The Big MISTAKE People Make Buying Vintage HiFi
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- Опубликовано: 11 фев 2025
- Store - AllEliteAudio.com
/ lenny.florentine
You should never expect to buy a vintage audio components for AS IS or for parts or repair and SAVE MONEY. You are 100% WASTING YOUR MONEY if you do this. In this video I’m going to talk about one of the most important things I’ve learned from the decade plus I spent buying vintage audio, that WILL SAVE YOU MONEY.
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Clean your knobs, switches, and pots with...
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Clean Faders & Sliders with...
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Clean your faceplates carefully with...
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My Essential Vintage HiFi Accessories
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My Favorite Banana Plugs
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Switch Between Multiple Amps & Speakers
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(Some links may be affiliate links which I earn commission on, you clicking and purchasing any products helps support this channel)
This FREE GUIDE can save you hundreds or thousands when buying vintage audio...
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Lenny,
I completed the transaction. Am I supposed to get a PDF, or booklet via snail mail??
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Link does not work 😢
I had electronics training in the Air Force in the mid 80's. It did not lead to my current career...but its helped me in this new hobby of mine/retirement gig in the future. Its not hard to learn how to repair some of this stuff...downloading a service manual and schematics is recommended and is easy to obtain on line. I have fixed 6 non working components to date. I love the challenge
Same story here. I've upgraded components and speakers since. I've profited from reselling upgraded speakers.
I took in a Nikko 501S receiver - paid 69 dollars on ebay - to a shop which I've done business many times for restoration. They said it was not doable. So I visited another shop and they successfully fixed it. Naturally, I was charged a bit more money for the service but felt was worth it. I could now say that a fully restored Nikko 501s receiver is quite rare.
Thanks Lenny… Have a 737 I bought new in the 70’s, had the pots cleaned and still sounds very nice… Great video…
Thanks David! Planned on it being longer but ran into some technical difficulties, glad it was informative for you!
I have a mint SX-1050. It was sounding a little tired about 3 years ago. Took it to a guy who restores vintage gear.
He replaced the main caps other caps and components out of spec.
Been sounding great ever since!
Love the look of vintage gear.
Two birds with one stone when it sounds good too!!
I don't know about "never." My dad's old Pioneer SA8500ii was in great working order, but the knobs were all messed up. I don't know how they got so bashed and scratched and dented yet the faceplate was undamaged... weird. But anyway, I bought a "for parts" unit with good knobs for about $90, swapped the knobs between the units, and resold the "parts" one for about the same $90. Not having to buy the knobs separately saved me around $200. While I was there, even though the flipper switches were good on dad's unit, I swapped over a few from the parts unit that were in better condition. 🙃
I am 60 and have been buying vintage gear (mainly old pioneer SX- series receivers) all of my adult life. I couldn't tell you how many times I saw the ad that says "powers up, no sound" I will jump on it every time! Usually the little pre In main out connectors are gone!
Mort's are good people. I purchased a beautiful, serviced Sansui G-6700 from them. It works flawlessly a year and a half later. I have zero complaints about Mort's. The saying "if it seems to good to be true, when buying vintage audio, it probably is", is the best rule of thumb.
This reminds me of something I just did a couple months back. Keep in mind I restore vintage audio as a hobby... I snagged a Carver MXR-130 receiver that needed one (rare) part and my daily driver Carver also could use a cosmetic part. In the mean time, I found another for dirt cheap. So I bought a parts donor to help with all 3 I have. Some parts are common on them such as speaker relays, resistors and tuner IC's, but these all needed different parts that aren't made anymore and were not common failures. So I bought a parts donor. All of the parts I need are good on the donor. It wasn't cheap, but it makes 2 others work and fixes the cosmetics of a third.
Sellers are out of their minds trying to sell broken units for almost as much as a working unit. I have gotten offers for 20 dollars off from a seller and told them I wouldn't give them 20.00 for it. Broken means broken. Not tested means broken. Some parts are impossible to get .
