Stereo Wars "The HiFi Receiver Wars of the 1970's"
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- Опубликовано: 3 авг 2024
- Join us for our adventure into the past when we visit the Receiver Wars of the 1970's. See how stereo brands competed with each other to be the biggest and the best! We did our best to get you the most accurate information possible. Forgive any mistakes :). We also ask for your opinions and thoughts on the war and what your favorite vintage stereo's were! Enjoy!
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In over 50 years of being an audiophile, I have only owned three audio receivers. These include a Pioneer SX-626, Pioneer SX-850, and a Pioneer SX-1250. I sold the first two receivers mentioned and I am still using the Pioneer SX-1250 today. It has never given me trouble at all. I bought it from a co-worker (who found it) for only $75.00. Yes, that is correct - $75.00. It wasn't working and he didn't know why. I figured it out immediately. Whoever first owned it had disconnected the jumpers that go from the pre-amp to the main amp. I also have two audio/video receivers - Pioneer VSX-9500S and a Pioneer VSX-D814. Although the two audio/video receivers work well, the sound just can't compare with my Pioneer SX-1250. It's sad that those days are over. I miss them.
My wife and I bought ourselves a wedding present in 1976. A full Pioneer setup. SX1050, PL530, and two HPM100’s. What a great sound! Still have them today!
What a perfect setup!
Hopefully a harbinger to a happy marriage!
Well, it was actually for you, right? :) Nice setup.
I bet that 1050 is due for recapping, unless you have already had that done.
@@roberttroxell4006 I bet you’re right!
I Remember them all . Great Receivers still Rocking, that’s right I’m still Rocking my Marantz 2325 ! It still sounds great but I realize it time for some love and a rebuild, restoration. It’s all I will ever need. Quality Product not like today’s junk. 50 years old and still Rocking !
I think it was the consumers that came out on top, and thanks to all of these stereo companies. Hats off to all of them.
My dad (and a lot of other dads) got interested in Hi-Fi in the late 50's but having a wife and 3 kids he really couldn't spend the money until years later. In 1973 he bought a component system including the Pioneer SX 727 paired with JBL L-88 speakers. I was in high school and he was so cool for doing it. He let me play music any time, never complained about "my music" and would sometime come out and play "his music" for me. He finally had the sound system he wanted. Great memories.
The memories really are one of the great aspects of these!
I was in high school when my parents fulfilled my wish to have a nice stereo receiver. I got a Pioneer 626 for Christmas in, I think, 1972. It only put out 26 watts RMS per channel, whereas I believe the 727 put out 40 watts. I recently saw an 828 for sale on Craigslist for about $850. Nice units.
Your dad is really cool
Pioneer SX 727 still a fine receiver today
The receivers back in the 70th were the most beautiful. They produced pure ART back in the days.
Made in Japan
And there was one design leader with 4 other brands from Japan ripping off each other historically..All you have to do is go back to 1968 and look at Pioneer..They were the worst to copy US brands..
Built to last with service manuals. Silver face with blue VFD glass display is my favorite style.
When stereo receivers and components were silver faced, and they pumped out beautiful sounds of excellence and hit the nail squarely on the head. Those were truly the best days in the 70's when stereo component systems were the very best out there. Nothing today can outperform or outmatched them, ever.
I have had older and new receivers and there's something so big and real about the older stuff. It's smooth, and sounds fuller somehow.
I have a Marantz 2325 and 2270 now. I love them both. Paired them with Dynaco A25’s, Marantz 5220 cassette deck and Marantz 6300 turntable. I’ve been a Marantz fan since I was 20. 70 now, still listening to vinyl.
2nd Chance I preferred the 2270 to the 2325. The 2270 was very nice but no match for the Model 18 or Model 19. But the Model 18 was a bit of an ugly duckling from Marantz.
I recently rebuilt a Marantz 4400 for myself. A great receiver, but the biggest pain ever if anything goes wrong with it. Most old time techs say "see ya" if you bring in any quad. I won't be rebuilding another. I replaced 233 parts to keep it going for another 50 years.
@@midnightsynergy7846 Very cool 😎 You probably love the sound of it and the painful joy of refurbishing yourself. Fantastic!! I only wish
I had your skill set . 👍👍
I rebuilt a 6300 and it has a great arm
What I miss the most - are those locally owned stereo stores. in the 70's, there used to be dozens in most cities. I would go to spend time looking at the newest gears, collecting brochures and catalogs, just admiring the work of engineering feat. Of course I couldn't afford any of them.
The other day I bought Pioneer SX525 from GoodWill for $10. I fixed up few bits like bulbs and speaker posts, and it works quite well.
Same as me.😊
I''ll give you $20 for the Pioneer SX-525. You can double your money. :)
Nice find. What is the wattage on that? Maybe 30 watts per channel?
(I went and looked it up. It has 13 watts per channel.) The truth is that you normally do not need a lot of power for a good-sounding stereo. I do not need to blow out my eardrums. :)
We used to meet girls at the record store.
And the record store not far away
Brother, it's so true. By '79 I had been to pretty much every stereo store in Philadelphia and Baltimore, with a few in southern Jersey and DC on the list as well. There was, and is, nothing like walking into a classic audio store. The apple store generation doesn't quite understand what they missed. Mass production, cost cutting, and conglomeration squeezed out a thriving national market that had those local stereo stores at it's center. As they gradually went away, a lot of the beauty and coolness of audio went with them. Some still exist, of course. But many are uber high end. Anyone have a spare $20K to spend on a system? God bless US Audio Mart and ebay...
Back in 1978 on Oahu, Hawaii, my older brother had a Pioneer system (turntable, cassette deck) all hooked up to a Pioneer SX-1250 that drove a pair of ESS speakers. When he and his wife would get into arguments and there were lots of them, he’d pack his system into his Camaro and bring it over to our house. I’d off load the car and start hooking everything up. That system sounded amazing, that’s how I became an audiophile. I have a high end system and two vintage systems. One is a Pioneer SX-980 driving a pair of A/D/S L520 and just acquired a Yamaha CR-620 driving a pair of B&W LM1. The sources are DAC Box 1 and Blume hi-fi wi-fi Bluetooth receiver. Music comes from my Tidal subscription. After all these years the music still sounds great
My favorite receiver of the 70’s is my Onkyo model TX7000. This 90 watt per side receiver has it all, dynamic sounding amplifier, excellent digital tuner, high quality construction, and an outstanding appearance. It replaced both my previous Pioneer, and Yamaha receivers. As mentioned, these vintage receivers were, and remain, excellent products that have stood the test of time.
Wow,what a stunning collection of shiny,mint condition, stereo receivers, these are priceless!
Pioneer gave them a run for the money in The Receiver Wars, I love vintage Pioneer Electronics.
I found a cheap Pioneer integrated from '78 and I love it so much. The faceplate is thick brushed aluminium with engraved lettering and the dials are big solid aluminium milled chunks (thewhole button is one hefty piece) whereas a lot of receivers and integrateds at the time had moved to plastic buttons with a thin aluminium cap. inside it is very respectable construction and materials.
