[reddog]

I happen to know someone who has a Kenwood KT-7500 for sale and it's cherry. 

Thanks for the information, I am now able to rank my humble Kenwood kr 4600 Reciever.

 

[pedalhead]

Hmm, I gave my Luxman SQ507X a good Deoxit a week or so ago & it's been crackle-free ever since, except today it's making quite a lot of noise again.  Look like I'll be doing it all over again... 

 

[buson160man]

  Here are a few more pics...
 
 
 

 Wow where did you get the old advertising adds. These  adds bring back memories of when I was in high school . I use to drool over the monster vintage receivers back then . There was no way a teenager making pretty close to the minimum wage was going to have the scratch to buy one of those behemoths. Boy those were the good old days .

 

[parbaked]

 

 
 

 
SONY

TECHNICS
 

 

[dogwan]

Borderline vintage.... Harman Kardan HK880Vxi
 
Just resurrected from the dead. Another gem found in a junk pile.
 
New display lights. Adjust idle current, it was pegged at full throttle on one channel which caused it to over heat really fast on half the heatsink. What was thought to be stuck in protection turned out to be incorrectly installed pre-->--amp jumpers. They were put in horizontally when they should have been vertical, basically shorted positives of both pre and amp. No wonder it stayed in protection. Plus, there is a switch on the front for processing loop, so jumpers are not even needed.
 
Gotta love easy fixes! 
 
Just spent a couple hours running it in on both speakers and cans. DC offset fully warmed up measured a micro 0.07ma on both channels! Sounds pretty sweet. Nice and warm tone with an underrated 60w/ch. And, the looks are growing on me. 
 
Apparently MSRP was about $800 in 1988 and was second from TOTL. Made in Japan.
 

 

[pedalhead]

 
 Wow where did you get the old advertising adds. These  adds bring back memories of when I was in high school . I use to drool over the monster vintage receivers back then . There was no way a teenager making pretty close to the minimum wage was going to have the scratch to buy one of those behemoths. Boy those were the good old days .

 
I bought a copy of Stereo Review from 1978...details here... http://www.head-fi.org/t/537704/calling-all-vintage-integrated-receiver-owners/14115#post_11327388 

 

[MinedSafe]

Best thing about vintage amps is that u can do endless upgrades without selling and buying new amps. They also sound beyond any heaphone amp once properly recapped and serviced. I was about to sell my Sansui AU101 but got some CCCP oil caps and I was blown away by the sound. Now ordered full set of resistors,kiwame,mils and some american brand ( red ones ) Next step is to recable with amtrans gold wire Even now this amp sounds like a dream but I like to play around. Got a o2 recently and was able to compare to my Sansui, tbh o2 was completely destroyed, its like comparing Fiat and Ferrarri. Next thing is that everytime u change headphones, u can tune the amp to mach them just by changing resistor, wireing, setting bias lowet or higher( slightly) or changing caps. And what a fun is it just to work on them! I also have old Grundig amp wich I will recap next month. I wish I had more money I love vintage and there is nothing now being produced to compare, neither the looks and sound. Todays amps mesure well, cost th and yet they sometimes play sounds but not music. They produce sound rather to engage u to listen.

 

[SpeakerBox]

The only thing to be careful in regards to upgrades is that you don't put more into a unit than you can reasonably get at resale.
 
We as audiophiles are always looking to the next purchase and usually will want to get our money back out of currently owned units.

 

[analogsurviver]

  The only thing to be careful in regards to upgrades is that you don't put more into a unit than you can reasonably get at resale.
 
We as audiophiles are always looking to the next purchase and usually will want to get our money back out of currently owned units.

True.
 
Unless you want to take it up to a level you will never feel the need for replacement.  A really seriously upgraded vintage piece can dwarf the cost of the "donor" in parts only - without labour.
 
With upgraditis being the bug it is, make the decision bearing the above in mind. 

 

[MinedSafe]

I have spend about 3 times the price of my Sansui for different caps and other parts just to try it out. The biggest problem is that most fancy caps like Rusian olis or silver micas have to purchased in 2 or 3 diferrent stores around the world. Plus u need to try many different ones to get the best. Over the years I also found out that lower amp models are better as not over designed. I remember my recaped Proton competing with Cyrus amp costing 5-10 time more

Some people also think that modifying vintage amp is a crime and should be penalised. Why I see no reason not to change RCA sockets, wires and speakers binding posts. And most of them sound "tuby" warm because of 30year old caps and carbon resitors everywhere. The most important part to change is bias pot, after the years they do not hold current properly, and this can damage transistors very quickly. None of the ones I had was able to hold current steady. The noise is usually caused by the transistors, sometimes they can be replaced but most of the time they are out of the production for years. Same as pots, without rewiring its not possible to change them.

Yes we all want to sell out stuff at some stage, while some of the amps will stay with us for years, as my Grundig I have maybe 10 years or more now, and not willing to let it go for another 10.

