[BGRoberts]

+1
Right or wrong, I feel more confident buying from an AK'r than Ebay, or some other auction.
You can be pretty sure you're dealing with a knowledgeable seller.
~BG
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Any of you who are serious about looking to buy vintage audio should subscribe over at AudioKarma...there are some amazing deals in "Barter Town" there, but you have to subscribe to have access to Barter Town.  Well worth it, IMHO.

 

[Rocko1]

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I agree. Those low-powered, capacitor coupled receivers have a really great sound to them. Nowadays, it seems like vintage gear is going way up in price. Some of the higher end vintage Marantz units go for ~$500, and you're lucky if you can find a 2220 for under $200. It also seems like it's impossible to find a good receiver in any thrift store; they all get plucked out quickly and put on eBay.

Tell me about it. I got into the vintage game back when eBay was not widely known, late 90s. I can't tell you the deals I got. Ok, Ill tell you one. 2270 for $80 shipped in very good shape. I also picked vintage items and sold them as a hobby. Again, really nice finds in thrift stores. It was not uncommon to see 2-5 working 70's era receivers on the shelves. I passed up so many units that were 30 watters just because I knew there would be bigger units coming. I picked up Sanyo's biggest receiver-can't recall the model-huge-45lbs, in mint shape for $20. Those days are long gone my friend.  
 
 While the $20 deals maybe gone, you can still get a decent unit for a fair price. When using ebay there are two key points. 1) Sellers feedback. Check to make sure it's 100% or darn near close. See what they have sold before. Have they sold vintage receivers or similar items? People selling older items may have no idea about the stereo or how it is supposed to work. 2) Ask questions before. Do both channels work evenly, is there any distortion, is there any unseen damage, does the AM/FM tune stations in, etc. If they can't answer, look elsewhere.
 
 One last point. I often times look for items within 50 miles from where I live or work. Ask if you can pick the item up. This will save you money and prevent the unit from being damages in shipping-which happens too often.

 

[Skylab]

Here in Chicago, you can still score some pretty sweet deals on Craigslist. Maybe not a 2270 for $80, but some decent deals nonetheless.  Have to be patient, and you are more likely to get a great deal if you spend a little.  I got a pair of Pioneer HPM-1100's (not 100's, 1100's) for $350 locally because the seller couldn't realistically ship these 90 pound beasts.   That's an incredible price for a pair of speakers of that caliber. I bought a Marantz 2240 that needed just a deoxit bath for $100.  Right now there are multiple nice vintage receivers for decent prices on CL here, in addition to some of course that are listed for truly ridiculous prices that no one will ever pay.
 
I have NEVER seen anything good at Goodwill and have stopped looking. 

 

[Rocko1]

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Here in Chicago, you can still score some pretty sweet deals on Craigslist. Maybe not a 2270 for $80, but some decent deals nonetheless.  Have to be patient, and you are more likely to get a great deal if you spend a little.  I got a pair of Pioneer HPM-1100's (not 100's, 1100's) for $350 locally because the seller couldn't realistically ship these 90 pound beasts.   That's an incredible price for a pair of speakers of that caliber. I bought a Marantz 2240 that needed just a deoxit bath for $100.  Right now there are multiple nice vintage receivers for decent prices on CL here, in addition to some of course that are listed for truly ridiculous prices that no one will ever pay.
 
I have NEVER seen anything good at Goodwill and have stopped looking. 

Thats good. I have given up looking on CL in my area because someone who buys and resells vintage stereos has just bombed the entire category with WILL PAY CASH FOR OLD STEREOS and they are aggressively after and swooping in on anyone posting any deals.

 

[Maverickmonk]

Goodwill might not be the best for vintage stereos, but there's some nice 90's gear floating around. Picked up a sony ES cd player for a friend, and a Denon CD player for myself, both of which were under $10 bucks. The Denon came in at a wopping $2.95

 

[Rocko1]

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Goodwill might not be the best for vintage stereos, but there's some nice 90's gear floating around. Picked up a sony ES cd player for a friend, and a Denon CD player for myself, both of which were under $10 bucks. The Denon came in at a wopping $2.95

Yes, I noticed a ton of 5 disc cd players for cheap. Good gear can be had. Smartphone is your friend when browsing.
 
The ES line is amazing. Nice score!

 

[BmWr75]

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Any of you who are serious about looking to buy vintage audio should subscribe over at AudioKarma...there are some amazing deals in "Barter Town" there, but you have to subscribe to have access to Barter Town.  Well worth it, IMHO.

 
+1 on that.  An AK subscription costs $25 for one year.  There is some sweet stuff sold on Barter Town. For example, here are a few of the items listed there now:
 
Kenwood Eleven G - $300
Marantz 2226 - $225 OBO
Pioneer SA-9500 II - $200
Pioneer SX-838 - $160

 

[BmWr75]

For sale on AK today (not mine) in Barter Town, no refurbishment done.  Pictures look great.
 
"Pioneer SA 9100 in great condition. There is one minor scratch that has been 90% repaired with Howards' wax. Other than that, my 48 year old eyes aren't seeing anything wrong.

This is my daily driver and everything works as it should. I have not found anything not to be working as new. The last unit sold for $300 here and they seem to be asking the moon for these on the bay. I need to get $290 plus $40 shipping anywhere in Canada or the US. 

I ship via UPS from Eureka Montana and it will be double boxed and insured. We have two dogs in our home and no smoking. The picture of the interior was taken without any cleaning in the last 6 months. This thing is in beauty condition."

 

[Silent One]

.

 

[sling5s]

I currently have a Pioneer SX-737.   I just picked up Pioneer vsx-d602s out of curiosity.  It's was made in 1993.  The headphone out seems to be good with the LCD-2.
It's not as clean as the SX-737 but anyone have them? 

 

[Fearless1]

 
 
I just picked this up at a flea-market for 30 bucks, wow the headphone out is magnificent! It drives my HD-650/600 with more authority then my Lyr(actually sounds more plush as well).
 
Does anyone have any info on Lafayette?
 
 
 

 

 

[BmWr75]

From the little bit I could find about it on AK, you have a nice receiver there.

 

[Fearless1]

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From the little bit I could find about it on AK, you have a nice receiver there.

There really is not much info around on this...there was a Pioneer SX 1250(80 bucks) there as well, it was just so beat down. The guy has a stand there every week(inside) and he has an amazing collection of things for sale. I could not pass up the Lafayette, it looks brand new.

 

[monoethylene]

May you get the 1250 for me and ship it to Germany??
 
Have fun
 
Philipp
 

 

[Meewoo]

Quote:

 
 
I just picked this up at a flea-market for 30 bucks, wow the headphone out is magnificent! It drives my HD-650/600 with more authority then my Lyr(actually sounds more plush as well).
 
Does anyone have any info on Lafayette?
 
 
 

This is one model of best Lafayette receiver series. This series have 3 models, Lr-2020 or something, Lr-5555, and TOTL LR-9090. Another seires only has one receiver LR-120Db. The LR-x0x0 inside is identical to Setton RX-220, 440 and 660. Someone say they all made by Setton, but other say Setton didn't own manufacture factory. I think they either made by Kenwood or Fostex. LR-120DB was manufactured by Luxman. I have LR=9090, LR-120db, and Setton RX-660, I can confirm this info.
 
BTW, they all great receivers.