The Allure of Vintage Audio Gear

Almost world best microphones (>$20k) are from 1940~60’s. I can hear they sound clear and better with little noise than modern $20k mics. Mic and speaker are same topology. They made a better mics and they made better speakers then.

Since last 40 years audio makers don’t mention about the natural sound and music any more. They only say about the technology. And modern hi-fi sound became more distorted and noisy. No wonder all recordings sound noisy (bad) by bad sound mics. So as audio equipment.

You can hear/compare most expensive vintage mics’ ($30k) sounds and compare to a current best mic here. Alex/WTA

https://wavetouchaudiopro.com/

I used to sell many of the popular vintage lines (as a young sales pup at lafayette Radio, TEch Hifi, Radio Shack) and have heard pretty much everything since. I remember how the various products sounded back then when new quite well!

Anything "vintage" is old (like me). Old things typically no longer function like new or anything close unless maintained or other wise properly repaired.

My experience with modern repairs of vintage gear has not been good. It often has a short life then you are back where you started or worse.

So..... if you are getting a good deal on a piece that is in good working condition (which is hard to determine), just don’t overpay and it may work out. But at that point, you may end up paying a premium just for vintage bling. Most modern quality gear will outperform most vintage equivalents.

But if you think you must have that "vintage" sound and/or bling, FBOFW, then by all means have at it. It’s what you like that matters and nothing else. You might even luck out and get a good deal!

I put together a decent system in the mid -90s, and haven't changed it since. It has been re-cabled, re-capped and cleaned; one broken volume custom pot in the pre-amp has led to replacement of both pots with two quality stepped-resistor attenuators. For 30 years I haven't really compared to new(er) stuff as things other than HiFi took priority. Last year something else went awry (DAC), and I started looking again. So far, my conclusion is that good vintage components, properly maintained, can sound as good as modern gear. Emphasis on good components.

Do I "prefer" vintage? No, not as such. But I would need to hear something that convincingly sounds better, not just different. Until now, this hasn't happened - provided I stay within reasonable pricing comparisons (i.e. not a £20k modern pair of speakers vs. my £5k inflation-adjusted 1995 ones).

Similarly, I would say that there is no 'vintage sound'; a Yamaha CA-2010 through a pair of Yamaha NS-1000 does not sound like an Audiolab 8000A through a pair of Rogers LS3/5a, never mind the source.

Vintage, especially speakers, isnt even close. The allure seems to be that on poor recordings, the vintage stuff reveals less and as such is less irritating. 

Modern High End gear BLOWS AWAY vintage gear.

I have a collection of fine vintage gear... all REBUILT to OEM standards... Marantz 2325, Sansui G7500, Kenwood KA3500.KT5300, fully kitted Maranzt 4415/SQA1/CD4 demodulator/wired remote, Akai AS980/wired remote, NAD Monitor, Teac Reference, etc... all of them have been rebuilt to OEM specs.

But the only "vintage" gear that stands the march of time is my ARC D70-II and Conrad Johnson PV9 with the Teflon cap upgrades.  And the Acoustic Energy AE1 speakers... with the factory provided rubber surrounds!

Even so, modern gear like my Aleph 2 and 5 clones, FW F4 and F5, SIT 3, CJ MF2100 and various modern preamps and amps simply sound FAR bettter than vintage. The soundstage, detail, dynamics are FAR better than any of that vintage stuff.

Mind you, my vintage stuff was the top of the line then and it has been rebuilt to OEM -no LEDs- in the last three years... yet, yet... they sound very good for a mid 70s, mid 80s product.

I like them in my 4th and 5th systems, not for my main systems. They just don’t have the quality of modern audio design.

So, no, vintage is OK but be aware they will need serious rebuilds and will never sound as accurate as modern designs.  Forget about getting a deep soundstage, you will get good lateral positioning of the instruments but the detail and depth will be missing.   This is for the best of the best then... forget about the Marantz 2215 offer on eBay for $800 (absolute rip off ).

OK, my Linn LP12 is 35 years old... BUT, it’s like Grand Pa’s axe.. It currently is a Linn LP12, Trampolin 2, Lingo, Karousel, Keel, Ekos 2, etc.... the only thing that is vintage is the plinth.... everything else has been changed.