I’ve seen a little price reduction in the last month on some brands. Mostly Marantz. They were definitely a bubble brand
Thanks for the guide man! I gave a little something; wish I could give more... Hell, I wish I could pick up any one of those preamps you have! I've been needing one! haha Lenny you're SOLID. Thank you for imparting your experience and knowledge. Cheers mate!
Thank you so much! Glad you are enjoying the series and the guide. I really appreciate the support!!
I agree with Lenny's warnings. That said, as a lover of vintage audio, there is something about taking a vintage component that may have had a tough past and giving it new life. I get great satisfaction finding a rare or desirable piece of vintage gear that may have been given the kiss of death . . . "for parts" . . . and making the commitment to find the parts, get the repair, rebuild the cabinet, stitch up that pcb board, cut new dial glass, whatever it needs to once again become a beautiful looking and sounding piece of audio gear. Do your homework, don't over pay, but don't be afraid to bring something back to life. For some of us, it isn't about the flip.
Great advice! Thanks for joining the conversation!
Exactly on the Ebay or whatever descriptions , I will get to it and guess what its the Exact Description that is on Hi Fi Genie and nothing else or some of the others. SOON as I see that its over with that piece on to the next!
Keep on with the great vids!
I bought a couple of vintage turntables with issues. I bought both for their cartridges and styluses. The one has a Shure cartridge. Paid $10 for the turntable. Sold the cartridge for $150. I bought another one with an Ortofon cartridge. Same $10 price. I installed the cartridge on my keeper turntable and donated the rest. Agree, repair prices can be substantial and you may not have anyone nearby that will work on your vintage hifi. I have had really good luck on damaged speakers (needed refoaming). Replacement foam kits are cheap and easy to do. I routinely buy vintage hifi at estate and garage sales. Most of the time, the gear is not set up for testing. I adjust my price down a lot, assume the gear doesn't work.
I've been buying 'vintage' audio since before it was vintage, my first new purchase was in 1973.
I buy fix or repair vintage gear all the time. Rarely will i ever by something that's in perfect condition, unless I happen upon it at an estate sale, fleamarket, or auction. (Just found a Marantz 2270 over the weekend in working order for $10 at a yardsale).
If was to take something to someone for repair and they told me it needed $500 in repairs, that piece is going in the part pile. Just the same if a piece needed that much in parts alone, to me, its junk. Luckily I have a massive supply of parts I've accumulated.
If I were to give anyone any advice on buying vintage gear, its that if you can't fix it yourself, buy new or find someone who is selling fully refurbished gear with some sort of guarantee.
The problem with that is you won't get as much for your money.
Thank you so much for contributing, great advice! Also, congrats on the 2270, that’s a wild deal!
Thank you sir. This video was great. The shop i help out at only sell a fully functional piece of equipment. 100 day warranty.
Dark Mode Enabled! Very useful video, I'll have to check out your guide.
Thanks! More coming!
Been in electronics for over 50 years, was an audio gear tech through high school and college. Love fixing things, but know can't make money at it. Many people don't understand that if the gear has exotic ICs (Sony) these parts are unobtanium. Pulling a 40 year old part from a salvage unit is labor intensive and as mentioned is likely to fail as well. Even a recap can be many hours. Its like my BMWs, I could never afford them if I had others do the repair work.
If I see a repair sticker on back (not including Just Audio) mainly TV repairman.......................Run Away Run Away, obviously have been screwed by this. I like untouched covered in Dust. Seeing too many Trashcan finds posted on EBAY lately asking hundreds of dollars for the rusted-out Junk.
Great video, Lenny. Hope to see you at CAF.
I’ll see you there!
Half the time it's a fuse or lights. Getting a Sansui 661 for 40 bucks and changing 2 fuses was an ok deal. Plastic knobs ungluing is icing on the cake. Know how to look!
I’ve had great luck buying for parts or repair. And for me it’s really enjoyable to work on. I do ask a ton of questions.
Questions are key
I ONLY buy broken vintage Hi-Fi.
