[AudioArby]

Vintage prices have gotten out of hand. Most of the receivers now on Ebay are not personally owned anymore. They're estate sale finds that are posted untested for crazy prices. The prices have doubled or tripled in the last 5 years.

 

[terry parr]

Vintage prices have gotten out of hand. Most of the receivers now on Ebay are not personally owned anymore. They're estate sale finds that are posted untested for crazy prices. The prices have doubled or tripled in the last 5 years.

yeah.  through online research, people who come across older audio gear are now hip to the idea of the prices that some of these pieces are now fetching.
 
and quite a few of these re-sellers are not people who truly appreciate these pieces for what they are.  they don't appreciate the sound characteristics or the aesthetics of a vintage piece.  they're just looking to turn a quick buck or two.
 
i personally blame everyone here on this thread for driving the prices up and making it more difficult for me to score a nice piece of vintage gear at a decent price.
 
everyone here who owns more than two vintage amps that they've purchased through an online listing owes me an apology.

 

[Oregonian]

I owe you a big one then. I have 9 pieces..........

That said, the prices I've paid are very reasonable. For example, a full rack Spec 1 & 2 system with SG-9500 EQ, CTF-1000 cassette deck with TX-9500 tuner I paid $270. For everything. The most I paid was $400 for an immaculate SX-1050. Point being there are good deals to be had on craigslist, tho everything you've said is true to some extent. eBay is the wrong place to find a "deal" from my experience. My local vintage repair store sells pieces as well and his pricing remains fair.

 

[kokushu]

Mixing vintage technologies with modern tech.  My marantz 1152 dc and yamaha ca 1010 hook up to a bmc puredac.  All of these connect to my only speaker kef ls50.
 

 

[terry parr]

nice, pristine-looking set-up, kokushu mixing old and new.  very "clean" looking.
 
no, oregonian, that previous post of mine was a bit tongue-in-cheek.  you got it, but i wanted to qualify it, since that type of humor sometimes doesn't translate well on a thread posting such as this.
 
yeah.  if i were serious, you'd have to be one of the ones being the most apologetic!  you, and a few others that i won't name.

 

[roadcykler]

  Mixing vintage technologies with modern tech.  My marantz 1152 dc and yamaha ca 1010 hook up to a bmc puredac.  All of these connect to my only speaker kef ls50.
 

That looks like a very nice set-up. I would guess that qualifies as a "near field" listening area.

 

[CrocCap]

deleted

 

[parbaked]

Put the 1974 Pioneer SA-7100 back in the rotation with an early MHDT DAC and an old DVD player. 

These SA-7100/8100/9100 amps are very good!

 

[Destroysall]

Parkbaked I have been on the lookout for those amps for awhile. As much as I love my Marantz, I've always loved the Pioneer sound.

 

[Captain Howdy]

Apologies if this post is not quite appropriate to the thread, but I figure y'all will know the answer.
 
I've been using a 15 year old Onkyo TX-8211 receiver, which I don't suppose qualifies as vintage. If it wasn't BOTL when I bought it, it was close. Recently I bought a pair of HD600 and I want to get the most out of them. To my neophyte's ears they sound pretty good through the Onkyo, but I have nothing to compare them to. Am I correct in assuming that an entry-level HP amp like the Magni or O2 probably won't be a significant improvement over the Onkyo?

 

[Oregonian]

Welcome. I believe your Onkyo will still sound better, with tone controls which the Magni has none. I owned the Magni before I found this thread........no longer own it.

 

[LugBug1]

  Apologies if this post is not quite appropriate to the thread, but I figure y'all will know the answer.
 
I've been using a 15 year old Onkyo TX-8211 receiver, which I don't suppose qualifies as vintage. If it wasn't BOTL when I bought it, it was close. Recently I bought a pair of HD600 and I want to get the most out of them. To my neophyte's ears they sound pretty good through the Onkyo, but I have nothing to compare them to. Am I correct in assuming that an entry-level HP amp like the Magni or O2 probably won't be a significant improvement over the Onkyo?

The HD600 are 300 ohms so they appreciate a high impedance amp. Your Onkyo will have a much higher impedance value than the very low/high current Magni. This is only one factor of course but a major one imo. My advice would be, if you like the sound out of your Onkyo, maybe keep an eye out for an even better vintage amp I've owned the Magni and all though it is a great amp in regards to price/performance, it doesn't come close to a decent vintage amp. And you don't need to pay much for a decent vintage amp as long as you know what you are looking for. 
 
I would start doing your homework on vintage amps first and there is loads of info on this thread. 

 

[Captain Howdy]

Thanks Oregonian and LugBug. I have poked around a bit in this thread, but 894 pages is a lot of homework!
 
One thing I really appreciate about my Onkyo is its infrared remote; does that particular feature post-date the 'vintage' era?

 

[Oregonian]

Thanks Oregonian and LugBug. I have poked around a bit in this thread, but 894 pages is a lot of homework!

One thing I really appreciate about my Onkyo is its infrared remote; does that particular feature post-date the 'vintage' era?

None of the vintage stuff has remotes. The only downside.

I have a Chase RLC-1 remote my vintage guy found for me on my Spec system that solved it for me. Problem is it's hard to find and not made any longer.

 

[SpeakerBox]

None of the vintage stuff has remotes. The only downside.

I have a Chase RLC-1 remote my vintage guy found for me on my Spec system that solved it for me. Problem is it's hard to find and not made any longer.

 
There are remote upgrades that can be purchased for some of the vintage units - but very expensive (>$300).   Have seen them on that popular auction site a few times.