Our Top 5 Accessories for Vintage Stereo Systems
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2024
- There are endless ways to update the functionality of your vintage stereo system. Here are our top 5 accessories. We tried to keep the list on the affordable side. Enjoy!
Let us know your favorite accessories for vintage gear in the comments!
Here are links to most of the items in this video:
Fan a.co/d/6oD1APy
Turntable Light a.co/d/dKu7uSM
Volume Control DAC amzn.to/3XhyzmW
Bluetooth Receiver amzn.to/3w2gY6q
Wiim Mini amzn.to/3XB4qPd
Sonos Port amzn.to/3ZOXjEK
Line Level Volume Control
www.newark.com/mcm-custom-aud...
Link to our subwoofer video: • Connecting A Subwoofer... 
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Kevin, you silly boy, that switched outlet is for a lava lamp! And you call yourself a vintage guy. Seriously, thanks for the video and the DAC, line level volume and Wiim discussion. All on my to-do.
That’s what I use mine for! 👍🫧
Hi Kevin, that is cool that you encourage people to support their local community with business over Amazon.
I think we're in a very unfortunate consumer situation where most all roads lead back to Amazon. Sometimes you can figure out who the vendor is and deal with them directly. Eventually, Amazon will figure out a way to defeat that too. I always try to buy local first.....
I’m new to vintage audio. Without being overly technical, this gentleman helps me understand the ins and outs. BIG THANKS TO THE “SKY PEOPLE”!!!!!!😎
I can attest to the WiiM mini being quite extraordinary in functionality and audio for the money. The front-end app on the phone is fantastic supporting many of the popular streaming services. There's even a graphic equalizer to tweak audio bands to your liking. And yes, Randy turned me onto it. Thanks Randy.
Don't want videos Without Talking. Love the descriptions, comments, and reasoning,
I went to streaming, dragging my feet. My teenage daughters like their Spotify so we got the family package. I find myself streaming with Spotify during work hours for background music, and to seek out new music. But when I do active listening, nothing beats vinyl or a good old' fashioned CD. Keep up the good work.
WiiM Mini here, on my 1969 Sansui 2000 receiver, sounded better than my Parasound/PS Audio combo. The EQ on the WiiM app, took my system to another level.
I'm pretty new to this channel. This video really helps me. We only converted to smart TV's in just the last 2-3 years, and I put away my stereo/video system with surround sound. It's all on static display but not hooked up. Also a favorite radio show from mid-90's to early 2000's is now streamed online, but I've been wanting to listen on my vintage audio equipment like I did when it was on radio. Now I can bring these components out and connect them up again, and get a better listening experience again. Thank you!
If you're one of those freaks (like me) who still listens to the radio, you can use the switched outlet for a powered antenna to pull the station in clearer, but is only on when the receiver is on. The Terk one is pretty good, imo.
Beam box baby! Way more pleasant to use and more vintage-ey than the silver ribbon.
The volume control is my number #1 gripe on my vintage stereo. This could be a game changer for me! So glad I watched this video. Cheers!
If the
Music is coming through your phone just use the volume on your phone
That was such good and honest advice. Especially about the Wiim mini - thank you, I really appreciate it
As always.. great videos.. I use an Auris BluMe Pro with either a 2275 or one of my Sherwood receivers. Streams from an iMac desktop. The desktop is set up as a Roon Endpoint; pretty cool.
You're videos are straight forward and informative. Keep up the great work.
I've used the switched outlet for a light bar over the turntable and a bluetooth gateway for sometime now. It's a great way to control those things that you want to power up at the same time. I like the fan idea.
Started ‘fixing’ vintage gear for co-workers, most of us are retired military. We got our stuff at the overseas audio clubs or PX/BX. Added streaming via iPhone. Then discovered AirPlay via old AppleTV optical and DAC. Biggest game changer was a Bluesound Node in app volume and control, equalizer, subwoofer out!!! Now recommending a WiiM. Even better SQ add an DAC (Schiit Modi+) for slightly improved SQ on Tidal. The WiiM does the first “unfold” to an external DAC in its optical out.
