Need help on Vintage Stereo buying.

[alnukem]

I bought a new house & wanted to set up my stereo in it. Went to where it was stored & no stereo???? I would now like to replace it. You know, this bites the big one! It was a early 1980's Teac. I would like to do something similiar but maybe component set. Any pointers on getting something good or learning about it. I would probably like to spend $1000 including speakers & tuner, I would probably spend more for something kickass. I think I would really dig a tube tuner. Thanks.

[XfireZ51]

Very good source.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl

Also

theabsolutesound.com

High end stuff. You won't get close to tubes for $1k.

[Schrade]

Like this TEAC Tim?

http://www.teac.com/content/images/universal/products/746/main.jpg

I just took it out (bought new in '02, have ALL paperwork, receipts, boxes), and replaced it with

http://files.tested.com/photos/2013/07/23/55-51312-5500718100_1368357633-1374598569.jpg

Pushing Bose 301 x 2, Cerwin Vega-712 x 2, and Mitsu SS-152 x 2, and the house quakes 1050 watts!

TEAC specs here:
http://www.cnet.com/products/teac-ag-780-av-receiver-5-1-channel/
And it quaked before, only without the 301's...

[batchman]

I would be absolutely tear-assed if my stereo stuff disappeared. Condolences.

Anyway for vintage stuff I've had good luck with old A/D/S, both for the electronics (search up Atelier) (separates not the receivers) and especially for speakers. Their stuff has aged very well for me. I love my overgrown bookshelf L-980s but the tower L-1290 is arguably easier to place for good imaging.

At the more complicated end of electronic stuff (ie leaning more toward kick-***) I have a great collection of old dbx components but they are harder to find and may require more maintenance.

All the above gets pretty tough to ship though.

For my money the old analog tuners drift too much - digital frequency locking was a good invention especially as the spectrum has become more crowded and lower power.

Good luck,
- Jeff

[Vette Guy]

Tim,

Take Dom's advice and review Audiogon.... And take a look at the Rotel amp/preamp and B&W speakers. It really depends on what you are looking to do with your stereo as to the amp/preamp/receiver selection, but I will say that Ive been so impressed with B&W 684s that I bought a set of 643s as well as 685s and center speakers. I still have 4 different rotel systems, and still deciding which to keep/sell.... If you want home theater, then I recommend the Rotel RSX-1065/7, or just stereo, then the rsx-965 or the rx-975 w/985 amp. You'll be right around a grand with a straight 2-speaker stereo system; more with the home theater setup.

After all these years, I never really understood what sound was all about until I got into Rotel and B&Ws... Soundstage and presence don't really exist in "normal" equipment...

Regards,
Mark

[alnukem]

Well, I think I kinda did some good & some bad. I went to a Thrift store near Pittsburgh & bought a NAD 2400 Amplifier & a NAD 1600 Tuner & Pre-Amp, clean as a pin for $147, out the door, circa 1990. I searched for speakers & could not find "ANY" decent speakers, so I went to a Audio Boutique & ordered a set of Goldenear Triton Three speakers with powered bass. The salesman actually turned out to be one of my customers & cut me a sweet deal, I think. I hooked the Amp & receiver up & everything seems to work, although in my building, FM reception sucks & I don't have any other input devices. I think once I set everything up in my house it will work great. These speakers kick ***, order will probably be in Thursday.

[alnukem]

Here is my "Ersatz" setup, it kicks butt! I need to do some finetuning, but it's pretty impressive! I also found a rack mount line conditioner at the thrift store for $25.