I am also a big Sansui fan (I love a lot of brand actually, I adore Yamaha. And I wouldn't hate have a Kenwood 30-40w integrated amp from the era)
Marantz was the best
My father bought me my first system which was a Teac. I have two vintage Teac systems now....they warm my soul and remind me of being young and my amazing father 😃❤️🙌
I bought a Sansui 771 in 1974 and then upgraded to a Sansui 881 in 1975. The 881 was fantastic. Great sound and it was and is durable as I still use it today in my workshop (March 2022). It is 47 years old and still sounds and works great. One more thing, the original system I bought in 1974 had Advent speakers (large) and a Thorens TD160 turntable. That system opened my eyes to the possibility of great sound. I don't have the Advents (the suspension rotted), but I still have the Thorens and still use almost daily it in my music room. All I needed was a new rubber belt from Germany to get it performing like new again. They built things to last in the 70's.
Like many folks, this is a trip down memory lane for me! I started working in an audio store on weekends in the mid seventies. I didn't know much technically about the wonderful gear, but I learned fast due to my youth, passion and love of audio in general. I sold Luxman, HK, Yamaha and Marantz at the store I worked at. I think my enthusiasm really helped me to sway people to purchase. I so loved the sound coming out of the gear I was presenting that it was infectious! I made special open reel recordings to highlight various brands. For example, a great combination was playing a Gino Vanelli album through a Marantz receiver(anyone of them, they were great) and JBL L100's, or even L36's. Another great combination was a Yamaha receiver or integrated amp/tuner combo with a pair of Tannoys. That clean amp with a rambunctious speaker was very exhilarating! We'd have turntables set up nicely and play choice vinyl in private demo rooms. It was a fun time. By the late 70's I was selling more on a weekend than the full time staff did all week. The manufacturer reps didn't know me because they weren't visiting store owners and staff on Thursday, Friday nights or Saturday. So I had no benefit of learning from those reps. So I worked harder at educating myself. I did become a very successful manufacturer rep for a reknowned audio/musical instrument company and spent 7 glorious years there representing their product. I left when offered a chance for management advancement at another audio company. Spent 4 successful years there, but it was not the same as my first love! I eventually left the industry, but those were some of my fondest memories. This is a great segment, lots of fun! cheers
I was a teenager in the early eighties, and at the time a lot of this "vintage" 1970's hi-fi gear was turning up at garage sales. People were dumping their old stereos because they were big and heavy, and it was not uncommon to buy a whole stereo system -- receiver, speakers, tape deck, turntable -- for $100. I'm amazed at the prices these originally sold for! My dad and I got into it and tried a whole bunch of brands and models, swapping out each one when we came across something better. I had receivers and amps by Sony, Sansui, Goodman, and Pioneer. But my dad got a Marantz receiver, and nothing bumped it off the podium, so I'd say it was the best of them all. It's still in my dad's living room today. I still remember how good those discrete-component amps sounded! The fascination was that as a human being, you could actually discern the difference in sound represented by a spec like THD. It became a celebration of our ability to hear. A remarkable era in technology. Now days its nothing to do with fidelity, and it's all about convenience. 1000 songs in your pocket, and Beats headphones, because it doesn't matter what they sound like, as long as you look cool wearing them.
Morgan Ahoff I have and love my marantz 2325 use it almost everyday
Morgan, have you heard any modern audiophile equipment? There are some fine pieces of equipment being made now, but it can cost thousands.
When I was buying vintage gear from Ebay in the late 1990s, they were selling for 10 cents on the dollar compared to today.
Ah, lookin' cool. As a tween in early 1960's the "must have" audio for us was the portable radio. Cheap Japanese crap with three inch mono speaker, two transistor, AM only, fake leather case and cheesy ear plug for "private listening". It was boss. My dad had a crystal set as a kid in the 1920's.
I bought a Marantz at a garage sale a couple years ago for $10. Last year I picked up a Sansui and Rotel for free at another garage sale. They just wanted them out of their closet. I live in an area with lots of retirees and they tend to downsize (to my advantage).
Don't kid yourself, these systems that cost as much as a car had lots of problems back then. You needed to play all of them very loud to keep them cool. If you played them softly, they would burn up and some would actually start on fire. I remember, I was there. I was an 18 year old audiophile nut during the stereo wars. All that money and they would just burn up. All the power was there whether you needed it or not. Heat or sound was your only choice and your electric meter was spinning full speed. That's why the whole back of the cases were giant cooling fins. This was before the days of computer fans and it didn't work. A friend had a really expensive Sansui start on fire playing soft music when he was sleeping. None of those old high powered systems were usable at all in anything less than a hall. And why would you want an FM tuner in a hall at all? I used a Technics system for myself. It was a 120 watt system that went through musician grade sound amps from there. That's how I got a lot of power and just had it turned off when I didn't need it. Sometimes the best thing about the good old days is they're gone.
When surround came out and I had a house, I upgraded to all SONY professional equipment I built piece by piece (as I could afford it) with .005 THD and I still use all of it today 35 years later. Except for the fully servo controlled studio "metal" cassette deck that still works fine today, but is hopelessly obsolete, and finally got pulled from the rack and was replaced with a SONY studio grade CD Carousel 5 disk player that is now also obsolete. And I still do run a linear track turntable. I paid the price for a fine system that would last a lifetime and it has. Even though sections of it became obsolete, I'm quite proud of it and even upgraded it to blue tooth. This old 1985 5.2 system today pushes dual B.I.C 12 inch 20hz 750 watt "BASH" subs that add up to 1,500 watts in total, with high efficiency McIntosh mains that I rebuilt with carbon fiber drivers including 12 inch 18hz woofers and B.I.C carbon fiber surrounds for another 740 watts. This all goes through an Audiosource 10 band graphic analyzer/ equalizer, fine tuned with the McIntosh main speakers about 5 feet from your head; in a 14x24 foot living room. 65inch 4k at 11 feet. Left and Right are at each end of the room with Center over the TV in the middle that you sit across from; surrounds in the back corners. It even has two 120 watt floor shakers/ Tactile Transducers bolted under the floor in front of the couch. Opening sequences of Top Gun over your head landings make viewers hit the floor. No lie and I take great pleasure in it. This 2,240 watt system will not only rock the whole house, it'll break the glass. Really. It's already done it twice. I have test movies I use scenes from to set my volume levels. Remember the scene in Jurassic Park in the beginning where the Brontosaurus lands on his front legs to a huge crash? I lost a front window over that one. Twister took out another. For music, it can reach concert levels (122db) with just the McIntosh mains in stereo mode. And with deep bass enough to shake the house if that's what you prefer. That's why I've used it for over 35 years. Perfection never needs improvement. The only improvement I've ever made is taking it from an audiophile only system, adding another 1,500 watts and turning it into an audio/ videophile system that can be custom tuned for either. Using SONY when they made really good audiophile equipment and you paid a high premium for it. Yes, very expensive, but a lifetime commitment and you can't ask for anything more than that. I did have to buy one remote for it however, but you can still buy them new. It was between SONY and Carver but SONY had much better specs. Yeah, I was surprised too.