Great information as always. Would always buy from a vintage audio shop then on ebay or like sites
Another red flag is when the seller plays dumb. For example I don't have the ability to check the unit whether it works or not. They will say it powers up but nothing else, which doesn't tell you much. My theory is they have had it looked at and discovered it cost prohibited to have it repaired and there trying to get whatever money they can recoup from the item.
I buy it cheap to fix for myself and family. Ive been lucky so far all these years. Ive paid once to get a vintage VFET amp fully restored.
One of the lucky ones, not me so much
I have several units available to buy "for parts or repair" if anyone is interested lol - great advice!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
One of the main reasons I will list things for parts or repair is that you have four options on ebay list it as new, open box, used or for parts or repair. If you look carefully the description for used says "Used An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended." So if anything is wrong with it it isn't fully functional and the buyer could open item not as described return case. Some of the things I sell may need minor repairs speaker terminals broken, a bulb replaced etc so while they may be functional I wouldn't call them fully functional. I tend to either sell them as used when I know they are fully functional and for parts or repair when I know not everything works as it should. I do however describe in the description what was tested and what I found in working or non working condition. You are correct though when you see item not tested or was working last time it was used I always translate that into not working. When selling audio gear if you don't have speaker wires or rca cables or bench test setup of some sort don't expect to get top dollar for your gear working or not. Nothing worse than an auction that doesn't have any images of the item plugged in and turned on with the dial lights or indicators lit up.
Glad to see people doing it the right way. Thanks for sharing and joining the conversation!
I was lucky. I purchased most of my components 10 to 15 years ago and folks were a bit more honest about “for parts or repair.” Of everything I bought only 2 Pioneer cassette players were unfixable.
Hey Lenny it's the Werewolf! I'm the rare exception that has done really well buying for parts only vintage audio. BUT as you and I well know I've been burned a few times. One Pioneer cassette deck and remember that rusty Sansui G9700. That said I've brought100's of vintage audio items. I got a Pioneer SX-1980 for $3,500. I brought 4 AKAI ET-A7 EQ's for $225 USD each when they sell for $1,000 now. I'll usually get to know the seller. Sometimes people say "FOR PARTS" because they are dumping stuff from an estate, want to sell it knowing nothing about it. Find out why they are selling. I also ask for pictures that let me rule out rust. I also buy items with broken dial glass missing knobs broken AM antennas that I can fix.
Yes I'll risk buying For Parts items because, I've learned how to sniff out true bargains. I can also afford to lose 1 while profiting in 5. Buying "For Parts Only" is not for the risk adverse or someone new to the hobby. I was lucky I got to hang out with Lenny once upon a time and he helped me figure many things out over the years. For the record in all my vintage audio buying I've lost about $3,000 total over 14 years. I've earned about $20,000 in savings over the same 14 years. Again I'm rare. I also entered the hobby when things were less expensive and market conditions were different.
Hey Wolf!! Thanks for sharing!
I've just recently found your channel, i had a stereo back in the early 90s i thought it was samsui 33000, but after seeing some pioneers i dont know. But it had a heavy duty plexiglas hinged face cover that had a ratcheting lock system. Do you know any system that had that as a option? After seeing prices on the sansui 33000, I'm really hoping thats not what i got rid of
your right, the one I bought was all rusty inside. I trashed it
I cannot repair electronics, so I stay away from receivers, and such for parts or repair. I will, often, gamble on a tape deck, however, since it is usually just a belt problem. That said, I don't buy from Ebay. Generally it is either garage sales, or live auctions.
Sometimes, at garage sales, you can test the equipment, at least to some degree. You may not be able to run through all the functions, but usually, they will let you give it a basic test. At live auctions they, usually, have plugged it in, and turned it on, but that's about it. Once you know it turns on, you bid accordingly. Assume its going to have a significant cost to repair, and have a good idea of how much that will be. If your assumption is correct, and you buy it cheap enough to factor that repair into the price, you can still come out ahead. If, by fluke, it works perfectly, and you bid assuming a significant repair bill, then you come out way ahead. The key is getting things cheap enough, and knowing when to walk away, if the bidding goes to high. Don't get caught up in bidding fever.