All great suggestions, glad I watched , Thanks !
Kevin, thanks again for the information that’s fantastic and I like the message on the TV that was in the background
Great information! Thanks for sharing this!!! 👍👍👍
It’s no coincidence that 2 of my fave channels use the same theme song. Skylabs and Syd fixes bikes 😊
Wiim is great! But thank you so much for the idea to put a volume control in the preamp out main in loop. I love this idea.
Such great info! Thanks again Kevin.
Great video as always!! I've been using the switched outlet for cooling fans for ever, that will extend the life of your receiver for sure. I like the volume control and the DAC from TV audio out as well. Not to mention those sweet pics of my living room system LOL!! That blew me away!!! Thanks so much for that Kevin!!! I really enjoyed seeing those. I'll update it as soon as I can. I replaced the Rotel with a McIntosh MA-6100. Great video !!!!
I’ve used an Apple TV to connect to my computer to play my iTunes library & then send it to my stereo thru the TVs optical audio output. Yeah it’s a bit clunky & you need a DAC but it works. Some advantages are that you can control volume thru the TV, as well as use the TV to select what you play. Works for movies you might have in iTunes too.
The same audio out from your TV works for everything attached to the TV. I use the TV audio out for my wife’s hearing aid/cochlear implant streamer.
Great vid and I really like the switched outlet recommendation to use on the back of my vintage Luxman preamp👍👍
Always great content. thanks
Excellent video friend, thank you.
I picked up a FiiO BTR5 2021 recently to play music from my phone, flac files from cd rips and wav files from vinyl needle drops into my vintage equipment via bluetooth and sound quality is great. Did not break the bank.
Thanks for this Kevin, really enjoying the channel. I use the switched AC outlet for my Dual turntables. As much as I like the auto on feature, you have to unplug it when you want to move the tonearm over to check the tracking force and other alignments.
Omg my switched and unswitched outlets. I had never thought to put a light or fan back there. Excellent! Regarding the Wiim, I will consider it when Google finally kills my network Chomecast Audio which I got for about $40 when they were selling those.
I paused this video to order the line level IR remote volume control. Been wanting something like that for my Kenwood integrated amp that drives two Onkyo power amps through a DBX boom box
Crutchfield Audio for around $200 has DAC choices that give you pretty good sound quality back into your vintage stereo. I got one that has inputs for Toslink and Coax Digital; my TV has the Toslink out and my Blu-ray player has the Coax Digital out. After that, the DAC's take a serious jump up in price and I don't think you're getting that much bang for the buck. They even have coax cables over $500 if you want to play into that hype. BUT.....this $200 DAC I have is a far cry better than those cheap DAC's they sell on Amazon that just convert to RCA analog. I started with those......
Big fan of the Wiim Mini. I have mine connected via optical to my S.M.S.L DAC and it sounds great. The nice thing is the Wiim is like my digital hub and can play music from Tidal and iTunes from my Mac. Plus it has built in EQ (both traditional and parametric) for tweaking the sound. Can't beat it for the price.
To add the line level voice control to my Pioneer SX-850 all I did was rca to my ADAPTOR switch, works great!
yes a high quality dac is a huge upgrade i prefer a more high end one with multiple inputs i have a dac magic 200m yes expensive they work great sound great
I just bought a WiiM over the weekend!!
I've had 12v fans running off the switched outlet on my receiver for years. Kept my SX 1250 cool for a long time.
Very interesting, as always..👍
I always used the switched outlet for my turntable, since I can't use it without the amplifier on..
I think of all the gizmos mentioned, I like the cooling fan, but I don't really need that anymore since I don't crank up my amplifier like I used to...lol
And do like the Bluetooth thing, since that would enable me to stream from my phone and listen on my analog stereo setup.. and it's very inexpensive. So that's a win-win.