This ancient system, my home theater, is far superior to any movie theater I've ever been in except an IMAX that can pump out 20,000 watts. But it does have far superior sound imaging than an IMAX. It'll even do "Sensurround" justice. I remember opening night for Wrath of Khan and my son whispered to me, "I can't wait for this to come out on tape so we can watch it at home." He grew up on this stuff and has an excellent SONY/ JBL system himself with a very nice 65 inch 4k curved screen.
Nostalgic? Bite the bullet, get an old McIntosh system and be done with it. And if you rebuild McIntosh speakers? Use the best sonicly matched drivers to the originals that money can buy. You will find them and they will last past your lifetime. Mine is going to. Oh, and no speaker grills people? Really? They snuff out your high treble and upper mid range just like that. Sometimes the wife just won't be happy. But she'll get used to it.
The Kenwood KR-9600 hands down was the best. Incredible sound quality, darlington power packs, it was gorgeous to look at and wonderful to listen to. Wish I had bought one! I got the smaller KR-7600.
I’ve owned a lot of vintage 70s receivers
The one I cherish the most is my Kenwood KR-7600 hooked up to my AR 4x speakers, paradise
Thank you for taking us back to the great days of the high powered stereo receivers. I don’t know about you, but it was a competition. Guys invited you to their house to show you just what those 250 watts could do. I also fell victim to the great tuner wars of the 70s. The FM dial was just turning from dentist chair music to pop, rock and soul. I lived about 60 miles from Philadelphia and 80 miles from Baltimore. The big market stations were really pumping out some great music. There was even album oriented rock, where a station played an entire album without a commercial break. I remember simulcasting, where you really showed off your system by turning the TV volume down and a local fm station would take over the sound in high powered, super separated stereo. There was Carver with their asymmetrical charge coupled detector, and NAD had the Schotz tuners. Personally I fell in love with the Technics STS-6 because of the write up Julian Hirsch gave it in Stereo Review. I loved it because it displayed signal strength in dB, and I could pick up Baltimore stations, no problem. Thanks again for a great throw back. I hope you do a review in the much overlooked stereo tuner.
Yeah, I remember a guy that got kicked out of his condo because he had one of those ams and Klipshorn speakers that rocked the whole building.
As my flagship Receiver, the Pioneer SX-1010 was my first in 1975 and still part of my collection today. Its a beautiful sounding as well great looking Receiver. Paired up with a set of Pioneer HPM-!00's and JBL Decade 36 speakers, amazing warm full sound!
Only Marantz comes in a close second for me. I can't believe how much these receivers are going for today. Great job on revealing this monster Receiver and the battle it started.
I still love my McIntosh 1700 with a whooping 45 watts per channel but it's over 50 years new, still the sweetest sound I ever heard! Made in Cambridge Ms. 1971
These receivers are just so beautiful compared with the crap we have today.
They look like works of art... all the toggle switches knobs and buttons with that distinctive click of the toggle switches... with the soft glow of meter lights and blue and red lights... Pioneer receivers in particular
look how much they were. They basically were 5 grand in todays money. You cant compare something that is $5000 in todays money vs $500
Receivers aren't the only crap today most everything is
Hey man you got that right
Good quality and good design are available today, but they aren't cheap. Look at the "in today's money" prices for those vintage amps (instead of the list prices in 1970's dollars) and look at what's available for those prices today. For the $5000 or $7000 of the highest power vintage receivers, you can get an exceptional integrated amp (probably with a DAC instead of a tuner). And just like the vintage receivers, lower power models with similar quality and design are available for half that price.
I am an owner of Pioneer SX-1980 in combination with Pioneer TC-9191, Pioneer RT-1020 Reel-To-Reel deck and Sony Esprit APM-4 speakers. I have spent many years trying to find and buy all these Hi-Fi, it was my kid's dream, practically unattainable for a person living behind the "Iron Curtain" in the late 70-th - 80-th, but I managed to fulfill my dream.
Mine was and still is the Setton RS440! The sound is unreal! Bought it new in 1977 moved with me 3 times in 1981 my house was robbed and they took it! (sob) And since the were out of business by then I couldn't get another one! Fast forward 33 years I'm surfing the net and what do I find ? why a Setton RS440 ! So I buy it and when I get it and go over it SURPRISE! yep the one that was stolen from my home 33 years earlier! I took it to the only stereo shop in town they had never seen one before made by Yamaha designed by Alan Clare ( worked with Pierre Cardin) The went thru it and made it new again! ( they only made 300 total) Sounds great and how it got 3 states away .. if it could only talk!
My favorite receiver was and always will be the Marantz models.
Some of those receivers were truly beautiful. Somebody should start making them again.
Yamaha is headed in that direction. They need to find a wood manufacturer and they would be there, well if they added tape monitors haha
You're sure? Some time ago, my 19 year old Sony av receiver failed. Pending repairs, I looked for an alternative, just in case. I found out that tbe only ones sold at my place started ditching analog inputs. It is the same with pc's with compatibility issues. I agree that old amps are very desirable.
I have a feeling real 2 channel receivers might be returning. I heard a story somewhere that home theater is slowly dying out (how true that is remains to be seen).
@@bikdav May be, with the advent of streaming services. I don't think they will include surround. 😊
So much prettier than the black monoliths they sell today. These were to be looked at and admired. Today's are destined for a back cupboard with a remote extender or wirelss connection to an iphone to make them go. You have to look closely at them to find the badge to recognise who made them. My son is on his forth setup because the last three 5 to 7 channel receivers didn't have the software upgrades or processing power required to decode the data streams properly. My 1980s receiver and its attached 10 inch drivers just keeps rocking along connected to the TV headphone output, and the record player, and the tape deck and the cd player.
I had the opportunity of working on an SX-1010 last summer. It needed output transistors and alignment etc. After the repair I tested this receiver and found it to be one of the absolute best sounding receiver I have ever listened to. Thank the for the Video. It was very cool to see all those beautiful receivers!
I,m still sporting a 1972 LLOYD,S bubble top.
I still have a pioneer amplifier and stereo that is over 40 years old these things last forever look and sound beautiful and is solid.
I think high end audio consumers, by late 70's were moving toward separate components (tuner, preamp, deck, power amp), thus leaving top-receivers market for less demanding consumers. My vote is for Sansui!
Sansui AU717 and TU717, real beauties in an audio rack.
Used to love Sansui. They made fantastic receivers!
Anybody remember Quadraphonic receivers and QUAD 8 TRACKS?
I have a sansui 7001 receiver I bought in 1974 . What a sound
I never understood those.
I've got Sansui QRX-6500 quad receiver with a "QS" decoder built in. I believe this was for quad records with this encoding.
