[Silent One]

So after you sell the amps, what vintage will be left? Any?

None while I transition into the Labor force. 

 

[LugBug1]

  None while I transition into the Labor force. 

Well it'll be fun to start over again. Fresh start, so to speak  

 

[Victorecho]

I am also a fan of the vintage receivers  I own a Kenwood KR 6030 and an Akai AA-A45 that I have had for many years. I've replaced the output I/C's in the Akai twice .Surprisingly they are still fairly inexpensive and available.

 

[Silent One]

 
Well it'll be fun to start over again. Fresh start, so to speak  

I'm looking forward to going back to work at some point and earn but, the thought of scouring the EARTH for the fantastic four will be daunting!
(Sansui G-33/22000; Pioneer 1980; Marantz 2600; Technics SA-1000)

 

[SpeakerBox]

  I am also a fan of the vintage receivers  I own a Kenwood KR 6030 and an Akai AA-A45 that I have had for many years. I've replaced the output I/C's in the Akai twice .Surprisingly they are still fairly inexpensive and available.

 
You have come to the right place.  Many of us are refurbishing and restoring pieces we have had for many years and those recently acquired.  A great hobby with great sonic payback!

 

[lithium1085]

I am curious about vintage preamps. Have any of you tried to compare them with vintage receivers or integrateds? My thought process is that they might have lower output impedance but still enough power for the majority of headphones.

 

[dyang]

  I am curious about vintage preamps. Have any of you tried to compare them with vintage receivers or integrateds? My thought process is that they might have lower output impedance but still enough power for the majority of headphones.

 
 
It's really a hit and miss pairing up a specific headphone to a vintage receivers.  Sometimes they pair good, sometimes not so well, sometimes it's "WOW that schiit is badass!"  
 
For instance: My Audio Technica's and Senns pairs up well with Marantz 2230 but horrible MD and Beyers.  My vintage pioneer receiver goes well with my DT880's but not so hot with A/T and Senns.  My Sansui's are great with everything I have except DT880's.  "Get my drift?"  It's really a hit and miss.
 
So I know which to go to when I pick up a certain headphone. 

 

[LugBug1]

  I am curious about vintage preamps. Have any of you tried to compare them with vintage receivers or integrateds? My thought process is that they might have lower output impedance but still enough power for the majority of headphones.

Yes, I've often wondered how these would pair with headphones. In general would a stand alone vintage preamp have enough juice for modern headphones if not hooked up to a power amp?
 
Anyone?  

 

[ssrock64]

I used an inexpensive Dynaco PAT-4 for awhile, and it paired extremely well with Orthos, but not so much with high-impedance dynamic cans. Any low-impedance, high-sensitivity cans were beyond consideration because of static noise concerns, but the PAT-4 really made my Mad Dog LCD-2 sing.

 

[moodyrn]

I just received a marantz 1200b that was a parts repair unit. I may have overpaid a bit, but if I can get it working it would be worth it to me. It was described as having no sound. Usually that's nothing major. I also noticed that there were no preamp/amp jumpers in the back, and unlike the marantz receivers, they are needed on this one. But then I thought, well what if the seller is aware of that and purposely removed them to trick the potential buyer that was all they needed. Well I don't know if that's what he intended, but as soon as I turned it on, I realized that it needed more than jumpers since it never came out of protection.

The reasons I decided to pull the trigger on this one is the fact it's fairly rare, good condition cosmetically, and also came with a wc 10 cab. It's also a combination of a 3300 preamp and 250 power amp and is rumored that they sound much more accurate than their receiver. So time will tell. I'm really hoping its relay problem. But after narrowing the problem down, I do plan to fully restore it though. I read on many occasions a 1200/1200b restored is something to behold.

 

[Silent One]

Both the find and your ambition...very nice.

 

[moodyrn]

Thanks!!

Well good and bad news on the relay front. The relay is unobtainium. The good news is, there's an omron relay that can be rewired internally and modded by clipping off some pins and bending the remaining pins. But upon initial inspection, someone either tried or did a bad job of removing the relay board. A very shotty job of soldering. The half axx job they did left some strands of wire exposed and touching other strands of wire from wires next to them. So I'm hoping there's no further damage. This is a good example of why many repair men refuse to go behind someone else's work.

 

[LugBug1]

Good luck with the 1200b moody! 
 
I've never come across one at my neck of the woods, but I'm guessing that they would cost about an average months wage if one did.. The higher end Marantz are becoming stupidly expensive this side of the Atlantic.
 
Heres an old promo pic for the viewers out there
 

 

[moodyrn]

Thanks. They are pretty rare over here too. The 1200 is also rare, but not quiet as rare as the B version though. I will say I'm pretty impressed with the build quality. It's on another level from both the 2325 and 2330b I used to own. It pretty much falls in line in comparison to what they say over at ak about the early marantz integrated. The consensus is they are even better than the early mac integrateds. Mcintosh didn't really get serious with integrateds until the 6200. Now that's a really nice one that's on my short list.

 

[PhoenixG]

Nice job Moody. So many great finds from you!
 
I had this guy follow me home recently. It lived in my back room until I got around to cleaning it up. Now I'm just waiting for the deoxit to dry.
 

It's a Realistic 2000D. I think Realistics tend to be overlooked in general, but their vintage units tend to have a build & sonic quality far above average on their better (and even lower end) models, which can be found at bargain prices in the used market. While I doubt that this guy will be able to compete with the monsters in my main and secondary rigs, I'm hoping it will compete well above it's weight class. If it does well, I'll probably farm it out to a friend after having my fun with it.