps. and dac and dac/amps

Some are learning.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Graham Slee markets a decent phono stage but the ProJect tube box is killer for under 500.

I know some the older PS audio were decent

Best I've heard (my friend Walter owned a high end store in Lexington, MA )
was a Spectral dmc 10 if I am recalling correctly.

Bryston and PS should make a nice sound!

Kids are getting in to audio through headphones.

then amps. and dac and dac/amps

Some are learning.


The PS Audio unit is excellent, it is a 5.6 vintage unit. I actually like it better than my Meracus high-end German pre-amp, which was utter sacrilege to my good friend that had originally purchased it. I've not used a broad cross-section of pre's, but a good friend of mine has a Shindo Japanese tube pre, and I find it and the PS Audio sound quite similar with the Shindo being just a bit warmer, while the PS is a bit more "crisp" or "clean". The Meracus is almost "stark", which works extremely well for reproducing classical, but for any sort of rock music? nope.

Yes, kids love headphones! My kids all have "Beats" thanks to my wife

My eldest has a little Denon receiver now, hooked up to a pretty nice 3-channel sound bar in his room. I don't want him having anything too wild. He's got my parents old Technics receiver torn apart in a corner, don't know if he's going to try and resurrect it or not, he hasn't asked me for help...yet

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by alarmguy
Wow, great photos in here, I remember 8 tracks, my almost first car I installed a Realistic 8 track. It electronically changed tracks with a touch of a button.
It was installed in my "new to me" 7+ year old 1967 GTO with a OEM Phase3 HO engine. (or something like that)
But cassette's were already around if I remember correctly and next vehicle had cassette.

Hitachi, yes, my friends knew I was always into sound, so I normally went with them whether we were doing sound in a parents home, or our cars or boats.
Still remember driving to Crazy Eddies in NY with my friend, in less then great shape ... ha ha .. buying a Hitachi stereo.


I think you might be early? My grandmother's 1972 Eldorado still had 8-track

Had an 8 track in my 67 GTO back in 1974.
Cassettes made their appearance by the mid 70s for sure and my next vehicle had a cassette deck around 1976 ish.

 

[Alfred_B]

I'm going to pass on the Realistic system and look for. Marantz or some other system.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted by Alfred_B
I'm going to pass on the Realistic system and look for. Marantz or some other system.


I saw a mint condition Marantz system at the flea market this past Sunday. Looked to be from the early 80s. The integrated amplifier was all analog except for the attenuator,which was electronic push button, which seem to be the craze in the early 80s. The seller had an integrated amplifier,a tuner,cassette deck, and a CD player.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Edit. Link didn't work. Model on the amp was PM100 I think?

 

[aquariuscsm]

Here you go. It was this one:

https://picclick.com/Vintage-Marantz-Receiver-Stereo-Tuner-ST100-and-Amplifier-163004493140.html