@@bikdav 4 channels instead of 2
It was short lived snake oil. You only have two ears, and the only option available for discreet was tape, and not standard tape or machines. Vinyl was king, and a groove only has two sides.
My Pioneer SX-1010 still works today. And yes I still use it from time to time.
My dad's rig was a Sansui 5500 with an Akai Dolby deck, Akai reel to reel, Technics SL 1300, and a set of Pioneer CS99A speakers with the FB cones. The scratch of the needle drop of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Bad Company was the sound of my childhood. I still get chills and haven't found anything as good yet in modern equipment. I want to recreate his rig as a tribute so my kids can enjoy the warmth of vinyl like I did. My mom came home one day early when I was about 16 and had the windows rattling in the house. She was so mad she threw everything out to the curb. I can't even tell you how pissed I was and still am about that day. Lol...
I was visiting a local stereo store and they had the Pioneer SX1050 on the shelf. I asked them if this was the top dog, and salesman told me to hold on and he went to the backroom and rolled out the Pioneer SX1250, and said the 1050 was the biggest until today.
Great story!
Classic . . . . I miss those good old " Industrial Design " days . . . .
Dude was wrong. Pioneer had a SX-1280 that was slightly better than the SX-1250 but both are darn good machines.
Back in 1977 in England, I was a warehouse salesman selling these things. Every Saturday, customers were a six man deep crowd along a fifty foot counter. Inflation was so ridiculous that rising wages were out-running the price of our stock and people were paying cash. It was a bigger goldrush than any cellphone and 40 years earlier.
I still love my old SX-1250 after 45yrs. I redid the capacitors and put in LED lighting. Sounds perfect.
In 1974 my setup was a Sherwood receiver, Dual turntable and JBL speakers. It rocked!
I was in high school during the receiver wars,and couldn't come close to owning one of these monsters,then. As an adult,I did locate a Pioneer SX1250,and had it completely gone through..... recapped,new bulbs,etc. It's got all the power I need,and sounds great! My kids can fight over it,when I die...... Great video!
(Merance) I believe refrained from planned opsalasance.
250w×4ch or 450w×2ch
With help of bridge plugs located in back.
Me to, I loved reading all the audio magazines and visiting all the hifi stores but like you I couldn't even come close in affording the stuff,it was very very expensive.
1st class
You often see these TV shows that suggest you linger in this world for a bit after death. I'd love to see the hair pulling, cussing and fighting that goes on after I croak. To call all the fist-de-cuffs and caterwauling epic would be an understatement knowing my kind.
While serving in the navy during the 70's I collected a lot of stereo equipment. I always went back to Pioneer. I had a SX-1010 for awhile and then moved on to the silverface Spec line which I still have and use today. When I think of the missed opportunities of acquiring that stuff as I remember strolling through the PX or NEX it just makes me appreciate the stuff I did keep.
Yeah, you guys got great deals at the PX. I heard many stories, and you damn well deserved them!
I also served in the Navy from 75 to 79... I usually saved about two grand to purchase top of the line brushed aluminum milled aluminum knob Pioneer components turntable cassette 8 track reel to reel equalizer and Bose 601 speakers stacked on to shelves of O'Sullivan component cabinets... Dynamite sound! The look and a quality will never be the same...
Reminds me of the first day I walked into the barracks in Germany. Everyone had a stereo. I was totally blown away. Then I went to the audio/photo club at Mainz Kastel. Between that place and the PX you could get just about anything you wanted stereo wise. The good old days.
I'm am a Navy brat of the 70s & 80s. Dad was into audio in a big way. Our first amp was shot when the cat barfed on it. The second amp was the Kenwood KR9400 powering Kenwood 16" speakers (on channel "A") and Sansui 12" speakers on "B" for the Quadraphonic sound. I believe he got the receiver in Guam. The memories are powerful.
Just found this channel and love it. I worked in the stereo business in the '70's, mainly at one of the stereo shops in Southern California. The chain was the one with the super obnoxious radio/TV sales guy. People hated him so much that when I managed a store in the SF Bay Area the local DA would some in every week to check the ads to make sure we were not advertising something we didn't have. The manufacturer wars (it was way more than just the receivers) were fierce. Sales people were paid commission, so it was cuthroat to the worst degree. Back then I think stereo sales people were hated more than used car sales people were. The only people lower than a stereo sales guy were insurance sales people and lawyers.
Was in the Navy in 77-81. Ended up with a Kenwood KR-4070 still have it. Fellow sailer picked up that big Sansui it was a beast!
As a teenager in the 70`s my fondest memories were attending HiFi shows where Vendors use to set up and demonstrate their latest and greatest equipment set up in Hotels like the Hilton in downtown N.Y.
There you would see and listen to some of the greatest components offered to the average consumer, while
most audiophiles would be critical of specs verses performance I couldn`t help but being in total awe of
how real actual prerecorded music can sound so life like played back. I actually purchased a Heathkit
Model AR1500A and built it , taking about a week to complete at 60W per channel it was the best sounding
receiver I ever owned and to this date I still use it. At a bit over 40yrs old it still sounds great. Love the stories you tell, keep them coming. Thank you for the memories. Al
Thanks for your story and thanks for watching!
Today's audiophiles don't want to do blind listening tests because they know that high end modern gear will prevail over the old stuff.
I was buying my 1st Mcintosh tube monoblocks when the Pioneer SX-1980 came out .
In 1976, my wife and I bought our first stereo system....techniques receiver, Garrard turntable, floor speakers. Still have the speaker cabinets with upgraded components. After car purchase the stereo was a source of much enjoyment.
I started selling audio in 1976 and always loved the big Marantz .
Wow...those were the good old days in the hi fi audio industry. I still own a Technics SA1000 since the late 70's. I have replaced all capacitors, and It's still looks brand new. It's a beast and the sound is amazing. Technics made the most powerful unit in the 70's receiver war, but not the prettiest. In my opinion, Sansui made the most gorgeous receivers, followed by Marantz.
I have a Sansui G-9700 and I must agree it is beautiful especially the soft lighting of the dials. Ironically I think the best looking receiver is my SR-2004. Its all silver faced. I just find the lights mesmerizing.
I remember going to the electronics store with my older brother and looking at all the beautiful receivers, turntables, reel to reel tape players and speakers. I still remember the excitement I would feel just looking at all the equipment and I still feel that way when I look at the vintage stuff online.Unfortunately I live on the other side of the country or I'd be shopping at your store right now. I was too young to purchase anything but my brother was able to buy some nice equipment. Later on I ended up buying some cheap stuff because that's all i could afford. Then marraige, kids etc. came first. Now that I'm older and retired I'm searching for the vintage equipment I could only dream about. Any suggestions as to where to begin? Thanks for the video. Great memories!!!!!
Jimmy, love the story! I can tell you right where to begin... with us, we ship free! You can watch the catalog, anything that looks good you can order, or you can call us. One of my team would be happy to find the perfect vintage stereo setup for you! 😁👍
Just Audio That’s great. Thank you.
