I just bought an Armstrong receiver from the 80's on ebay. I paid $75 for it, but it cost another $150 to get it shipped here from England. For those who don't know about Armstrong receivers, I used to sell them in a high end shop during the 80's. They are one of the finest receivers ever made. Wonderful analog tuner, incredible amplifier that rivalled the Naim Audio 42/110 separates we sold at the time, and a great phono stage to boot. In a slimline low-profile teak cabinet. They originally sold for about $700. A fine centerpiece for a great sounding system. Would make a super-nice office system with a good pair of mini monitors. Rated at 30 watts with over 3db of dynamic headroom. Something like 70,000uf in power supply filter caps. It seems they are very hard to come by these days, so when I saw it on ebay for cheap, I just had to get it. Even for the $225 I have in it, it is a steal. If you ever see one, I would strongly recommend getting it. I never heard any solid state receiver that could match it.
Old Classic Receivers: A Mistake to Buy?
I was contemplating purchasing a 70's receiver, as I used to love the construction and appearance of the Sansui, Kenwood, Pioneer, Marantz. However, when I ran this by an audio friend, he said, "Forget it."
He says: They sound terrible. The caps & resistors used before the early 90s' were dreadful. The electrolytics are drying up and will start crackling and substantially degrade the sonics. The switches and controls used were almost never sealed, so they deteriorate and make noise and can't be fixed even by taking them apart and cleaning them.
Tuners: He says that nearly all non-digital tuners used varactors, which go out of alignment and cause problems, so no old tuners, with the exception of the Mac MR-78 and possibly a few others, are worth dealing with.
I am tempted to believe all that he is saying is true, but I see a market for these items, and also know that people claim they are still using these pieces for 25 years.
What's the truth here? Can some of the techies enlighten me?
He says: They sound terrible. The caps & resistors used before the early 90s' were dreadful. The electrolytics are drying up and will start crackling and substantially degrade the sonics. The switches and controls used were almost never sealed, so they deteriorate and make noise and can't be fixed even by taking them apart and cleaning them.
Tuners: He says that nearly all non-digital tuners used varactors, which go out of alignment and cause problems, so no old tuners, with the exception of the Mac MR-78 and possibly a few others, are worth dealing with.
I am tempted to believe all that he is saying is true, but I see a market for these items, and also know that people claim they are still using these pieces for 25 years.
What's the truth here? Can some of the techies enlighten me?