I mentioned that stuff mostly because I need to do a little trimming myself later today.
All y'all needed to know that (apropos of I Hate Vintage Audio! :( ).
I Hate Vintage Audio! :(
- Thread starter prime minister
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I mentioned that stuff mostly because I need to do a little trimming myself later today.
All y'all needed to know that (apropos of I Hate Vintage Audio! :( ).
I dabble as well, but not nearly up to Nate's standards.squarely in @Redboy's lap.
I can't imagine that any of us can say we've never had an issue with vintage audio pieces. I certainly cannot! On the other hand, the majority of what I've owned has ended up being as reliable as I could ever have wanted. I'm not saying they would necessarily have been that way without some intervention along the way. Having said that, I do have a few pieces that have never been touched (apart from replacing bulbs and such), the Onkyo TX-4500 mkII in the kitchen for example.That some of us have had absolutely terrible luck with it all? You can disagree all you want, it still happened
So is my Redboy SUT new or vintage? Category needed....
Yes.
My answer as well. My answer to many questions. Loving the SUT - one of my best purchases to date!
I use AT12P, Grace G660P and Grace 565 12" arms with my DL103 and other low compliance cartridges.
These arms are built like tanks, to provide years of use in hard use installations.
They work great, sound great, are super easy to set up and allow me the luxury of listening to records instead of constantly tweaking my tables.
I buy and use vintage audio without any trepidation at all. Look at the Pioneer silver face restorations performed by @pustelniakr - absolutely gorgeous. These components will provide years and years of music to those lucky enough to own them.
My own Marantz and McIntosh tube gear is still going strong - as is the vintage Dynaco, Scott, Eico and Heath tube gear in residence.
My vintage turntables - Thorens TD124, various Lencos, NEAT (rim drives) - still work well and sound wonderful. Even the Micro Seiki RX1500VG is considered "vintage" and remains a reference quality turntable.
Speakers? Absolutely vintage. Even my Lowthers are 20+ years old.
So I must respectfully disagree with the predominant sentiment on this thread.
So, I state it proudly: I love vintage gear. Especially High End vintage gear.
Vintage gear connects me to the music I love better than the new stuff I've auditioned.
Just my opinion and YMMV.
Do I have to list every failed audio component I have had to give my opinion some validity?
Might help. Some of these folks seem to think we have a vendetta instead of having just learned to be wary (to often only be disappointed again).
It’s not a scroe after a $800 restoration.
Well, not necessarily so. The sad thing is that luck plays a huge role in these matters. What we choose to buy, when and where. I make purchases of vintage gear based on interest, opportunity and price, emphasis on the latter as a rule. Going out lusting for the stuff is dangerous!
For a starter - I've never paid anything remotely like $800 to restore anything but a violin in my entire life, not even close. Violins are a different matter - sneeze near one and you've spent a "kilobuck". $250 would be about the most I've spent restoring anything audio, ever.
The second has to do with what the resale value of the piece is vs. the purchase cost + restoration. If I spent $5 at a yard sale, $200 on restoration and can find a buyer for $700 then I've done rather well and had the joy of keeping something decent out of the landfill at the same time. Let's take the example of my Accuphase E-202. I bought it for $225 CAN. It was a "whim" purchase and if the selling price had been higher I wouldn't have it. I then spent about the same on a complete electronic restoration. The "usual" selling price for same these days seems to be around $1k. So I've done ok and enjoyed the heck out of it in the process. Ditto the Yamaha CA-1010, CA-1000 and C-4. At the moment I have a Technics SA-800 receiver that is getting tired and needs rebuilding. $5 at a yard sale over a decade ago and it will get restored as well as the selling price would now be somewhere over $500. If I can't at the very least get my investment out of a vintage piece even after the full job I won't buy it. I just don't need any of these things that much.