Naim audios olive equipment was always highly praised. I own naim hifi - cd, amp preamp and teddy pardo power supplies powering Linn Keilidh speakers. I could never have afforded them new, they've been serviced and all sound fabulous.
Jimmy, you can get used audiophile-level equipment at substantial savings over new. I bought a Parasound P5 preamp and Parasound A21 amp, both used, for a total of about $2,000. New, they came to over $3500. The A21 delivers 250 watts RMS per channel at 8 ohms load and 400 watts per channel at 4 ohm load (speaker rated 4 or 8). This is just an example of the type of buys available. If you don’t want separates, you could look at integrated amps that have the pre and amp together. If you don’t need the latest model, you can save a lot of money.
Thanks for the good advice.
I remember loving my Pioneer SX-9000 only 50W/channel RMS, but it had a built in R-E-V-E-R-B!! 🙂 Anyhow, I really enjoyed your piece on receivers...thanks for the memories!
High School sophomore in 77 (class of 79) I saved up and bought a Nikko 8085 Receiver, KLH 363 speakers, Technics SL 1700 turntable and an Akai Tape deck from Druckers in Newark New Jersey. I rocked the Jersey Shore parties at my house in Seaside Park.
First, God bless you for keeping cultural classics in beautiful condition. Why "cultural?" Because they're so much more than just electronics... they're hallmarks of the greatest receiver era. Most of these receivers have more metal in their tuning knobs than modern receivers have underneath the hood in total. Modern hi-end has definitely advanced sound quality. But the old classics still sound incredible, and modern pieces don't come close in aesthetics. The 70's produced some of the greatest audio eye candy of all time...
I was a repairman when these wars were just beginning, so I was quite concerned with the build quality of these devices. We sold a lot of Scott equipment. It was cheap and high maintenance -- I fixed a ton of them. On the high end were Marantz and McIntosh. And, as you would expect, their build quality reached work-of-art levels. I never had to fix any of them, but I opened a couple just to see them. We also sold Ampex tape and Thorens record equipment, both of which were beautifully made, The acoustic suspension speakers certainly benefited from the receiver wars. The big-box speakers such as Bose and Klipschorn did not need that power, and their owners rarely bought the ultra high power devices.
Over the years I'd say that inexpensive equipment has improved immensely, but really superb sound is still mind-bogglingly expensive, even if you avoid the cult stuff like $500,000 turntables. Still, 70s electronics were good even by modern standards so they're still worth owning and using.
Love this perspective ❤!
So tell me what brands would you recommend today? First for my poverty stricken ass, what are the best low end brands? I have a denon x 3600 h, Polk signature series s55e 5.1, I have a little buyers remorse as I’ve heard the Yamahas in this range have better sound, although when I’m watching a movie like interstellar with the audyssey set up just right, it’s like being in a cinema, the sounds really do become 3d, but when I’m watching anything without big sounds it’s completely underwhelming, which is strange cuz the s55 e’s are meant to be better at mid range. Any way I really don’t know what I’m talking about and I’d rather hear your opinion about brands these days, I’ve heard of people collecting pre ww2 stereo equipment because they claim the parts were much better in the older systems and they actually prefer the Warmer mono sound over the crisp and clinical stereo or surround sound, what do you think?
Have you ever thought of starting a RUclips channel? It would be great to listen to someone with your experience thays not tied to any brand.
Also what are the best brands for those without budget restrictions?
😊
I had Heathkit 1429Tuner / Amplifier. Olsen speakers. My nephew used the amp with a Gibson preamp for his Les Paul in the 80s.
I remember my older brother saying you are never going to put that together. I was done that night when I brought it home. Always worked.
Sorry but my ears could not tell the difference between it and a Sansui.
It actually worked pretty good with Peavey guitar speakers.
It was still working in1994 when I sold it.
Now I use 2 Logitechs. One pre blue tooth and one after blue tooth and a computer.
@@Vgallo The Yamaha's are a work of art. But almost too clinical and clean... kinda looks like a Nagra. Just go Marantz and be done with it. Also very pretty and sound wonderful. Or McIntosh??? Can't imagine the actual vincent gallo is asking for advice on 70's audio gear. LOL.
I was an engineering tech at Scott in the late 1970s. Scott had been sold a couple of times and the management (who weren’t hifi guys) sourced gear overseas. The stuff from Korea was awful. The line we sourced from Kyocera was top-notch Japanese quality (this included the magnificent 390R receiver). Prior to the Kyocera line, it came from Korea and my boss, the chief engineer was blunt in his assessment of the cheap phenolic PC boards they used describing them as being made of “compressed water buffalo ****. Having had to repair the foil traces on many of these damned things (I often subbed in the repair department), I came to despise that stuff. The line that came after was sourced from Samsung and wasn’t much better the earlier Korean stuff. I oeft soon after.
My 1976 Yamaha CR400 still sounds great today. Less than 20 watts per channel but clean and would get louder than most anyone would ever want. I only wish that many of the electronics I've bought since had the staying power of this unit. Cool to see all these receivers from back in the day when listening was more of an experience.
I was into audio in those days....as well as a musician. I remember the Bogen and used it as low quality sounding PA amp but that's all we had in those early days. I was never into power...and more into specs. I didn't care about the "power". I cared about %distortion. I lived with a friend of mine who had a whole series of Hi End SAE equipment. The other side of the equation was what speaker system you would "marry" to the receiver which was not mentioned at all in the Receiver Wars....but acoustics is another subject all together. By the late '70s, I was not into blasting the walls down. I settled for simple Radio Shack 20 watt receiver and a pair of minimus 7 speakers. It was compact, had a great sound and all the add ons in one box....very easy to use....slim and looked great too. I wish they still made ti today!
I've owned many vintage receivers the ones that stand out for me are Pioneer , Harman Kardon & all though not as popular some Toshiba models are sleepers ive really enjoyed . Nothing beats vintage receivers looks , quality & sound . It was a special time back then .
Thanks for sharing!
the price comparisons shows the buying power we had back in the '70's versus now. the really good gear of today is priced right out of the everyday man's hands.
I bought the Kenwood model Eleven Three while I was stationed in Japan (US Navy) in 1978. Great receiver
First receiver I bought was a Pioneer SX 434. Plenty loud for my bedroom and EPI 100. Shout out to the long closed Atlantis Sound of Boston. The 70s were great for hanging out at hi fi shops.
