[Freddi]

I'm going to make use of my mom's old turntable soon. I'm thinking of setting up a small vinyl listening station and need some advice.

I've been checking out some cheapish new phono preamps (Cambridge, NAD) and was going to buy one. I was planning to connect it up to my surround receiver. Then I stumbeled across a post about the NAD 3020... Now I can't stop thinking about buying a vintage receiver with a good phono input and decent headphone output. For the time being I'm not going to think about connecting it to speakers...

Here in Norway the market for vintage audio gear is not that great. The NAD 3020 is up for sale maybe once per month, and goes really fast. So I need to know about some good alternatives to that one. I've been reading a little about Marantz, Sansui and Pioneer. All rare where I live. Can someone tell me more about what vintage receivers are as good as the NAD 3020? Which ones should I know about if one were to be put up for sale?

 

[lini]

For your purpose, I'd rather recommend looking for a good vintage pre-amp (Yamaha, Rotel, Harman/Kardon, Denon, Tandberg, Grundig, Dual, NAD... there were lots of good ones): The phono pre-amp stages in these thingies are usually just as good, if not better than modern entry-level dedicated phono stages, and the headphone amp section also has much more in common with modern dedicated headphone amps than in receivers in which the headphone output is usually derived from the speakers outputs via resistors. In addition, my personal pet peeve with receivers is tuner crosstalk - especially in combination with high-impedance, low-efficiency phones. And another plus: You'll waist less energy.

Greetings from Munich to Norge (I don't snakker Norsk, though)!

Manfred / lini

 

[oicdn]

I second the vintage receiver thing. Like said above, they're probably better than most of todays preamps, seeing as how that was the main source back in the day.

Onkyo TX4500

+
Technics SL1400

+

DT770/250

=

eargasm

 

[Freddi]

Thanks for the reply, guys!

I didn't know preamps have headphone line out... so that's how much I know, for ya.

I'll look into the preamp market here, but my hopes are not that big. Yesterday I did some searches for Fischer, Marantz 22xx, McIntosh and Sansui. Results: nada. So this will definetly turn out to be a long term project, which I hate. Chances are I'll order something from abroad in a few days 'cause I'm sick of waiting...

I've been doing some more research, and there is a stunning number of vintage/retro (pre)amps that get good reviews! Seems like most pre 1980 products are quite good on phono line in and headphone line out.

Greetings Lini!

What should I look for in a preamp? Chances are I won't be able to listen to it before I buy... Do you have any more specific suggestions?

Oicdn. Nice receiver you got there. Love the vintage look... Does it sound as good as it looks?

 

[oicdn]

I wouldn't necessarily be looking at preamps. You should be looking at receivers for the best bang for the dollar. Especially if you already have DT770's coming, the warm tubey sound coming from that receiver will blow your socks off when listening to vinyl(with a good cartridge and/or turntable).

Honestly, I'm still looking for a DAP -> amp -> IEM combo that will replicate that sound. It's that good. I think I've found the IEMs, and I think I'm going to give the Millet tube amp a shot, now I just need to find a portable source....

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freddi /img/forum/go_quote.gif (...) I've been doing some more research, and there is a stunning number of vintage/retro (pre)amps that get good reviews! Seems like most pre 1980 products are quite good on phono line in and headphone line out. (...) Greetings Lini! What should I look for in a preamp? Chances are I won't be able to listen to it before I buy... Do you have any more specific suggestions?

I think it would be easier the other way round ('cause there are really lots of good pre-amps...) - i.e. you give me a couple of places to check, and I tell you which models I'd suggest looking into... Maybe you can even dig up a Tandberg TCA 3002(A) or 3008A for a good price - those would be the pre-amps of choice for a real Norseman, anyway!

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[Freddi]

Came across a few Tandberg, but none of the ones you specified. I have no Idea if these are any good. Haven't done much research on Tandberg yet... I guess I should, being from Norway and all.

Am I allowed to make a list like this? I hope so...

TANDBERG TR 1040A(AM-FM STEREO RECEIVER)PALISANDER.Price €230.

Tandberg TR 200 - price not included

Tandberg TR 220 - price not included

TANDBERG TR 2075 MK II - €550

TANDBERG TR 3030 - Auction. One button that sticks, need to get new antenna.


I've been looking at a couple of others too

:

Pioneer SX-434 Stereo Receiver - Cheap/auction. Looks like a good option for me. The seller says it works quite good, so I'll have to get him to specify.

Kenwood Model KR-2010 - Auction. Couldn't find much info on this. How are the Kenwoods from this period?

Radionette Soundmaster 80 - Never heard of Radionette, so I didn't read up on it.

Sanyo JCX 2100LE - Auction/expensive? I love the look of this one. Sold together with a cassette player that looks like something from outer space. Really cool! Searches only brought up german sites, so I couldn't find anything about it.

LUXMAN T-2L - Aution. Don't know anything about it. Luxman seems like solid stuff though.

KENWOOD KR-5400 FM / AM - Receiver - Auction. Looks really nice. Found some good reviews on this one.

Sasui 7070 - €250 - This is so sweet!

I don't know if it's sold, though. Waiting for the seller to reply to my e-mail...

Radionette SM 250 - Cheap. Original owner. Looks used, but it's supposed to work...

Unidentified Onkyo receiver

: Cheapish
http://www.zett.no/smått_og_stort.html?objectId=895058


And that's it for today's hunt!

Would be great if you could point me out in the right direction here. I'm learning new things about vintage gear every day, so I guess I'll eventually be able to pick out the winners. But I've got money burning a hole in my pocket right now!