Does somebody know if the Free Guide is still available anywhere on the website? Thank you!!
I found it costs more to restore an used one than it is ti buy a new mid priced component...
One element of vintage receivers I like is: tone controls. You can adjust bass, treble, sometimes midrange. You have loudness contour, presence contour, high filters, low filters. You can even balance your speakers left-to-right. You can select WHICH pair of multiple speakers to run. You can do none of this from most modern amps/receivers, and the ones that may have a bass/treble control have them buried with sub-menus, as opposed to knobs instantly available. This trend is infuriating to me, as well as the demise of the graphic equalizer.
The argument made for this is "You don't need to play with the tone, you should listen to the music as it was intended". That's fine..... unless it was mixed wrong, which albums frequently are. One man's bacon is another man's Spam. I admit I do have a Yamaha A-S501, which does have a few tone adjustments, but my main system is run by a 1972 Marantz 2245, and I will spend whatever it takes to keep it alive forever.
That’s a nice combo of new and vintage! Thanks for sharing! Good point about the poor mixes.
Thank you, I have been screaming for 6 months!
What advice would you give someone buying vintage hifi?
If buying from ebay, I'd say it's a much better deal and less hassle to buy a restored/fully serviced unit. And if it notes "serviced" read the description and/or ask the vendor to define it.
Have an on staff repair guy, like Lenny does.
Beware people giving FREE things away, but put it behind a personal information harvesting gateway. You know the saying... Too good to be true means it IS
1. It's just like buying a vintage car. If you have the skills and know you will need to tinker to keep it going, buy whatever. But, if you just want to enjoy good vintage audio, always buy something that has been Restored/fully serviced
2. Why not Serviced? Serviced can mean someone opened it and sprayed the controls. It passed sound, done. Look at the description at what has been done to it. Has it been recapped? (At this time every piece of un-recapped vintage audio is on borrowed time) Were any transistors on the Known To Fail list and replaced? Many units from the 70s-80s period have them.
3. If you buy a unit that is "working" you are buying one that likely needs restoring. It will likely have diminished sound and is on borrowed time.
4. I do restore vintage HiFi and almost never is it just one problem. Remember the age on these. Most people will put up with a flaw or 2 before selling or before it finally fails.
5. Unexpected things. Restoring a unit last night I had to remove the front cover. One knob was hard to remove. The next thing I know I have the whole shaft for the balance control and knob in my hand. Thankfully I was able to rebuild the potentiometer. But I was lucky and it takes time and patience.
6. Oh Yeah, and Soldering! If you do not have a de-solder tool of the electrical not pump variety you should not attempt many units. Also, a great deal of problems come from bad solder due to thermal stressing over time. I bought a broken tuner but working amp receiver and when I got it, 5 volts DC was on the outputs. Why? Shipping nudged some solder connections loose. Heat and cooling from over the years cause many many issues and most boards need to have some amount of re-soldering. When bad solder connections happen it can often weaken or kill other parts.
7. If it says "untested" on Ebay, that's often code for, I tested it and it's broken.
8. Conclusion, buying "working" or "serviced" without much description of real work being done on it, means you're on borrowed time and likely not getting the full performance from your purchase.
I bought a "tested working" amp and found several capacitors had actually blown the rubber gasket out (instead of splitting from the top) but yup it somehow still "worked".
9. If you do take a unit to be repaired, remember how much time will go into the repair and the cost per hour for that time. Good repairs cost money and technicians are getting harder to find because it's difficult to make money.
Always have a BACKUP,things stop working…….🙄
I have found most such units are a great bargain and totally restorable. Not sure what you are on about.