 

[analogsurviver]

I have spend about 3 times the price of my Sansui for different caps and other parts just to try it out. The biggest problem is that most fancy caps like Rusian olis or silver micas have to purchased in 2 or 3 diferrent stores around the world. Plus u need to try many different ones to get the best. Over the years I also found out that lower amp models are better as not over designed. I remember my recaped Proton competing with Cyrus amp costing 5-10 time more

Some people also think that modifying vintage amp is a crime and should be penalised. Why I see no reason not to change RCA sockets, wires and speakers binding posts. And most of them sound "tuby" warm because of 30year old caps and carbon resitors everywhere. The most important part to change is bias pot, after the years they do not hold current properly, and this can damage transistors very quickly. None of the ones I had was able to hold current steady. The noise is usually caused by the transistors, sometimes they can be replaced but most of the time they are out of the production for years. Same as pots, without rewiring its not possible to change them.

Yes we all want to sell out stuff at some stage, while some of the amps will stay with us for years, as my Grundig I have maybe 10 years or more now, and not willing to let it go for another 10.

 to all of the above.
 
Ahh, those vintage purefetishists, particularly speaker binding posts in some of the vintage gear, particularly Technics, are abysmal. I once waited for a considerable time for the type I like particularly, that is rare enough on its own, but I added to that the condition it has got to have smashed speaker binding posts. So that I will be forced to replace them.
 
And then spent a whole day in order to get (semi) decent speaker binding posts securely in place. But instead of always looking grim upon connecting either speaker cables or cables for the AKG K 1000 to Technics gear, now I look like this : 

&

.
 
VPFMMV ( vintage pure fetishist mileage might vary ).

 

[SpeakerBox]

An interesting read: http://www.audioholics.com/audio-amplifier/the-most-memorable-audio-receivers-of-all-time

 

[Oregonian]

  What a great find! Maybe hold out for a Marrantz 10b/20b, or double down on Mac and get a MR78. I've got the MR-78 with a few tweaks (via modafferi) and it is one of the few perfect items I have. No complaints.

One of our local vintage shops (Echo Audio) here in Portland, OR has a MR-78 for sale..................$725. 

 

[analogsurviver]

 
One of our local vintage shops (Echo Audio) here in Portland, OR has a MR-78 for sale..................$725. 

MR78 is one of the best tuners - modded by Modafferi, it becomes perhaps THE best out there. 
 
You will have to decide how far you wish to go with this. Buying merely vintage MR78 "as is" will NOT yield the maximum out of this design. Just a quick search brought this : http://www.ebay.com/itm/380958839163?rmvSB=true
 
http://www.audioclassics.com/mods
 
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/mcintosh-mr78-what-should-i-know-before-i-shop-for-one.166668/
 
BEFORE you even think to consider a tuner in this class, make 100 +% sure you have a decent antenna on an antenna rotator. Remember, a stock NAD 4020A with an antenna on a rotator will drive MR 78 with a dipole into the ground on all but most local/powerful/multipath free stations. 
 
So, it is the donor unit, restoration/modification and antenna on a rotator - and if the FM stations in your vicinity are worth their salt, it will quickly spark an interest in a decent recorder. 
 
Taken together, >>>> $ than a "receiver" - even if TOTL Pioneer. 

 

[PhoenixG]

  MR78 is one of the best tuners - modded by Modafferi, it becomes perhaps THE best out there. 
 
You will have to decide how far you wish to go with this. Buying merely vintage MR78 "as is" will NOT yield the maximum out of this design. Just a quick search brought this : http://www.ebay.com/itm/380958839163?rmvSB=true
 
http://www.audioclassics.com/mods
 
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/mcintosh-mr78-what-should-i-know-before-i-shop-for-one.166668/
 
BEFORE you even think to consider a tuner in this class, make 100 +% sure you have a decent antenna on an antenna rotator. Remember, a stock NAD 4020A with an antenna on a rotator will drive MR 78 with a dipole into the ground on all but most local/powerful/multipath free stations. 
 
So, it is the donor unit, restoration/modification and antenna on a rotator - and if the FM stations in your vicinity are worth their salt, it will quickly spark an interest in a decent recorder. 
 
Taken together, >>>> $ than a "receiver" - even if TOTL Pioneer. 

Yeah, the MR-78 with the modafferi mod was kinda pricey, but it was cheaper to get one that has already had it done than it was to ship one to have it done. Without the mod, the top end is rolled off too soon. Still selective, but annoyingly lacking treble. With the mod and all other work done, it is the best tuner I have ever heard. Most selective, least distorting. Just good. I can get dozens of Canadian stations and stuff from Portland on a good day from where I live. I think I get almost 60 stations, and most of them are clear.
Now, it's feeding a Sony str-6120 and XR-250 speakers. When the pioneer finally gets back from Mattsd next month, it will probably be fed by the mr-78 instead. The speakers miiiiight be up for an upgrade in the next month depending on how things go. Not quite firing up the van yet haha.