Vintage Audio

I purchase some new audio gear last night and wanted to share here.  I bought my first stereo around 2000, a Technics SA-DA8.

Technics SA-DA8 and Hitachi HT-40S

I used an Hitachi HT-40S turntable with it that I purchased at a yard sale for probably $5.  This was back in the days when turntables were readily abundant at yard sales.  It's not terribly difficult these days, but it is not as easy.  And people are now paying big bucks (myself included) for good players, and the sellers have a vague notion that this is happening.

I completed the setup while working at Circuit City with some Bose 301 bookshelf speakers and an Onkyo DX-C380 cd player.

I enjoyed this setup and it saw me up through the present day.  Sadly, the Technics receiver stopped working.  It hasn't been working correctly for some time.  Basically, up until yesterday, when I turned it off I had to wait 30 minutes or so to turn it back on.  Otherwise it wouldn't play anything through the speakers.  Yesterday, this trick stopped working.  Happily, yesterday was also the day that I brought home some new (old) vintage stereo equipment.

From a seller on craigslist, I purchased:

1. Yamaha CR-420 Receiver
2. Pioneer PL-550 Turntable
3. ADS L420 Speakers

The new setup

Now, the thing to note here is that this equipment is old.  The turntable is from 1976, the receiver is from 1978, and the speakers were made around 1982 (when I was born).  I've been on and off of this site (www.audiokarma.org), and the DIY community that surrounds this vintage gear is amazing.  People are taking the time to repair this old equipment, and they are happily helping others to do the same.  As soon as I started looking into this, I was saddened that I passed up the opportunity to get my grandfather's old audio setup.  I would love to have it now.

Anyhow, without further ado, here is my current setup:

My current setup

I want to add that I'm not immediately in love with the sound.  I enjoyed my old system, and I'm not quite sure yet if this one beats it.  But I think I'm going to hold onto it and see what I can make happen.