That was great... a fun walk through my era. . I had a simple Marrantz 2230 with some humongous Utah speakers and a Dual 1225 turntable (early 1970s) .. it made plenty of noise and kicked the butt of the Silvertones, RCAs, and GEs we grew up with... it was a great time to enjoy music. The Utahs were replaced a few years later by a more space efficient pair of EPI 100s ... that to this day I think was one of the most pleasant sounding speakers ever. Lol... though my current Klipsch RP 8000Fs.... by no means Klipsch best ... powered by 80 watts of NAD and a Project 2Xperience turntable ... well it's an interesting reflection comparison... I still have the Utahs and EPIs and Dual ... with now a Marantz 2226 B ... a bit off the 2230... to compare. Well I will admit ... Art Blakey sounds like he is actually in the room on the NAD set up... but... but ... Roger Daltrey still rocks the world on the 1970s set up. ... I have a Pioneer SX 727 ... and deeply love my Pioneer SX 580... very low power but when wedded to my old Baby Advent IIs...and an old Technics TT ... well God just loves the meek ... that set up just sounds so sweet. Oh and there is a ery nice Sansui 4000 and a shocking to me due to little notoriety a JVC JRS81W near 40 watts I think ..which my wife does not remember but had in college in the 70s... all these are connected to speakers and turntables... ok I go on and on ... I have a ball with all that... and i bet together they still cost less than one 100 plus watt vintage stereo (i am not including the NAD set up in that math) and for me it's just more fun to have all that variety.... but who knows if i ever got my hands on a 2325 or the BIG Pioneer i might regret my buying habit... but i don't think so ... generally 25 to 40 watts will do everything most of us need. Still I may be wrong... but a sound l in every room I sure fun! Lol! Thoughts?
You remember Utah speakers? I had a pair purchased mail order through Allied Radio. I believe they were made in Illinois; not Utah. I was an Acoustic Research loyalist: owned the AR amplifier, AR-6 speakers, and AR turntable. The turntable always received glowing magazine reviews; but they were junk. The local hifi studio stopped carrying them because they were so unreliable and I and my two friends had to buy them at a hole in the wall warehouse distributer on some side street in Ann Arbor, Each of our turntables was defective in some aspect. A different problem in each turntable so the defects weren't even consistent..
What an extraordinary time in audio equipment. I am still dreaming of having a set up of old school superior receivers, amps, speakers, the works. Thanks for the video and taking me back some years.
Your welcome! Thanks for watching!
When I was in the Navy (71-75) I bought a Sansui QRX-5500 receiver, Teac A2340R, reel-to-reel, 4 Pioneer CS-R700 speakers and a Dual Turntable and a demodulator. I loved listening to music in 4-channel. I used to take my whole stereo to a friend's Illinois farm house for keg parties. We hooked up 4 more speakers to it and blasted out Led Zeppelin on the reel-to-reel through 8 speakers at our keg parties. I burned out some fuses and transistors(?) in it a few times before we put a fan on it and it performed flawlessly. That baby was "battle tested". It got hard to find 4-channel cartridges and 4-channel records for my turntable so I went back to stereo. I finally wore out the reel-to-reel after 20 years. I tried recording CDs on it, but they didn't sound very good. The heads and the guides were getting too worn on it. I gave it away to a thrift store. I had the receiver in my garage for years with a heavy duty fan blowing on it. A friend who was a TV repairman repaired it in the mid-90s but couldn't get the right transistor for it. It worked, but it ran so hot that the heat sinks turned a copper color and would burn your fingers if you touched them. But it worked as long as I had a strong fan on the heat sinks. But finally after almost 45 years of playing it started showing its age. It would develop a large "hum" and I would have to turn it off and on to get the hum to go away. I gave it away when we moved to Nevada three years ago. I still have the four Pioneer CS-R700 speakers although one has quit working. I love those 12" woofers, midrange horn and tweeter. They sounded as good at those parties as JBLs and other brands. Now-a-days I only listen to my music while on the computer or in my car, so I don't need the big stereo anymore. I started on CDs then iPods and now I just use my phone and bluetooth. But those days were sure fun. I have no regrets buying the stereo I did. It was great, especially the speakers.
First off...Thanks for serving! Also sharing your story!
I was a very good customer of the local music store in the 70's they carried McIntosh I remember well standing and in awe at those big blue VU meters as I realistically took my Yamaha integrated, Yamaha NS500's and B&O 4004 turntable home which I still have tucked away.
Marantz 4400 at 125 watts (2 channel) RMS, is still one of the best powerhouse receivers IMO. I love the scope, the quad 4, and that silver faceplate w/ script font. Saul Marantz is a legend!
125 wpc was only mid level power in the late 70s.
Eric Hannula Saul Marantz sold the company long before the 4400 was made.
As someone who was falling hard for stereos back in the late '70s, this was a very fun video. Thanks for sharing!
That was quite a time for "home stereo" systems...and I was a teenage consumer, right in the middle of it all--a kid in a "candy store"!! Neighbors on my street used to take turns blasting their favorite music from their homes, with windows down and volume set just below "clip". There was no shortage of suitable music...or of tolerance, either!! My Hitachi SR-804 still pushes EPI M-201 speakers like they're in some kind of wondereful "time warp"!! Blissful!!
I spent almost all of my money from my job at Path Mark to purchase the Marantz 2250 along with a pair of Jensen Model 24 speakers that had 15" woofers in late 1975.
ALL of these top guns are the best!. Look at what we have now; it's all Black Plastic Crap (BPC).
All of those receivers and their smaller brothers, can be re-furbed AND will out-live (and out shine) a lot of BPC gererations. No self-destruct chips in them too..........
self destruct chip (planned obsolescence)
Lol..right!! Didn't Yamaha have those mission impossible chips?
My friend just gave me an Onkyo TX-SV515PRO aka (BPC) Most likely with that 60 sec self-destruct chip equipped! Smh
I get what you're saying, but not all new receivers are crap. I found a Denon AVR-2400 stereo receiver in the back of a pickup truck at the Pick Your Part wrecking yard in Southern California. It was very dusty and had "rain-drop" marks in the dust. In truth, I don't think it was ever soaked by the rain here in the Southern California desert, but it was rained on. I took a chance and bought it for $20.00. I cleaned off all the dust and powered it up and .....it works! That was over three years ago and it's still going strong. It's got connections for bi amp speakers and a phono input. Everything still works on this sucker and it has plenty of power. I bought an original remote control for it on eBay. I would like to find an owner's manual for it, just because.
Pioneer SX 535 is still in operation. Paid $299.00 in 1974. Great sound.
I got here from your excellent Sansui video in July 2023. Delighted to have been suggested your channel by YT. You have a new sub!
Watts: Technics
Looks: Marantz
Sound: Sansui
Gumption: Pioneer
I believe I was drinking the Pioneer Kool-aid and still favor them. That was nice to see and hear how the 70's war went on.
It's some good kool aid!
Hey, it's not boasting if you can do it! LOL
I am still drinking the PIONEER and KOOL-AID in 2020 and Loving every second of it . . .
JC Penny. Sears sold Sansui, Pioneer high end units for $200.00 less. Just rebranded with the story name..I fixed many of these units. They are the same inside. As you would have got with the name brand.. Getting hard to find these units...
The Sansui G-9000 was as beautiful as it was powerful. I didn't like how the hook-ups were on the sides though....
