What's the oldest piece of gear in your system?

Me, but nothing to do with old or new. :-)

I think my oldest piece went out the door a few months back. It was made in about 1961, was in mint shape and said "Marantz" with a serial number of "#81" on it. I traded it for a Hewlett-Packard Spectrum Analyzer Mainframe with several freshly calibrated plug-in modules that were fully guaranteed. When brand new, this equipment listed for about $30,000. Needless to say, it was a deal that i couldn't pass up.

The guy that i traded with owns a Cal Lab and is an avid Marantz collector. He told me that this was the nicest 8 that he had ever seen, hence his willingness to part with the equipment that i got in return. It will probably blend right in with his Marantz 2 and 9 mono-block's. I later traded him a Marantz 7 that i had "laying around" too : )

Other than that, my next oldest is probably a Harman-Kardon A-300. This is a beautiful old tube tuner that has an all copper chassis and cage on it. Believe it or not, the copper still gleams and i've never cleaned it with any type of metal polish, etc... I can't find any info on it, so if anybody knows anything about it or where i can find info about it, i'd love to hear from you : ) Sean
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Sean THANK YOU. That Harmon-Kardon was taken from my car many years ago and now you have found it! Just send it to my home address and I will take care of the polishing up on that old copper chassis.

By the way, do you remember those LP's that were really great sounding that you found at a good deal? Those are mine too, just send them along in the box with the HK.

I buy a lot of vintage stuff, so I always have old stuff. I guess the oldest item I have that I have kept, is a Marantz 8b. It has been in my family since 1963, and is the item that got me interested in audio in the frist place. I keep it for sentimental reasons: My father purchased it new. Yet, every now and then I like to hook it up and listen to it. It never stops amazing me how this little box with glowing orange lights can create such wonderfull sound. It always brings me back to my childhood when I listen to it. It is a fine instrament, like the great violins of Europe, the Guarneri and Stratavarius. That is how it think of it, as a great work of art.

tha' tuna.

I think its the UTC A-20 600/600 ohm bridging transformer (1940's?) I use to convert my cheap jogging cd player to mono before feeding it to the 50's Grommes Little Gem int. amp driving a 1954 Klipschorn. 5Hz to 50KHz BW and seperate 150 ohm windings makes it a very useful stereo to mono converter!

This is an easy one. In my two channel system I have a pair of Dynaco MKIII's that have all the Curcio mods installed. They are driving a pair of Magnepan SMGa's.

From my late Grandad's collection....Series 80 "The Fisher" tuner-pre amp in superb looking condition from about the mid to late 50's I believe. Still works, although I have it placed in the last open shelf of the rack just as a sentimental conversation piece. I smile as I look at it next to my more modern Wadia and ARC gears! A nice mix of old and new.

Err... prety much all of it!
Tannoy Little Reds ('81) mint
Studer A727 cdp (ca'85)
QUAD 520f ('80something)
Technics TT ('80)
Surrey Electronics balanced phono pre ('80)
This all replaced a fairly recent Arcam system which, in direct comparison, didn't stand a chance.
Whatever happened to progress?

Fisher 800-B receiver (1961), currently in use as my system's tuner while I contemplate using it as the center of a modest bedroom system. I received this pristine unit from my dad who no longer had use for it. IMHO, a beautifully made piece of tube gear with some wonderful history about it, see http://antiqueradio.org/fish02.htm.

magnepan mg1.solid oak rails!

Thorens TD150 MkII turntable, NAD 3020 integr.amp, Infinity Modulus bkshelf spkrs (orig's from 1990).

The former two still charm for their no-nonsense design. The overall quality of the latter is still surprising. These are like old faithful dogs that one just keeps about the house: not fancy; in their time well-bred; and now just very familiar.

Hmmmm, it's all pretty new stuff in my rig. The oldest would be the Conrad amp--late 90's vintage!

I had an '84 AR Turntable/Linn Basik but sold it (I miss it!) and I have an early 70's Pioneer quadrophonic 1/4" reel but it could use a litte TLC...it's not in my rig, that's for sure.

Hey dirty, how about that room?

Yeah, good point Nrchy! I almost forgot the most important (and most in need of upgrade) part of my system! 130+ years old ;)

My father is the original owner and it has been used on and off, mostly on, for 40 years. Over the years, both he and I have tried other amps but have invariably pulled them out for repair or to try in another system, putting the Marantz in "temporarily", where it then sits for years.

I think I may have some form of audiophile OCD, nothing is older then 8 months now.

wow..an apt/holman preamp purchased in 1978.chuckle,i think i'll put it up for sale

A pioneer tx6500 tuner. Beats the hell out of most surround receiver tuner sections made today. I bought it around 1972 or 1973.

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me
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Although the components are not currently being used, I still have the first system I purchased back in 1973. The set up includes a Sansui 8 receiver, a Teac A-640 cassette tape deck, a Technics SL-1301 turntable and Epicure Twenty Plus speakers. I suspect they have resided in 17 different apartments, condos and houses since being purchased in 1973.

1965 ElectroVoice 12-TRX's in 1959 Aristocrat cabs. They still sing sweet as ever, as the day I purchased them in '65. Although I do have a late 1920's - 1930's Lafayette 2 channel (Globe 45's) amp with matching field coil speakers that I listen to from time to time for music of that period.

