[Skylab]

I definitely would not simply wait for her call. Don't be a stalker, but making one call today is a good idea. And if the thing works, be a sport and offer $300. That would be an unbelievable score, and you could 8-9 x that money on eBay in a heartbeat.

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Absolutely. I don't believe in cheating people. Treat people with kindness and it will come back to you. I'll give a call this afternoon if I haven't heard anything. I think $300 sounds reasonable. 

 

[PhoenixG]

Matt, if there's anything that'll "cure" the vintage bug, it's a 1980. There is no way I'd ever sell mine and it is always "worth it" to repair.
 
Orrrrr it can make it worse since now you'll only be looking for TOTL's to compare it to and you'll get grumpy anytime anything does something as well as or even slightly better. Or you might end up with 5 pairs of speakers in your listening rooms (amIright skylab? haha). If you get that you will HAVE TO get better speakers to go with it for sure. I think I've run through almost a dozen pairs looking for the "right" ones (found 'em though! Hit up the speaker thread or PM me if you want my dissertation on the matter.). 
The good news is that you won't go into a cold sweat every time you find out that your mailman has a 9090db (true story for me - he has it hooked up in his garage - he mentioned it when I was shipping some L100's).
 
Either way, I'm fantastically excited for you and I wish you luck on that score. If you manage $300 for the brute, you will do easily 2x as well as I did on mine and I'll be very happy for you (pro-tip: make an offer on their whole system maybe, you might be impressed with what they have as peripherals BTW). When I got mine, they guy threw in the "old" speakers that his dad bought with it - HPM-150's! On a final aside, those speakers were indeed a perfect match for the 1980, but were too fragile to live in my house.

 

[Oregonian]

It may not work out. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I rarely "win" anything or fall backwards into a great deal. 

The great thing about this quest/preoccupation for vintage gear is that some of this stuff is not really on the grid anymore. The hunt for it and the low admission price for such beautiful sounding gear is the truly compelling part for me. I suppose it's my frugal nature and my age that gives me a real appreciation for this stuff. But I'm not telling you guys anything that you don't already know. 

I'm just glad that I'm not getting to the party too late...

The thing is my Pioneer rack system I literally fell into. You just never know…

 

[Silent One]

 I'm with Skylab on this one. Acting with good spirit would make both parties a winner and leave you with good audio karma. Hmmm, now where have I seen that phrase before? 

 

[MattTCG]

Good advice!! Because I'm just getting started in the vintage scene, I have lot's to learn about these wonderful old receivers. But dang, it's a whole lot of fun to be had here. 
 
I haven't even started reading about the vintage speakers yet. Got to get on that thread and start educating myself. 

 
I don't even have a pair of speakers hooked up to the sx-650 yet. 

 I only have one pair of speakers period. Polk m50's. They are mid 90's I think, but not really my flavor. I prefer dark and warm. 

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

^^ Absolutely. I don't believe in cheating people. Treat people with kindness and it will come back to you. I'll give a call this afternoon if I haven't heard anything. I think $300 sounds reasonable. 

Who mentioned anything about cheating?? Lets keep it real chaps..
 
Whether its $150 or $300 its still ripping them off of what could be an easy $1000 sold online.. If you were to be the good guy and tell them. 
 
Don't think Karma (audio or not) works like that guys..  

 

[MattTCG]

Lol. You are probably right. I only give this a one in ten shot anyway. I've already resolved myself to believe it won't work.

 

[BigCabDaddy]

Quote:

haha
 
If she doesn't call, I would call her and make an offer of $150 or something. Because they might only be expecting $20 or so.. It might make their day!! As well as yours 

 

 
I think that would be over playing your hand. It might alert them that they have something valuable and they might start looking for even more. Better to slow play your hand I'm thinking.

 

[Silent One]

I beg to differ, as every situation will be different - reading in real-time what one is dealing with helps. For example, LugBug1, there are some people who simply don't want to fuss or be bothered with stuff. And sometimes, they just wanna make a contribution of kindness for enjoyment to interested parties, be it at below market value. 
 
Can't tell you how many things I parted with over the years simply because someone showed interest. This ranging from audio gear and components to music to tea bowls. And despite parting with things I often cared about, many more wonderful things came into my life the same way on the flip-side.
 
Kindness is a very powerful and moving thing. So in short, one would be hard-pressed to claim "You're ripping them off." How can a thing be if a party is simply not interested in profit or a large one? Inside any negotiation both parties should be made to feel like winners. And it doesn't always come down to one side's pile being bigger than the other. 
 
But these are my views, these are my opinions, based on my experiences. 

 And yes, I've got a pretty good idea what karma is and how it works.

 

[BmWr75]

Quote:

 
I've not done a direct comparo.  Sorry.  I should, the NAD sitting on top of the SX-636 right now.

 
I got around to doing this comparison today.  
 
Pioneer SX-636 (restored) vs. NAD 3020 (all original)
 
The Pioneer is brighter, by a pretty good margin, and sounds better to me using LCD-2 Rev. 2s.  The Pioneer also has a better sound stage.  That is it, short and simple.  I prefer the Pioneer.  Maybe not a fair comparison since I've not recapped the NAD.   If you had to listen to was the NAD, you'd be perfectly happy too......me thinks.

 

[Meewoo]

Quote:

 
I got around to doing this comparison today.  
 
Pioneer SX-636 (restored) vs. NAD 3020 (all original)
 
The Pioneer is brighter, by a pretty good margin, and sounds better to me using LCD-2 Rev. 2s.  The Pioneer also has a better sound stage.  That is it, short and simple.  I prefer the Pioneer.  Maybe not a fair comparison since I've not recapped the NAD.   If you had to listen to was the NAD, you'd be perfectly happy too......me thinks.

I thought you recapped NAD 3020. So you just upgrade some parts, but not whole recapping? Seems that dark LCD-2 is not for NAD, I also don't like Sennheiser pairing with warm amps like NAD and HK. Another question, do you remember the sound of 636 before recapping, Is it warmer than after recapping? My rebuild Luxman r-1120 is brighter than stock one(OK, I have 2 R-1120), and I don't like it. Could any burn-in session improve the sound (make it warm)?

 

[Skylab]

. Or you might end up with 5 pairs of speakers in your listening rooms (amIright skylab? haha).

LOLOL! And that's sure true

Getting an SX-1980 will cure any desire to buy another vintage amp or receiver, for sure. I went through about 7 or 8 of them before getting the 1980. After that the only vintage receiver I bought was...another 1980

But I have still bought other vintage stuff...turntables, tape decks, speakers...I have a strict "one in, one out" policy, so I've parted with a lot of stuff too. Just sold my PL-50 TT...and I have a tough call to make between the B&W DM-16, Pioneer S-1010, and the Infinity Kappa 6...one pair must go...

 

[Silent One]

Twin-effects, Skylab? 

 I'm looking for a twin myself - G-22000/G-33000. And then on to a Technics SA-1000 and Marantz 2600/2500.

 

[Skylab]

If I ever saw a 2500/2600 already clad in a nice wood cabinet, I might weaken