I had a 1979 Kenwood KRV-55 digital AV receiver. Excellent receiver.
Takes me back to my Army days. G.I.s bought their audio gear at the PX and had it shipped back home. In 1970 I bought a Marantz amp and two AR2ax speakers. Replaced and upgraded over the years like everyone else. Now that I'm old I don't need to impress the girls. Just bought two little bookshelf speakers. Downsizing everything.
I have an Pioneer SX-1050 Silver...it's a thing of beauty. Bought it out of an old electronic shop...15 bucks.
As someone who came of age in the late 70's, and sold high end audio in the late 80's and early 90's, I can't tell you who the winners of the receiver wars were, but I can tell you who the losers were, average consumers, and the quality of recorded music playback.
Here's what I mean. Prior to the receiver wars most receivers had similar modest power specs by today's standards. The majority were modest 10-30 watt tube amps that all produced amazing sound with simple analog circuits using very little, if any, negative feedback. This was fine, because the best speakers of the day were less revealing than most modern speakers, very efficient, and had high 8 - 16 ohm impedance. Tube amps had a great deal of headroom above their rated power before they were driven into audible distortion, because their even order harmonic distortion wasn't too unpleasant to hear when driven at high volume levels. The real areas where they were competing was in their tuner sections, and in the accuracy of their phono preamp stage.
Then came the receiver wars. The first battles were won by adding more and larger tubes to increase power output, bias circuits so these extra tubes could be harmonized with each other, and negative feedback loops to reduce the distortion created by the increased complexity of these circuits. But tubes get hot, and most people don't want space heaters in their living rooms year round, just so they can occasionally listen to quality music reproduction at loud volume levels. The "solution" was transistors.
With the introduction of transistors the receiver wars blasted into overdrive. Manufacturers could now increase power more easily and reliably by simply adding transistors without adding to the amount of heat tubes generated. But the downsides were that they required more transistors to produce the same amount of power output of similarly rated tube amps, and they created nasty sounding odd order harmonic distortion when they were driven close to their maximum output levels. This meant engineers had to design ever more complicated circuits as power increased, using even more negative feedback to keep harmonic distortion low. The result was way more power than could ever be imagined with tube designs at that time, but more sterile, less musical sounding amps. Fortunately, for receiver manufacturers, the majority of speakers of the day still weren't revealing enough to highlight their flaws, but that was quickly changing.
Which brings us to the late 70's early 80's, the end of the receiver wars, and their lingering consequences. One of the side effects of the receiver wars was that it spurred innovation in speaker design. No longer constrained by amplifier power output, engineers were freed-up to design more revealing, less efficient speakers that presented more complex impedance loads to drive, which in turn required more power than their predecessors to produce similar listening volume levels. As speakers became more revealing, flaws that were made anywhere along the recording and playback chain became more readily apparent. This made things like hiss from tapes or radio, and clicks and pops from vinyl, more distracting and annoying to listen to. It also made the early CD players sound strident and fatiguing. That in turn forced manufacturers to rethink DAC implementations, and record companies to remaster and reissue old releases at great costs. That in turn blew up the idea that as CDs became popular, and production scaled up, that their prices would come down dramatically, as was initially promised when introduced.
The other more tragic negative legacy was receivers became commodities with little to really differentiate between them other than marketing hype. This is because consumers, mostly young men, became conditioned to believe 100 watts was a magic number that every receiver had to have as a bare minimum to be worth a damn. Anything less was inadequate, even if they didn't need such power. Power ratings were like horsepower ratings for cars, and just another form of penis envy that marketers took advantage of. So sales of lower powered amps plummeted. You couldn't give away an amp under 30 watts, even if it produced more output current, and drove speakers better than a 100 watt model.
The economy began slowing dramatically in late 1980 and persisted until early 84. Sales of receivers and stereo equipment in general fell off a cliff as the economy slowed, especially very low powered units (10-30 watts). Unable to sell enough numbers of the extremely high powered amps, because of their cost, or low powered amps, because they weren't sexy enough, manufacturers began competing on price, This led to a race to the bottom in receiver sound quality. They needed to make them cheaper to keep sales volumes up.
The more they were forced to compete on price, the more they were forced into making compromises in designs. This led many manufacturers to use cheaper grade capacitors, resistors and diodes than they had been using previously, with a corresponding degradation in sound quality and longevity of the product. This also led to the introduction of much cheaper, and vastly inferior sounding integrated circuit designs, instead of more expensive discrete electronic component designs that had been the norm.
Watts are a ratio of voltage times amperage (current), so 100 watts can be higher voltage, but lower amperage, or lower voltage with higher current, which sounds much better. The cheaper IC designs also had correspondingly smaller transformers and smaller capacitors, so they produced much less output current then the older discrete designs. It was impossible for them to sound anywhere near as good, because they couldn't control speakers as well, especially the more complex lower impedance designs that had become commonplace. But to the average buyer 100 watts was 100 watts.
It was difficult if not impossible to explain to buyers that all watts are not created equal. So it became much harder to justify selling a quality Onkyo Integra, Sony ES, Pioneer Elite, Carver, Marantz, Luxman, Yamaha, or Denon with their discrete designs, using quality internal components, at higher end boutique stereo stores, when they could walk into a Good Guys, Circuit City, or Best Buy and get an "el cheapo" "consumer grade" version Onkyo, Sony, Pioneer, Technics or Akai receiver with IC designs that weighed only 5 lbs, but were rated at the same 100 watts. With the use of IC's even tiny little all-in-one bookshelf units could boast of having at least 50 watts.
The end result is now 3 decades later, quality sound reproduction is now exclusively the realm of hobbyists and audiophiles, who are willing to research to buy vintage or spend a fortune on new products to attain a quality level that was once commonplace. And the average music buyer is now satisfied listening to mp3's over earphones connected to their cellphones, having no idea how wonderful a vinyl LP or well mastered CD on a quality system sounds.
Robert Cabrera Good Rant Roscoe
The design and class of a 70s reciver (dark wood, black paneling and brushed aluminum/stainless buttons and front with illuminated radio scale) is a lost art that will never come back
It’s going to take me 3 days to read your comment.🤣
@@iglooproductions Yeah, but I couldn't say all I felt I needed to in a minute either.
Man, this is far too long. Please keep comments to 3 million words. Thanks
I was so proud of my first (Harmon-Kardon 230e) receiver as a youth in the late 70's. 15 watts per channel I believe.
I just retired from the CE industry after 40 years, the first 20 in retail and the last 20 as a manufacturer sales representative. It was a fun and rewarding career and I met some of the coolest people on the planet.
A good 1970's stereo will mop the floor with any modern "surround and sub" speaker system. Modern surround systems are plastic toys compared with a proper stereo.
Yes sir. Speakers A,B and CD through aux.
I think you went a little too far. My current equipment is anything but 'plastic toys'. And while maybe not as 'beefy' as my SX-980, my Denon receiver is still high quality and runs rings around the SX-980 (and I loved my 980). Time goes on.
