2. amps-preamps
  3. 182832-1635

Did the Old Receivers Sound Good?

Before the high end started, we had all these receivers and integrated amps from Pioneer, Kenwood, Sansui, Sherwood, etc., all with incredible specs.  Then somehow we decided that specs didn't matter and we started moving to the more esoteric stuff from Ampzilla, Krell and whoever, but the specs were not as good.  My question is - Did the old Japanese stuff with the great specs sound better? I don't remember.  I'm asking because many seem to be moving back to the "specs are everything" mindset and I was thinking about all that old stuff with so many zeros to the right of the decimal point. 

chayro
mickeyb
534 posts
 

I have a vintage family room system consisting of a pioneer sx1250, pioneer pl 630 tt and diapason adamantes as my speakers. It sounds really good. Not as good as my reference system but not nearly as pricey and beautiful to look at with all that aluminum and walnut. For my guests, who can’t tell sound quality, they love it immensely because it reminds them of their youth. They are stunned by the sound quality. I believe the synergy between the adamantes and the 1250 is way better than I expected and it all looks so damn pretty. 

crustycoot
591 posts
 

In my experience with the receivers of the 70s many had good amplifiers, but few had preamplifier performance to match.  Integrated amps were no different in this respect.  This applies only to transistor gear.  I recall fronting a Sansui AU 5500 with a Marantz 7 tube preamp, using the amp-in jacks and was impressed that the amp sounded as good as the Crown amp I used then, but with the jumpers in, was lackluster, flat, dull.  The Crown D60 was indistinguishable from the Model 8 tube amp, with a/d/s/ L710s. 

eryoung2k
87 posts
 

I remember my mid 80's Harman Kardon and Carver receivers sounded really good to me at the time.  But then Harman Kardon went to "Green" power and they weighed about 3 pounds.  Absolute junk!  I had 3 fail on me.  Now currently have a Outlaw RR2160MkII Stereo Receiver weighs a ton and makes my Dahli Zensor speakers sound great.

mrclick123
19 posts
 

I’ve had Sansui, Kenwood and Pioneer SX receivers for quite a while. My SX1250 is still what I use for casual listening in my gym area but for critical listening it does not compare to my main system. They sure do look cool though. 

pingz
4 posts
 

My situation is a bit of a hybrid one vs a true old against new. I have a HK 730 that I gutted, only keeping the amp section. I put new filter caps in along with some other caps, and did some point to point wiring. I’m feeding it from an inexpensive integrated and it’s pretty excellent to me. When running the integrated alone, it pales in comparison. I’ll possibly upgrade the integrated (substantially), and that should give me better insights into how the amp section of the HK compares to a current and upgraded option.

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