Ok, so to look at the bigger picture in audio - from my viewpoint. Much as I dearly love it, taken over time the habit has to be self-supporting at the very least. I can tolerate being out-of-pocket from time to time for a spell, but over the long term the goal is for this "habit" not to have cost me any actual financial investment. At the moment due to what I've put into the DP-80 project I'm around $1,200 "in the red" - taken in total over three decades. Two or three sales shortly and I will be back "in the black". As a freelance violinist who however hard I might have laboured has never made whacking piles of money this has had to be the path to having gear I enjoy.
So being able to have a bit of a dispassionate approach to these things is very much part of the picture.
@Prime Minister @JohnVF
I don't think that anyone has a vendetta against vintage gear. I get it. You've had bad experiences when you've bought vintage gear.
I've had good luck. Not perfect, but more than good enough to not have soured me on buying and using high end vintage gear. And I rarely go through and have components recapped if they are working correctly.
I've purchased some new stuff recently (KingKo KA101, various Class T and Class D amps) and have been impressed with the sound.
Doesn't mean that I am going to shit can my vintage stuff.
We all view our hobby through the window of our own experiences and biases. If new gear checks all the right boxes for you, that's great. More power to you.
As I have stated on numerous occasions, the only one I have to please with my system is me. And the only one you have to please with your system us you.
Just my opinion.
I don't think that anyone has a vendetta against vintage gear. I get it. You've had bad experiences when you've bought vintage gear.
I've had good luck. Not perfect, but more than good enough to not have soured me on buying and using high end vintage gear. And I rarely go through and have components recapped if they are working correctly.
I've purchased some new stuff recently (KingKo KA101, various Class T and Class D amps) and have been impressed with the sound.
Doesn't mean that I am going to shit can my vintage stuff.
We all view our hobby through the window of our own experiences and biases. If new gear checks all the right boxes for you, that's great. More power to you.
As I have stated on numerous occasions, the only one I have to please with my system is me. And the only one you have to please with your system us you.
Just my opinion.
This isn't a new vs vintage thing, at least it isn't for me. I've stated that I love vintage gear, I've just found the idea that its remotely as reliable as new gear to not match my experience.
Ya'll are defensive. I'm going to go get some pho
I wish I could go get some Pho. I love Pho.
In urgent care waiting for the doctor.
Hope it’s nothing bad. You could say you’re at your tech. Get well!I wish I could go get some Pho. I love Pho.
In urgent care waiting for the doctor.
I play @fiddlefye's cost vs. value game, too. It's an important part of the equation!
I do chicken soup or Ramen!This isn't a new vs vintage thing, at least it isn't for me. I've stated that I love vintage gear, I've just found the idea that its remotely as reliable as new gear to not match my experience.
Ya'll are defensive. I'm going to go get some pho
I partially agree with everyone and think I can strike common ground. I started off with silver faced receivers thinking they were manna from the sky, only to find out that most were quite troublesome and could push me as @Prime Minister would say to “hate” them. Mainly when I couldn’t get them to work or stay in working order (very frustrating). On the other hand when I came across vintage gear that worked near perfectly or was repaired and worked amazingly, then like @TubeHiFiNut I definitely loved it! I think that everyone goes into vintage audio hoping everything works perfectly and they get quality gear at a more reasonable price, but we all know that used items will tend to break down more frequently than a new one.
As my time becomes more and more like sand in the upper chamber of an hourglass, I tend to lead to higher priced and newer items. Plus I love warranties too!
If that's where we're going, I can just post a photo of Upstairs. It's like the Island of Misfit Toys up there...
If I didn't play that game I'd have nothing worthwhile. I have done the same with photographic gear and even my violins. Lest anyone think me just a cheapskate Scrooge - I'm perfectly happy - nay delighted! - to spend money on other folk. I just decided early on that if I were going to enjoy nice things for myself I needed a different game plan.
Thank you, my friend.
A recurring GI issue flared up. Doc gave me the same two antibiotics he gave me last time.
Have to get myself propped up for some high level meetings and presentations next week.
And the corollary - there is usually a difference between priceless and worthless.