The oldest piece of gear in my possession is a pair of Scott "bookshelf" speakers that were purchased by my father in 1967. The "bookshelf" designation was always questionable in my eyes because they are very heavy and have such prodigious low frequency output that I would expect them to propel themselves off of most of the bookshelves that I have seen. I also have a Nakamichi 600 cassette deck from the mid 70s, a Syrinx PU-2 tonearm from the early 80s, and one of the original VPI HW16 record cleaners, all of which work quite well.

Citation 16 power amp in beautiful condition. I don't use it any longer, but can't bear to part with it. Bought it new in 1977. It drove some JBL subs for a long time. One of the best woofer amps ever made.

My whole system, except for cartridges.

McIntosh MC40 monoblocks (62-69)
Sansui 1000A (68 or 69)
Altec 604-8g studio monitors (mid 70's)
Thorens 160 (mid 70's)

It has all been gone thru and freshened up, and it all works flawlessly and sounds great to me.

Ooops, I just noticed even this thread is vintage. LOL

Wow! Some of the listed items are pretty old. The oldest item I have in my main system is a totally refurbished McIntosh MR-73 tuner that I listen to almost every morning.
I am also about to list a pair of H.H. Scott two way speakers, Model S-10B, in walnut veneer here on Audiogon. I am the original owner; and they were part of a H.H. Scott compact stereo system I bought back in the late 1960s. The system served me very well, and was my first true stereo system.

1959 Pilot 402 receiver. Recently refurbished with NOS Siemens E84L output tubes and NOS brown-base Mullard 5AR4 rectifier. I believe this is the best-sounding receiver ever built.Through my 1986 Rauna Tyr II monitors and a Joseph Chow refurbished H/K Citation 14 tuner, this is the most musical sounding bedroom system I have ever had. I practically live in my bedroom now.

1959 Pilot 402 receiver. Waiting for return from partial restoration.

1979 Threshold 4000 amp.

I too still have a Threshold 4000's from 1979, just packed up my oldest piece yesterday, a Technics SP-10 from around 1974.

the oldest component is a vtl deluxe 120 amplifer. i have had it over 10 years. i'm not sure of its vintage.

If you're looking for validation on the Sota Star, I'll toast to it. I have the Series I, upgraded with a Cosmos armboard. The arm is SME 309. SMEs in general mate well with the relaxed sound of the Sotas. There are just many ways to climb the mountain. A cartridge upgrade is my next step, rather than a table upgrade.

A 1961 Bell tube integrated amp.It has the original 4 RCA 6V6 power tubes and 4 Telefunken 12AX7.
It has those terrible 8 and 16 0hm small screw speaker connectors.It has a mm phono stage, never been modded and works flawlessy.It spends it's time powering Mission 770(late70's) speakers and a Pioneer TX 8500 11 tuner.
About 16-20 watts of fun.

Seriously...no Edison's or Victors?

Check out this really old stuff...

http://www.talkingmachines.com/

A vintage tuner, of course. Sansui TU-919 from 1980.

Like Cello above the answer is "me". Made in 1942 and born in May 1943 and still enjoying Audio. Other that that it is a quad of RCA Cunningham 45s and RCA Biplate 2A3s both made in 1943 also (a coincidence?)

ARC SP3 since 1974. Upgraded to SP3c in 2002.
Linn LP12 since 1977.

26 tubes, which until I plugged them in, probably haven't seen electricity since the 40's. Hogan 300b amp, which probably has OPT's from the 50's or 40's, and Akai el84 mono blocks taken from old tape recorder, from the 60's or 70's.

I have a piece of marble that my sub amp sits on. It's probably 700 million yrs old or more.

2)TungSol JAN/CTL 6SN7GT round plates and 2)Sylvania JAN/CHS 6SN7W tall bottles from the 1940's. No- I haven't owned them quite that long.

Man, my whole system! Citaton 17 preamp, Ciation 16A amp, Dual 1229 turntable with Grace 747 tone arm, Advent 201A cassette Sony TC-755 reel to reel... I am still happy, so why change?

Audio Research SP-3a1, which I've owned since 1974. I recently had it upgraded to SP-3c. 2nd oldest piece is a Linn Sondek LP12, owned since 1977.

The one that changes disks.

A Conrad Johnson PV-5 preamp. It's a 1984 which i bought unopened from a dealer in 1986. Since then it's had new higher grade caps, new power supply, and obviously many different tubes. I love it and probably wont sell it but I am looking into a new preamp, possibly Shindo Monbrison, Audio Horizons TP 2.1, or DeHavilland Ultra Verve.--Mrmitch

A mid 70's Technics SL-1300 automatic turntable. I am just to lazy. I also have an early 1980's Technics SL-10 Linear Tracking Automatic turntable with Technics 310 MC cartridge. A truly unique device.

Tho I don't use them at present, a first generation Koetsu and a battery powered, perhaps the grandaddy of battery powered phono step up devices, Marcof PPA-1.

My wife..handy to change LP and bring cold beer

Luxman L-5 integrated (1975?). It's the first piece of audiophile quality equipment I ever purchased. Built many a great system around it - always flawless. Then marriage, work, moving, kids and 15+ years boxed up in the garage. Now I use it to power my rear speakers in an all audio stereo first quad capable setup.

Works every day and sounds good. Still, I kind of wish it would die so I can justify buying something new. On second thought, in this economy, let it play, let it play, let it play :)

Oldest pieces are a match set of mono block tube amps built in feb 1963. Have upgraded them over the last 8 years. Next is a 1986 AI modulus 2a. Newest item, a 2003 Philips 963 bought for $25 and repair/modded. Had an old fisher system turner/pre with a el84 amp years ago, along came a dynakit system in the early 70's.