Most people consider a stereo a shitty JBL Bluetooth speaker nowadays.
Digital compression crap thats why , do not LAST ether
@@shaun9107 Really? What's that you say about 'do not LAST either'? My Denon is over 10 years old, has been beaten to death, and is still going strong. And not every part of my system is 'digital'. Are you are one of those that think LP's are absolutely better than CD's? Times have moved on, my friend, and in some ways for the better.
This was extremely well done. Thank you. I still have my Marantz 2270 from high school (with performance mods/updates) and still enjoy it despite have a full blown high end system.
I have owned Pioneer and Sansui all the old best ones from the 70s and I still use a Pioneer and when I listen to it so do the neighbors!
I went the amp/tuner route. My First baby was a Pioneer SA8500. Years later I found a Carver C-1 pre and a Phase Linear 400 which I still use. The PL has been upgraded with some White Oak Audio parts and powering a pair of Infinity SM 150s will almost clean the gutters on my house.
I have the Pioneer SX-1250. I got mine in the 90's at someone's estate sale. It really is a very nice receiver.
I saw another video that says the Pioneer SX-1250 that may be the best stereo receiver ever made. That is the one I would like to have.
I also own the Pioneer SX-1250, plenty of power and very Heavy at 64 pounds.
I bought a Pioneer sx-838 receiver new. I loved this receiver but sold it to my brother about a year later and purchased a Sansui Au-7900 integrated amp with the matching TU-7900 tuner.I still own both units. I truly wish I had not sold the Pioneer, it was such a good receiver, well made and gorgeous-big mistake on my part.
The Kenwood kr 9400 was my absolute favorite of all time.
I had a really nice JVC stereo amp and didn't listen to radio much . FM radio took off in Australia in the late 70s so I bought my first receiver , a Sansui , I don't recall the model , but it was black with blue backlights and was 48.something watts per channel and kicked ass . Beautiful thing , and a bargain . Stereo shops ( remember them ? ) were falling over themselves to do better deals than the one down the road and Sansui were trying to break the Pioneer stranglehold .
Just discovered your channel. My favorite was the Sansui I purchased mine in 1975 it was the 331 model paired with a set of sansui speakers. I still use it today. I also added a pair of pioneer hpm 40’s purchased in the early 80’s.
I pretty much had all of them. I can't call any of them bad. Actually, they all truly shone in their own way and time, however brief it may have seemed. For my money, Pioneer emerged on top as the all around best of the era, with Marantz actually running neck and neck, but losing by a nose. Simply opinion. Truth is, I wouldn't kick any of them out of bed.
I challenge your statement. Unless you worked in/owned a stereo retail shop, you didn't have them "all". You may have had five or so brands/models, but as indicated in this video, the players in the receiver wars were almost countless. I never knew anybody to change out receivers like buying clothes and to have them "all".
@@TheReal1953 Well, by all means, if YOU never knew about it, it never happened.
@@bstrunk57 No, I'm just know hot air & bullshit when I read it.
Since I never cranked them to their maximum potential, I used to judge them by both their AM and FM tuners. I live in a poor reception area and some of the higher end stuff (Kenwood in particular) were lacking in that area.
Back then before Streaming or MP3's people new the value of a good HiFi sound system. Today people could care less and are perfectly happy walking around with their Ipods in their ears. I grew up with my dads Pioneer HIFI system and always loved it. and appreciated that type of system.
I recently scored a Pioneer a Pioneer SX-1250, Pioneer RT-707 RTR and a Pioneer PL-530 Turntable all at the same thrift store for a crazy cheap price plus they are all in mint like new condition.
I am happy as a clam now!
Owned a Pioneer SX-780, was in high school at the time and remember working after school and weekends to save for it. Thanks for the memories.
If I remember correctly Nelson Pass said when he was a technician that Pioneer was the better company back then, just a better design overall.
Great video, keep up the great work. For me it has always been and will be Pioneer. The 1980 to me is the most desirable but then I am a Pioneer man. I just loved this era in hi fi, most of the equipment, even the cheaper gear, had a great sound. I had relatives and my dad all owned Pioneer amps, SA 7300, 6300 5300 and all had a great vintage sound.
Great video! Thanks for including the price information for each model as it puts into perspective the high cost of today’s gear. As for me I started with a 5-watt Quadraphase Superscope R310 receiver with pink lights. Superscope bought Marantz in the mid-60s. I still have it.
I now collect 1970s Luxman separate components with nice rosewood cases. Big VU meters, tone controls and tuners.
Thanks for sharing 👍👍
That pink light receiver is one of my favorites, especially with LEDs
I was in early twenties during the receiver wars. I bought a Pioneer SX-1500tf from the AirForce BX in England. It was rated at 170 watts ‘music power’. Marantz had a program to test the actual output of your receiver, so I took the Pioneer in for the test. It did 45 watts RMS per channel down to 50 hertz, then the power dropped off to 19.5 watts at 20 hertz. Still have the Pioneer. A few years back I bought a Kenwood KA-8100 at a recycling center for $15. 80 watts RMS per channel. It’s a great amp. Enjoyed your video! Those were the days! Thanks for the current dollar comparison. That was some expensive but FINE stereo gear. From my experience, 50 watts RMS per channel is nothing to sneeze at.
Finding a repair person to service vintage gear is the challenge. We have an excellent person locally but he is so backlogged he had my Fisher 800c for five months. It now performs like new. I love it. Also have a Marantz that I love equally. The receiver wars were fun at the time but we realized they were ridiculous because no one really needs anything more that 40 w per channel. But the equipment is stunning. No other consumer product for the home compared.
Those were the top dogs, all those manufacturers put out mid-low powered examples also, that were of good quality AND more affordable to the average man. I remember those Radio-shack flyers, boasting big wattage, low distortion levels. I have one of those old timers, and it sounds pretty good even after all these years. Radio Shack was not likely to attract the high end customer, but they could not have been junk, to last 45 years and still function. that roasting dust smell is something else!
Sansui won for best sounding receiver.
Bass was more articulated and deep with power.
Their electronics had faster transient response time and performance. Resulting in higher resolution of the musical signal.
Music presentation was wider deeper and more natural musically.
Imho, they were also the best looking with non-fading gold brushed aluminum finish, with two large distinctive knobs!
Warm Amber lighting incased in rosewood vinyl veneering! Personality and beauty that is still a show piece of any system!
My second choice would be Pioneer SX series. Mechanically, Pioneer and Marantz were probably superior for longevity?
Sansui had a reputation of becoming unstable as they aged. However, Sansui used prices have soared as of lately. The G-33,000 is currently listed for a whopping $19,000 eBay???
That's a brand new Spectral Audio or Krell system.
Yeah but how much did that G-3300 sold for? they can ask a million dollars for an item but the sold price is what counts.Cheers
There is no clear winner for best sound its all subjective
I still have my JBL L100 studio monitor speakers from the 70's and they still sound great.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!