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?
kevziek
So did he ever buy anything?  Do you still think it was overpriced KEV?  Check out the prices today!!  You could have made a fortune even if you didn't like the way it sounded.  I sure do love the way all my old 70s Marantz gear sounds and it all performs flawlessly!!  I have Marantz 2385 2285b 2500,  several 300dcs and 170dcs and 3250s 1180dcs on and on and on.  People are blown away when they come to my house to hear my rigs.  Occasionally the pots need to be sprayed with dioxit but that's it!!  I have had a few pieces recapped but they often sound identical to the ones that haven't been recapped.  The stuff today is junk.  The 70s Marantz were the best sounding stereo compononts off all time period end of story.  Seperates were better than receivers but even receivers blow away new stuff.  The boards are so thick and have so much copper in them you wouldn't believe it!  I've tried newer amps with massive power and they have nice solid bass but the mids are harsh and tinny sounding.  You asked if anyone has had it for more than four years?  Me and it's all forty years old so I think it's built well!  It's hard to take someone seriously that doesn't actually own the gear and do side by side testing.  The new Marantz $2000 receivers weight like 20lbs.  They are alarm clocks Kev!
Love reading these posts about the vintage gear.
I too am into vintage. 
All my Marantzs’ from the 70’s sounds awesome and wouldn’t trade or sell it for anything.

i guess it’s whatever your into.

smokey
Old receivers are all ancient history as the parts are toast.Many people have no cash so they must use junk and pretend it sounds good.
I just put together a vintage bedroom system around a rebuilt Marantz 2265b by Mike Zuccaro and Spendor SP-1 speakers. It shocked me just how musical, non fatiguing, and enjoyable this system sounds.