[joehalo]

Just sold the SX-1250. The CR-2020 beats it hands down in the sound department. The Pioneer was noticeably more powerful but had harsher highs and somewhat boomy bass compared to the Yamaha.

 

[Wingtip]

I love the look of those Yamahas. There was a very clean CR-3020 on SF Bay Area CL last fall. The guy was asking for a lot of cash but probably got it; the top of the line model always commands a premium. I researched the CR line at the time and the consensus appears to be that the CR-2020 and CR-2040 are the best-sounding models, better than the 3020 despite its massive power. In many audio product lines, the model second from the top is often the best value, and sometimes the best performer.

 

[SpeakerBox]

Just sold the SX-1250. The CR-2020 beats it hands down in the sound department. The Pioneer was noticeably more powerful but had harsher highs and somewhat boomy bass compared to the Yamaha.

 
I found the sound of my 1250 to be uninspiring when I first got it.  That said, after I did the restoration it became something magical.

 

[Zulkr9]

How does the luxman l85 v sound

 

[rage3324]

I acquired a Marantz 2230 for my Thorens turntable and I have to say my HD800 sound fantastic out of the 2230. I have yet to try my Grado's..
 
What is the general consensus around here regarding headphone impedance and older Marantz stereos?
 
I'm considering adding my Woo Audio WA7 or DNA Stratus (when it arrives) to my turntable rig to use with headphones, but not sure it is worth it if the Marantz sound is that good. Else, I am going to sell my WA7. 
 
Any insight is appreciated

 

[SirMarc]

I use a vintage dynaco integrated with my thorens Td145 and sennheiser hd580's and I'm pretty happy. Very good synergy going on here. Punches way out of its class

 

[SirMarc]

I use a vintage dynaco integrated with my thorens Td145 and sennheiser hd580's and I'm pretty happy. Very good synergy going on here. Punches way out of its class

To put my comment into context, I have an aune t1 tube dac with a nos amperex 7308 tube from 1966 and an Asgard 2, and my vintage rig trounces it...

 

[Wingtip]

After falling in love with the LCD-3 at CanJam in March, I finally pulled the trigger on a set. I immediately jacked them into my main system, which is built around a McIntosh MA-6600 integrated amp. It sounded okay, but I was a little disappointed; the cans were too restrained, too polite.

After an hour or so, I moved to my bedroom system, which is based on a vintage Concept 11.0 receiver. Holy crap. This is the sound that led me down the garden path! The Concept's grip and authority is startling. At medium-high volume, I was watching the meters bounce between 20 and 40 watts. I don't know the impedance of the resistor between the amp and the headphone jack, but there was a lot of juice being pushed into the HP output to meet the LCD-3's 110 ohm impedance.

I'm so happy with this combo. I was really worried for a moment that I'd formed a false impression at CanJam and blown my money on a dud set of headphones. I knew amplification was importan, but it didn't occur to me that a beastly 200 wpc McIntosh integrated woudn't be up to the task. The vintage Concept just bent the LCD-3 to its will and drove them beautifully. Now I have to move it to my living room!

 

[moodyrn]

Good stuff, my mcintosh 2205 also at 200wpc couldn't do much with my he6 from the headphone jack either which is why i opted to use the speaker taps. The speaker taps from yours would be way too much for the lcd-3 though. But the macs uses higher impedace resistors than others from the vintage era. With yours being semi-vintage, its no suprise the headphone out wasn't up to task. But if you want to drive your cans from the headphone out of the mac, you can swap the dropping resistors on the headphone outs with lower impedance resistors. But i wouldnt bother. That concept is a killer receiver. It probably wont sound much better.

 

[zach915m]

  I acquired a Marantz 2230 for my Thorens turntable and I have to say my HD800 sound fantastic out of the 2230. I have yet to try my Grado's..
 
What is the general consensus around here regarding headphone impedance and older Marantz stereos?
 
I'm considering adding my Woo Audio WA7 or DNA Stratus (when it arrives) to my turntable rig to use with headphones, but not sure it is worth it if the Marantz sound is that good. Else, I am going to sell my WA7. 
 
Any insight is appreciated

 
I would be interested in the answer to this as well, the headphones I've tried with my 2220b seem to vary in how well the Marantz loves them. 
 
Glad you found a Marantz Rage, equally glad I ended up keeping mine!

 

[rage3324]

   
I would be interested in the answer to this as well, the headphones I've tried with my 2220b seem to vary in how well the Marantz loves them. 
 
Glad you found a Marantz Rage, equally glad I ended up keeping mine!

 
Turns out my dad had a 2230, had to snag it. I'm with you regarding headphone pairings with the 22x0 series. I want to say the 2220/2230 prefers high impedance headphones but i'm not positive. My HD800 sound great. My DT770 600 ohms sound okay. I have not tried any of my Grados yet but plan to this week. Overall, I really have not done any a/b comparisons with my Woo WA7 so this could all be in my head but I really think I prefer the 2230 over the WA7 for my HD800. Bigger soundstage, more detail... but that could easily be due to the analog source

 

[zach915m]

   
Turns out my dad had a 2230, had to snag it. I'm with you regarding headphone pairings with the 22x0 series. I want to say the 2220/2230 prefers high impedance headphones but i'm not positive. My HD800 sound great. My DT770 600 ohms sound okay. I have not tried any of my Grados yet but plan to this week. Overall, I really have not done any a/b comparisons with my Woo WA7 so this could all be in my head but I really think I prefer the 2230 over the WA7 for my HD800. Bigger soundstage, more detail... but that could easily be due to the analog source

 
Don't you live near Damen and Huron, like 10 feet from me?  I'll have to PM you so I can hear it with the HD800's.
 
Anyways, I think Grado's would sound great with it even though I don't currently have a set, my dog years ago chewed up my SR60 lol.  I can see the Marantz's having somewhat similar tone to the WA7, I'm going back and forth between my Violectric 281 right now and they have a lot of similarities in that they are both "full" sounding without losing any details.  It's really quite shocking and alarming considering I got the Marantz kinda beat up for under $100 bucks and then had it cleaned up.

 

[Mechans1]

The last I looked for my high school integrated I couldn't find any for sale on eBay. I don't know if it is a trend but it's possible that a lot of the 70s receivers and amp have been bought and either thrown out, parted out, or kept.  I may be jumping the gun and thing are no cycled through.. I do have a Fisher 400 from the 60s all tube  which is fine with me.  I have had all tube speaker gear for a while .  In fact I have more tubes than sense.*
 
*If anyone needs a specific tube I might be able to help you out.

 

[Seamaster]

Good stuff, my mcintosh 2205 also at 200wpc couldn't do much with my he6 from the headphone jack either which is why i opted to use the speaker taps. The speaker taps from yours would be way too much for the lcd-3 though. But the macs uses higher impedace resistors than others from the vintage era. With yours being semi-vintage, its no suprise the headphone out wasn't up to task. But if you want to drive your cans from the headphone out of the mac, you can swap the dropping resistors on the headphone outs with lower impedance resistors. But i wouldnt bother. That concept is a killer receiver. It probably wont sound much better.

I have a mac ma6900. My service tech replaced the 600 ohm resistor in HP out to a 50ohm one that made some positive improvement but not as much as I was hoping for. My old Sony ta2000f has better HP out.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Would a Sony STR-D511 qualify for "vintage"?