If you have a headphone jack on your smartphone, a patch cord from that jack size to RCA jacks and either an auxiliary or tape input will work. We take the line level output from our TV and go into the receiver with that and it works quite well. Great video, good info. Thank you!
Definitely gonna be a fun one
Great video once again, I have used the very Logitech Bluetooth adapter you ve shown, it worked great with my phone
Great channel ! Thanks for teaching this old rocker new ways to get more out of my vintage audio. I bought the remote volume control you mentioned and it's a great addition to my Maratha 2270. Only drawback is that bright blue light ! Lol it's a great problem to have.
Very cool!
Marantz !
Excellent videos, BTW.
Dude , i picked up an Energy Exl-s10 10 inch sub at Collectamania on Delaware fir $90 and its clean and works perfect. Its hooked to my Pioneer sx-580 with a PL-518 turntable. JBL-G300 8 inch 3ways for main spkrs.
great vid, thanks
I got this weird little thing I bought from Auto-Zone (PepBoys and Advance Auto too), it is a RCA plug adapter for smart phones made by Dual. I think it cost me 30.00/ I can hook up my smartphone to it, my old iPod, my daughter's spotify music. And even my laptop to watch some older videos from youtube with good music. Works great- but it is on the cheap. Like me...
A good DAC vastly improved my vintage sound especially with high res streaming. Currently using an SMSL M500 MKIII. If you don't want to spend a lot and get into streaming you can also look for a used Chromecast Audio.
I have the Esinkin Bluetooth adapter shown in those stock photos and it’s really great for the price.
The WiiM is great. I have one.
Contains also a good 10 band equalizer.
The wiim mini is brilliant. Got it hooked up to my SX-750. You even get volume control from your phone, albeit digital.
I got the Wiim last month hooked into my Sansui 661. It works great and has an app that’s very user friendly
WiiM for the win.
Nice info overall, having that light helps my aging eyes! Love the Wiim, had not heard of it but certainly will consider it. Now as for those missing outlets on our receivers, my guess would be cost cutting in lieu of any other consideration. I sincerely doubt any insurance company made that decision ( I spent 20 years in the biz). 😁
Good vid - I'm getting a subwoofer !My old Sx 750 Pioneer had a stiff on off position I feared it would break, messing up the speaker select that it was part of ( same knob). My solution was to buy a wireless remote control on/ off switch designed for a lamp . I now have remote control power for my receiver without stress on the stiff switch ( the other speaker positions are fine on the knob).This is also a good answer on NAD and Kenwood units with problematic power switches.
Great advice. The WiiM is very nice and better than some others I've tried. The WiiM Mini is limited on outputs, but the WiiM Pro has more, so check your connections before buying.
I guess I'm the only on who thinks about Wii when I hear or see Wiim😢
Wiim Mini is great, just got one, works for streaming via WiFi but also for Bluetooth
Great info, thanks for sharing.I did not buy a network streamer or blue tooth for my vintage receiver. I simply plug a source box into my auxillary jack and play cd player and IPOD off of it. I can also run my cell off that too.
You could also get a Fan included laptop rest...that use to be used with gaming laptops for getting hot. And the Wiim has an EQ not to mention the options for listening.
Good information
Looks like Sky Labs is up early today. 😀
Great video. Can't believe I missed this one until today. Regarding the line level volume control. I assume this would also work with the tape monitor loop on a vintage Pioneer rx. The DAC looks nice, but I have built my own with Raspberry Pi based DACs. There are some very impressive DAC "hats" available for it. Volumio is a really nice OS for it as well (Free, but with a pay scale). Oh BTW, yeah bluetooth does pretty much suck. The aptX codec helped, but still far away from audiophile.
Thanks for the Wiim Mini suggestion! I’ve not been satisfied with my Bluetooth streaming device feeding into my Marantz 2325.
I've got the subwoofer and the Bluetooth adapter. The adapter is handy when I am doing something around the house and want music, without interrupting whatever I am doing to go change records, or tapes.