Same for me, you just need to make sure you are buying it from an estate and not a "stereo" collector. I have repaired and gotten lots of used gear I bought 2nd hand in non-working condition. Even had amps go bad and do a full restore myself on them and could not be happier with the results. Some of my used pieces I have owned for 20 years or longer and I push them hard daily. My neighbors love me. ;-) Ever owned an amp so long that you needed to recap it a 2nd time? Thats where I am at with some of my pieces. Can't get mad at it; the gear is over 50 years old in some cases; after finding the failing transistor and readjusting the bias on an amplifier circuit we are back in business. I think what impresses me is when I do a restoration on a pre-amp section of an old 70s pioneer; how much lower I can get the noise floor.
well when I list for parts or repair, It could be fixed. if I read about a non replacable part, I don't list it, anything I list as POR , it could be fixed.
Most buy these vintage receivers because they look cool on a shelf, not because they function or sound any better than a $200 Sony STRDH190 IMHO.
"Makes no sound" is my favorite description...
Flippers exploiting the hobby suck... Great video!
My Problem With
Guys Who Buy From
Me Vintage Receivers
Is I Will Sell Them
Rock Bottom Price on a
Let’s Say a Yamaha
1020 Receiver
This Unit is Not Gone Through and It Works Yet it Needs Some Maintenance and Love ❤️
They Get it Home and They Crank It Up And It Dies
They Come Back To Me and Say
“You Ripped Me Off for
$200 Bucks “”
I Say “ I Sold You
This Yamaha 1020
For So Cheep Because You Have To Have It Serviced And Gone Through “”
So It’s Important To
Tell These Folks
This Price Is So Low
Because You Have Got To
Take It In and Have It Gone Through
The Damn Thing is Over
40 Years Old For Crying Out Loud 😮
That’s The Problem I Have With People Whom Think
They Are Getting a Great Deal Yet The Price Is Super Low Because They Have Got To Take The Unit
To a Guy Who Can Bring This Yamaha 1020
Back To Life Which if I Did That The Receiver Would Be At Least $900 Freaking Bucks Dude
Vintage looks great
Some eBay auctions may be listed as parts or repair, but the description will state was working before being pulled from service or came from a working environment.
Many times listing something for parts or repair is because it may be in working order but may develop a fault in one day, or fifty years down the line. Its forty yrs old, what do you expect?
Its just being honest.
Vintage hi fi is a glorious gamble but the real problem is those people who demand/expect it to be as if brand new.
That last sentence is very true!
@@LennyFlorentine I wish it wasn't!
I SEEN THE PRICES ON IN YOUR STORE, THEIR SKY HIGH.
When in doubt, always consult a Professional.
How's Life after JA?
Phenomenal
I'm on FB Marketplace 10X more than eBay. Maybe its a regional thing.
This advice only applies to the uneducated, a lot of hifi people also come from a technical background so we have the knowledge to fix things. I only buy neglected/broken items because of this, but also because the markup associated with certain already working items these days is INSANE. people literally think every tube amp out there has a solid gold chassis. Or they're scammers.
Not always true
Buying one vintage unit to 'repair' another is just bad reasoning... Statistically speaking, in the best case scenario, you will destroy one unit to repair one unit, so financially you will be where you started - at best. In the worst case scenario, you will destroy two units, and each of them could be repaired with knowledge and patience. Not to mention what a bad carma is to deprive the world of a receiver or amplifier which could - even in theory - make someone happy. Good one, thanks!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for contributing!!!
Anyone interested Carver equipment anymore ?
Buying vintage audio from others, then reselling is futility.
Don't buy what they call vintage,if it break s it will break your bank account to fix
I disagree. I’ve bought several pieces of vintage gear. Had them restored and they sound great. Still paid less than buying a comparably powered new modern receiver.
For me it’s about the cosmetic condition. Transistors and caps can be replaced but damaged faceplates and chipped cabinets are hard to come by.
Most vintage audio is a waste, and the prices are an absolute farce and con simply due to demand and second hand sellers peddling nonsense. But people want retro and memories.
Modern hifi isnt much better.
So your the one driving up prices. 😅
Definitely not gonna be a fun one
Nice try.
I only buy por part or repair units when they are extremly rare or very sought after .,.Like VFET amps ..
That's nice. But why do i have to sign up to your store and give you my email and phone number!? No thanks.