My son bought me a Sabaj A10h headphone amp for Christmas. It has RCA in and out and works great in my tape monitor loop as a remote volume control for my Marantz 2220b that my other son gave me a few years ago. 75 bucks on Amazon. I plug it and my DAC into the switched AC outlet.
Kevin, I am so clueless. I bought and had refurbished a technics turntable but I am confused about what else I need, a receiver, an amplifier and what about speakers? Trying to set this up as an anniversary present for my 65 year old husband but we I’m having trouble finding resources! I’m definitely watching! We don’t need loud, just hoping to get my husband into a hobby since he loves music.
I'm in Jackson MS and I can't find anyone to fix my old stereos.. wish there was some time of networking of people who did this everywhere...
Ty for your channel!
The WiiM Mini is a fantastic unit for the money. Another inexpensive item from Newark is an RCA input switcher. pretty handy if you are short an input, or two and it's only like twenty bucks with shipping.
Hey man, thanks for that input switcher info. I need that!
@@JeffN-A Nice! Glad I was able to help someone. It took me a while to find it when I needed it.
Thanks again brother, I know I said it before, but I finally got it all working after my HK 730 took a dump and the 4 way switcher is SWEET. Got 3 out of 4 going through AUX input and the little minty HK 430 I lucked into is pumping it 👍
@@JeffN-A That's great! I'm glad it worked out for you. I'm rocking a 430 in my basement/office. Love that amp.
Cool 😎 !
I do like the option of using my phone as a source. Sometimes I’m streaming music or sometimes watching a video on my phone with the audio on my receiver. More expensive but I’m using a Audioengine B1 with good results.
Thanks! Why did I never think of using the switched power on the rear of my main preamp for other accessories?!
I added two mini fans to my Yamaha A-700 Class A/B amp… one blows into the chassis and the other blows out. Got a two pack on Amazon that come with a Y-Splitter cable for like $25.
I use a Chromecast Audio on my switched input. Good DAC in it and it plays well with streaming apps. Too bad Google killed them because for $35 it is/was a fantastic piece of hardware.
Cool stuff. Just a small tip in plugging into AC outlets on the back. In my experience vintage AC inputs do not accept modern plugs due to the size variation on one of the plugs. A simple file will do the trick to resize the larger blade.
NEVER, EVER modify a polarized plug to fit an outlet! Polarized connections are an Important safety feature.
All plugs and outlets should have been polarized from the beginning, but of course they weren't.
Idiotic advice.
Great video Kevin as always, my question would be if I was to use the line level remote control volume between my preamp an amplifier what would you suggest I would leave my preamp volume at ?
If you want a streamer but really need a wired network connection (connect to a NAS with all your ripped CD's) the Andover Songbird is a good choice. The price is now down to $99 on some sites, so it competes with the Wiim.
Great minds think alike...on both of my stereos I noticed that amps are getting really hot. I have two Technics GU-91, and they have idiotic volume-dependent internal fan (instead of temperature dependent), so if you are listening at below their trigger level of sound volume, the fan will never turn on, and amp would get frying hot. Since I tossed fan on it, it remain blissfully tepid ;)
Also: RCA to 3.5 mm cable, so you can use your phone or computer/tablet as a source, if you dont want to go fancy with BT and streamers
Regarding the functions of remote volume control and streamer, you can do that with the WiiM pro and the WiiM mini.
Great job as usual Kevin, any issue connecting wiim pro into aux input of pioneer sx-950 when wiims dac output is 2.0 volts?
dont forget, the switched & unswitched AC plugs in the back of a vintage receiver are usually (if not always) non-polarized, and most of these things cant plug in to em. subwoofer, for example--you cant plug one into any vintage receiver ive ever seen. ive never come cross a sub with a non-polarized AC plug.
Re the line-level volume control: In Europe (Germany, at least), you can buy the exact same device as Omnitronic LH-125 (50€). You can get those from Amazon here as well. They probably go by different names in various countries. Might also be found on Aliexpress etc.
well the thing to consider about LED lighting and of course other things you talk about plugging into the auxiliary power outlets on amplifiers is the fact that you have to make sure when you get your LED lighting that it is audiophile grade. now again this is very important because otherwise the lights will simply degrade the sonic characteristics of the amplifier
😁😁👍
My computer is hooked up to my stereo(1978 Onkyo tx 4500); I have an eq in the computer, and my mouse controls my volume for my monitor/computer(43 inch Sony Bravia) which controls my volume for streaming. My cd player bypasses the computer but it has a remote. Don't even ask about my Ableton.
I put a little LED light plugged in on the back so that I can see the plugs when I am hooking something up. I am always playing around and getting new things so it's annoying when I can't see what I'm doing back there.
what will be the best antenna for my vintage receiver. Only interested in FM
Great video and suggestions. Not having a remote volume control has always been my biggest beef with owning a vintage amp. I recognized the back of my Sansui AU-717 immediately when I saw the pre-out/main in section in the video. So what you're saying is insert the Line Level control there and turn the coupler off? Since now all sound is going through this little unit, how does it effect the sound? TIA
The sound impact would be MY doubt as well. If you reduce the input signal setting the line-level control e.g. to 50%, you give away half of the dynamic range. The amplifier needs to amplify 2x for the same volume level hence adding distorsion. That does not sound like the perfect idea. Am I overestimating this effect? Of course it is pratical though ...
Using a Pioneer SX 828 with preamp out and amp in connected to an EQ, which side of the eq do you install the line level controller?
if i dont have pre in/out in my receiver is the volume control still work?
Can you hook the in line volume control to a vintage stereo with the old pre amp / amp jumpers? If you can how? I tried and it did not work. Maybe I hooked it up wrong.
So I have read that one should not run 4 speakers at once on a two channel vintage receiver? Meaning all A and B speakers at one time that this may cause some damage.
So would running a Subwoofer not cause any issues? Or are we talking about wiring it a different way and not running A and B speaker inputs at the same time?
Believe it or not? I thought the fan & lights pluged into the ac outputs ! Was the Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! At 70 the optics in my eyeballs ain't what the use to be? One question? Some of my older systems from Japan are 100 volt, can you plug in a 120 volt system in the back switched or unswitched AC outlet plugs! I don't want to burn something up? Thanks Mick
I would love a Bluetooth adapter with a lot more visual appeal, but still retaining the sound of the receiver. Does such a thing exist?
i was afraid to ad a sub to my realistic but thought it be too much due to its age
I love the idea of plugging LED lights into the back of my receiver, but those power supplies often times are cheap, and have dimmers. Is that problematic?
You can run your tv audio to the reciever with Bluetooth. Pretty sure all modern TV's with BT can do this. I did it with my LG tv and a $20 Bluetooth transmitter/receiver
👍👍
#5 you said an dc fan... are these 120AC or 12vdc???
3:05 no ones gonna talk about the tv
Dumb question: Does one have to be a subscriber to Spotify, etc. in order to get use from something like a Wiim?
I’ve loved my Carver C-9 Sonic Hologram Generator for decades. It’s great for processing speaker audio to magically place instruments and voices positioned accurately where you’ve never heard them before.
Bob explains (comically) the processing, with the help of his assistant Miss Hologram. Very kitchey and fun, but he really gets down to explaining it mid-video.
ruclips.net/video/Nh_h-9laNMA/видео.html
Convenience outlets are for Blacklight’s ! Lol
So the MCM 50-8394 Volume controller. You connect it how?
Through the "Tape Loop" is safer, but what does that mean? Connect from Tape Out to Main In?
It will be different depending on your receiver.
@@skylabsaudio NAD 7225PE has a jumper from pre amp to amp, and has Tape in and Tape out
Go thru the pre out main in.
@@skylabsaudio for now I'm thinking I might just get a WIIM PRO PLUS. That would give me volume control over the streaming, and also over my CD player if I connect it to the WIIM? Whether connected to WIIM's Digital In or RCA In? That would only leave my turntable with no remote volume control.